There will be numerous worth to having airline elite standing, although it goes with out saying that not all elite ranges are created equal. On this put up I needed to take a better take a look at British Airways Government Membership Gold Visitor Listing standing.
I’ve written about Air France-KLM Flying Blue Final standing and Lufthansa Miles & Extra HON Circle standing, and on this put up needed to try the comparable standing supplied by British Airways. Not like on the different airways, Gold Visitor Listing isn’t technically a completely separate elite tier, however reasonably is a particular tier inside Gold standing. It affords a number of invaluable elite perks, and it’s not straightforward to earn.
How do you earn British Airways Gold Visitor Listing?
British Airways Government Membership awards elite standing based mostly on incomes a sure variety of Tier Factors per membership 12 months. On prime of that, to qualify for British Airways Government Membership standing, it’s worthwhile to fly a minimum of two or 4 income segments on British Airways or Iberia per membership 12 months.
British Airways Gold standing requires incomes 1,500 Tier Factors per 12 months. In the meantime Gold Visitor Listing has considerably larger necessities:
- To qualify for Gold Visitor Listing, it’s worthwhile to earn 5,000 Tier Factors in a membership 12 months
- To requalify for Gold Visitor Listing, you “solely” have to earn 3,000 Tier Factors in a membership 12 months
- To qualify for lifetime Gold Visitor Listing, it’s worthwhile to earn 100,000 Tier Factors over the course of your account
As you’ll be able to see, it’s actually laborious to qualify for Gold Visitor Listing the primary time round, as you want greater than thrice the exercise required for Gold standing. Nevertheless, requalifying solely requires double the exercise of Gold standing.
It’s additionally value noting that you possibly can qualify for this standing primarily by way of journey on associate airways, so long as you full a minimum of 4 segments per 12 months on British Airways.
How laborious are Tier Factors to earn? Whereas British Airways doesn’t publish a Tier Factors earnings chart, you earn them per section. You possibly can anticipate {that a} enterprise class flight overlaying a distance of below 2,000 miles will usually earn you 40 Tier Factors, whereas a flight of over 2,000 miles will usually earn you 140 Tier Factors.
What are the perks of British Airways Gold Visitor Listing?
What advantages do you obtain for having British Airways Government Membership Gold Visitor Listing standing, above and past the advantages of Gold standing (which will get you oneworld Emerald perks)?
- A British Airways Concorde Room card, which means you’ll be able to entry British Airways’ greatest lounges, together with the British Airways Concorde Room London, the Chelsea Lounge New York, and so forth.
- The power to ask yet another visitor into lounges than you’d in any other case have the ability to; this implies you’ll be able to visitor two folks into the Concorde Room when touring in first-class, or one individual into the Concorde Room when not touring in first-class
- The power to have entry to extra Avios award seats twice per 12 months, for as much as 5 vacationers every time; so long as fare lessons A (first-class), D (enterprise class), T (premium economic system), or B (economic system) can be found if reserving with money, you’ll be able to redeem Avios for these flights at commonplace prices
- The power to reward British Airways Gold standing (oneworld Emerald) to a associate, plus the flexibility to reward British Airways Silver standing (oneworld Sapphire) to 2 others
- Precedence boarding on all British Airways flights, with Group 0 (forward of all different passengers)
- A devoted telephone line that’s supposed to supply an much more elevated degree of service
- Hilton Honors Diamond standing for so long as you’re a member
- Whereas not printed, Gold Visitor Listing members may anticipate a lot better “smooth” therapy from employees throughout the board
- Whereas additionally not printed, there are some studies of Gold Visitor Listing flyers typically getting Concierge Key therapy on American flights within the occasion of irregular operations, however this isn’t constant
I’ve gotta say, the perks of British Airways Gold Visitor Listing standing are actually fairly strong. I feel three advantages stand out most:
- Having the ability to open up award seats is doubtlessly vastly invaluable; for instance, having the ability to snag as much as 5 first-class award seats on a flight so long as the “A” fare class is out there might save some huge cash
- Having access to British Airways’ prime lounges can be good; whereas they’re not my favourite lounges on the planet, they’re nonetheless method higher than what you’d in any other case have entry to
- Having the ability to reward oneworld Emerald to at least one individual and oneworld Sapphire to 2 folks can be cool
How does this standing evaluate to Air France-KLM & Lufthansa?
Between British Airways Gold Visitor Listing, Air France-KLM Final, and Lufthansa HON Circle, I’d argue that the British Airways standing may simply symbolize the all-around greatest worth. Now, that claims nothing of which airline group I’d favor to fly, however I feel there are a number of issues that make this standing stand out:
- Whereas Air France-KLM and Lufthansa primarily make you fly their “group” airways to earn that standing, you’ll be able to earn Gold Visitor Listing largely by way of journey on associate airways, offering numerous flexibility
- In case you have Gold Visitor Listing, you’ll be able to reward standing to a few completely different folks, which family and friends will admire
- Not like with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, British Airways presents considerably expanded award availability to Gold Visitor Listing members (although in equity, with excessive surcharges, in some circumstances)
- I’d argue the improved lounge profit isn’t nearly as good as what you’re getting with Lufthansa (since Lufthansa First Lounges and SWISS First Lounges are higher than the Concorde Room), but it surely’s higher than what you get with Air France
What’s British Airways Premier standing?
It’s value noting that Gold Visitor Listing isn’t even British Airways’ highest standing, as there’s additionally Premier standing. Nevertheless, that is actually, actually unique, far more so than simply about some other elite standing on the market (together with invitation solely elite standing with different packages).
That is typically solely awarded to those that management big company journey accounts value thousands and thousands of {dollars}, so it’s not one thing to realistically intention for by way of unbiased journey.
Backside line
Gold Visitor Listing is a particular degree of British Airways Gold standing, for many who over qualify. The necessities are very excessive to qualify within the first place, and are a bit decrease to requalify. There’s loads of worth to this standing, from entry to extra award seats, to Concorde Room entry, to the flexibility to reward standing to others, to Hilton Honors Diamond standing, and extra.
In all honesty, it’s a reasonably compelling elite tier when you do fly British Airways continuously. Having to primarily double qualify for Gold standing to get all these perks isn’t a nasty worth.
Are any OMAAT readers Gold Visitor Listing members? If that’s the case, what has your expertise been with the standing?
