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Booking a British Airways Reward Flight with Avios earns zero Tier Points on the flight itself — the redemption doesn’t count toward Bronze, Silver, or Gold status at all. There are exceptions worth knowing, though: ancillary purchases like seat selection and extra baggage still earn Tier Points, and a Cash + Avios booking is treated completely differently from a pure reward flight. Here’s exactly where the line falls.
The Basic Rule: Reward Flights Earn Nothing
When you redeem Avios for a Reward Flight, British Airways treats the entire booking as non-revenue for earning purposes. You don’t earn Avios on the redemption, and you don’t earn Tier Points either — even if the flight itself is in a premium cabin like Club World or First. This holds true whether you booked the reward flight yourself or someone booked it for you through a Household Account or Family & Friends List.
Compare that to a paid ticket, where British Airways-, Iberia-, and American-operated flights earn 1 Tier Point per £1 of fare and carrier-imposed charges (taxes are excluded from that calculation). A Reward Flight simply doesn’t generate that spend-based number in the first place — there’s no fare to calculate Tier Points from.
What Still Earns Tier Points on a Reward Booking
The redemption itself is dead weight for status, but you’re not entirely locked out of earning on that trip:
- Seat selection. Paying to pick a specific seat on your reward flight earns Avios and Tier Points on that spend, just like any other purchase.
- Extra baggage. Paying for additional checked bags on a reward booking earns at standard rates too — around 2 Avios per £1 spent on these ancillaries.
- Both are treated as ordinary purchases layered on top of a non-earning reward ticket, not as part of the reward booking itself.
One area where sources disagree and BA’s own guidance is easy to misread: paying to upgrade the cabin on an existing reward ticket. Some guidance suggests this counts as an earning add-on the same way a seat or bag does; other explanations of BA’s own rules say a reward booking earns nothing even if you later pay to upgrade its cabin. Given the conflicting signals, don’t assume a paid upgrade on a reward ticket will earn Tier Points — verify directly with British Airways or check your account after the flight rather than counting on it for a status push.
The Big Exception: Cash + Avios
This is the detail that trips people up most. A Cash + Avios booking — where you use Avios to bring the cash price down, sometimes close to zero — is not treated as a Reward Flight for earning purposes. British Airways still counts it as a cash fare, and Tier Points are calculated on the original, undiscounted cash price of the ticket, not the reduced amount you actually paid. If you’re chasing status, this makes Cash + Avios meaningfully different from a full Avios redemption — you keep earning toward your tier even while using points to cut the bill.
Reward Flight vs. Cash + Avios vs. Paid Flight
| Reward Flight (100% Avios) | Cash + Avios | Paid Flight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier Points earned | None | Yes — based on the full original cash fare | Yes — 1 per £1 of fare + carrier charges |
| Avios earned | None on the redemption | Yes, on the cash portion | Yes, standard rate |
| Seat selection / bags | Earn normally if paid separately | Earn normally | Earn normally |
What This Means If You’re Chasing Status
If your goal this tier-point year is reaching Bronze, Silver, or Gold, redeeming Avios for a free flight doesn’t help you get there — it’s purely a way to spend a balance you’ve already built, not a way to build status. That’s worth factoring in if you’re deciding between redeeming Avios on a Oneworld partner for a free trip versus paying cash (or Cash + Avios) on a flight you actually need for status progress. If you’re close to a tier threshold near the end of your qualifying year, a Cash + Avios booking — not a full redemption — is the one that still moves the needle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do British Airways Reward Flights earn Tier Points?
No. A flight booked entirely with Avios earns zero Tier Points, regardless of cabin. It also earns zero Avios on the redemption itself.
Does a Cash + Avios booking earn Tier Points?
Yes. British Airways treats Cash + Avios as a paid fare for earning purposes, calculating Tier Points on the original, undiscounted cash price of the ticket — not the reduced amount you actually paid.
Do seat selection and extra baggage earn Tier Points on a reward flight?
Yes. Paying for seat selection or extra baggage alongside a reward booking earns Avios and Tier Points at standard rates, since these are treated as separate purchases from the reward flight itself.
How many Tier Points do you earn on a paid British Airways flight?
1 Tier Point per £1 of fare and carrier-imposed charges on British Airways-, Iberia-, and American-operated flights. Taxes are excluded from that calculation.
Does paying to upgrade a reward flight's cabin earn Tier Points?
This isn't consistently documented — some guidance treats it as an earning add-on, other explanations of BA's rules say it doesn't earn. Don't count on a paid cabin upgrade on a reward ticket for status progress without confirming directly with British Airways.
Bottom Line
A pure Avios Reward Flight earns zero Tier Points and zero Avios on the redemption itself — full stop. Seat selection and extra baggage purchased alongside it still earn normally, and a Cash + Avios booking is a completely different animal, earning Tier Points on the original cash fare even though Avios covered part of the bill. If status progress matters for a specific trip, that distinction is the one to plan around.
