As I have suggested in the past, it is never too early to get your kids frequent flier accounts and have them begin to earn miles on paid tickets. But the kids can really only earn miles by flying. Unlike you and I, who can earn miles in other ways, i.e.–through credit cards!!, the kids’ miles can sit idle in their accounts if there are not enough miles to book a ticket. You also have to stay on top of mileage expiration dates. Click here to read about what I did to avoid my kids AAdvantage miles from expiring.
You do not have to worry about any of this as members of the British Airways Executive Club. As a member of the Executive Club, you can create a Household Account. In this account, up to seven individuals who live at the same address can ‘pool’ their Avios together into one cumulative Household Account Avios balance which can then be redeemed by all Household Account members. Its free to create and kids can join too, so everyone in the family can collect Avios each time you travel.
To set up a Household Account, you will first need to decide who will be the Head of the Household. This person must already be a Member of the Executive Club and will need to complete the application. As Head of the Household Account they will receive all communications about the account and will be the only person who can add or remove Members or change the home address.
Everyone in a Household Account will continue to collect Tier Points and move through the tiers of the Club individually, but they can also spend Avios taken from the pooled Household Account. When any Avios are spent, a deduction of a proportional amount will be taken from each Member’s balance in the Household Account.
As for Avios expiration dates, your Household Account Avios stay with you as long as you collect, spend, purchase or share some Avios at least once every 36 months.
There are a few important things to remember about a Household Account:
Members of a Household Account cannot redeem their Avios for anyone outside of the Household Account (unless they are on the Family and Friends List)
Changes to the registered Household Account address can only be made once every six months
Executive Club Members must be 18 years or older before they can spend their Avios on their own.
Click here to read more about Executive Club Household Accounts