Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

How many Avios do I need to fly to ….?

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How many British Airways Avios points do you need to fly to a particular city?

It is surprisingly tricky to find out how many Avios are required for a particular route.  You need to go to ba.com, track down the ‘Avios Spending Calculator’ page and then type in your destination and preferred travel class.  It is a bit of a drag, even if it is working – which it hasn’t been for months.

This table should simplify the process.  It lists British Airways destinations alphabetically with pricing to / from London.  Prices are one-way.

How many Avios do I need to fly to ....?

How does the Avios pricing table work?

Prices are shown separately for Off Peak and Peak dates.  The 2023 off peak and peak Avios calendar for British Airways flights is in this HfP article.

There are ‘fewer Avios, more cash’ options too – and they may be better value

British Airways, historically, has added a ‘taxes and charges’ sum to Avios redemption pricing.

In stages between 2020 and 2022, this was changed. Avios pricing was increased BUT the cash element was reduced. You now pay a fixed figure, as low as 50p each way on short haul flights.

Other pricing options are available, requiring fewer Avios but more cash. You can see these on the final page of the ba.com booking process.

The only exception is if you are using an old British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher issued before September 2021. If you have one of these vouchers, read this HfP article to learn why you do not see alternative pricing options. This problem will go away naturally as the old style vouchers expire during 2023.

For short haul, you will generally get better value by NOT choosing the 50p option. The best option is usually the one which has fees of £17.50 each way in Economy or £25 each way in Business.

How many Avios do I need to fly to

What’s the easiest way of knowing which Avios and cash combination is best?

I use ‘the 1p system’ which I outline here.

Put simply, assume that an Avios point is worth 1p. For each of the 5-6 Avios and cash combinations shown, convert the Avios into cash at 1p per point and see which option is cheapest in total. This will help you decide which option is best for you.

For example, 10,000 Avios + £200 is a poorer choice than 20,000 Avios + £50 if you use my ‘1p per Avios’ valuation. Of course if you only have 10,000 Avios then you’ll be choosing that option anyway – you may also want to choose that option to conserve Avios for future trips.

What about First Class redemptions?

Whilst it’s possible to redeem Avios for First Class tickets, British Airways treats them slightly differently and the pricing structure is not the same as for other classes.

To keep this chart simple(ish), we have written a separate article on how to redeem Avios points for First Class flights on British Airways which is here.

The British Airways Avios flight redemption pricing chart

Let me say again: there are other pricing options available for each route which require fewer Avios but more cash. Some of these options may even be better value, especially on short haul routes, if you are not using a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher.

To find out how many Avios you need to fly in British Airways First Class, read this article.

The 2023 peak and off-peak Avios dates can be found here. You can download a copy of this table as a spreadsheet file here.

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.4 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories, click here to join our email list and click here to read our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series.

Read this article to learn how you can get 20,000 FREE Avios by signing up for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card.)

