Forget the Avios changes for now – just get booking!

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In what is clearly a co-ordinated plan by British Airways, they announced massive changes to British Airways Executive Club just minutes after I boarded an eight hour flight 🙂

They forgot, though, that just because BA does not have wi-fi it does not mean that no airlines have wi-fi. One up to Etihad.

Avios wing 8

I will do a full analysis of the changes for tomorrow. My wife is away on business so a very late night will not lead to any marital disharmony.

In the short term, ie today, FORGET ABOUT THEM.

Because BA has released tens of thousands of Club World and World Traveller seats overnight, you have NEVER had a better chance of getting the redemption you want.

Fuss about the BAEC changes tomorrow. Today, dust off that Amex 2-4-1 voucher and get something booked.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Duncan S says:

28 Jan28 January 14:18

Having looked at the Business Traveller article detailing the changes, it seems like a big hit for people like me who have saved into the programme for a long-haul Business Class redemption – not something I’ll do often.

Most of my redemptions are/will be short-haul flights to Europe, and as I’m in Edinburgh it’s going to make Avios redemptions for these routes pointless if I have to pay for the flight to London in addition. Clearly I’ve got into point collecting at the wrong time.
- CV says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 19:51
  
  Yup, for those of us in the regions wanting to fly to europe its back to using easyjet and ryanair – at least its quicker than connecting through LHR.
  
  The kick in the teeth is on the premium long haul redemptions, as Raffles advise if you can book before the April deadline then do so. Reading the BA FAQs you can then change the booking after the changes and not pay the increased avios.
  - James67 says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 20:53
    
    What we need most in Scotland is AY to start flights from EDI. I think I will write them and draw their attention to possible APD changes and the large number of pax that fly from Asia to GLA with EK. EDI-HEL would be a dream come true for me.
RIccati says:

28 Jan28 January 14:20

What a great way to get ‘the middle class’ of BAEC members to feel screwed.

As always, be careful about giving all (or most) of your business to a single airline.
- BallSack says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:03
  
  Yep, the loyal but ‘middle class’ fairly frequent users who don’t do loads of business trips but stay loyal to BA for their holidays & short trips away when they could go with the real low costers for 1/4 of the price.
Jonathan says:

28 Jan28 January 14:41

I just hit Silver for the first time in over a decade of flying with BA and this is the news I am hit with. I wouldn’t of minded so much about the avios increase on redemptions, if my partner who was rewarded a 2 4 1 via the BA US visa card. Unfortunately the voucher has to be redeemed with a flight starting in the US and on BA metal. Ideally we wanted to use this with a flight starting in the UK for a special holiday flying in First.

Does anyone know of a way round this? Could we combine avios accounts/switch hers to a UK account etc? Any thoughts or advice would be welcome
- BallSack says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:05
  
  Hmmm…. Don’t know sorry. You could use the 2-4-1 on just the one-way flight from the US as a last resort I guess.
- Pr99 says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 16:05
  
  They are not cheap, they are cheaper than the peak rates which are higher than the current rates.
Paul Molyneux says:

28 Jan28 January 14:43

Just used companion voucher for open jaw redemption in Oct 15

LHR – BOS First Class
MIA – LHR CW

110,000 miles….from April this would have cost 155000 miles.
- BallSack says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:06
  
  Oh that’s just a f’ing disgrace. Come on. That’s almost a 50% increase.
GlennM says:

28 Jan28 January 14:47

Book it all before April – Crazy avios increases for Business and First kick in.

Makes Virgin Atlantic look like a dream!

http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/club-changes?DM1_SRC=&utm_source=eD&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email&utm_term=1000d1x3rjh4&utm_content=100000119073#rewardflightpricing
- Chris says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:19
  
  I have no doubt Virgin won’t be following suit pretty soon.
  - James67 says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 20:06
    
    They will have to do something in response to BA economy off peak. Frankly, I expect they will devale UC, but somewhat less than BA.
  - Chris says:
    
    29 Jan29 January 00:05
    
    will be following I meant
Justin says:

28 Jan28 January 14:48

Does anyone know if you can change a avios booking within 24 hours of booking without any charges?
- Chris says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:18
  
  You can cancel (even Avios booking) within 24 hours for free and then rebook. Don’t think you can change for free though.
- naf says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:19
  
  You can cancel with no charge within the first 24 hours, I have just done that. I had to phone as there was no option to cancel online.
- Mike says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:26
  
  The fee for changes and cancellations after 24h is pretty low – £35 if I remember right.
BallSack says:

28 Jan28 January 14:55

Having looked into these changes in a bit more detail the message seems to be……We want less of the common folk who fly low priced tickets to be able to redeem into higher class cabins as often as they do.

Keep the poor where they belong !!

With lower TPs & Avios earning in lower class cabins and on lower fare tickets combined with higher Avios redemption for higher class cabins.

Definitely a case of ‘keep the hoy-poloy where they belong & the higher class cabins just out of reach from them but still aspirational’.

Fair enough I suppose. Gits !
sandgrounder says:

28 Jan28 January 14:58

Along with the increased prices for long-haul premium class flights, the axing of a free domestic connection on European flights leaves this scheme very unattractive for those outside the south east. I think it may be time to call it a day on Avios after I have used up my last 2-4-1. Hopefully I will get something decent for next Easter before the deadline and then I will probably shift over to Virgin…..

….unless we are going to see some real movement on long-haul fuel surcharges, which could offset the extra cost (not holding my breath though) 🙂
- sandgrounder says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 15:34
  
  I have cooled down and had another look at this.
  
  Earnings- Little impact as I almost never fly BA for cash. I do fly Finnair to Latvia often enough but you get s*d all for this as it is.
  
  BA RFS- out (as I live near MAN). Unless I am planning way in advance and going for a reasonable amount of time. In that case, it’s possible, if it’s peak time (school hols etc) and flights from local airports are expensive, it will be worth the hassle of getting the train down to the Smoke (Its £10 each way booked early with our 2 together railcard.) which is better than taking the 18k hit for the two of us.
  
  Long haul economy- Never worth it, was it? (Except for one ways, no Sat night etc- in this case, it is still OK because no extra points. It might actually be cheaper)
  
  Long haul premium cabins- price has gone up BUT if this means I can actually get seats, it will be an enhancement- because at the moment it’s a b****y nightmare unless you want to go to NYC! My once-a-year trip with a 2-4-1 will cost a bit more, but I might get a choice of seeing a bit more of the world with it! Low prices are great, but if the shelves are empty, they are no good to anyone.
  
  Sunair franchise flights- My wife has family near BLL. These may actually be a bit cheaper now.
  
  On balance, I will probably try and hang on to Tesco and Amex points for longer rather than converting as default. But, I will be waiting to see how availability is impacted once the date has passed and all the fuss has died down before I send a letter of disgust and walk away for ever!