Some British Airways loyalty customers are no longer at cruising altitude, after a recent error upended the airline’s already controversial overhaul of its frequent flyer program.

Technical difficulties with IAG Loyalty, the arm of British Airways’ parent company that manages its rewards scheme, incorrectly alerted hundreds of thousands of flyers last week that they would retain their elite status for the upcoming year — even though they did not meet the new qualification requirements.

As a result, the airline has been forced to downgrade the estimated 1% of members affected.

“Earlier this week, we renewed the status of a very small number of BA Club members according to our normal guidelines and criteria,” IAG said in a statement, according to the Financial Times.

IAG acknowledged that members were incorrectly told they had retained their status when they no longer were entitled to it. “Because of this, we’ll be contacting affected customers in the coming days to apologize and reinstate their correct tier.”

The initial effort to revise the loyalty program — implemented in 2025 — was due in large part to crowded airport lounges and to combat flyers who were using the membership program to “game the system,” according to the Financial Times. The airline sought to reward passengers for money spent rather than distance traveled or flights taken, causing many to lose their gold or silver status and sparking backlash online.

Critics of the new program’s guidelines accused the airline of not caring about “ordinary travellers.” However, frequent flyers argued that the new thresholds effectively shut out travelers or corporate passengers whose premium tickets are funded by their employers rather than their own volition.

To qualify for gold status under the new guidelines, flyers would now have to net 20,000 tier points, a dramatic shift from the previous 1,500 points based on distance. Silver status, which grants lounge access and expedited check-in, now requires 7,500 tier points. This shift would require BA passengers to book 10 business-class return flights from London to Madrid to earn the roughly 4,500 points and 3,500 bonus points, according to the UK Times.

The recent error heightened tensions between lifelong BA loyalists and the airline. The brief promise of extended status, followed by a sudden reversal, felt like a bait-and-switch. Simultaneously, the glitch enraged flyers who had deliberately increased their spending with the airline to secure status.

“The people who were getting these messages were people who’d basically done virtually no flying with British Airways,” said Rob Burgess, founder of the frequent-flyer website Head for Points, on the Independent’s daily travel podcast. Burgess added that the gold status was “being handed out like confetti,” prompting the airline to investigate the mishap.

Online, the reactions to both the reward scheme changes and the mistake have caused confusion.

“It’s just so complicated. From 2022 to 2025 BA made it far too easy to get status – now they are making a bit of a mess of their new scheme. Even regular customers are bewildered by it,” wrote one X user.

Some think the new earning system is actually more fair, earning rewards by simply spending more and calling it “reasonable.” Others think the new policy reflects an elitist mentality.

“Rewarding the rich elite rather than loyalty,” wrote another user.

As the airline tries to remedy its misstep, it appears some of its loyal customers are reconsidering not just their status but also their allegiance to the airline.

“And since that very week, I‘ve started booking my route with an alternative carrier on at least every second flight instead,” declared another now defiant traveler.

“Felt betrayed. Their loss.”