Easy methods to use Avios for (virtually) free flights: Get rewarded in your on a regular basis spending

For those who’ve ever dreamed of flying for (virtually) free, upgrading your Financial system seats to the a lot fancier, Enterprise Class, or treating your self to an expensive getaway with out blowing your finances, studying learn how to gather Avios factors is your ticket there — actually. 

Avios is the rewards forex of the British Airways Membership (and different airline companions together with Qatar Airways and Iberia), and with the proper technique, you should use the factors you gather to guide flights, upgrades, and extra. 

Right here, I’ll stroll you thru learn how to go about incomes Avios factors and learn how to use them to guide elusive reward seats on British Airways flights.

What are Avios factors?

Avios are the loyalty forex utilized by a number of airways, together with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Qatar Airways. For those who’re a member of the British Airways Membership, you’ll earn and spend Avios by way of their system. You should utilize your Avios factors pot to guide flights on British Airways and accomplice airways, improve your cabin to take pleasure in a extra unique journey expertise, and pay for accommodations, automobile rent, and different journey extras. If you wish to go all in, you may even pay in your total vacation utilizing your factors with BA Holidays

Personally, I discover the fantastic thing about Avios to be of their flexibility and attain—particularly whenever you perceive learn how to gather and redeem them well.

Easy methods to earn Avios factors

Flying with British Airways and Oneworld companions

When you’ve joined the British Airways Membership, everytime you fly with British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways, American Airways, or any Oneworld accomplice, you’ll earn Avios, which might be deposited in your BA Membership account. The variety of factors you earn depends upon your fare class, what you pay in your flight, and BA Membership tier standing. Sadly, you don’t earn Avios on any reward seat flight you guide.

Tip: Everytime you’re reserving a flight, at all times embody your British Airways Membership quantity to make sure you earn your factors.

Bank card sign-ups and spending

One of many quickest methods I’ve managed to rack up Avios is through the use of a co-branded bank card. Within the UK, that’s usually the British Airways American Categorical, or Avios Barclaycard bank cards:

British Airways American Categorical Bank card

This card has no annual price, and presents a superb Avios welcome bonus to new cardholders. You’ll gather 1 Avios per £1 spent, get further Avios bonuses for card referrals and supplementary cardholders, and have the power to earn a Companion Voucher (2 flights for the price of 1 in Financial system) for those who spend £15,000 in a yr in your card. It is a strong card to begin out with for those who’re new to Avios assortment. I started with this card and my welcome bonus coated half the Avios price of my first reward seat reserving!

British Airways American Categorical Premium Plus card 

That is the subsequent stage up from the fundamental BA Amex card. It has the next Avios incomes charge of 1.5 Avios per £1 spent, and an unique earn-rate of three Avios for each £1 spent with British Airways and BA Holidays. The welcome bonuses are a lot larger, plus you may earn a Companion Voucher whenever you spend £15,000 on the cardboard in a single yr. The distinction with this Companion Voucher is that you should use it in any cabin class – together with Enterprise or First, whereas with the fundamental BA Amex Companion Voucher, you may solely use it in Financial system.

Use your card for on a regular basis spending—groceries, payments, journey—and watch the Avios add up. I make all my standard purchases every month utilizing my card to earn as many factors as I can. So far as I’m involved, that is cash I’d be spending anyway – so why not get rewarded for it?! Simply keep in mind to pay your invoice in full each month, because the Avios incomes worth isn’t any good whenever you consider curiosity. 

Procuring on-line

The British Airways eStore is a goldmine for Avios collectors. You’ll discover over 2000 retailers that reward you with Avios for each pound spent. These embody Apple (5 Avios per £), John Lewis (1), Samsung (5), Reiss (12), B&Q (4) and Dyson (8). Merely click on by way of the BA eStore earlier than making your buy. 

You get these factors on prime of the factors you earn on the BA Amex card – a double dip!

Bonus tip: I wish to stack this with cashback websites for much more worth.

Lodge and journey companions

Now, you won’t be capable to earn Avios in your reward seat flight reserving, however you CAN earn them by way of your lodge keep. You possibly can earn Avios when reserving BA Holidays or the BA Avios retailer, in addition to by way of Reserving.com, Inns.com, Accor, IHG, Marriott, and extra. 

For those who already gather lodge loyalty factors, together with Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors, you’ll be glad to know you can convert them into Avios.

If you could rent a automobile throughout your journey, automobile rental corporations like Avis and Price range additionally allow you to earn Avios in your bookings.

Eating, wine golf equipment and life-style presents

British Airways companions with plenty of eating places and life-style manufacturers, together with The Wine Flyer and subscription platforms like The Spectator or The Economist. For those who’re already spending with these, it’s undoubtedly price it to examine for those who can earn Avios too.

For those who store at Sainsburys, or have a Nectar card, you may earn Nectar factors and switch them to Avios at a 400:250 charge. This one is nice for topping up your pot. I modified my grocery store to Sainsburys once I began to gather Avios as a result of we spend no less than £150 every week on the household meals store – that’s an additional £600 of Nectar factors (375 Avios) each month!

