I initially wrote about Avios redemption in 2014 when I started his blog; time flies for sure. Since then, I have redeemed well over a million British Airways Avios. I have travelled and experienced business class flights without having to pay the price of them, and starting the Avios collection game has truly been life-changing.
After all, I started travel hacking, points and miles collections for this exact reason. To travel in business class without paying the prices.
Since 2014 things have changed a lot, and even at the end of 2022, BA changed the Avios miles required for redemptions and devalued them.
Sadly this affected me a lot because one of the ways I used to redeem was from abroad back to the UK or for short-haul flights with Qatar Airways in the Middle East. While living in Doha, I saved so much money on those short-haul redemptions and flights in business class to Sofia.
I will explain a little more further down what is still my best use for my Avios.
How I earn Avios
I have an article on my full travel credit card strategy for you to read, but in most cases, I earn an average amount of Avios per year. I use the American Express Platinum card and the Gold version as well as using the BA shopping portal; this is probably the most successful way I have in accumulating points because I pretty much always shop online via the portal.
Sometimes I will have referrals for people wanting to sign up for the Amex cards with the extra bonus, if you are one of them, please email me at hello at Muslim travel girl dot com, and I will be happy to do so. You can read on the Amex Gold card, which I recommend for a newbie here.
Overall in terms of collecting Avios over the year as a traveller who doesn’t do excessive credit card sign-ups (not that we can in the UK), I probably earn around 50,000 Avios. I also value my Avios a little bit more than cash because there are cases I will cover in the post in which I actually have saved thousands on flights, especially short hauls.
What are British Airways Avios, and how they work
British Airways Avios are a frequent flyer program operated by British Airways airline. The program allows members to earn and redeem points on flights, hotels, car rentals, and other travel-related purchases.
Members can use their Avios points to purchase flights, upgrade their travel class, get discounts on duty-free items, and more. Avios points can be earned by flying with British Airways or through partner programs and their online shopping portal, where instead of earning cash back, you earn Avios.
They can also be redeemed for flights with other airlines in the OneWorld Alliance network, and the best option for me are Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Qatar Airways and Iberia. They are worth it more because you can also save on taxes which from the UK can be steep.
How I personally earn Avios
I have an article on my full travel credit card strategy for you to read, but in most cases, I earn an average amount of Avios per year. I use the American Express Platinum card and the Gold version as well as using the BA shopping portal; this is probably the most successful way I have in accumulating points because I pretty much always shop online via the portal.
Sometimes I will have referrals for people wanting to sign up for the Amex cards with the extra bonus; if you are one of them, please email me at hello at MuslimTravelGirl dot com, and I will be happy to do so.
Overall in terms of collecting Avios over the year as a traveller who doesn’t do excessive credit card sign-ups (not that we can in the UK), I probably earn around 50,000 Avios. I also value my Avios a little bit more than cash because there are cases I will cover in the post where I actually have saved thousands on flights, especially short hauls during peak time travel.
Best Ways To Redeem Avios for British Airways Flights
One of my favourite ways to use Avios is short-haul travel, especially when in busy seasons like school holidays and summer/winter travel and booked well in advance.
I find the most value for Avios up to zone 4 on British Airways flights and partner airlines. For me, it is a sweet spot because, realistically, I can always find some ways to earn that amount of Avios either from a sign-up bonus or from shopping via the portal or Amex. A one-way in economy in zone 4 is approximately 10,000 Avios. So I don’t feel like I have to stretch myself.
Also, the taxes are lower because, in many cases, they are reward flight-saver bookings but also I use some redemptions from abroad with lower taxes, so I save money.
Paying for business class long-haul, I find, is not always value for money, especially if you have a family travelling with you. As a family of three without using a 2-for-1 British Airways voucher and travelling during school holidays which is peak redemption, the total cost of Avios required gets too high for a whole family in business class.
I actually cancelled my BA Premium credit card because after earning three 2-for-1 vouchers, I realised that spending £1,000 for the taxes for two people also didn’t make sense to me, considering the amount of Avios also required long haul. I used my vouchers for European trips that are expensive during school holidays, and I feel I get better value for money. I prefer to find cheaper flight alternatives and then use Avios for an upgrade.
Now that you can actually use the voucher with their new improvements on partner airline’s redemptions and also for booking with it from outside the UK, it makes it much more lucrative and I will probably get the card again.
I can use it for flights in business to the US with Iberia or Aer Lingus, which have lower taxes but require the same amount of points.
For example, a one-way to New York on Aer Lingus through Dublin with preclearance is 13,000 Avios plus £110 in taxes in economy. A one-way from London to New York on British Airways is 13,000 Avios plus £215 in taxes for economy.
