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The award price you see at first on British Airways' website isn't necessarily the price you'll have to pay. And depending on the number of Avios in your account — or your appetite for fuel surcharges — that could mean more Avios and less cash or vice versa.
Here's a primer on the options you'll see when booking an award flight with Avios, as well as our advice on which one you should pick.
Avios Plus Cash: Which Redemption Option Should You Pick?
On its face, booking an award flight with British Airways Avios can be…well, confusing. And as the math will show, it's probably deliberate. You'll see one price — say 9,250 Avios plus $1 for a flight between London City (LCY) and Frankfurt (FRA) — but that's not the only price. Nor is it the best one.
To showcase this, here's an example using the same London City to Frankfurt itinerary. A quick search for an off-peak travel day and picking the first available economy seat on a British Airways flight brings up that same 9,250-Avios price plus $1.
Click on “more pricing options,” and you'll also see the following:
- 8,500 Avios + $11
- 7,250 Avios + $16
- 4,750 Avios + $31
- 3,700 Avios + $51
- 2,950 Avios + $71
While the sticker price looks like a devaluation, it's just deception. That first-shown price is actually just one of six options, and it's likely designed to get you to drain your Avios balance on one of the most poor-value choices.
If you crunch the numbers against this flight that costs $100, you'll quickly see that each option returns a different value for your Avios. Clearly, some options are more valuable than others.
| Avios Cost | Carrier-Imposed Surcharges | Marginal Avios "bought" through redemption option | Marginal cost of Avios | Cents per Avios | Cents per Avios on this $100 flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9,250 | $1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1.07 |
| 8,500 | $11 | 750 | $10 | 1.33 | 1.05 |
| 7,250 | $16 | 1,250 | $5 | 0.40 | 1.16 |
| 4,750 | $31 | 2,500 | $15 | 0.60 | 1.45 |
| 3,700 | $51 | 1,050 | $20 | 1.90 | 1.32 |
| 2,950 | $71 | 750 | $25 | 2.67 | 0.99 |
On this itinerary, you're getting the most out of your Avios and stretching your dollar further by selecting the option for 4,750 Avios plus $31. You're “acquiring” the most Avios for the lowest cost — effectively buying them for just 0.6 cents apiece.
Compare this option to the 3,700-Avios one below it. You'll note that you're acquiring fewer Avios at a greater cost. It's a choice you should only make if you value Avios at over 1.9 cents each. The cheaper option is even worse, as you'll pay substantially more out of pocket than you need to.
In the case of British Airways, you shouldn't pay more than you need to, and that goes for both Avios and cash.
Avoid the math and simplify the award booking process
If you're not a fan of the math, rest assured you won't have to break out the calculator each time you want to make an award booking. As trends show, the price that offers the most value for your Avios is consistently the middle-of-the-road option.
In most cases, you'll get the most value out of your Avios on British Airways-operated flights by sticking to this unofficial British Airways award chart:
| Zone (Distance) | Economy (Off-Peak) | Economy (Peak) | Premium Economy (Off-Peak) | Premium Economy (Peak) | Business (Off-Peak) | Business (Peak) | First Class (Off-Peak) | First Class (Peak) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 (up to 650 miles) | 4,750 | 5,250 | Not Offered | Not Offered | 8,500 | 9,750 | Not Offered | Not Offered |
| Zone 2 (651 to 1,151 miles) | 7,250 | 8,250 | Not Offered | Not Offered | 13,500 | 15,750 | Not Offered | Not Offered |
| Zone 3 (1,152 to 2,000 miles) | 9,250 | 10,750 | Not Offered | Not Offered | 17,750 | 20,750 | Not Offered | Not Offered |
| Zone 4 (2,001 to 3,000 miles) | 10,000 | 12,500 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 31,250 | 37,500 | 42,500 | 50,000 |
| Zone 5 (3,001 to 4,000 miles) | 13,000 | 20,000 | 26,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 68,000 | 80,000 |
| Zone 6 (4,001 to 5,500 miles) | 16,250 | 25,000 | 32,500 | 50,000 | 62,500 | 75,000 | 85,000 | 100,000 |
| Zone 7 (5,501 to 6,500 miles) | 19,500 | 30,000 | 39,000 | 60,000 | 75,000 | 90,000 | 102,000 | 120,000 |
| Zone 8 (6,501 to 7,000 miles) | 22,750 | 35,000 | 45,500 | 70,000 | 87,500 | 105,000 | 119,000 | 140,000 |
| Zone 9 (7,001+ miles) | 32,500 | 50,000 | 65,000 | 100,000 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 170,000 | 200,000 |
Over the long haul, routinely picking the happy medium option is the best way to make your Avios go further and stretch the value of the dollar. This way, you won't redeem more Avios than needed to get the most out of them.
Related: How To Avoid Paying High Fuel Surcharges When Booking Flights With Avios
Final Thoughts
British Airways doesn't have a defined award chart for flights it operates. Instead, when you use British Airways Avios to book a flight, you'll note that prices fall on a wide-ranging spectrum. You'll have a variety of options, with some requiring more Avios and less cash, and vice versa.
You'll want to avoid picking the first price you see to get the most value from your points. Hidden in the options is a choice that'll provide a better use of your Avios, and it's routinely one of the happy medium options that balance Avios and cash.
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