Burn After Reading: British Airways Offering 50% Bonus On Avios Purchases…

Burn after reading…

Though the extent of the damage is still yet to be seen, British Airways devalued its chart detailing how many points you’ll need to redeem for flights on other airlines. Come May 30th, the changes will kick in, and either by a little bit or a lotta’ bit, you’ll need to use more Avios Points to book flights on great airlines like Cathay, JAL, Qantas, Qatar, American and more.

Naturally, to celebrate you needing more miles in the near future, British Airways is having a sale, or rather 50% bonus on Avios purchases to tempt you into buying more miles. While buying them for a far distant use would be idiotic, topping off to get you in a position to burn all your Avios now could make sense.

The Offer

British Airways is selling Avios in the UK for just over 1 pence per point. The USA sale offers the same 50% bonus, but at a different price in dollars. The UK sale offers an extremely attractive price for points purchased directly from BA, which should credit instantly to your account. There are some enticing price breakdowns like…

• 15,000 Avios for £175.
• 60,000 for £655.
• 150,000 for £1615.

You can buy in the UK sale here. Or in the USA sale here.

There are plenty of options in between each amount noted. These prices bring points at around 1.09p which is around as low as British Airways has ever sold them.

Good To Know

With such high taxes on British Airways redemptions in the midst of incredibly low cash fare sales going around, it doesn’t often make sense to buy tons of points. That’s especially true in the current travel market.

If however you’re looking to top off a few points for an upgrade, or could upgrade a fare to the next cabin by paying roughly £200 for the 20,000 points you’d need, that could be a great deal for a long haul flight. Similarly, if you’re just a few points away from having enough to redeem your points on another airline, particularly in a destination where high surcharges don’t exist, then this could be a shrewd move.

If you’re hoping to use Avios to book a partner airline, it’s better to lock something in before May 30th than pay more points from every date thereafter. Note: you don’t need to travel by May 30th, just need to book.

Building Loyalty

If you rolled your eyes when you saw that just days after announcing a devaluation for partner flights, British Airways announced an Avios sale, you’re not alone. It’s hard to understand how someone can think that this helps build brand trust and loyalty. After an incredible run of good news from BA, the timing is just terrible. They may say 50% off, but if Avios redemption prices are going up 30% in some cases, it’s 50% with lipstick on, or really about 20%.

Points are personal, so if buying some will get you what you need in time to burn in the near future, rock on. If you’re thinking of buying points for the retirement fund, jog on. You’d do better to invest in Palm Pilots or Beanie Babies.