One-way Avios pricesEconomyEconomyPremium
Economy		Premium
Economy		BusinessBusiness
Off-peakPeakOff-peakPeakOff-peakPeak
Aberdeen9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Abuja22,500 +£4027,500 +£4037,500 +£6547,500 +£6570,000 +£9080,000 +£90
Abu Dhabi25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Accra25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Agadir13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Algiers11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Alicante11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Almeria11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Amman22,500 +£4027,500 +£4037,500 +£6547,500 +£6570,000 +£9080,000 +£90
Amsterdam9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Antigua30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Aruba30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Athens13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Atlanta30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Austin30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Bahrain25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Baltimore25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Bangkok35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Barbados30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Barcelona11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Bari11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Basel9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Bastia11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Beijing30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Belfast9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Bengalaru30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Bergerac9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Berlin9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Bermuda25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Bilbao9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Billund9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Bologna11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Bordeaux9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Boston25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Brindisi11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Brussels9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Bucharest13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Budapest11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Buenos Aires40,000 +£12545,000 +£12555,000 +£21580,000 +£215110,000 +£300120,000 +£300
Cagliari11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Cairo22,500 +£4027,500 +£4037,500 +£6547,500 +£6570,000 +£9080,000 +£90
Cancun30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Cape Town30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Catania13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Chambery9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Chania13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Charleston30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Chennai30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Chicago25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Cincinnati25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Cologne9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Copenhagen9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Corfu13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Dalaman13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Dallas30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Delhi30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Denver30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Doha25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Dubai25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Dublin9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Dubrovnik11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Durban30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Düsseldorf9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Edinburgh9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Faro11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Figari11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Florence11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Frankfurt9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Funchal13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Geneva9,250 +0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Genoa9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Gibraltar11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Glasgow9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Gothenburg9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Gran Canaria13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Granada11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Grand Cayman30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Grenada30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Grenoble9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Hamburg9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Hannover9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Helsinki11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Heraklion13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Hong Kong35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Houston30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Hyderabad30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Ibiza11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Innsbruck9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Inverness9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Islamabad25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Istanbul13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Izmir13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Jersey9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Johannesburg30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Kalamata13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Kefalonia13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Kingston30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Kos13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Krakow11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Kuala Lumpur40,000 +£12545,000 +£12555,000 +£21580,000 +£215110,000 +£300120,000 +£300
Kuwait22,500 +£4027,500 +£4037,500 +£6547,500 +£6570,000 +£9080,000 +£90
Lagos25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Lanzarote13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Larnaca13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Las Vegas30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Leeds Bradford9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Limoges9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Lisbon11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Los Angeles30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Luxembourg9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Lyon9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Madrid11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Malaga11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Male30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Malta13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Manchester9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Marrakech13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Marseille9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Mauritius35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Menorca11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Mexico City30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Miami30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Milan9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Montpellier9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Montreal25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Mumbai30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Munich9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Mykonos13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Nairobi30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Nantes9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Naples11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Nashville30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Nassau30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
New Orleans30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
New York25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Newcastle9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Nice9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Olbia11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Orlando30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Oslo11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Palermo11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Palma11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Paphos13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Paris9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Philadelphia25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Phoenix30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Pisa11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Pittsburgh25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Portland (Oregon)30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Port of Spain30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Porto11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Prague9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Pula11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Punta Cana30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Quimper9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Reykjavik13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Rhodes13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Rio De Janeiro35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Riyadh25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Rome11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Rotterdam9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Salzburg9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
San Diego30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
San Francisco30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
San Jose (CA)30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
San Jose (C’Rica)30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Santiago40,000 +£12545,000 +£12555,000 +£21580,000 +£215110,000 +£300120,000 +£300
Santorini13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Sao Paulo35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Seattle30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Seoul35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Seville11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Shanghai35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Skiathos13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Singapore40,000 +£12545,000 +£12555,000 +£21580,000 +£215110,000 +£300120,000 +£300
Sofia13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Split11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
St Kitts30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
St Lucia30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
St Petersburg13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Stockholm11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Stuttgart9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Sydney50,000 +£15055,000 +£15080,000 +£240TBC145,000 +£375170,000 +£375
Tampa30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Tel Aviv22,500 +£4027,500 +£4037,500 +£6547,500 +£6570,000 +£9080,000 +£90
Tenerife13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Thessaloniki13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Tirana13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Tobago30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Tokyo35,000 +£10040,000 +£10050,000 +£19077,500 +£190100,000 +£275110,000 +£275
Toronto25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Toulouse9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Turin9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
Turks and Caicos30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Valencia11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Vancouver30,000 +£7535,000 +£7547,500 +£16567,500 +£16590,000 +£225100,000 +£225
Venice11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Verona11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Vienna11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Warsaw11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Washington DC25,000 +£5030,000 +£5042,500 +£14060,000 +£14080,000 +£17590,000 +£175
Zakynthos13,750 +£0.515,250 +£0.524,250 +£0.527,250 +£0.5
Zagreb11,750 +£0.512,750 +£0.520,000 +£0.522,250 +£0.5
Zurich9,250 +£0.59,750 +£0.515,000 +£0.516,250 +£0.5
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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (92)

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

  • dave says:
    13 Feb13 February 09:33

    Interesting to see it like this, you can spot some patterns where different vouchers would be useful, for example peak travel is much more lucrative with a 241 voucher and off peak is far more lucrative with an upgrade voucher, often 50k+ difference in points value

  • Jonathan says:
    13 Feb13 February 09:44

    I don’t think BA use any wide body aircraft to Amman and Cairo, just the small plain and boring A320/1(s), so no WTP on these planes !

