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This British Airways buy Avios promotion has ended. However, you can still buy British Airways Avios here.
The British Airways Executive Club is once again offering a bonus when you buy Avios — a rare opportunity that doesn’t come around as often as it used to. Get a 40% bonus when you buy or gift Avios through April 4, 2025. That brings the effective cost down to 1.64¢ per Avios when you max out the offer.
While buying miles isn’t always the best move, this promotion could make sense for topping off your balance or saving money on a specific redemption. Here's everything to consider before taking advantage of this buy Avios deal.
Page Contents
Key Terms of the Buy Avios Promotion
- Buy or Gift Avios and receive a 40% bonus.
- Promotion expires on April 4, 2025 at 23:59 BST.
- British Airways Club members can buy a maximum of 200,000 Avios (pre-bonus) per year.
- Bonus Avios will not count towards your annual limit.
- Purchases can take up to three business days to post to your account.
- To buy or gift Avios, you must have at least one Avios point in your account. If you have a zero balance, you'll need to have collected or redeemed Avios in the past 36 months in order to buy Avios.
- Avios purchases can be refunded within 14 days, provided they haven't been used.
- Buying Avios will reset the expiry date for Avios in your account.
- You can find all of the terms and conditions here.
While the terms and conditions state Avios will be deposited within three days, data points from AwardWallet users show that points purchases are usually processed within 11 hours.
With this promotion, you can buy between 2,000 and 200,000 Avios with a 40% bonus. If you maximize this deal and buy 200,000 Avios for $4,599, you'll receive 280,000 after the bonus — which comes out to 1.64¢ apiece.
A Note on Buying Avios
Buying points and miles isn't usually the best way to accumulate any award currency — Avios or otherwise. Earning them through everyday purchases, credit card welcome bonuses, and traveling is a better approach. That said, there are at least a couple of scenarios where buying points can make sense.
First, if your balance is just short of booking that next great redemption, buying points can be the fastest solution. Considering that award availability can change rapidly, waiting around for points to show up in your account may make the difference between snagging an award and narrowly missing out.
Second, it's sometimes possible to save money by buying points for an award redemption instead of paying the cash fare. We'll get into some examples of this later in the post.
The value of British Airways Avios
From recent AwardWallet user redemption data, we see the following values for using British Airways Avios:
- Short-haul economy and premium economy: 1.57¢
- Short-haul business and first class: 2.7¢
- Long-haul economy and premium economy: 1.67¢
- Long-haul business and first class: 3.31¢
This doesn't mean that you'll get this much value from every Avios redemption option. In fact, many Avios redemption options — especially on British Airways flights themselves — can be downright bad.
However, the value can be found when you take advantage of Avios sweet spots.
Buy Avios and Save
British Airways utilizes a distance-based award chart. Thus, shorter flights are going to cost less.
There are several British Airways redemptions in which buying Avios could save money compared to paying a cash rate. Moreover, members can transfer Avios between British Airways. Iberia, Qatar Airways, and Aer Lingus freely and instantly. That means you could utilize purchased Avios to leverage Iberia's award chart, for example.
Let's take a look at a couple of scenarios where buying Avios could make sense.
Charlotte–St. Kitts and Nevis in American Airlines economy
If you live on the East Coast and are looking for a sandy getaway, look no further than the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Relative to the flight time, flights to the Caribbean tend to be expensive. However, thanks to British Airways' distance-based award chart, you can save 43% on the cash rate by buying Avios instead of paying cash for a flight.
- Mileage rate: 18,000 Avios + $15.60 one-way
- Example cash price: $388 one-way
- Redemption rate: 2.07¢ per Avios
- Cost to buy 21,000 Avios (after 40% bonus): $365
- Cost of to buy exactly 18,000 Avios (at 1.64¢ apiece): $296
Miami-Lima in American Airlines (or LATAM) business class
Using British Airways Avios for flights on American Airlines is a staple redemption among award travelers — especially when you can book nonstop flights spanning regions. For example, you can book from Miami to Lima for 20,000 Avios each way in economy or 50,000 Avios in business class. And unlike transatlantic American Airlines flights, British Airways doesn't charge fuel surcharges on routes to South America.
- Mileage rate: 50,000 Avios + $20.60 one-way
- Example cash price: $2,210 round-trip
- Redemption rate: 2.17¢ per Avios (based on half of a round-trip)
- Cost to buy 56,000 Avios (after a 40% bonus): $935
- Cost to buy exactly 50,000 Avios (at 1.64¢ apiece): $821
Chicago–Madrid in Iberia business class
As I hinted above, just because you're buying Avios from British Airways doesn't mean you have to book with BA. You can simply move Avios to your Iberia account. Iberia's award chart has several sweet spots of its own, one of which involves flying business class to Europe.
It's possible to book an Iberia business class ticket from Chicago to Madrid one way for only 34,000 Avios during off-peak season. But make sure you search ahead of time, as business class availability can be quite tricky to find. You can book this award via British Airways:
Or you can transfer your British Airways Avios to book through Iberia at the same price.
- Mileage rate: 34,000 Avios + $128.20 one way
- Example cash price: $3,239 round-trip
- Redemption rate: 4.39¢ per Avios (based on half of a round-trip)
- Cost to buy 35,000 Avios (after a 40% bonus): $599
- Cost to buy exactly 34,000 Avios (at 1.64¢ apiece): $558
London (Gatwick)–Santorini, Greece in British Airways economy class
If you've read any of my posts regarding must-go destinations, you'll know that Greece is the number one destination I implore travelers to experience. And the most popular island in the beautiful Mediterranean nation is Santorini. The downfall? It can get slammed with tourists — so do your best to try and travel during a non-peak time (I would suggest September). Plus, that means you can get off-peak award pricing.
