What you should know about collecting and using Avios to book BA reward seats
There’s more to planning an Avios vacation than choosing a destination — it’s about making that dream trip happen for a lot less than you’d pay in cash by stretching your points to their fullest potential. This requires understanding the best strategies to maximise points so you can fly smarter and enjoy more for less.
In this blog, we’re sharing everything you need to know about booking flights with Avios to make the most of your points.
Redeem Your Points on Business Class Flights
Business Class seats often provide the most bang for your buck when using your points. Here’s why: while you still pay taxes and charges on a reward flight, the percentage of these costs relative to the cash price of a ticket is much smaller in Business Class compared to Economy. This means your points stretch further in premium cabins, saving you more money.
By contrast, Economy long-haul flights are typically not the best use of Avios. Taxes and fees can eat up a major portion of what you save with points, diluting your redemption value. For example, while a Business Class ticket might require two to three times the Avios of an Economy ticket, the price in cash could be 10 to 20 times higher. Because of this, it’s always best to redeem your points on Business Class flights. As a rule of thumb, always aim for a value of around 1p per 1 Avios for the best redemption for your points.
British Airways also allows travellers to use Avios to part-pay for flights. When booking a ticket, you can adjust the cash and Avios balance to suit your budget and pay more Avios to reduce the cash component to nearly nothing. Unfortunately, this method generally doesn’t offer great value, so we don’t recommend it.
However, you can use Avios to partially pay for any standard cash fare. This can be done by simply searching for and purchasing a regular ticket, then using Avios to cover part of the cost. The value of using Avios in this way can vary widely, but again, getting around 1p per Avios point is a good deal.
Keep a Realistic Target in Mind
Setting a goal for your Avios collection can be a powerful motivator and an essential part of your travel rewards strategy. However, be realistic about how quickly you can earn these points. Travellers are often tempted to sign up for several Avios credit cards to collect bonuses and other perks such as British Airways Companion Vouchers or upgrade vouchers. However, choosing the right credit card involves balancing fees with benefits. Here are some overall considerations to keep in mind when choosing which credit card to go for:
- Sign-Up Bonuses: Credit cards with annual fees offer larger bonuses and better perks than fee-free cards, which can often offset the annual fee cost.
- Avios Earning Rate: Premium cards help you collect Avios faster, making them suitable for those who spend heavily on their cards.
- British Airways Companion Voucher: A Companion Voucher is an excellent perk that lets you bring along a travel partner for the price of taxes or fees or give you a 50% discount on the Avios value of a flight. However, they come with spending thresholds that might influence your choice depending on your budget and travel plans.
- Card Acceptance: American Express cards may not be as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard.
While these perks can inflate your Avios balance, use caution with this strategy. The interest charges can quickly negate the value of any Avios earned if you’re unable to pay off your card balance each month.
There are alternatives to credit card bonuses if you want to avoid falling into the potential trap of credit card debt. You can accumulate Avios through regular flights with British Airways and its partners, shopping via the BA e-store, or through everyday spending converted from Nectar points to Avios. With these methods, you’ll accumulate points more slowly than credit cards, but they’re a safer approach to building up your Avios balance without facing high interest rates. The key is choosing the strategy that aligns with your financial circumstances and travel goals.
You can also leverage your BA Executive Club status for travel benefits without splurging on Business Class seats or expensive fares. You can enjoy perks like lounge access and Business Class check-in if you hold a Silver or above BA tier status. Regardless of how you earn your Avios, your BA Executive Club status should not be overlooked, as it provides valuable benefits.
Understand How British Airways Manages Reward Seat Availability
British Airways opens reward seat bookings 355 days before departure and guarantees 14 seats per flight: four in Business, two in Premium Economy (when available), and eight in Economy. Availability can increase as the departure date nears, depending on cash booking fill rates. However, it’s less likely that extra seats will be made available on popular routes such as Tokyo, Singapore, and major Australian cities, especially during peak times.
Use the early bird strategy for the highest chance to snag your dream flights. Our British Airways Reward Flight Finder allows you to monitor seat availability from the moment they’re released. Simply set up an alert for your preferred route, and it will alert you immediately when Avios seats are released. If you’re wondering how many Avios for a flight you’ll need, the RFF also provides detailed information on Avios requirements for different routes and classes.
The RFF’s worldwide map feature also allows you to visually explore available reward seats across British Airways’ global network. This feature is especially useful for those who’re flexible with destinations or looking for travel inspiration.
An RFF membership can help you make the most of your Avios by giving you a strategic advantage in using them, whether you’re figuring out how to collect Avios points or the best ways to use them. This makes booking reward flights far more manageable.
Utilise Airline Alliances
While British Airways might be the first airline that comes to mind when thinking about Avios, you can use your points far beyond this flagship carrier. British Airways is a proud oneworld alliance member, which dramatically widens the horizon for Avios redemption. This means you can book flights with Avios on British Airways and Qatar Airways, American Airlines, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Royal Jordanian, Iberia, and many others, including BA’s sister airline Aer Lingus.
The best part? You can access the full array of oneworld alliance options on ba.com without needing to navigate to the individual airlines’ booking systems — available Avios seats across the entire alliance are displayed directly on ba.com.
Your status within the British Airways Executive Club also impacts your travel experience across the oneworld alliance. Whether you hold BA Bronze, Silver, or Gold status, you get an equivalent oneworld status: Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald, respectively. This alignment across the alliance can help you unlock benefits such as priority check-in, extra baggage, lounge access, etc., even when you’re not flying with BA.
Choose Avios for More Flexible Booking Options
When you book flights with Avios, you can cancel or modify your booking for a nominal fee of £35 per person. This is a great perk compared to the constraints of non-refundable cash tickets, which lock you into your travel plans without room for adjustment.
You can also amend part-flown tickets if your travel plans change mid-journey. Simply contact British Airways, pay the £35 change fee, and adjust your return flight. This often happens when reward seats open up at short notice, mainly when flights are not fully booked. Utilising our British Airways Reward Flight Finder can be extremely helpful in such situations. It can help you initially plan your trip and adjust your travel dates by alerting you to available seats as they become available.
