How does ba airmiles work

Or use the British Airways shopping rewards program to buy something you were planning to buy anyways. British Airways has a decent search tool when it comes to searching for partner award flights.

Be sure to keep yourself organized by recording your member number and password for future searches. The result is usually an overpriced award flight. So, after you enter your search details, British Airways will ask you if you want to break up your search into segments.

Always click no. Another award search basic tip is to look in one-way segments. Search the departing and returning flights separately.

To maximize the value of your Avios, you also want to avoid those high BA surcharges we talked about earlier. The more premium class you want to fly, the higher the fees typically get. Depending on your departure city, it could be cheaper to use Avios than to book with American Airlines using AA miles. For example, you can fly from LAX to Vancouver for only 7. Is Machu Picchu on your bucket list?

This short-haul flight can cost a couple of hundred dollars RT, but you can book it for only 12k Avios RT! Short inter-continent and inter-country flights will be where British Airways Avios shine. Using Avios to book flights inter-Europe costs just 4. Use BA, then, to position yourself in your intended destination.

But, you want to go to Prague. You might pay for the flight and then use 4. Inter-Japan flights are also great redemptions, as these short flights can be pricey! Similarly, using Avios on Qantas between Australian cities is an equally great value!

Short-haul value can also be found in Africa. Consider Johannesburg to Capetown for just 7. Because BA is distance-based, there may be some situations where it would seem counter-intuitive to consider using Avios. The world is actually a lot smaller than we think! British Airways is a valuable Oneworld partner and their Avios currency is easy to earn via flexible point transfers with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the co-branded British Airways Visa Signature card.

Their distance-based award chart can return a great value when maximized effectively and play a strategic role in achieving your travel goals. Have you used British Airways Avios for reward flights? What questions do you have about how to use British Airways Avios?

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. I know, you have to put in the effort..! Yes, Amanda, you do have to put some time into learning. We will bookmark in case we ever fly with a British Airways! Thanks so much for reading. Thanks for reading, Aleney. There are so many travel rewards out there so definitely keep learning to take advantage of them.

Thanx for the tips! I always love reading your posts! Always learn something new. Lol, Anna! Must have something to do with the teacher part of me! Good to know how airlines help travel and benefit more from travels.

I have not seen any such deal in Emirates yet or may be I am not aware yet. Thanks, Indrani. These partnerships are great for reciprocal earning and rewards benefits. Totally agree that knowing which airline alliances and partners an airline is connected to allows you to get more from your miles — I can highly recommend one world, love the airlines in the alliance. Sounds like quite a lot of different ways to earn Avios points — more so that Qantas allows us in Aus!

Will pass the info on to my British friends looking for a way to get into travel hacking — thanks for the great insight into the program, and tips. Thanks for reading, Meg.

Yes, so many ways to earn Avios for Brits and Americans. Hope you can put them to good use on those short-haul Australia flights! Wow what a comprehensive post making your case. I never knew their redemption was higher than others on the same alliance. Something to investigate further. Thanks, Adelina. You have more flexibility.

Keep earning those AA miles, too. Good to learn about the BA Avios system. I dont have a chance to fly with an OneWorld Alliance member because of where I am based right now but might be helpful for my next move! Call centre and customer services simply do nothing.

The details which you have explained here are so useful. I never really dwelt into these programs with so much depth and which is possibly why I never made the most of them. I definitely need to look at them differently after reading these tips. I just might find that they are more beneficial than what I make them out to be. Thanks for sharing this. Thanks for reading. There is no right button. You just have to search normally, making sure the system knows you want to book with Avios.

I would try searching in one-way segments instead of round trip and see if that makes any difference. Do you know if you can upgrade yourself on Aer Lingus if you use Avios to book the round-trip ticket? Thanks in advance Susan. Hi Susan, Thanks for reading. It may be possible but several factors come into play like availability. There are reports of travelers calling in periodically before their flight to see if an upgrade was possible and paying the difference in Avios.

Good luck! I have used BA points with a lot of satisfaction. I have found the best way for me, is to research the route and air line options that could work for me. I then phone BA and have them do the searching for rewards availability.

Once I have something that works in terms of route, timing and class, I book. They charge you but for me it is good value.

You might end up getting that fee waived. Interesting article. I came across it trying to figure out if I can use my Avios points to fly from Lima to Cuzco. When I do it through BAs site, I get the message below:. The most common reasons for this are: You may have requested a route that we do not operate at that time of year. We may not fly to the destination you have chosen. What you can do: Search again using different dates.

