Are Avios Points Worth It? Here’s How To Find Out

You’ve probably heard people talk about collecting Avios points for ‘free flights’ or read websites that talk about how great they are but are Avios points worth it for you? What’s the catch/drawbacks? Read on to help yourself answer these important questions!

So… Are Avios points worth it?

The most important thing is to set realistic expectations of what you can achieve using your points and how you earn them. Have a think about the following information…

Avios flights aren’t free

You will need to pay ‘taxes & fees’ on all bookings which can range between £1 and £600+ depending on where you are flying to. In Europe, with BA’s reward flight saver scheme, these are capped at £35 return in economy class and £50 return in business class per person. You’re eligible as long as you’ve collected at least one Avios in the past 12 months.

Where do you want to go?

Work out where you want to go and how many Avios + taxes and fees this will cost you – https://pointsuncovered.com/british-airways/how-many-avios-points-needed-for-a-flight/ – compare this to how you would normally travel with cash.

What value should I aim to get?

You should aim to get at least 1p of value per Avios point (your valuation may vary depending on how you earn them.) There are lots of bad redemptions out there so unless you are cash poor you may wish to save your Avios for a redemption with better value and pay cash.

Is the cost worth it?

For short-haul trips, I’m quite happy to hop on a budget airline unless I need a suitcase. When you add the £35 ‘taxes and fees’ plus 8,000 Avios (or more) it doesn’t always make sense to use Avios. For example a return to Dublin next May on a random weekend I can get for £48. That means I’m only getting £13 off for 8,000 Avios. Worth it? Not in my opinion… but do remember you get a suitcase included on Avios bookings.

What airlines can I use Avios on?

The main airline that you probably know you can use Avios on is British Airways however in total there are 27 different airlines you can use your Avios on. Read about there here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/can-avios-be-used-on-other-airlines/

If you book last minute…

And there is Avios availability you can achieve great value. Avios prices don’t fluctuate like cash prices which means if you ever need a last minute flight and there is Avios availability you’re in luck!

If you are after flexibility…

With Avios bookings, you have up until 24 hours before your outbound flight to cancel for a full refund of your Avios and ‘taxes and fees’ paid minus a cancellation fee (normally £35.) Read here for more on cancelling Avios bookings – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/how-to-cancel-avios-booking/

How will you earn Avios?

There are a few ways of earning Avios including flying, cashback, hotels and car hire, see the British Airways website here – https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/collecting-avios

But perhaps the most lucrative is through credit card spend. American Express has 2 BA credit cards that earn Avios directly & their membership reward cards can transfer points into Avios. You can also indirectly earn Avios via the Marriott Bonvoy card (and convert any Marriott points you have to Avios)

It’s also possible to convert Tesco Clubcard points into Avios (they have a Tesco Bank Credit Card which earns points too) as well as earning from shopping, fuel and Tesco Mobile etc.

Work out how much you will spend on them and their earning rate. Refer back to where do you want to go? Do you realistically think you achieve the Avios needed by your chosen ways of earning Avios?

Are you eligible for sign-up bonuses?

If yes, and you can meet the spending target for your chosen card it’s likely that it will be worth it (at least for the first year) in my opinion.

This is my experience using the points system and is not a recommendation of any financial product. If you use one of my referral links to an American Express card upon you being accepted I will receive points, this varies between 9,000 – 18,000 depending on the card I refer you from.

To make sure you are eligible for the sign-up bonuses mentioned below before sure to read this – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/amex-changes-sign-up-bonus-eligibility/

I’ve only included cards in which you can convert your points into Avios.

£1000 in 3 Months

The following cards require a spend of £1,000 in 3 months to qualify for the sign-up bonus.

British Airways American Express^® Credit Card – 5,000 Avios bonus – no annual fee

That is £333.33 a month or just over £83 a week to meet the sign-up bonus

£2,000 in 3 months

Marriott Bonvoyᵀᴹ American Express^® Card – 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy point bonus – £75 annual fee – converts to approx – 6,666 Avios

You would need to spend just over £666 a month or approx £166 a week to meet the sign-up bonus

£3,000 in 3 months

British Airways American Express^® Premium Plus Card – 25,000 Avios bonus – £175 annual fee

American Express^® Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card – 10,000 membership reward point bonus – £140 annual fee (first year free) – converts to 10,000 Avios points

If you can spend £1000 a month or £250 a week on either of these cards you would meet the sign-up bonus.

£4,000 in 3 months

The Platinum Card^® – 30,000 Membership reward point bonus – annual fee £575 – converts to 30,000 Avios points

A spend of £1333.33 a month or £333.33 a week would see you qualifying for the sign-up bonus.

You can get a referral (and increased sign-up bonus) here – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/

BA Amex 2-4-1

It’s possible to get even more value from your Avios if you have a BA Amex card with BA companion vouchers. These are basically 2-4-1 vouchers to use on Avios redemptions. This allows you to get 2 tickets for the price of one in Avios, the cash element of ‘taxes and charges’ would still be due for both tickets. On the free card, you need to spend £20,000 in a year to get the voucher on the premium card (£195 annual fee) you’d need to spend £10,000. Read more about it here – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/are-ba-companion-vouchers-worth-it-ba-amex-2-4-1/

Are other schemes more valuable to you?

Don’t forget Avios aren’t the only ‘points’ you can collect and by collecting them you are forgoing other points/cashback you could earn from other cards. Other popular point-earning cards include IHG credit card, Tesco Credit Cards (by exchanging Clubcard points for avios, hotel stays and more) & Virgin Atlantic credit card. To view other popular cashback cards check out Money Saving Expert’s article here – https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

Is there any way to get lots of Avios quickly?

We have a guide on earning 200,000 relatively quickly without needing to be a ‘big spender.’ This, however, does require 2 people to follow and credit card sign-ups. You can read it here – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/fast-track-yourself-to-2000000-avios-points/

What do you think…Are Avios points worth it?

As you can see there are a lot of questions to answer to work out if Avios points are worth it in your personal circumstances. There is no one size fits all approach but answering the questions above should give you a good idea if collecting Avios points