Shopping for Avios

For those who’re quick on factors for a dream journey, however you don’t wish to wait round to guide it, you should buy Avios straight by way of the British Airways website. Whereas this normally isn’t one of the best worth, gross sales providing 30-50% bonus Avios could make it worthwhile. Simply maintain a glance out. 

Reserving reward seats on British Airways

Why use Avios to guide reward flights

Avios collectors could make important money financial savings on flights through the use of factors to pay for them. Some travellers have reported money financial savings of round £7000 when reserving a visit to Japan in Enterprise Class, by paying with factors and utilizing their American Categorical Companion Voucher. I’d suggest valuing 1 Avios as 1p when contemplating financial savings. All you could do is examine the Avios price of your journey and evaluate it to the equal money fare on the BA web site to indicate you ways a lot you’re saving by utilising Avios to guide seats. 

One of many lesser recognized ‘Avios hacks’, which is definitely a selected favorite of mine, is you can cancel a reward seat reserving with BA for simply £35 per individual as much as 24 hours earlier than your flight. For those who decide to do it, you additionally get your full Avios price refunded, in addition to taxes and charges – minus £35 an individual. That is actually helpful in case your plans change for no matter motive, and it’s an additional profit whenever you’re deciding whether or not to guide a selected money fare or to make use of Avios factors. Utilizing this explicit hack permits you to probably guide a lot of locations and flight occasions, then decide the best choice. 

Understanding Reward Flight Saver

British Airways presents Reward Flight Saver fares, which allow you to guide flights with a set low price (taxes and prices) plus Avios. For those who’re trying to spend the least money doable in your flight reserving, short-haul flights inside Europe, typically begin from simply 9,250 Avios + £1. Lengthy haul flights have the next money price – beginning at round £40 – as a result of taxes and prices are increased for these routes. 

Easy methods to discover and guide Avios seats

It’s actually easy to really guide your reward seats. Simply go surfing to the British Airways web site or cellular app to seek for “Guide with Avios.”

As a result of BA releases a really restricted variety of reward seats per flight (14 throughout all cabins) availability may be restricted, so plan and guide early—BA releases reward seats 355 days upfront. There are at present round 40m Avios collectors internationally in search of reward seats, and whenever you keep in mind that BA solely releases 14 seats per flight, you most likely wish to do every little thing you may to get forward of the gang. On this case think about using an impartial UK reward flight finder device the place you may monitor availability, see flight by flight data and set Alerts to get immediately notified when your perfect seats change into obtainable. I at all times use these instruments – I set as much as 10 Alerts for various routes that I would like and wait to get Alerted. Then I let the instruments do the work for me.

Professional suggestions

You’ll have higher luck bagging reward seats for those who’re versatile with dates and occasions in your flights – my solely guidelines are that my flights have to be in class holidays. I set my Alerts no less than 6-8 months forward. It’s additionally price noting that for those who’re quick on Avios whenever you wish to guide, you may prime up your fare with money – so you utilize a combination of Avios and money to guide your seats. All you could do is use “Avios + Money” choices whenever you’re on the BA web site.

Utilizing Avios on accomplice airways

Avios aren’t only for British Airways flights—you may redeem them on all Oneworld companions, together with: Qatar Airways (who typically have decrease money surcharges), Iberia (nice for long-haul to the Americas with decrease charges), American Airways, Finnair, Japan Airways, and extra

Widespread errors to keep away from

There are a couple of golden guidelines to at all times keep in mind – NEVER let your Avios expire: They’re legitimate for 36 months, however any incomes or spending resets the clock. Think about how heartbroken you’d be for those who’d saved factors for all that point, just for them to fade since you hadn’t used them! 

I’d additionally steer you away from utilizing your Avios for poor-value flights. All the time evaluate the money worth vs. the worth of your factors. I follow the 1p per 1 Avios rule so I can evaluate the money price of a fare to what I’d pay if I booked with Avios. I like doing this as a result of it reveals me how a lot cash I’m saving in comparison with the money seat reserving – it’s a terrific motivator to maintain on accumulating.

Final however not least, don’t neglect you’ll have to pay money taxes and charges. This isn’t even price excited about whenever you’re reserving a brief haul flight in Europe that normally has a £1 price, however some redemptions, particularly long-haul in premium cabins, include money prices of as much as round £600 for First Class. Don’t neglect you’ll have to pay this whenever you guide. 

Ultimate ideas

Accumulating Avios isn’t only for frequent flyers or journey hackers—it’s for anybody who desires to make their cash go additional when touring. I prefer it as a result of I’m capable of journey extra with my household simply by having a sure bank card, doing the weekly store or paying a family invoice. I even earn factors whereas I’m on my vacation to make use of on the subsequent one. With a little bit of planning and some on a regular basis habits, you may be properly in your approach to a reward seat on a British Airways flight. For those who spot me on the aircraft, remember to say howdy!

Have questions or your personal Avios suggestions? Drop them within the feedback.

Kayleigh Hepworth

Kayleigh Hepworth is Head of Advertising at Reward Flight Finder. Reward Flight Finder is the right device to seek for British Airways reward flights. If you want to be a visitor blogger on A Luxurious Journey Weblog with a view to elevate your profile, please contact us.