Last week, British Airways announced it was changing its Avios earnings formula, moving from distance-based earnings to spend-based earnings come October 18th. This change will be a massive blow to most frequent flyers, who target lower fares rather than expensive, flexible tickets; Avios earnings will get more challenging from flying alone. But there is still time, and here’s what you need to do before the deadline to lock in the distance-based rates and take advantage of the old system before October.
Book. Now.
Executive Club members have until October 18th to book and earn distance-based awards. British Airways allows you to book up to 355 days in advance, which means you can book until July 13th, 2024, at the time of writing, and you can book until October 6th, 2024, before the deadline. This covers this year and next summer comfortably, so any scheduled travel can easily be secured.
Under the new system, you earn 6 Avios per £1 spent for Blue members and 7/8/9 per £1 spent for Bronze, Silver, and Gold members, respectively. Currently, you earn Avios as a percentage of the distance traveled, ranging from 25% for discount economy to 200% for first class.
Photo: British Airways
For example, booking a roundtrip from New York to London for £510 ($655) in Economy Standard would earn 3,548 Avios under the current system. Starting October, you will earn a flat 3,060 Avios (for Blue members), a 15% reduction. However, the bigger hit will be on cheaper business class tickets, which would go from earning 10,374 Avios to six times the fare only.
Therefore, book any travel for this winter and summer of 2024 by October 18th, locking in your Avios earnings. Prices tend to be far cheaper when booked in advance, so unless you’re buying a full-fare economy, business, or first class ticket, the old system is to your advantage. Checking isn’t hard, just use BA’s online tool or multiply your fare (in pounds) by 6/7/8/9.
BA Holidays exempted
British Airways Holidays has been a far favorite for frequent flyers thanks to its double Tier Points offer. Not only has this offer been extended until December 31st, 2024, flight bookings made as part of BA Holidays will continue to use the distance-based system. This is because the carrier only gives you one package price, not disclosing the flight-only cost as part of the process. Note that this could change in the future but remains in place for now.
Photo: jgolby | Shutterstock
There have been some changes in recent weeks, including requiring you to initially book the hotel and car and complete all legs of travel, flights, hotels, and rental cars for five days minimum. While this does close some loopholes, those going for usual holiday packages won’t mind too much.
Credit to Qatar Airways
Since 2021, you can freely move Avios between Qatar Airways and British Airways almost instantly. Currently, Qatar has not announced any plans to move to the spend-based system, which means you could move to credit your miles to QPrivilege instead and then transfer them back to BA. You will miss out on Tier Points, but if you can earn oneworld status from another carrier or aren’t pressed for it, this is a great way to continue earning Avios under the old system.
Will you remain with British Airways following the changes? Where would you credit your miles instead? Let us know in the comments.