Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Here is the NEW British Airways partner airlines Avios flight redemption pricing

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Here is the new Avios redemption pricing chart for flight bookings on British Airways partner airlines.

Our original plan for Thursday was to run a ‘last call’ post about the impending changes for Avios reward flight pricing with British Airways partners. You may even have had an email from us with the now-defunct article, followed swiftly by an apology.

Despite British Airways claiming that “Our new Avios prices will apply to any changes or new bookings you make after 30 May 2019” (which we thought very clearly meant 23:59 on Thursday) the changes occurred at midnight on Thursday morning – catching us off guard.

Avios wing 9

The new Avios redemption pricing chart for British Airways partners

Now that the new pricing scheme is out we have more clarity on Avios partner redemptions. Annoyingly, British Airways has not released a full chart with the new pricing, leaving it up to users to uncover it flight-by-flight.

As a reminder, this chart applies only to flights booked with British Airways partners Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, S7, Sri Lankan and Royal Jordanian Airlines.

Flyertalk managed to compile most of the chart (thanks!) and we filled in the gaps.  Remember that:

  • this is one-way pricing
  • BA charges by leg, so for connecting flights you need to price each leg separately and
  • ‘taxes and charges’ are due on top
Reward flight prices on BA partner airlines (plus taxes, fees and carrier charges)
Zone Distance Economy Premium Economy Business Class First Class
1* 1—650 miles 6,000 9,000 12,500 24,000
2 651—1,150 miles 9,000 12,500 16,500 33,000
3 1,150—2,000 miles 11,000 16,500 22,000 44,000
4 2,001—3,000 miles 13,000 25,750 38,750 51,500
5 3,001—4,000 miles 20,750 41,250 61,000 82,500
6 4,001—5,500 miles 25,750 51,500 77,250 103,000
7 5,501—6,500 miles 31,000 62,000 92,750 123,750
8 6,501—7,000 miles 36,250 72,250 108,250 144,250
9 7,001+ miles 51,500 103,000 154,500 206,000
* zone 1 does not apply to internal flights in North America
North America 1—650miles 7,500 15,000 30,000


These changes are roughly (though not exactly) what we predicted from the leaked economy numbers we published earlier this month.

Shorter routes have a higher percentage increase than longer journeys.  An Economy flight on the shortest sector (0-650 miles) is now 30% more expensive.  A First Class ticket on the longest routes (7,001+ miles) has only increased by 3%.

If you want to find out the cost of a new segment we recommend you use the British Airways reward flight calculator. Make sure to scroll past the British Airways fares to its partner pricing.

Bizarrely, British Airways appears to have moved away from a multiplication system for Premium Economy, Business and First Class Avios redemptions. Previously, First Class was always four times the Economy fare, and Business Class 2-3 times depending on the mileage.

Now, however, the multipliers vary and often run to multiple decimal places. On average, it has become fractionally cheaper (as a multiple of economy pricing) in premium cabins.

There has been no change to short domestic flights under 650 miles in the United States. These remain at 7,500 Avios in Economy, 15,000 in Business and 18,000 in First. You can read more about why short domestic USA flights are priced separately here.

We will update our ‘Avios Redemption University’ articles (click here) over the next few days.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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

Comments (82)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Russ says:

    *Nudge* Qatar don’t have PE Rob, his Excellency is most insistent about it.

  • meta says:

    LON-TYO is particularly bad as you can get a return for less than that with ANA using Virgin miles.

    • Michael says:

      Avios and BAEC is a con

      • Stuart_f says:

        My 4 first class returns booked using Amex 2-4-1 vouchers say otherwise.

        • SE20 says:

          Apples and Oranges, The voucher is a Amex offer separate from the Executive Club and Avois.

        • Polly says:

          Agree, we have only one Asia F 241 tho…but def worth collecting for.

      • guesswho2000 says:

        It absolutely isn’t. These changes aren’t great, but it still works out better for me to use Avios than QF miles on Australian domestics.

        The Lloyds upgrade vouchers used ex-HKG served me well for returns to LHR too, J for 39,000 Avios each way.

        • Michael says:

          RFS isn’t – but what about all the “taxes” £600+ to redeem for First to NYC and back. Just bumping up Willies pension.

          • guesswho2000 says:

            Agreed, the YQ they add is ridiculous, they’re not the only carrier that does so, however. RFS isn’t an option for me, I almost solely book partner awards, but their pricing on QF, CX and LA has been pretty good, anecdotally.

            Of course it’s the same old YMMV here, depending on what you want to use the points for. Transatlantic routes are operated as a cartel between AA/BA/IB/AY…

          • David says:

            And mine – does anyone have a pension that isn’t at least a little bit exposed to IAG?

          • Michael says:

            I’m probably a bit unfair in saying this as i’ve made use of very good value partner rewards in the past.