Search in one-way segments and try different dates. I did a quick search and just chose a random date in December. The screenshot is below. Very interesting reading — thankyou! Using avios, however, whilst I can get the outbound, the return date is not available.

I dont see the option to search for partner airlines, it shows and states only will display BA flights. I will certainly try and go the one way version with avios, but am I missing something. Hi Suzie, Thanks for reading.

If you have Qantas membership, you could also search Oneworld awards there and see if the BA website shows the same. Currently I am not at home but will be on April 2nd. Is there any hope of my getting a flt to Paris with one stop, using all or most of my avios?

I will phone when home but the last time I did the person was no help at all. Hi Barbara, thanks so much for reading. But, in general, there are very high fees when using Avios to fly from the U. One way to get around these fees is to use Avios on Aer Lingus or Iberia to fly to Europe and then from there get to Paris.

So one such example might look like this. Thank you again for reading. I hope this helps. Thanks very much for this help. The link to the shopping portal gives me reward possibilities in pound sterling or US dollars. Can you find one in Canadian dollars?

So I can spend some of those points about to expire. Cheers, Barbara. Hi Barbara, So glad the information was helpful. You should be able to use the US version of the portal as long as the store ships to Canada. You can also shop at one of the merchants in the portal and pay with money. You just have to earn at least 1 Avios to save the ones set to expire.

Would like to use BA Avios Thanks. Thanks for reading, Don. So, BA charges Avios based on the distance flown. The BA site has been very glitchy lately so repeat your searches over and over, change dates, go back to your original dates, and if you need, even call into BA.

Their partner Delta flys to GCM for similar mileage pricing. I gave up on getting a flight to Paris with my points mentioned above. Instead I bought a one hour cruise on the Seine with my about to expire points for four people. I used most of the large supply of Avios to buy 4 hotel nights , three in a smaller city, and one in Paris. Is that a good Avios use or not.? You made the best of it, Barb! Glad you put those points to use…much better than having them expire unused.

I love that city. Working out the cost of your upgrade is where it gets a bit tricky. Instead, looking at the chart for a straight redemption , the cost to upgrade is the full redemption cost of the upgraded class , less the Avios for the lower class you have already paid for. So as an example, if you have an off-peak World Traveller Plus ticket from London to Toronto that you wish to upgrade to Club World, the distance is 3, flown miles one way.

That falls into Zone 5, so a Club World would be 50, Avios as a straight redemption. Deducting the 26, Avios required for a World Traveller Plus redemption that you have already paid as your cash fare , you will need 24, Avios to upgrade this flight to Club World. It is usually cheaper to upgrade during peak calendar days than off-peak calendar days. As with redemptions, upgrades are charged on a per flight basis, so if you chose to upgrade both legs of a return ticket you would be charged two separate Avios amounts to upgrade.

Now, where your upgraded class has higher fees and taxes, you will have to pay this at the time of upgrading, as well as the Avios. This is important to note because for flights in premium classes, the luxury Air Passenger Duty is payable , and this can significantly increase the cost of the redemption.

Finding availability can be notoriously difficult, especially on routes where British Airways only operates one or two flights per day. However, the beauty is that you can also redeem your Avios on Oneworld partner airlines such as American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways, plus several more. This is a great tool, as it opens up a calendar with a month-by-month view.

If you want to search partner awards, you have to search day-by-day on the main results page. But this big question remains: Is redeeming long-haul flights in economy worth it? In this case, definitely not. This means that the Avios have a negative value and should not be used in this case if you want to maximize your hard-earned points the most.

Planning ahead with redemptions can be crucial to bagging yourself that first-class ticket. Fast-forward, and there are plenty of return first-class seats with reward availability on Cathay Pacific. This option really shows the amazing value that Avios can have.

Regarding this second option, you will often get great value by doing a straight redemption, where you pay for the ticket using Avios and just pay for the fees and taxes and any surcharges in cash. However, you may not have sufficient Avios in your account to cover the cost of the entire flight, or you may not wish to use so many Avios for one redemption. So, British Airways gives you the option to pay with a combination of Avios and money for redemption on British Airways or its partners, with the exception of Oneworld members Japan Airlines and S7 Airlines.

