Live in the regions? Your Avios have just been devalued (accidentally)

If you start your Avios redemptions outside London and require a connection, your points were devalued (accidentally) on Monday.  It just took us 48 hours to notice.  No-one else seems to have spotted this at all.

The good news is that I think BA will end up reversing what they have done, because it is totally unfair.  I don’t think it is deliberate and I am told by Avios that it is an accident.

On Monday we wrote about the roll-out of BA’s trial of £1 Avios redemptions – see here.

Under this scheme, you now have the option – if you choose – of reducing the ‘taxes and charges’ element of all UK and European redemptions from £35 (economy) or £50 (business) to just £1.

The downside is that you need to use more Avios.  In my view, you need to use so many additional Avios that it isn’t worth.  You have the choice, however.  No-one is forcing this new structure on you.

In my article I wrote “I’m sure that more quirks in the pricing will come clear in the next few days.”  Unfortunately I was right.

Avios has devalued for everyone who needs a regional connection

Here’s an example.  A Club World off-peak Avios redemption from Newcastle to New York, off peak, costs 100,000 Avios.  This is the same price as a flight from Heathrow to New York.  The domestic connection is free.

Or, at least, it used to be.

Take a look at the screenshot below (click to enlarge):

A ‘Club Europe connecting to a Club World’ redemption from Newcastle to New York, off-peak, has gone up by 10,000 Avios from 100,000 to 110,000 Avios return.

Where has this ‘extra’ 10,000 Avios come from?

Here is my guess.  This is the new pricing for a Club Europe redemption between Newcastle and Heathrow, return:

The old standard price was 15,500 Avios + £50.  Under the new scheme, you can now use 25,500 Avios to take the taxes down to £1.

25,500 Avios minus 15,500 Avios = 10,000 Avios.  This is where the increase in the long-haul ticket comes from, I am sure.

But there is no tax saving …..

“But wait“, I hear you say, “perhaps BA has reduced the taxes and charges bill to compensate for adding on 10,000 Avios?“.

Er, no.

This is the identical trip, booked from a British Airways Executive Club account which does not qualify for Reward Flight Saver because the account – which belongs to my father in law – has not earned an Avios in the past 12 months (click to enlarge):

The Avios cost is just 100,000 Avios.  The taxes are the same at £666.08.

So, let’s get this clear …. you now need to pay 10,000 additional Avios for a long-haul redemption, if you are flying from the regions, if you are an ‘active’ Avios collector!

You can save 10,000 Avios by not collecting a single Avios for 12 months and going ‘inactive’.

My money is on this being an IT mistake – and Avios has told me this morning that this was not planned – so hopefully we will see it rolled back over the next few days.  

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 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 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.)