What Are Avios Points? Are They Worth Anything?

If you’ve ever flown with British Airways, its partner airlines, or have friends/family that have you’ve probably heard of the phrase Avios Points before. Even if you haven’t flown with them or know anyone who has yet the chances are you’ve heard of the phrase used in conjunction with credit cards. But what are Avios Points? And are they worth anything? Here is everything you need to know about Avios points and how you can benefit from them.

So… What are Avios Points?

Avios points are a type of reward currency used by British Airways and some other airlines including, AerLingus, Iberia and Vueling. These points are earned by flying with BA, shopping with BA’s partners, or via an Avios earning credit card. Once you’ve obtained enough points you can use them for money off flights or ‘free’ flights, hotel stays or convert to Nectar points to name a few examples.

If you are still confused think of Avios as a loyalty scheme for British Airways in the same way Nectar is for Sainsbury’s.

What are Avios points worth?

It’s a difficult question to give a straight answer to! We value ours at 1p and you can see how to work out your own valuation here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/how-to-work-out-avios-point-value/

How many Avios do I need for a flight?

To fly within Europe you’ll need between 9,500 Avios for a return Economy flight to zone 1 locations such as Amsterdam, Berlin & Paris up to 41,500 Avios for a return Business flight to zone 3 locations such as Bucharest, Gran Canaria & Paphos.

As long you’ve collected at least one Avios in the past 12 months you’ll be able to take advantage of Reward Flight Finder which restricts the taxes for economy flights within Europe to a maximum of £35pp for Economy & £50pp for Business Class.

Outside of Europe, we don’t recommend using Avios for Economy seats due to the poor value you get, see why here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/should-i-use-avios-on-long-haul-economy-flights/

To fly outside of Europe Business Class seats start at 100,000 Avios return to Zone 5 destinations such as Dubai, Montreal & New York up to a massive 400,000 Avios if you ever came across a return First Class ticket to Sydney (Zone 9.)

Whilst the larger numbers might seem ‘impossible’ to achieve if you take advantage of various sign-up bonuses you’ll hit the bigger numbers without too much effort. Take for example our ongoing guide of how to reach 200,000 Avios as a couple. With various boosted offers from time to time you may even be able to reach even higher amounts!

You can see the different pricing/zones for Avios flights here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/how-many-avios-does-a-flight-cost-in-2021/. On all Avios bookings ‘taxes & fees’ are due in addition to the Avios fee.

You can also check on the British Airways website under ‘Book A Flight With Avios‘ on the British Airways website. Here you will be able to select your route/booking class/dates for the most accurate pricing including ‘taxes & fees.’

Should I collect Avios points?

If you are taking a flight with British Airways or one of their Avios earning partners you may as well set up an account and claim the Avios as it’s something for nothing. But whether you should collect Avios points on an ongoing basis purely depends on your personal circumstances and what you value most!

Whilst considering whether you should collect Avios you should work out your own valuation of an Avios point. Why? Because you want to get the best possible return on your spend and loyalty!

Rather than collecting Avios, you could collect points in another loyalty program, or with your credit card spend you may get a cashback card. So there is an opportunity cost for all your point collecting. To view some of the top cashback credit cards check out Money Saving Expert’s guide here – https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

Conclusion

As you can see if you like to travel collecting Avios can be a very fruitful hobby with ‘free’ or ‘heavily discounted’ flights all over the globe! Whilst for many this is an attractive proposition you should ALWAYS work out your valuation of an Avios point AND all your other options. For example, if you are always happy in Economy and with budget Airlines it’s unlikely Avios will be ‘worth it’ for you! Do you collect Avios? Or do you prefer cashback cards or another loyalty scheme?