British Airways launches a new 50% ‘buy Avios’ points bonus – worth it?

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• Adam says:

  31 Mar31 March 05:45

  How does the math work when you have 2-4-1 voucher to redeem?
  For example: Your voucher is expiring but don’t have any Avios in the account so would it make sense to buy a large amount of Avios for a long haul CW flight?

  • Rob says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:25

    Might do, yes – but if you have a specific trip in mind it is easy to do the maths based on the cost of cash flights.

• Dac1234 says:

  31 Mar31 March 07:51

  Sadly, buying avios is not really worth it any more, with taxes and BA special charges to the US a massive £2.8k for a family of 4 in club! Versus such cheap promo fares from other airlines

  • Anna says:

    31 Mar31 March 08:04

    Given the cost off flying at peak times, which applies to most families, what cheap promo fares have you found which compare with the paying the cash element of avios flights?

    • tony says:

      31 Mar31 March 09:12

      The LH/LX offers a prime example here – £1k-£1.2k for peak period J to Asia or pay BA £600 plus a load of miles and struggle to find availability.

      The irony is, it’s not even a case of having to fly with other airlines. This summer, BA seem to be gambling on Europe remaining closed and the US being the place for holidays if you look at the fares, but more normally for August a family of 4 could get BA to Florida in Club for £6k, as well as earning 60k miles back. Net spend (at 1p/Avios) £5.4k

      Or they can scrape together 300,000 Avios and 2 2-4-1s, find availability that is rarer that rocking horse excrement and pay £2.4k in “taxes”. Net spend at 1p per Avios – £5.4k.

      On the basis I look to get 2p or more per Avios, these numbers become farcical – £4.8k on cash tickets or £8.4k using Avios. And the situation gets even sillier if you’re a family of 5 or 6.

      My take: UUA remains great value – especially looking at TATL J fares this summer – whilst RFS often surprises and I think using 2-4-1s and Avios on F redemptions is probably OK.

      • Genghis says:

        31 Mar31 March 09:45

        Why do you look to get 2p+ / avios? Are you therefore paying cash prices when you could redeem between 1p (replacement cost) and 2p?

        • tony says:

          31 Mar31 March 12:39

          Yes, because I don’t accrue as many Avios now as I used to. So making what I consider a “marginal” redemption doesn’t make sense. As an example, we booked to Greece this summer back in July (having had to cancel Osaka). Flights were back then selling at £650 each in club, we got them at 32k plus £50 each. So just under 2p per mile and I wouldn’t be keen on the 4hr+ schlep in BAs cramped 3×3 seating so I wouldn’t have bought economy.

        • tony says:

          31 Mar31 March 12:42

          Just to clarify, I would never buy miles speculatively, so not sure why you say the replacement cost is 1p?

        • Genghis says:

          31 Mar31 March 12:53

          Replacement cost is 1p as that’s what it normally costs to buy them, irrespective of whether you actually do or not.

          So as an example, let’s say those flights to Greece were selling for £550 cash (and you’d pay that) and avios flights were available.

          Ignoring avios earned to keep things simple, using your own numbers, you’d be getting ((£550-5£0) x 100) / 32,000 = 1.56p / avios.

          Yet this is below 2p, so you’d pay cash?

          But you could buy those 32k avios required for say £320, and then you’d end of paying (+£50 taxes) £370 for the flight.

        • tony says:

          31 Mar31 March 13:59

          “Replacement cost is 1p as that’s what it normally costs to buy them, irrespective of whether you actually do or not.”

          Apologies if i’m being thick here, but you can only buy at 1p per mile without the certainty of knowing when you will use the miles or if they will be devalued in the interim. I can’t be guaranteed that when I decide to travel, I will be 1) able to buy miles at 1p each and 2) be able to redeem them for the route I want.

          As far as I can see it, I will occasionally get the opportunity to buy miles for 1p, but won’t be able to guarantee there’s the availability I want (or even that I have a desire/need to travel) at that point. So the “usual replacement cost” has to be seen as the price the miles are available at in the open market today. Which is 1.7p.

        • Genghis says:

          31 Mar31 March 14:36

          Strictly speaking, you’re right, assuming your only way of obtaining avios is to buy them, so no earning from work flights (where cost is arguably zero), no Amex MR card (where cost is arguably 1p), no HSBC card (where arguably cost is 1p), no nectar points (where cost is 0.8p) etc

          Even if your only way of obtaining avios is to buy them, then buying a relatively small amount on a whim in the hope of getting a “return” is arguably worth a punt (i.e. buy for 1p, redeem for higher), especially when you’d pay cash prices when you could otherwise redeem avios for say 1.9p.

        • Genghis says:

          31 Mar31 March 16:55

          @Noty different strokes for different folks. If you’re happy with that logic then fine. I wouldn’t be.

        • kitten says:

          31 Mar31 March 19:12

          @Tony if you own the business have you taken a look at BA On Business? Rob has articles here.

      • Erico1875 says:

        31 Mar31 March 09:50

        Those cash fares under normal rules would be non refundable. The Avios fares are refundable, so for the same net spend, Avios wins

        • tony says:

          31 Mar31 March 12:35

          This remains the most ludicrous defence of Avios, yet we see it trotted out time and again.

          In the vast majority of instances for leisure travel you’d buy a non refundable ticket anyway. Just like saying “BA F to YVR was £15k a seat, so my miles are worth >10p each” is utter BS as you’d never had paid that amount in the first instance.

      • Doug M says:

        31 Mar31 March 09:51

        Whilst other airlines maybe offering some form of BWC comparing a flexible Avios booking with a bargain bucket fare is not like for like. Generally I’m happy with ex-EU fares, but I think when talking about Avios it’s always too example specific to just say this or that makes no sense.

  • Blindman says:

    31 Mar31 March 08:15

    You do know that you can use Avios-and get way better value-on other One World airlines?

• James says:

  31 Mar31 March 08:44

  Slightly O/T but does buying avios points through BA or Iberia count as activity that would reset the expiry clock, in the respective accounts?

  • Rob says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:18

    Yes it would reset.

    • James says:

      31 Mar31 March 12:33

      Thank you

• tony says:

  31 Mar31 March 09:14

  PS – anyone else think this paves the way for a BA sale starting on April 12th, in line with what had been the originally planned government announcement on foreign travel?

  • Rhys says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:29

    You never know….

• peter says:

  31 Mar31 March 09:50

  300k Avios for £3215, worth £2400 in Nectar.. if you were wondering if it could be worth to trigger Amex bonus.. – no.

• Erico1875 says:

  31 Mar31 March 10:41

  0.8 is the MINIMUM value of an Avios. They can of course be worth much more.
  You obviously wouldn’t buy at 1.1 to cash out to Nectar, however there are lots of instances where it would make sence

• The real John says:

  31 Mar31 March 12:55

  As Rob said, the only time I would ever buy Avios was if I was just about to book a trip and it worked out cheaper. I would also need to consider avios and TPs earned, but I’m not worrying about TPs for a while.

• cinereus says:

  31 Mar31 March 15:50

  Betteridge’s Law.

  • Guernsey Globetrotter says:

    31 Mar31 March 22:09

    Cheers Cinereus – I learned something today thanks to you 🙂

    For everyone else wondering like me: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines

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