Note this is not also classed as a redemption, so is dependent on the limited award availability, even though you may still be paying a large amount of the fare in cash. As an example, here is a redemption search for a World Traveller Plus premium economy flight from London to Boston. So is this a good deal, and how much cash should you pay? Perhaps the best way to think about this is not that you are saving Avios, but instead, you are buying more, as you are handing over slightly more money in order not to use as many Avios.

You would have used the full 26, Avios for a standard redemption, but you are buying some of them back by paying more money. So, if you think of it as buying Avios, what is a good price to buy them for? Note that as this is a redemption, you are unable to change the route or airline after making an Avios and Money booking, although you can cancel the booking up to 24 hours in advance to receive a refund of both the Avios and cash that you have paid, which is a great flexibility option.

Also note you do not earn full Avios and tier points for the booking, as per a standard redemption. You can also redeem Avios for hotel stays, car rental, wine and other experiences, though we do not think these provide as much value as redeeming for flights. Terms Apply. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser.

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Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Skip to content. Advertiser Disclosure. Ben Smithson. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Sign up. I would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not sell your email. Please enter a valid email address Please check mailing preferences. You can get discounted flights, upgrades, hotel accommodation and experience days by using the points you accumulate on your Avios credit card.

Avios are reward points you can collect by shopping. You can turn your points into money off flights or use them to gain seat upgrades, hotel rooms or better deals on car rentals. They are aimed at frequent flyers and travellers but you can use them towards a wide variety of goods and services. With some credit cards you can collect Avios on all of your purchases, making it easier to build points and putting you closer to great rewards.

Some credit card providers also give you bonuses on Avios, rewarding you with extra points simply for signing up for their credit card, or by shopping at selected shops. For frequent flyers, Avios offers a number of perks, the main one being able to travel on international flights at a fraction of the usual cost.

However, with the current Covid restrictions in place the opportunities to earn and spend Avios points have become more limited. If you are not travelling frequently but you want to earn loyalty points you could consider a reward credit card instead until restrictions are lifted. Avios points are a loyalty scheme, so they do not have any cash value and you cannot cash them in.

You can earn Avios through flying British Airlines or their partner airlines, online shopping, hiring cars, booking travel through BA Holidays, credit card spend and many other ways.

There are so many earning opportunities in the UK, even if you don't travel regularly that you can earn lots of Avios quickly. When you have enough points you can use them to spend with some airlines and travel providers, including hotels and car rental companies. This can hugely reduce the cost of your travel. You can also use Avios to upgrade your seat on a flight. It may seem excessive to spend almost double the price of an economy seat to upgrade to first class, but if you have the points, it can be a cost-effective way of giving yourself an upgrade for a much more comfortable travel experience.

Rather than being squeezed into an economy seat, sleeping upright with little leg-room or personal space you could instead by sipping champagne, enjoying a multi-course gourmet meal and then having a comfortable night sleep in a fully-flat bed with luxurious bedding. Avios is primarily targeted at customers looking to get rewards on travel purchases, such as flights, hotels and car rental, but you can use them on a wide range of products and services, depending on what is available via their website.

You can use Avios to pay, in part or in full, for the following except taxes and fees :. In some cases, you can also use your Avios to purchase experience days out, travel insurance, gift vouchers and other products, including beer and wine. The Avios website has a full list of what customers can spend their points on. Under the current COVID restrictions, activities are not currently available to purchase with points. Reward flights : if you have enough Avios points you can book flights with British Airways and their partner airlines listed on the Avios website.

You can use the points for flights and just pay for an additional taxes fees and charges. Some airlines allow you to cover the cost of taxes and fees with the Avios points as well. Frequent flyers : when you join a frequent flyer programme listed on the Avios website you can start collecting points whenever you fly. Hotels, car hire and beer and wine : you can use your Avios points to buy accommodation, rent a car or get discounts on beer and wine with partner companies.

Activities and experiences : Unfortunately, due to the current situation with COVID, you're unable to book experiences in return for Avios points.

This may change when current restrictions are lifted. Generally you will need 30, or more to fly return to most places outside of Europe, per person, plus fees, taxes and surcharges. However, you can also use your Avios to pay for part of the flight's cost minus taxes and fees , so if you have only 10, Avios you might be able to put it towards the cost of a flight.

It may be better value to save your Avios to spend in one go to cover most of the flight costs, but they can be useful when you just want an upgrade or a discount.