Is the Avios subscription now worthwhile with the recent changes?

[sturgeon]

I have two upgrade vouchers (Barclays and Barclaycard) and around 175k of Avios. I get 1,500 a month from my Barclays account.

With the Avios redemption amounts now extremely high, I barely have enough right now for one decent redemption. I also have the BA Premium Amex so will need enough to redeem for a 241 too.

Even the full combined spend of £20k across the two cards will only get me 30k Avios and I don’t intend to make any overpriced cash bookings to collect points nor do I travel with work to collect points. There are no more sign up offers I can do.

Using the upgrade vouchers is still offering decent value, ie a LHR to JFK is 86,000 + £350 in club world return. So £1,124 equivalent as the Avios subscription enables you to buy Avios for £0.90. The cheapest equivalent cash fare is £1,900.

Am I right in thinking the subscription is worth it in order to start building up a decent stash of Avios? Do the bonus buy offers that crop up on Avios beat the 0.90p in the subscription? Thinking about the 100,000 Avios subscription for £879.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

Don’t know about the maths and whether the subscription model is better value than an outright purchase* but remember the subscription avios get dropped into your account on a monthly basis which could leave you waiting for them to accumulate.

* I’m sure Rob did a penny per avios analysis when he first wrote about subscriptions so have a look for that.

[WaynedP]

I think it’s probably more accurate to ask “Is the Avios subscription now almost essential for the casual Avios collector ?”

I think many casual Avios collectors (myself included) are in the same situation that you describe with limited earning opportunities being even further curtailed in future. Avios subscription is a wily BA revenue earning offering, but it may backfire as reality sinks in universally.

I personally envisage collecting one more companion voucher before October 2023 then ditching the BA Amex Premium card for at least a two year cycle saving myself £500 in fees and carefully re-evaluating any future strategy after 2025, and I doubt that I’ll be the only one.