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.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (August 2022)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

EDIT: Until 25th October 2022, there is an exceptionally generous sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card. You will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points – double the usual amount – and £200 to spend at Amex Travel. You need to spend £6,000 within six months to earn the bonus.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,000 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

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