Will there be an Avios platform announcement this week?

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• shd says:

  9 Apr9 April 09:04

  We have a HHA at Avios.com but individual accounts at BAEC, so can’t transfer between accounts ourselves without dissolving the Avios.com HHA, which has 50k Avios in it.

  How exactly are the powers that be planning to unpick that?

  • Thomas says:

    9 Apr9 April 09:13

    I recently split our HHA and assigned all AVIOS to one user, and then transferred this to BAEC. To do this, you need to download a form and fill in, and then send back to them. I filled it in using an online PDF tool, and then emailed the form – had a reply and it was done within a few hours, so whilst it seemed a little fiddly, it actually worked out ok. But have to download form, no other way currently.

    • shd says:

      9 Apr9 April 09:16

      Wonder what Avios.com will do with our Avios if we don’t dissolve the HHA?

      • Rob says:

        9 Apr9 April 10:42

        Close your account after 6 months and wipe out your points.

      • shd says:

        9 Apr9 April 11:14

        So it’s fill in the silly paper form or “spend the Avios quickly, Mr Bond” 🙂

      • Thomas says:

        9 Apr9 April 11:21

        🙂 Sounds like it – I also had to update some details as they didnt match 100%, have the same with Iberia, so all has to match 100%.

  • Anna says:

    9 Apr9 April 09:38

    The CSR said that the points will be split between HHA members unless you request otherwise, and re-allocated to the respective BAEC accounts. It’s going to get extremely complicated if not all your avios.com members have a BAEC account.

    • shd says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:02

      Wonder how we’re going to be able to request this, though?

      Hopefully they can come up with a method that doesn’t involve filling in all the details on a bit of paper!

      • Anna says:

        9 Apr9 April 10:07

        If you read my earlier post, it answers this!

      • shd says:

        9 Apr9 April 11:15

        How are Avios.com going to locate the relevant BAEC numbers for all the members of my Avios.com HHA if we don’t explicity give them each one?

        • Rob says:

          9 Apr9 April 11:23

          They will open new accounts for those people.

• Bonglim says:

  9 Apr9 April 09:10

  OT
  Just want to say thank you to Rob and Anika and all the comment contributors.

  Having been following this website for about 18 months, today is my first proper redemption. I have seen a few grumbles in the comments about how the process is getting harder or less rewarding, but having started 18 months ago, I have lined up for this year:
  Club World to the far east today
  First to the USA later in the year
  A marriott booking which was 30000 Marriott points instead of 350 pounds. (high demand day because of a concert)

  For someone who is well north of 6 foot, I probably would pay for business class tickets, so that indeed is a real saving and results in me going on more holidays.

  Plus so far I have saved over 1000 GBP in other stuff, mainly amex offers/ shop small + the odd amazon order and Uber offer. I didn’t do any of that before. (Off course add back in the cost of my cards which have totalled so far about 600 pounds,

  My highlight was asking the man in Tesco if there was a limit on the number of gift cards I could buy about 18 months ago, him saying no, then returning 10 minutes later with SIXTY 50gbp john lewis gift cards (I had just moved house). He was very suspicious about a stolen credit card etc, but still put it through.

  Anyway thank you again very much,

  Bonglim

  • Rob says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:42

    Glad we could help!

• Cate ⛱️ says:

  9 Apr9 April 09:14

  Surely buying from the new platform will be an easy way of keeping your BA points alive? I think this is good news for those of us who are a bit wishy washy on points monitoring.

  • shd says:

    9 Apr9 April 09:19

    Compared to most other schemes it seems almost trivial to keep Avios from expiring – convert £2.50 of Tesco vouchers at least every 3rd year!

    • Cate ⛱️ says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:02

      In theory I tend to agree with you but in practice I’d have to take a view.

      We have one Tesco clubcard in my name and MrCate swipes that if he goes there so he isn’t collecting vouchers in his name. Also as the main purchaser I’ve noticed I tend to make all the bookings from my accounts so his BA account looks dormant.

      The only way he registers activity at the moment is when I buy rooms in his name which I’ve done on the avios website. If this get’s merged with BA then I won’t have to worry about his BA avios expiring because they’re now linked.

      • shd says:

        11 Apr11 April 15:38

        Can’t you convert Clubcard vouchers to a different person’s BAEC account as long as it’s at the same address?

• Mikeact says:

  9 Apr9 April 09:21

  I will really miss the ‘Chat’ feature, always helpful. And I for one generally have always found the site more user friendly. nb It seems that going forward, Chat will still be available for Vueling and AerLingus members only…not sure how that will work though.

• Nigel says:

  9 Apr9 April 09:39

  Yes its definitely going as a stand alone platform. What Avios is screaming out for is a platform upon which you can use your Avios (in whichever airline they are held) on any partner airline to book reward flights including 241’s. Trying to book a QR flight on ba.com with avios is impossible for me. I simply cannot get it to work! I cant find the flights. I would support the Avios upgrade within cabins and cash plus avios to remain within individual airlines websites, but reward flights and 241’s could easily go to a central platform for booking.
  I doubt however if there is the innovative thought processes available in the (BA) industry to think this out if the priorities are to save a few ounces per row by removing a piece of lightweight plastic in Club Europe!
  We can but hope for this whole Avios redemption programme to be simplified for those of us that collect them for the sole purpose of using them!!

  • shd says:

    11 Apr11 April 16:55

    It’s *better* for BAEC for it to be harder to redeem on partner airlines! They make far more money out of us if we stick to BA/IB/AA….

• Anna says:

  9 Apr9 April 09:40

  Already posted earlier!

  • JamesB says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:32

    It’s very frustrating Anna, coffee, cake and the morning paper might help 🙂

• Tim says:

  9 Apr9 April 09:59

  Not for the past couple of years though? Avios.com used to have access to revenue G class. Which in the earlier days used to qualify for BA miles and tier points. But that stopped. And since then Avios.com availability has always mirrored BA – unless BA Gold in which case BA shows more.

  • shd says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:01

    This isn’t true. RFS availability at Avios.com can be significantly different to that available via BA.com, I’ve noticed this with last-min bookings a few times.

    • Lady London says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:24

      +1 2 times recently, although denied by British Airways when I mentioned the FACT of having found avios seats available and booked them, on avios.com when British Airways did not show them..

    • Yorkieflyer says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:30

      Flybe availability also differs between the the two platforms, often more on Avios.com

    • John says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:39

      If you’re gold you have extra availability

    • shd says:

      9 Apr9 April 11:13

      Not Gold, so it’s not the extra avail from the V fare bucket.

• Leo says:

  9 Apr9 April 10:00

  I’d have thought the Avios story would have been the major article of the day (certainly got the most comments) and yet it’s in Bits -whereas the 3 “new lounges” at LBA gets an article to itself. I know the long held view that OT comments go in Bits has been ignored of late but even so……

  • JamesB says:

    9 Apr9 April 10:35

    Just speculation at the time Rob wrote it I guess. Full article will likelh follow.

    • Rob says:

      9 Apr9 April 10:38

      Correct.

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