What is the Value of British Airways Avios Points?

Redeeming Avios for reward flights

Avios will have the best value when redeemed for reward flights with British Airways and oneworld partners. Your standard economy flights will get you anywhere from 1p to 1.4p per Avios on average while business class flights will be around 2p and higher.

Listed below are a few of the best ways to get the most value out of your flight redemptions.

Short-haul flights

One of the best way to use British Airways Avios is for short-haul flights on British Airways and partner flights. This is due to having a distance-based award chart.

Short-haul flights between most major European airports will cost you between 4,000 and 9,000 Avios depending on the airline.

For example, you can fly from Dublin to Manchester for 4,000 Avios using Aer Lingus.

Or Helsinki (HEL) to Stockholm (ARN) for 6,000 Avios using Finnair.

It's also useful for bouncing around Oneworld hubs in other places around the world. For example, you can fly from Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE) on Cathay Pacific Airways, a oneworld partner, for 7,500 Avios plus taxes/fees.

In North America, you can jump between major cities using American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, which are both one world partners.

New York (JFK) to Boston (BOS) would cost you 7,500 Avios.

You can also jump between Boston (BOS) and Toronto (YYZ) to visit Canada for 7,500 Avios.

Qatar Flights

British Airways Avios can be converted to Qatar Airways Avios at a 1:1 ratio which opens up all of the options for Qatar Airways. This can be done by linking your British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Privilege Club accounts through the Combine my Avios option under Manage My Account.

Qatar doesn't have the best redemption options, but there are a few sweet spots in the program if you're looking to fly first or business class with Qatar.

• Qatar: Europe to Doha, 64,500 Avios in First Class, one-way
• Qatar: U.S. to Doha, 70,000 Avios in Business Class, one-way

Iberia Flights

British Airways Avios can be converted to Iberia Avios at a 1:1 ratio through the Combine my Avios option. This isn't necessarily a top-tier option, but it's worth mentioning if you find a good award redemption through Iberia Plus that you can't find booking through the British Airways website.

Upgrading flights with Avios

One of the best uses of British Airways Avios is to use them to upgrade a cash booking to the next cabin. This can be done on select fares with British Airways, Iberia, and American Airlines whenever there's availability.

You can upgrade an existing booking or upgrade at the time of booking and it doesn't matter if it's a one-way or round-trip.

The cost of the upgrade will vary, but it will be based on the Avios costs for reward flights in the cabins you are upgrading from and to. It will also depend on whether your flight is scheduled on a peak or off-peak date.

Basically, you can search your flight and look at the cost in Avios between the class you're in and the one you'll be upgraded to. That will give you an idea (if not the exact) cost of the upgrade.

Using Avios as part payment

When making a cash booking with British Airways, you'll be given the chance to use your Avios to reduce the price of your flight. This can be done on all British Airways flights, American Airlines flights between the UK and North America, and on British Airways codeshare flights with the following airlines:

• Air Baltic
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Bangkok Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• China Eastern
• China Southern
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• Flybe
• Japan Airlines
• LATAM
• Loganair
• Qantas
• Qatar
• S7
• Vistara

You'll get better value when you use lower amounts of Avios.

When booking your cash flight, you'll be able to choose the option you want (assuming you have enough Avios). The value you get out of this option will vary, but you will typically get more value when you choose to redeem less Avios.

British Airways Hotels and Cars

British Airways Avios can be used to book hotels and rent cars through the British Airways Hotels and Cars Portal. When pricing out options, hotels gave an average value of 0.5p in value while car rentals gave a slightly higher 0.6p.

Book your hotel stay using Avios.

When selecting a hotel through the portal, you'll be shown the average cost per night in Avios for the hotel along with a bunch of Avios & Money options. The majority of the Avios & Money options seem to give a lower value.

Some options that I tested gave me as low as 0.1p per Avios which is quite terrible. I was also able to find some that gave value as high as 0.7p per Avios which actually came out better than paying all Avios.

You'll have a lot of Avios & Money options to choose from.

If you plan on using your British Airways Avios to book a hotel stay and you want the best value, you'll want to calculate the value of each option because you never know which one could be a winner.

Rent cars with British Airways Avios.

Renting cars through the portal will behave the same as booking hotels. After doing a search, you'll be shown the cost of the rental in all Avios as well as be given several Avios & Money options to choose from.

With the car rental options, I found the Avios & Money options to still give around the same value as paying all Avios. Still... you'll want to calculate the value of the Avios & Money options one-by-one if you want to make sure you're getting a great deal.

Choose to pay in all Avios or one of the many Avios & Money options.

You can use the Avios & Money Calculator to calculate the cash value you'll get out of these redemptions.

Experiences

British Airways Avios can be used to book Experiences at least 72 hours in advance. This includes tours, museums, and many other experience across the globe.

The value you get out of redeeming Avios for experiences will heavily depend on the experience itself.

Nectar Rewards

Nectar is the largest loyalty card scheme in the United Kingdom and is is owned by Sainsbury's.

British Airways Avios can be transferred to the Nectar Rewards program at a rate of 300 Avios for 400 Nectar Points. Nectar Rewards can also be transferred to Avios at a rate of 400 Nectar points for 250 Avios.

Points are worth £0.005 when redeemed with Sainsbury's, Argos, and many other retailers. This means that this transfer would make your Avios worth 0.8p.

