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Hi, I started collecting Avios last June by getting a BA AMEX card, the £250 a year one. I use it for work costs and therefore can ramp up points pretty fast, currently on around 437,000 and if I want it to be will be close to 1 million by end of summer, but there seems little point in neelesley adding points when I can get benefits on other cards once I have collected “enough”.
I have never spent Avios and now looking at the best way to do this. Next March we are thinking of a break, our departing airport would be Edinburgh, but that means (likely) flying through London. 3 possible options are via London to Caribbean, via London to Florida, direct Edi to Doha with Qatar.
I would want to fly business or first class and have a companion voucher for my wife. Only 2 of us travelling, no kids!
Having read about things I understand we will have to pay tax, but also notice that’s not applicable from Inverness. Inverness is an hour further away for us, so might be an option.
I am unsure on how to start this process, and when I can do it, and how quickly I need to do it once the booking window opens.
Any and all advice would be appreciated. I have read lots of info but none are specific to me – a person who is collecting points really quick but has never used them, and doesn’t fly often!
Another consideration is to get my wife a card, which will get us 2 x companion vouchers, and wait until the following year when we hope to go a lifetime trip to Disney Florida as a family of 4 (2 children who will be aged 10 and 15 by then)
Thanks in advance
Flying from INV would exempt you from APD (a proper tax) but not BA the surcharges (not a proper tax)
At least that would mean a saving of ~ £ 190 in the long haul business class APD per person so could be worth it for that alone.
Thanks, I had visions of it being free! But yes we are 45 mins from Edi and an hour and 45 from INV (roughly) so it’s still a decent saving for a couple of hours.
Do you think I am on the wrong card? The more I read the more I think so. If I got a Membership Rewards card I could use for hotels etc as well as flights. Food for thought
It sounds like you need to read the excellent series of articles on this site about using avios and the BA companion voucher especially. You can’t as yet use it on Qatar, for example, and relatively few F seats are released on BA so if you definitely want to use the 241 you might have to adjust your expectations a little. If you’re not set on using it (and it sounds like you have plenty of avios), you will probably have some good options from EDI on QR.
It might be helpful also to try a few “dummy” bookings where you will be shown the different surcharges levied by the airlines so you can get an idea of the cash outlay required. Don’t expect much change out of £1800 for 2 if you fly on an F redemption both ways on BA!
TBH I’m not the right person to ask about cards but I echo the advice from Northern Lass to read not only the articles about the different cards but some of the threads on using avios and vouchers that arise from the. which can be quite illuminating.
Ok thank you. I will do.
I did try some dummy bookings via the BA Executive App but at the time of trying them I only had about 200,000 so it didn’t show me offers over and above that. Now that I have more, I didn’t think to try that again. Thanks
Also worth reviewing the info under the ‘Credit Cards’ tab at the top. Sounds like you could easily get quite a lot of additional Avios through signup bonuses of various other cards, and Barclaycard in particular would get you an upgrade voucher.
Biggest risk (IMHO) to a newbie is the expectation of being able to fly where you want when you want. In reality some redemption seats can be VERY difficult to come by, depending on where and when you want to go.
But with nearly half a million the world should be your oyster. You’ll get change out of a return trip to Oz/New Zealand for two on Qatar out of that (and not lose your 2-4-1)
Without wishing to be a killjoy, with the level of spending you’re putting on your card, Amex might flag you (depending on what your stated income was on application).
It might be worth looking at a business Amex which will keep your nose clean although obviously this would only be suitable if “work” was your own business as opposed to expense claims from an employer.
If you’re travelling from Edinburgh, the Amex 241 voucher is now highly valuable as it opens up quite a lot of additional flights for redemption so I would definitely advise keeping it.
My understanding is with BA’s new reward flight saver pricing, there is no saving in flying from Inverness compared to Edinburgh on a redemption but you can price this up to confirm.
Indeed – it sounds a bit like OP’s info is from pre-December when BA brought in RFS on LH CW routes (another good series of articles by Rob!)
Rookie question from me – I was going to upgrade an Economy seat to Prague using Avios for the end of March, but faffed around too long and their isn’t a reward seat available anymore. ExpertFlyer indicates half the business seats are unclaimed (yes, not necessarily unsold). Do BA tend to offer up more reward seats closer to flight day if they remain unsold?
It’s perfectly possible, but bear in mind that the end of March will be the start of some schools’ Easter holidays so they may be holding out for cash buyers. Have you tried a dummy cash booking to see what’s available? I think you can book up to 9 seats in one go which should give you an idea of how full the cabin is.
To sidetrack a little, hotel points can also be very useful, especially if you don’t fly often. I don’t know if you already collect them, but hotel awards have the advantage of being truly free nights, without the kind of surcharges that often apply to flight redemptions.
Unfortunately there aren’t many options for hotel credit cards in the UK, but if you are interested it could be worth looking at the Marriott card. Unfortunately the Hilton and IHG cards are no longer available in the UK.
It’s perfectly possible, but bear in mind that the end of March will be the start of some schools’ Easter holidays so they may be holding out for cash buyers. Have you tried a dummy cash booking to see what’s available? I think you can book up to 9 seats in one go which should give you an idea of how full the cabin is.
Yep, already tried that 😉 the max 9 seats in business can be booked each way. Good shout on school hols (the little blighters have only just gone back!), but I’m going 29th-31st so hopefully missing most of that.
SeatSpy is showing 6 CE seats available LHR-PRG on March 29th, what is ba.com saying?
Seats available on the early morning and late evening flight. Unfortunately work has booked me on the 1320…
BA most definitely shows better availabity of award seats depending on status. I tested it alongside a friend a few years back and certain it hasn’t changed. It’s possible someone with high status is being shown seats available when you’re not.
BA does tend to release extra seats 36-48 hrs or so ahead of the flight on the routes I check but haven’t checked for Prague. I’d say you could be lucky.
@Bazaar the HeadforPoints articles are the best but you’ll understand them quicker if you have the basic knowledge. If I were you I’d put aside a few hours to access the wikis which are at the head of many sections on Flyertalk, such as the British Airways one, which will give you a quick rundown of the principles involved.
Then come back to read the articles by Rob other posters have recommended here on Headforpoints.
@Froggee’s right you do need to diversify your collection if you can. You could take a look at the HSBC card too.BA most definitely shows better availabity of award seats depending on status. I tested it alongside a friend a few years back and certain it hasn’t changed. It’s possible someone with high status is being shown seats available when you’re not.
BA does tend to release extra seats 36-48 hrs or so ahead of the flight on the routes I check but haven’t checked for Prague. I’d say you could be lucky.
Interesting, didn’t know that. I’m a lowly Blue after not flying much over covid, but expecting to gain status again by the end of the year. Fingers crossed!
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