Changes To Barclays Avios Rewards

Barclays has just announced several changes to Barclays Avios Rewards starting this month (November.) Thankfully in the midst of several ‘adjustments’ to elements of the Avios scheme these changes seem to be quite positive…

What is Barclays Avios Rewards?

Barclays Avios Rewards is an add-on to a Barclays Premier Account and provides 1,500 Avios a month and an upgrade voucher after 12 months for £12 a month. You can only have Barclays Avios Rewards if you hold a Barclays Premier Account. Don’t forget until the end of November you could pick up 100,000 Avios ON TOP of the standard welcome bonuses when you take out the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card AND join Premier Banking switching on Barclays Avios Rewards for £12 a month. More details – https://pointsuncovered.com/barclays/get-a-huge-100000-avios-with-a-new-barclays-barclaycard-offer/

What are the changes to Barclays Avios Rewards?

There are two upcoming changes to Barclays Avios Rewards…

1. From the 7th of December, you’ll have an airport lounge membership from Dragon Pass as part of Barclays Avios Rewards. DragonPass Premier+ will let you use any lounge in their network for £18.50 per guest. You will also have access to other benefits like dining and spa discounts at selected airport locations
   
   As with Priority Pass, this does not guarantee access to the lounge. If the lounge is full you may be turned away. To avoid this happening you do have the option to pre-book lounge slots for an additional £5 fee. This will guarantee your entrance at your chosen time.
   
   If you have Barclays Avios Rewards and a Barclaycard Avios Plus card you’ll also receive four complimentary airport lounge passes each year. Each pass gives access to an eligible airport lounge for one person or can be exchanged for other benefits like a meal voucher or spa treatment at selected locations. These passes can be used by you and any guests that are travelling with you.
   
2. From early next year you will now be given the choice of anniversary reward between a cabin upgrade voucher and a specified amount of Avios. (Barclays as of yet hasn’t specified the amount of Avios on offer.) Barclays will let you know how to choose your reward nearer your anniversary. If you don’t choose you will automatically receive the cabin upgrade voucher.

Are the changes any good?

The addition of DragonPass Premier+ to Barclays Avios Rewards is only of real use if you don’t already have access to a lounge access program. If you don’t have access £18.50 for access (or £23.50 for confirmed access) is pretty good (most schemes without free access charge £20+) and some lounges charge almost double for walk-ins. The four free passes you get if you hold both the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card AND have a Premier Bank Account with Barclays Avios Rewards is a great addition if you don’t have free lounge access elsewhere. If you held the Amex Gold Card you’d receive another four free passes giving you 8 in total. That would be good for two return journeys as a couple (if they don’t have their own lounge access.)

Having more choices for your anniversary reward is a good thing. Particularly if you are going to be swimming in vouchers (we now collect 2 x 2-4-1 vouchers a year, 2 x upgrade vouchers from Barclaycard, and 2 x upgrade vouchers from Barclays a year.) just how good remains to be seen with the only details we have at the moment being that it will be a ‘specified amount of Avios.’

Conclusion

It’s good to see some positive news in the ‘point collecting game’ after a week of ‘doom and gloom’! What do you make of the latest changes to Barclays Avios Rewards? Don’t forget Barclays is offering a crazy 100,000 Avios sign-up bonus until the end of the month when you take out both (or any product you don’t have.) More details – https://pointsuncovered.com/barclays/get-a-huge-100000-avios-with-a-new-barclays-barclaycard-offer/