    It was talked about a couple of weeks ago or so in the comments about how poor those aircraft are given the route, no IFE, no seat recline, CE seats being nearly exactly the same as ET, only middle seat is always never used.

    One thing that baffles me with CE is why they order the plane with a row of three seats, despite knowing full well that no one will ever sit in the middle !

    • Chris W says:
      13 Feb13 February 09:50

      Because they regularly need to change the size of the CE cabin depending on demand. On some flights it may only be two or three rows, on other flights its 12+ rows.

      • VALittleRed says:
        13 Feb13 February 10:27

        Well the solution to this is to have say 8 rows of CE seating (i.e different hard product) but if there is only sufficient demand for say 4 rows of CE then just the first four rows get the full CE experience and the remaining 4 rows of a nicer seat could just be charged extra for economy passengers to sit in. Think TAP may do something similar and when Virgin Trains went to Avanti West Coast they split first class like this. First class seat but no first class service is standard premier they call it?

        • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
          13 Feb13 February 13:36

          Avanti charge an extra £25 for it (well that’s the charge on the Euston to Manchester route)

          A couple of what used to be first class have been converted to it but here is no mixing of the two in the same carriage of the remaining first class carriages.

          • VALittleRed says:
            13 Feb13 February 14:09

            No but in theory they could easily convert a standard premier carriage to a first class one if they believed the demand was there, similar to point I’m suggesting with CE seats, higher number of CE seats than full CE service seats.

          • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
            13 Feb13 February 15:58

            It the other way aroubf

            SP are First carriages that have been rebranded and yes they could soon switch but they won’t mix SP and F passengers in the same carriage

            Also TAP does not have a separate business cabin on short haul. They, like BA and KL et al, simply keep the middle seat free and like BA and others the cabin size is variable.

      • Bagoly says:
        13 Feb13 February 15:56

        The curtain certainly gets moved back from where the seats change (after row 6?)
        But does it ever get moved forward from there?
        i.e. If there are only two rows of CE, do they ever put three people in a half of row 4?

    • Rob says:
      13 Feb13 February 10:02

      CE can move all the way down to the exit row if necessary, so it maximises the flexibility of the cabin. It also allows IAG to move the aircraft to another group airline at minimal cost.

    • Jonathan says:
      13 Feb13 February 10:36

      Seems to make a little more sense, although turning a ET seat into CE isn’t a quick and easy job, or definitely not something the flight crew will be doing in between flights !

      I’m guessing that they don’t send aircraft to other IAG airlines too often, not when it’s got British Airways written all over the side, although these sort scenarios is probably a good explanation is to why some aircraft has the alliance the airline belongs to as its headline writing as opposed the airline which is operating

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
        13 Feb13 February 13:30

        Turning an ET seat into CE involves no additional work. Well perhaps adding an an anti Macassar and even then catering / cleaning staff do that as well as (if necessary) moving the curtain.

        On the newer planes for example the middle seat is just left empty with no table installed.

    • JDB says:
      13 Feb13 February 11:12

      @Jonathan – re use of the smaller aircraft and no long haul product to Cairo, BA used to operate a daily 747; they might struggle to fill that number of seats today. Long haul aircraft are used to ply much more profitable routes.

      • Jonathan says:
        13 Feb13 February 11:37

        They scrapped all their 747s.
        I flew in one to MIA in 2016, and was a very dated aircraft to the least.

        Narrowbody aircraft are cheaper to operate than widebody, hence is to why Airbus developed an A321 variant that’s capable of flying long distances, notably across the Atlantic, and there’s absolutely no difference whatsoever on the seat and flight experience if both seats are nearly identical, same recline, IFE offerings etc

  • Lady London says:
    13 Feb13 February 09:54

    Are there any good reasons for why quite a few airlines, led by Delta, have made efforts to un-publish their award charts in recent years?

