Avios Points with British Airways?

**bonniejoy03** · 11-19-2011, 04:25 AM

Well, BA's new ff program officially began on 11/16. Their ff points are now called "Avios." I was trying to figure out how to use them and even called their Avios department. Seems like it is a mystery! It seems as if the points are used by "miles flown" vs destination and time of year. The service department said they are still working on the program. Anyone else trying to figure this out???

**LL_Travelfan** · 11-20-2011, 04:59 AM

bonniejoy03,
Here are the terms of the Avios Points for British Airways. Hope this helps.

Signature® Card¹
Earn 50,000 Bonus Avios and reward travel without your feet ever leaving the ground.

With the British Airways Visa Signature® card1 from Chase, you will have more opportunities to earn bonus Avios than ever before.

Earn 50,000 bonus Avios and use them towards reward flights.2

You will get 25,000 Avios after your first purchase3 plus an additional 25,000 bonus Avios when you spend $2,500 in the first 90 days.4 All reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges & surcharges, including airline surcharges.

2.5 Avios for every dollar spent on British Airways purchases5

Enjoy the finest service while receiving our highest level of Avios.

1.25 Avios for every dollar spent5

Earn Avios on everyday purchases, anywhere in the world.

Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad6

Think how much you’ll save. Plus, the British Airways Visa Signature Card is accepted at millions of places worldwide, making it the brilliant choice for international travel.

The Travel Together Ticket

Every calendar year you spend $30,000 on your British Airways Visa Signature card, you will earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.7 For more details, visit ba.com/traveltogetherticket.
Apply Now

Pricing and terms

1. You will first be considered for a Visa Signature card. If you do not qualify for that product, you will automatically be considered for a Visa Platinum card, which has different fees, benefits, and credit availability. For pricing details, please see Pricing & Terms. For benefits details, please read your credit card benefits materials which will be mailed after your account is established.

2. 50,000 bonus Avios can be redeemed for reward flights. All reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges. Please visit ba.com/execclub for full redemption award listings and terms and conditions of the programme.

3. You will qualify for and receive your bonus after your first purchase/first use of the card. First purchase/first use includes purchases, balance transfers, or any checks that are used to access your account, and excludes cash advances. After qualifying, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus Avios to post to your account. This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time cardmembers with new accounts. Previous and existing cardmembers/accounts are not eligible for this bonus offer.

4. All reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges. To qualify and receive your bonus, you must make qualifying transactions totaling $2,500 or more during the first 3 months from account opening. Qualifying transactions include purchases, balance transfers, and any checks that are used to access your account, and exclude cash advances. After qualifying, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus Avios to post to your account. To be eligible for this bonus offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time cardmembers with new accounts. Previous and existing cardmembers/accounts are not eligible for this bonus offer.

5. You will earn 2.5 Avios for each $1 of British Airways net purchases and 1.25 Avios for each $1 of all other net purchases. You do not earn Avios on balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that are used to access your account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including fees for products that protect or insure the balances of your account. There is no maximum number of Avios that you can accumulate in the program. See Rewards Program Rules and Regulations which will be mailed after your account is established.

6. Please see Pricing and terms for complete details about rates, fees, and other costs.

7. Subject to availability. Taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges apply. British Airways Executive Club terms and conditions apply. Cardmember must spend $30,000 in a single calendar year on their British Airways Visa Card to receive a Redemption Voucher for a companion ticket. Cardmember is eligible for only one Voucher each calendar year. Cardmember will receive the Voucher 4-6 weeks after the billing cycle when the Cardmember reaches $30,000 in purchases, and will not be eligible for another Voucher until the next calendar year. Voucher is valid for a companion ticket in conjunction with Cardmember’s reward flight on BA taken within 2 years from the date of issue. All Redemption Vouchers will be issued in the name of the main Cardmember who must travel on any booking where the Voucher is used. Redemption Voucher(s) cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion and is only valid if it has been acquired in accordance with the rules of this promotion. Redemption Vouchers are not extendable, transferable and have no cash or mileage value. Companion must travel with the Cardmember on both the outbound and inbound journey and be booked at the same time for both directions. Redemption Flights and Redemption Vouchers may only be used for flights on British Airways mainline service, which have a BA prefixed flight number. Travel on franchise, codeshare or alliance airlines is not permitted. All travel must originate in and return to the US. Additional restrictions apply. Please visit ba.com/Redeemfor1Travelfor2.
Avios summary

You must be a member of the British Airways Executive Club programme. If you are not already a member, you will be enrolled automatically if you are approved for the British Airways Visa. Avios accumulated through the British Airways Visa card will be transferred to your Executive Club account; however, Avios reported on your monthly statement from Chase may not post into your Executive Club account if you change your Executive Club address to one outside of the US. Avios earned with the British Airways Visa card will not be credited toward Executive Club tier level progression or retention. For rules and regulations of the Executive Club, please visit Book Flights, Hotels, Holidays, Car Rental with British Airways - BA.com. Redemption of Avios for travel is solely the responsibility of British Airways. British Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malev, Qantas and Royal Jordanian are trademarks of their respective companies.

