Everything you need to know about BA's Avios points – including the best ways to spend them

The Avios travel loyalty programme was set up a decade ago by IAG (International Airlines Group), the owner of British Airways, when it took over the BA Airmiles scheme. You can earn and spend Avios points by joining the British Airways Executive Club.

The website is currently being upgraded to work seamlessly with other airlines in the IAG group (Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling) so there are sometimes technical glitches when trying to book reward flights but BA says these should be resolved soon.

What are the ways of collecting Avios points?

Over 1,100 UK retailers have signed up to the Avios scheme, including Apple, John Lewis and Booking.com. You can acquire reward points by accessing their websites through BA’s Avios e-store (shopping.ba.com). Usually you will receive one Avios point for every £1 you spend though there are often bonus point offers.

How does an Avios credit card work?

You can also collect points by using specialised credit cards for everyday spending. BA has teamed up with American Express to offer an Avios credit card. As well as awarding points for spending, the BA American Express Card issues a Companion Voucher every time you spend £12,000 on the card. The voucher allows you to book a free flight for a companion though they must pay the fees and taxes. The savings are substantial in higher travel classes.

Note that many smaller retailers do not accept BA Amex cards as the processing fees are too high. But competition has arrived in the form of Barclaycard which recently launched its own Avios Visa credit card. Sign up and you’ll receive 5,000 Avios (more if you apply though thepointsguy.co.uk) and receive one point for every £1 spent.

How much are Avios points really worth?

The book value of 1,000 Avios is around £11 though if you are canny you can make them go a lot further. For example, I recently booked a premium economy return from London to Tokyo for £1,380. During the booking process I secured Avios business class upgrades on both flights for 66,000 points. The cash value of these points is around £726 but I made a whopping saving of £1,358 on the advertised cash cost of a business-class return on that day.

What are the best ways to spend Avios?

The best use of points is to buy a flight – preferably long-haul – on BA or one of its One World partner airlines. Avios points offer poorer value when used to pay for hotels, car hire, wine or other travel services, though keep an eye out for special offers advertised on the BA Executive Club’s website.

I have always found the best use of my accrued points is to upgrade long-haul flights by one class using a combination of cash and points. You can do this by clicking the ‘Pay with money, upgrade with Avios’ link on the BA Executive Club site. (To find this link, click on your name in the top right-hand corner of the home membership page).

Another good use of points to find deals on last-minute bookings and less popular routes through BA’s Reward Flight Saver scheme, as they include taxes and charges which are excluded from standard Avios flights. But always compare the points value with the cash price to make sure you really are getting a good deal on the ticket.

How to find Reward flights

Log into your BA membership account and click on the Book tab. Under ‘Spending Avios’ you’ll see a link to ‘Reward Availability Tools’ where you can enter your preferred dates of travel (including whole months) and check availability to all covered destinations. Flexibility is the key to finding the best deals.

BA releases Avios reward flights 355 days in advance of travel (four in business, two in premium economy, and eight in economy class) though more reward seats may be released during the year, especially on less popular routes.

To secure a reward flight or an Avios upgrade to popular destinations such as Cape Town and Sydney you need to grab the seats as soon as booking opens.

If you wait until the release date for the return flight you could miss your chance so buy two one-way tickets – but do check they’re not a lot more expensive than buying a return.

What happens if I need to cancel an Avios flight?

One of the big advantages of Avios tickets is that they are typically more flexible than cash tickets. You can cancel or amend an Avios ticket for a small charge up to 24 hours before departure, plus any difference in fare.

Any chance of flying First Class?

First Class tickets are occasionally released as reward flights close to the date of departure or on less popular routes. I once secured a one-way First Class ticket from Shanghai to London with BA. It cost around £800 in taxes and charges plus 50,000 Avios points, a big saving on the £3,000 plus advertised fare. The biggest treat was being served breakfast in style in the First Class lounge on arrival at Heathrow.