          • TokyoFan says:

            My pension is exposed to LHR!

  • Soso says:

    OT 2-for-1 voucher: After having booked an open-jaw flight using the BA 2-for-1 voucher is it possible to: a) Upgrade one of the legs to a higher class (e.g. First) and b) change the date without having to cancel the whole booking? If not, does anyone have experience with cancelling the trip over the phone and immediately booking a new redemption journey (with the returned voucher and Avios)?

  • Peter K says:

    I wondered where the 3rd article went.

    • Russ says:

      It was up briefly but then commentators said the changes had already kicked in. BA quick off the mark.

  • Russ says:

    Frankfurt to Doha in F has only gone up 1,500 points, which is nice.

    • meta says:

      HEL- NRT only by 2250. SOF-DOH by 2k. Overall it could have been worse. That doesn’t mean that another devaluation isn’t on the way…

  • PDX says:

    Is the 7,500 minimum applicable to just AA or all US flights as was the case previously? I take a lot of short hops with Alaska using my avios so if they’ve gone down to 6000 miles per sector then that’s good news for me!

    • Rhys says:

      It should remain at 7,500, although the BA system is currently not displaying any fares for Alaskan flights…

      • PDX says:

        :/ bummer. AS has never showed on ba.com. They’re only bookable by phone, I use the AA website to check reward availability before calling so no way to check online if the price has changed.

  • Gavin says:

    Great shame about the majority of domestic flights in Japan on JAL increasing from 4500 to 6000 Avios. It was a real bargain before (especially with status), but is still reasonable value considering the very low taxes of £1 – £3 per segment typically charged.

    • meta says:

      It really isn’t anymore unless you live in Japan. If you look at Japanese Explorer Pass the prices are around £60-70 for TYO-FUK for example. At 4.5k it just about worked. It doesn’t make sense to spend 6k Avios on the route when you can also get some Avios and TPs. Unless of course you’re Avios rich and don’t care.

      • guesswho2000 says:

        Agreed, £60-70 saved for 6,000 Avios would be borderline for me, especially given the recent tightening of the screws on the ability to earn large amounts cheaply (not that it’s impossible, just not as easy as it was).

      • Michael says:

        I’ve just looked up JAL Explorer pass – apologies for being a bit dim on this, but could someone simplify it for me please?

        • meta says:

          You need to have an international ticket to/out of Japan to be eligible. It will ask for e-ticket number/reservation code during booking process. There are three bands (5400, 7560 &10800 yen) depending on the length of the route. You can upgrade to J or First at check in if available. Think it’s 1000 yen for J.

      • Gavin says:

        The JEP with the Y5400 and Y7560 bands is better value. But at Y10800 for most routes, you’re paying £78 for a non-refundable ticket or you can pay 6000 Avios + around £2 for a refundable one. So you’re getting about 1.2p per point plus flexibility.

        If you want tier points, then booking with JEP or the Yokoso fare and upgrading to Class J for Y1000 is a good deal. You’ll be paying about £2 per tier point.

        • Michael says:

          Thanks both – very interesting. Japan is on my list to visit.

        • meta says:

          The problem is that awards for JAL are not released until about 2-3 months in advance. You might get lucky to find 1 ticket a year out. This pretty much eliminates the need for flexibility at least for me as by that point I can usually confirm everything. Overall JAL wins here as they get more cash.

  • Gako says:

    O/T – I would like to ask will the supplementary Gold card to an Amex Platinum be a credit card?

    The normal personal Gold card is now a credit card I understand. Considering whether to sign up for the Amex Platinum, spend the required £2000 within 3 months and then keep for the benefits whilst any further spending on the Gold card. Looking to buy a television and computer this autumn and therefore value the s75 benefits. Thanks

    • Peter K says:

      I’m not sure exactly what you are asking (1st supp on platinum is platinum not gold) but any supplementary to an account would go by the rules of the main account. A supplementary card by definition is not it’s own card so it would go on the charge account of the main platinum in your example.
      Amex do have their own purchase protection scheme, though you’d have to look up the details of this.

    • Waddle says:

      As far as I know the Gold & Green supplementary cards to a Platinum card are purely aesthetic and don’t carry the features of their respective standalone counterparts.

    • guesswho2000 says:

      They’re charge cards. With the Plat, you have a charge card agreement, which all supplementaries sit under too. You don’t have any credit card agreement associated with that account, therefore the supp’s are charge cards.

      Waddle is right, they’re aesthetic only, the Gold Supp on the Plat charge is not a Preferred Rewards Gold card.

      • guesswho2000 says:

        As for S75, whilst charge cards aren’t covered by this, Amex offers similar protection itself, and their CS is excellent when it comes to disputes (and most things, in fairness), so you’ve got next to zero worries using a charge card for purchases you want protection on.

      • Gako says:

        Thanks for all the replies everyone, still learning!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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