As someone who doesn’t live in London and needs to get there to catch a flight, the Dublin option makes sense financially and otherwise, especially with preclearance and children travelling.
Hence, using the Avios redemption for short-haul peak travel season or up to zone 4 without the huge taxes and outside the UK gives me a good sweet spot.
Redeeming for long-haul flights in the economy doesn’t make good use of your Avios unless the cash ticket is very expensive because you can easily find flights on BA to New York for around £500 return which is how much the taxes would be and you save your Avios.
I booked a reward saver in business class from London to Sofia back in August (this article was written in January) because I wanted to go on a ski trip. The price for this flight was £21740 because it is during the school holiday, but I paid 36,000 Avios plus £100. I have to say I have never booked this far in advance.
I usually find the best value for money on peak season prices short haul, like flights from Italy over the summer when they cost £300 but only 4,750 Avios and £17,50 in taxes.
I actually once managed to redeem an Avios flight from Rome for an earlier arrival home as I didn’t want to wait for my flight in 6 hours for 4,500 Avios + £17,50 in taxes. The cash ticket on that day was over £800! I booked it while walking to the check-in counter. 🙂
When I lived in the Middle East, I flew on Qatar Airways flights, especially during peak time. I saved a lot of money using Avios on Qatar. A one-way ticket from Doha to Sofia would cost £800 and only 10,000 Avios plus £100 in taxes. ( they did increase the avios needed now) but Qatar is still a sweet spot for me in their Qsuite because you can actually redeem your Avios on them.
Christmas 2023, when I was looking for flights from Jeddah to Manchester, the one-way flight on Qatar airways in Q suites was 60,000 Avios plus £220 in taxes or £5,500 in cash. In a busy over-priced period makes sense to use your Avios for those flights.
Another sweet spot I love using my Avios for is upgrading my flight, and I find this is a better deal and how I travelled so much in business class with my daughter when she was born.
How to upgrade with Avios
Another great use of Avios is upgrading your flight; recently, with the price of the flights, this has been a little harder, but in general, upgrading your British Airways premium economy flights in business is a great use of your miles.
I would find good premium economy flights either from Dubai or London for as little as £650 return and then upgrade one or both legs if available to business class. The value you get out of these is so much higher than actually paying the total price for a business class costing over £2,000. For as little as 25,000 Avios and £100 extra in taxes.
This is the sweet spot for redemptions on BA, you can also upgrade from economy to premium economy using your Avios, and it is also a great way, especially if you have a good price on the economy ticket as mentioned above. In effect, the cash ticket price will be paying the taxes of the ticket and then the extra Avios for your upgrade to a more comfortable seat.
What is the Value of British Airways Avios Points?
How long is a piece of string?
The value of your Avios depends on how you earn them, how you spend and for how many people.
If you earn them the hard way through spending or the occasional credit card bonus, you are likely to value them more than a business traveller who flies a lot for work and earns their status and miles through company money. Rob from Head for Points has a good analysis on value per Avios flown.
Using Avios for a Family
As a family, using Avios is probably better for you in short-haul flights or in upgrading your existing flight. Suppose you are travelling during the school holidays which is also peak travel time. In that case, you might be better off either booking economy a year in advance and upgrading the Avios required for premium economy or business or actually using partner airlines where they don’t have off-peak / peak charts.
The Avios are more, but also the taxes are less depending on your destination. Personally, now that my daughter is in school, I started using low-cost airlines to get out of the UK and then fly from Europe using Avios.
I used our 2-for-1 voucher for a holiday to Bulgaria during term time, and I booked in business about 7 months in advance. The cost was 36,000 for two plus £100.
The cash price for the same prices and dates now is £2,174!!! Which is ridiculous for a Euro flight, even if it is in business.
For a flight I am looking into for the US in the summer, I am thinking of booking via Dublin to use pre-clearance because we require only 13,000 Acios and £100 in taxes, as explained above, and we would be saving around £600 on taxes, for all of us. They also have different peak travel dates, so we are unaffected.
Sadly with British Airways devaluing their redemptions and with many routes still being on a reduced schedule, availability is hard to come by, so you need to think outside the box. I always prefer to maximize my cash savings and value per Avios because I earn them harder. I prefer to pay a little more cash and fewer points if it means I can stretch my balance. The reason is that I can always have a bank of Avios if prices on flights I need last minute are ridiculous, but there is availability for redemption.
I kind of feel my Avios balance is my security blanket 🙂
More posts to read
The Best European Avios Redemption in business class with flat bedThe Best Ways to Upgrade from Economy to Business Class That Actually Work
Review: British Airways Premium Economy, A Cheaper Way to Fly with More Comfort