avios points - I am new to it

WeegyAVLover

Hi All,

My wife and I have got a BA AMEX card back at the end of June/July time and we use it for everything we can with purchases online, supermarkets, car fuel, you name it, it is getting nailed for it.

We are trying to get loads of points so we can use them for a trip to Japan next year.  However it does not seem quite as straight-forward as we had hoped it would be.  We were planning on getting flights in April to Japan but when we looked at it nothing was available.

Having read some more details on how it works you need to book like 350 days in advance to get the seats.

Just wondering if anyone uses Avios and your experiences with it. Also if you have any useful tips or things to do or look out for that would also be useful.

Greg Hook

Just be aware that all these points for flights are worth very little. You may save a bit but you won't get a completely free flight.

For example, you have enough points for a free flight to Japan. Awesome, but that doesn't include taxes so the £500 'free' economy flight will still cost you £350.

It's all a help of course, but don't expect a massive saving.

WeegyAVLover

Thanks Greg from what we saw yesterday we had enough points to travel business or first class to Japan so the cost even if it was £500 for taxes is a decent saving on what the real cost of the seat was.

But like I said I maybe missing something.

mitre

There's first class availability next April.
BA Redemption Finder gives a decent overview of what's available and you can also set up alerts to notify you if availability changes.

I usually do a trip with an Amex 241 voucher each year and it's normally fairly easy to get something.

LV426

I speak from experience here of Virgin (not BA) points and using them.  All that I say may differ with BA.........

1:  The more flexible you can be with your travel plans, the greater the likelihood you will get a good points deal.

2:  In Virgin's case availability in any given cabin is the same for all types of booking that involve points - whether all points (plus taxes) or a points upgrade   lesser cabin fare etc.

3:  Availability does NOT necessarily reduce as the date approaches.  If a given flight (and cabin) isn't selling, they may well release reward seats.  This has absolutely definitely occurred to me and a trip to Hong Kong in Virgin Upper Class.  You have to simply keep on checking online daily for your points flight/s (with flexible dates) and AS SOON as you see availability that comes close to your plans - get in there.

4:  Wholly reward bookings are cancellable without penalty.  Part reward/part fare (i.e. upgrade with points) are determined by the T&C of the fare paid.

5:  You may find a better "exchange rate" by booking (say) and upgradeable Economy fare and upgrading it - it uses less points in the first place PLUS you actually earn points on the fare you paid.

6:  UK departure taxes are inflated for anything "better" than economy, even if the fare is paid for partly or wholly with points, so expect the taxes element of what you pay to be greater than on a simple Economy flight booking.

davidjohnson

I have been flying transatlantic with (mostly) BA for a few years now and we accumulated quite few AVIOS points.
We looked at the available options for using them and the only one that made sense to us was short hall flights. This year we used them for flights to Rhodes from Gatwick, meaning we have paid £30 each plus points for return flights. We have enough left for the same again next year.

Whatever you decide to do, you will need to book early as availability can be limited.

WeegyAVLover

David thanks for that.  To be fair we only got it in July thinking we maybe able to use it to go to Japan in style.  However we did not appreciate that you had to book well in advance.  Also when we went to go, as it is the Cherry Blossom season it is a very popular time so it is unlikely going to happen for us for this trip.  We also never appreciated that you had to book so far in advance. So we may go for a trip to NYC next Christmas and use the points.

Thanks for the advice so far.

JayCee

I see there are online companies offering to buy your unused air miles. They're usually looking for a minimum of e.g. around 35,000
You need to give them access to your (in my case Virgin Atlantic Flying club) number.
Any downside to this? Anyone sold their air miles to such companies?
I've accumulated 38,000 VA Flying club miles and my wife has roughly 32,000 but going online a few nights ago to price 2 return economy flights to Orlando, Florida next September using miles   money was still working out more expensive booking direct through Virgin Atlantic than booking through an online travel company (without using the air miles).
I ended up booking the flights and hotel through Travel Republic.
I suspect I'll never use these air miles so I thought about getting something back for them.

davidjohnson

The best thing to do is have a play around on the website to suss out what you can get and when you can get it. We thought about using AVIOS to upgrade, but because we always book flights and car together, that option doesn't seem to be available.

LV426

@WeegyAVLover Just keep looking - daily if you care to. You may well get availability popping up.