Reply To: Help – Avios decision!

[Jon]

Personally I’d buy the cash flights. My thinking would be that, taking a 1p per Avios valuation, your current bookings have cost you £1750 for one sector in business and one in economy. You’ll pay an extra £400 or so per person for the cash flights (I’m seeing it at 7403rm, which is about £1290 at today’s exchange rate, on the MH web site), but you’ll be in business all the way, you’ll be on direct flights, and you should earn back somewhere in the order of 8-10k Avios each, as well as earning tier points (which may or may not matter to you). Plus you’ll retain your 145,000 Avios for another trip.

Granted the extra £800 probably does make it slightly borderline and others may take a different view and say stick with the redemptions. Are you particularly wedded to travelling on Qatar metal and using their lounges in Doha? (Their F&B will likely be better than MH, and the seat too if it’s Qsuite, but that aside… Actually you won’t get the Doha lounges anyway as your onward is in economy, unless you have status?). Maybe also preferable to be on a single booking in case of irrops / downgrades etc?

Having said all that, if you value Avios at the price BA sells them at, your current booking would work out at something like £2800, making the cash flights a no-brainer 😉