Convert Avios to pounds

Use the Avios To Pounds Calculator to determine the average cash value of British Airways Avios. This will give you an idea of how much they are worth for each redemption.

Convert Avios To Nectar points

Use the Avios To Nectar points calculator to calculate the conversion of British Airways Avios to Nectar Points.

Avios & Money Calculator

When redeeming Avios for hotel, car rental, and flight options, you're given the option to pay with a mix of Avios and cash. Depending on the redemption, you'll usually get a better option when paying Avios & Money compared to paying all Avios.

If you know the full cost of the redemption in cash (including fees/taxes), you can enter in the Avios & Money amounts in the table and it will output the value of your Avios. This will help you easily calculate which redemption gives you the best value.

Best ways to earn British Airways Avios

The best way to earn Avios is through intro bonuses and everyday spending across British Airways credit cards. There are a total of five credit cards available between American Express and Barclayscard.

Credit Card	Benefits
British Airways American Express® Premium Plus Card Card Value & Avios Calculator	Earn 3X Avios for every £1 spent on purchases made with British Airways or BA Holidays Earn 1.5X Avios for every £1 spent on all other purchases Get a Companion Voucher when you spend £10,000 each membership year on the Card Be protected with travel inconvenience insurance £250 annual fee.
British Airways American Express® Credit Card Card Value & Avios Calculator	Earn 1X points for every £1 spent on all purchases. Get a Companion Voucher when you spend £12,000 each membership year on the Card Add family members or a partner to your Account and earn Avios faster with complimentary supplementary cards £0 annual fee
British Airways American Express® Accelerating Business Card Card Value & Avios Calculator	Earn 2X On Business Points for every £1 spent with British Airways Earn 1.5X Avios for every £1 spent on everyday purchases For every £20,000 spent on the Card, receive 10,000 bonus Avios, up to 3 times each year Be protected with refund protection, purchase protection, and travel accident protection. £250 annual fee.
Barclaycard Avios Plus Card Value & Avios Calculator	Collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 you spend on eligible purchases Spend £10,000 on the card within 12 months and you’ll receive a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on an Avios Reward Flight booking	£240 annual fee (£20 per month)
Barclaycard Avios Card Value & Avios Calculator	Collect 1 Avios for every £1 you spend on eligible purchases Spend £20,000 on the card within 12 months and you’ll receive a British Airways cabin upgrade voucher to use on an Avios Reward Flight booking £0 annual fee.

Avios can also be earned using the American Express Membership Rewards program and the online cashback portal TopCashback UK.

American Express Membership Rewards

American Express Membership Rewards is another way to easily earn lots of Avios. Membership Rewards Points can be transferred directly to British Airways Avios (and Iberia Plus Avios) at a 1:1 ratio.

This opens up a handful of great credit card options for quickly earning Avios through everyday spending and intro bonuses.

Credit Card	Benefits	Annual Fee
The Platinum Card® Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 2 points for every £1 spent on amextravel.co.uk Earn 1 point for every £1 spent on all other purchases Complimentary access to over 1,400 airport lounges across more than 140 countries worldwide Receive up to £300 in Global Dining Credits, up to £100 in statement credits per year with Harvey Nichols, and a £200 onefinestay credit Enjoy complimentary status with top hotel chains and car rental agencies Worldwide travel insurance for you and your family	£575
American Express® Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 3 points for every £1 spent on American Express Travel Earn 2 points for every £1 spent on purchases made directly with airlines Earn 1 point for every £1 spent on all other purchases Every time you spend £5,000 you will get 2,500 bonus Membership Rewards points, up to 12,500 bonus points per year Take advantage of 4 complimentary Priority Pass airport lounge visits every year giving you access to over 1,300 airports globally	£0 the first year, then £160
The American Express® Rewards Credit Card Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 1 point for every £1 spent on the card Shop with confidence online, on the high street and on your travels with built-in shopping and fraud protection for you and your Supplementary Cardmembers	£0
The American Express® Business Platinum Card Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 2 points for every £1 spent on American Express Travel Earn 1 point for every £1 spent on everything else When you spend a cumulative £10,000 during any calendar month, you will receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points. Complimentary access to over 1,400 airport lounges across more than 140 countries worldwide Enjoy a £200 Annual Travel Credit and a US$150 onefinestay credit Enjoy complimentary status with top hotel chains and car rental agencies Worldwide travel insurance for you, your family and employees with supplementary cards	£650
The American Express® Business Gold Card Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 2 points for every £1 spent on American Express Travel Earn 1 point for every £1 spent on all other purchases Every quarter that you spend £20,000 on the AMEX Business Gold Card UK, you'll earn 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points Get up to £100 in statement credits towards Dell Technologies purchases	£0 first year, then £175 annually

TopCashback UK

Another easy way to earn lots of British Airways Avios is by using TopCashback UK. TopCashback is a free and easy-to-use online shopping portal that pays you to shop online.

The quick rundown is that you go to the TopCashback UK site, find the store that you want to make a purchase with, and click on TopCashback's affiliate link to that store. You'll then be dropped off on that store's website to shop as normal, and once you make a purchase, TopCashback will share some of that commission with you, the user.

The TopCashback UK program allows you to pick between receiving cash back or British Airways Avios. If you frequently shop online, you'll want to heavily consider signing up for TopCashback as you'll be able to earn lots of Avios.