Programme guide

When Does Airline Status Expire? Dates by Programme

At some programmes your status outlasts the points that earned it. At BA, for example, tier points reset every 31 March, while a tier lasts to the end of the next membership year, which ends on 30 April.

Counting periods vary. BA and Iberia count from 1 April to 31 March, and Miles & More counts the calendar year. Flying Blue and Finnair count a personal period that starts with your own account, Virgin Atlantic's membership year starts the day after you reach a tier, and Qatar counts any 12 months in a row to move you up and the 12 (or 24) months before your renewal date to keep your tier.

Estimates only — confirm with the airline. Programmes change their rules. Check the date in your own account and on the programme's own pages before you plan flights around it.

Last verified: 2026-09-26 (Flying Blue 27 September, Miles & More 4 October, Finnair and SAS 30 October)

We cover nine programmes here. For others, see the programme's page for tier levels and the bar to keep them, and check its own terms for dates.

The dates at a glance

Programme	What you count	Counting period	When a tier you reach ends
British Airways (The British Airways Club)	Tier points, or eligible flights	1 April to 31 March	The end of the next membership year (membership years end on 30 April)
Iberia Club	Elite Points, or flights	1 April to 31 March	Tiers are updated on 31 March; a changed tier starts on 1 April
Lufthansa Miles & More	Points and Qualifying Points	The calendar year	The end of February in the year after next
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	Tier Points	A 12-month period	The end of the month you reached it, plus 12 months
Air France-KLM Flying Blue	XP (Experience Points)	Up to 12 months, starting again when you move up	At the end of a 12-month qualification period that starts when you reach it
Finnair Plus	Tier points	A personal 12-month tracking period	The rest of the tracking period, plus 12 months
Qatar Airways Privilege Club	Qpoints	Any 12 months in a row to move up; the 12 (or 24) months before your renewal date to keep it	12 months after you move up or renew
Aegean Miles+Bonus	Tier miles, or flights	To keep a tier, a fixed 12 months from moving up or renewing; to move up, 12 months from your oldest flight whose miles have not expired or been used for an upgrade	At the end of the 12 months to keep it, unless you keep or raise your tier
SAS EuroBonus	Level points, or SAS flights	12 months from the month you join	Three months after your qualification period ends, if you have not requalified

British Airways

BA counts tier points in a "tier point collection year": the 12 months from 1 April to 31 March. Tier points expire at the end of each collection year on 31 March. You can also reach Bronze with 25 flights with a British Airways code, or Silver with 50, between 1 April and 31 March.

A new tier "lasts for the rest of your current membership year, which ends on 30 April every year, plus the whole of the next membership year". BA's own example: your tier points reset to zero on 31 March, but you stay Silver for another 13 months. On that wording, the 13 months holds for a tier reached between May and March. A tier reached in April lasts only to 30 April the following year, one month after that year's tier points reset, so you need to requalify by 31 March.

Iberia Club

Iberia counts Elite Points, or flights, from 1 April each year to 31 March the following year. On 31 March each year Iberia updates card tiers, and a new tier's benefits start on 1 April. The Iberia pages we hold do not say how long a tier reached part-way through the year lasts.

Lufthansa Miles & More

Miles & More counts Points, Qualifying Points and HON Circle Points over the calendar year, and sets them to zero at the start of each year. A status reached or renewed after 1 January 2024 starts as soon as you reach it and ends at the end of February in the year after next. Miles & More's example: status reached in April 2024 stays valid until the end of February 2026. On the same rule, status reached or renewed during 2026 lasts until the end of February 2028.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic ties your status to a membership year. It begins the day after you reach Silver or Gold and runs to the end of that calendar month, plus another 12 months. On that wording, reaching Silver on 10 March 2026 would keep it until the end of March 2027. When you renew, the new membership year runs for 12 full months from the first day of the month after your renewal.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue gives you up to 12 months to gain enough XP to keep your level or move up. The period starts when you earn your first Mile or gain your first XP. When you move up, you start a new qualification period with 12 months (to the end of the twelfth month). If you hold enough XP to keep your level at the end of the period, your membership at that level is renewed for 12 months.

Finnair Plus

Finnair's tracking period starts when you join and lasts 12 months. At the end of it your tier points reset to zero and a new period begins. A tier you reach lasts for the rest of the tracking period you are in, plus the next 12 months. If you cannot keep your tier, your remaining balance sets your new tier.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Qatar moves you up when you earn enough Qpoints in any 12 months in a row, and the new tier is then valid for 12 months. At your Tier Renewal Date, Qatar looks at the Qpoints you earned in the previous 12 months, or failing that the previous 24 months. A renewed tier is valid for another 12 months.

Aegean Miles+Bonus

To keep Silver or Gold, Aegean gives you a fixed 12-month period from the date you moved up to the tier or last renewed it. To move up, Aegean's terms count 12 consecutive months from your oldest flight whose miles have not expired or been used for an upgrade. Aegean's rules change on 5 November 2026: see Aegean Miles+Bonus changes from 5 November 2026.

SAS EuroBonus

SAS sets your level by the Level points you earn, or the qualifying flights you take with SAS, in a 12-month qualification period that starts in the month you join. Join in May, for example, and the period runs from 1 May to 30 April. A 3-month grace period follows, so your level expires 15 months after your start date. Level points are valid only for that 12-month period. If you do not requalify, SAS moves you down when the grace period ends. The grace period and expiry date do not apply to the basic Member level.

If you are about to drop a tier

What happens next differs by programme: some drop you one tier, and some ask less to keep a tier than to earn it. Losing airline status: downgrade rules by programme sets it out.

Already part-way through the year? Open the tier run planner on your programme to see how far you are from your next tier. The tier you hold and your balance stay in your browser.