    What behaviour are they trying to stop? For me, as soon as an airline tries to obscure information that was previously available, I’m struggling to think it can be for a good reason

    • Rob says:
      13 Feb13 February 10:01

      It’s not for a good reason ….

    • Mikeact says:
      13 Feb13 February 10:02

      Probably dynamic pricing has a lot to answer for.

    • Jonathan says:
      13 Feb13 February 10:26

      BA used to publish the amount of Avios needed for which destinations years ago, but not anymore.

      These types of tactics mean that pricing options can change easily, and no promises have been made is to how much you’ll be asked to pay for any particular route

    • Jack says:
      13 Feb13 February 11:58

      In fairness Ba have never made it easy to find this information even before changes to RFS

      • Jonathan says:
        13 Feb13 February 17:51

        You probably don’t know or can’t remember the days before Avios existed

    • Will says:
      14 Feb14 February 01:17

      Don’t publish a chart one year, let them get used to it, go full dynamic once you think people are used to it and then you don’t have to call it a devaluation.

      Very very slippery slope.

      For anyone sat on oodles of avios or who generates bucket loads nectar is very appealing.

  • Richie says:
    13 Feb13 February 10:28

    For those that want to add their own X Avios per distance flown, there’s distance data available from searches at gcmap.com.

  • Stu_N says:
    13 Feb13 February 10:50

    This just demonstrates the nonsense of the new headline pricing. London/ Edinburgh in economy 9,250 Avios plus 50 pence. London/ New York or Dubai in economy 25,000 Avios plus £50.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      13 Feb13 February 14:14

      Pricing isn’t distance related.

      LHR – EDI = 335 miles. LHR to JFK is 3440 so 10 times the distance yet isn’t 10 times the price. Let’s be thankful for that.

  • Jasdev says:
    13 Feb13 February 11:57

    I’m still learning from the archives here but be good to ask for clarity:
    Is “Avios and cash” seen as the best use of Avios?
    Followed by “Upgrade with Avios”
    And finally “Part Pay with Avios”?

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      13 Feb13 February 13:41

      The “best” use of Avios is the one that allows you to travel where you want in the way you want – which is unique to you. Don’t lose sight of this when comparing how many Avios per point any particular option returns.
      That said, the most efficient use by far in terms of bang for buck will be booking business/first flights when you have a 2-for-1 voucher in play.

  • Sara says:
    13 Feb13 February 13:30

    Does anyone know what would happen if you book a Business seat using a 241 voucher and opted to use a more Avios less cash option with RFS and then wanted to upgrade to 1st class if they became available.
    Do BA charge you the ‘standard’ upgrade difference in Avios extra to what you paid or rework the Avios and taxes based 1st class and possibly refund Avios and charge more cash depending upon the destination.

    • Rob says:
      13 Feb13 February 15:36

      You may the difference (or, yes, get a small Avios refund because F is now cheaper in some cases).

  • RoundTheWorld says:
    13 Feb13 February 13:52

    Is there any reason why the data for Premium Economy Peak to Sydney is missing?

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      13 Feb13 February 14:17

      Probably because @Rhys just forgot to look for it or add it to the table.

      It’s not a perfect table.

      Help him out and do the search for him and I’m sure he’ll happy amend.

      • Rob says:
        13 Feb13 February 15:35

        There is not a single peak day in the next 355 days with a PE seat available.

        • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
          13 Feb13 February 17:41

          well that’s definitly a good reason for not being able to show it!

          A good estimate would be what is the extra required over SIN for the other cabins and add that onto the SIN peak rate.

          • Rhys says:
            13 Feb13 February 18:08

            This was the route I was going to go down but as Sydney is unique I thought it best to wait. The pricing differences between peak/off-peak are not as uniform as you might imagine.

          • Kieran says:
            2 Mar2 March 07:34

            It’s 115,000 – am looking now

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