BA launches 4-day ‘part pay with Avios’ special offer – but is it worth it?

Ever since ‘part pay with Avios’ was launched, British Airways has been experimenting …. and experimenting …. and experimenting.   There have been constant changes to:

the classes in which you can use it

the value given per point and

the maximum number of points you can use

Personally, I am still grumpy that you cannot use Avios to cover the entire cost of your flight.  I mean …. either BA wants you to use feature or it doesn’t.  Either it is good value for BA or it isn’t!  Virgin Atlantic now lets you use your miles to pay the ENTIRE cost of a flight.

What I do know is that BA and Avios are very happy with the success of ‘part pay with Avios’.  To be honest, if I was them this would concern me!  If Avios collectors are happy to redeem for a value of 0.55p – the standard value for a large ‘part pay’ redemption – it shows that they don’t place much value on their points and will therefore not go out of their way to collect them.

Back to the offer …..

This is the ‘Part Pay With Avios’ page on ba.com.

You will save an additional 25% when you redeem Avios points as part payment for a cash BA flight.

This applies to bookings made by 11th July for travel between 1st September 2017 and 31st May 2018.

Is this worth it?

You need to remember that you still earn Avios and tier points for any cash BA flight when you use ‘part pay with Avios’.

The only thing to think about is therefore:

am I getting a good return for my points?

should I hold my points instead for a better redemption down the line?

I can’t help you with the 2nd point.  In terms of good value, this is what you will get.  These figures include the 25% additional discount:

Short-haul Economy:

Varies between 1.0p per point (1,250 Avios) and 0.68p per point (27,500 Avios)

Short-haul Business:

Varies between 0.94p per point (4,000 Avios) and 0.68p per point (36,500 Avios)

Long-haul Economy:

Varies between 1.0p per point (2,500 Avios) and 0.68p per point (33,000 Avios)

Long-haul non-Economy:

Varies between 0.94p per point (8,000 Avios) and 0.68p per point (55,000 Avios)

In a reverse of the usual laws of economics, the more you spend = the worse deal you get.

Personally, I would take 1.0p.  I doubt I would take 0.68p.  After all, to replace 1 Avios point in my account I would need to:

• transfer an Amex point, which I value at more than 0.68p
• transfer 0.42 Tesco Clubcard points, which I value at more than 0.68p
• spent 66p on my British Airways Premium Plus Amex, on which an effective 1% return would be poor

On the other hand, if you earn all of your Avios by flying for work – and therefore didn’t pay anything for them – it is a different calculation.  Whatever you get for your points is pure ‘profit’.  You might prefer to cash out now at a guaranteed 0.68p rather than hold them for a possible higher benefit at some point down the line.

Full details are on the ‘Part Pay With Avios’ page on the BA site here.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for the latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios from current offers and promotions.)