- Mileage rate: 10,750 Avios + $31.00
- Example cash price: $314 one-way
- Redemption rate: 2.63¢ per Avios
- Cost to buy 11,200 Avios (after a 40% bonus): $205
- Cost to buy exactly 10,750 Avios (at 1.64¢ apiece): $177
Note that you can pay as little as $1 in taxes and fees, but it's going to require a much higher Avios cost:
New York (JFK)–Dublin, Ireland in Aer Lingus business class
The beauty of Avios is the flexibility to transfer and use them for a handful of airlines. One of the airlines that flies (pun intended) under the radar is the national airline of Ireland: Aer Lingus. You can hop across the pond from New York to Dublin and go have yourself a Guinness! Aer Lingus has a solid business class and for just 50,000 Avios, this is a pretty nifty deal — especially when you consider you can save over 85% on the cash rate!
- Mileage rate: 50,000 Avios + $139.90
- Example cash price: $5,553
- Redemption rate: 10.8¢ per Avios
- Cost to buy 56,000 Avios (with 40% bonus): $935
- Cost to buy exactly 50,000 Avios (at 1.64¢ apiece): $820
British Airways Buy Avios History
When British Airways started selling Avios in 2021, they were running promotions quite regularly — every couple of months pretty much. And after two years of regular promotions, 2023 rolls around and they really pumped the breaks on offering deals.
Since January 2023, British Airways has only run six promotions — with only one of those promotions coming in 2024!
And while we thought we had a good sense of what to expect from British Airways, that perception has changed completely. So when British Airways comes around with another promotion, it might be one of your rare chances to grab Avios with a bonus:
| Promotion Ended | Max Bonus | Min Cents per Avios | Max Purchase Amount (w/ Bonus) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-04 | 40% Bonus | 1.64 | 280,000 |
| 2024-09-11 | 40% Bonus | 1.64 | 280,000 |
| 2023-12-15 | 40% Bonus | 1.64 | 280,000 |
| 2023-09-20 | 40% Bonus | 1.64 | 280,000 |
| 2023-03-13 | 40% Bonus | 1.36 | 280,000 |
| 2023-01-20 | 40% Bonus | 1.39 | 280,000 |
| 2022-12-19 | 50% Bonus | 1.27 | 300,000 |
| 2022-11-20 | 50% Bonus | 1.24 | 300,000 |
| 2022-09-14 | 50% Bonus | 1.19 | 300,000 |
| 2022-07-10 | 50% Bonus | 1.27 | 300,000 |
| 2022-03-24 | 50% Bonus | 1.33 | 300,000 |
| 2022-01-19 | 50% Bonus | 1.37 | 300,000 |
| 2021-12-19 | 50% Bonus | 1.36 | 300,000 |
| 2021-08-30 | 50% Bonus | 1.41 | 300,000 |
| 2021-07-05 | 50% Bonus | 1.43 | 300,000 |
| 2021-06-30 | 50% Bonus | 1.43 | 300,000 |
| 2021-04-11 | 50% Bonus | 1.41 | 300,000 |
| 2021-02-02 | 30% Bonus | 1.67 | 260,000 |
Maximize Your Purchase
Like many loyalty programs, British Airways partners with Points.com to process Avios purchases. This means you won't want to buy Avios with one of the best cards for travel purchases. Instead, use these cards to purchase your Avios:
- Any credit card where you're working on a sign-up bonus (here are some of the best current welcome offers).
- Any credit card with perks you can unlock from spending, such as hotel free night awards, hotel elite status, or airline elite status.
- Your best credit card for everyday spending, such as the Citi Double Cash® Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Related: Which Credit Card Should You Use to Buy Points and Miles?
Other Ways To Earn British Airways Avios
If you aren't in a rush, there are several other (less expensive) ways to add to your Avios stash.
British Airways transfer partners
For one thing, British Airways partners with numerous transferable currencies, including:
Any card earning these types of points can, in effect, earn British Airways Avios. Even better, if you collect more than one, you can simply pool them together.
With a co-branded credit card
If you're looking for a big boost to your Avios balance, you may want to consider applying for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card. Its current welcome bonus is 75,000 bonus Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
- Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
- Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL.
- Earn 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
- 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.
- Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you'll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad.
- Simply tap to pay with your contactless British Airways Visa Signature Card. Just look for the contactless symbol at checkout. It's fast, easy and secure!
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 3X Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL
- 2X Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations
- 1X Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
And since you can freely (and instantly) transfer Avios between British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia, that means these credit cards also could help you earn Avios:
Related: The Best Credit Cards for Earning Avios
Bottom Line
For a limited time, British Airways is offering Club members the chance to buy Avios with a 40% bonus. This promotion comes to an end on April 4, 2025.
U.S.-registered British Airways Club members can buy points for 1.64¢ each — nothing spectacular, but valuable for the right redemption. Most U.S. travelers would be better off generating Avios through credit card spending.
If your British Airways account is registered in the United Kingdom or European Union, you will likely be able to grab points at a better rate. Regardless, there's still value to be had when leveraging British Airways' award sweet spots for U.S-based members.
Considering British Airways doesn't run these promotions very often, this might be a good time to buy some Avios while they're on sale if you have a sweet redemption you want to grab.
Will you buy British Airways Avios with a 40% bonus?
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: British Airways Visa Signature® Card (Rates & Fees)
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