**jmbklj** · 11-20-2011, 10:05 AM

According to one good source who studies the FF programs and has a blog on it, The Points Guy, Avios will be more confusing and less valuable than Executive Club, at least for most redemptions beginning in North America.

The award pricing is now by sector, thus eliminating free connections & stopovers.

Cheaper awards apply for those based in London, but for North Americans the award prices are higher. Some domestic awards decrease or do not change IF you're in a hub and don't need to take connecting flights. Otherwise, you'll need more points. One option is to buy your connecting flight to the hub, but that will be an additional expense that wasn't necessary in the past..

There is no new award chart. Instead, you can use a "Spending Avios Calculator. Here is the link for it.

British Airways - Executive Club - BA Miles price options

Another FF blogger, MommyPoints, agrees it is a devaluation for international travel but could be better for families planning domestic travel, depending on the cities and routes. So it could be better for domestic travel from a hub without connections and/or on short routes. For example, for someone based in NYC flying to STL, they can redeem on American for 15,000 + $5. That's clearly a better deal than on any of the US legacy airlines.

**bonniejoy03** · 11-21-2011, 12:01 PM

L-I have the cc. I was trying to figure out how to use them!!! BA wasn't even too sure and said they are still working on the program! (right now you cannot see a "chart" to tell you how many miles will be needed. Instead, you need to input EACH SEGMENT and see the miles which will tell you the points. For example, from Philadelphia to Santiago Chile is....Philadelphia to Miami points and then Miami to Santiago points.)

J-correct. This is quite confusing. BA so far has missed some crazy routes. For example, to get to Virgin Gorda we have to fly from San Juan to Tortola. That fare on Cape Air, Air Sunshine, or American, is typically about $300 round trip. With my BA points, it is only 9000 points. That is a bargain.

The customer service department is still working to clarify some issues........interesting change but not properly communicated.

**LL_Travelfan** · 11-21-2011, 03:59 PM

bonniejoy,
Are these 9000 points still under the old system, or are those already Avios points? Under the old system 9000 points is a true bargain.

**bonniejoy03** · 11-22-2011, 03:46 AM

Hi L...all my points are now Avios points. I agree...what a bargain!! They are still working on the program though. I was hoping to use points for South America via AA or LAN. Looks like points went from about 40,000 to 65,000 (from Philadelphia). The points needed are less from MIami.

**jmbklj** · 11-22-2011, 07:01 AM

I think you'll find that certain long haul flights, especially with connections to be more expensive in terms of points. But there is also real improved value for certain cities and for short hauls that might even be expensive to buy because there isn't much competition on the short hauls.

For example, once you get to South America or Africa, using Avios point for those short fights within the country will be of great value. So maybe one new strateg is to use another FF program for the long haul trip but use Avios for the short fights within the country.

Certain cities look better like MIA. - MIA BOG, MIA CCS, MIA MDE, MIA CLO, MIA GYE, MIA UIO
Avios = 20,000 RT
AAdvantage = 30,000RT

Trips to the carribean look better. Those fares can be high considering how short the trip is. PLS (Turks & Caicos) can be an expensive trip but now is only 4500 Avios.

Also from JFK-BDA (Bermuda) it's now only 7.5K Avios in coach and 15K in first. That's a good deal!

I guess it's just a way of learning how to use the new program & its rules to your advantage. Frankly I'm surprised that some of those short haul pricey routes with little competition may now be much cheaper using Avios.

**bonniejoy03** · 11-23-2011, 03:22 AM

I read the frequent flier crier newsletter yesterday and they discussed the new AVIOS points. Someone was quoted as saying instead of Avios points they might be called Adios points! Looks like the program was designed by people who don't use ff points. Looks like more changes coming! Glad we used our 100,000 points on two tickets to South America (plus points left over!)

**LL_Travelfan** · 11-24-2011, 04:34 PM

bonniejoy,
Looks like you got a good deal on your 100K points to South Africa. I just did a trial run for a Tampa - London - Munich roundtrip. What used to be 50K is now going to be 59K. But what shocked me most was, they wanted an additional $658 for airport, security and fuel surcharges. That's outrages! I think I will be better off using my Avios points within Europe, like 9000 Avios + 30 Euros for R/T Munich - Paris or anything within BA Zone 1.

**LL_Travelfan** · 11-24-2011, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by jmbklj

Trips to the carribean look better. Those fares can be high considering how short the trip is. PLS (Turks & Caicos) can be an expensive trip but now is only 4500 Avios.

Also from JFK-BDA (Bermuda) it's now only 7.5K Avios in coach and 15K in first. That's a good deal!

I guess it's just a way of learning how to use the new program & its rules to your advantage. Frankly I'm surprised that some of those short haul pricey routes with little competition may now be much cheaper using Avios.

Are you sure those 4500 Avios are for roundtrip? It would be too good to be true. In Europe within BA Zone 1, those 4500 Avios are one way plus fees, so you need to figure double for roundtrips.