What are the various British Airways fare classes?

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What are the different British Airways fare classes and what do BA’s fare classes mean?

You may think that airline tickets are only divided into three or four categories: economy, premium economy, business and first class. Unfortunately, airline fares are significantly more complicated, and many airlines operate twenty or more different ticket classes! In this post we’ll be decoding what your British Airways fare class means and how it affects you.

To complicate matters further, each airline runs its own lettering system – so this guide only applies to British Airways.

British Airways divides its tickets in nine different ways, often offering ‘lowest’ and ‘flexible’ tickets in each cabin class. Each of these categories comes with at least one designation letter, though some come with many more. Here’s the full list, including how many Avios you will earn if your ticket falls into that category:

Economy lowest – Q, O, G – 25% Avios of miles flown

Economy low – K, L, M, N, S, V – 50% Avios

Economy flexible – Y, B, H – 100% Avios

Premium Economy lowest – E, T – 100% Avios

Premium Economy flexible – W – 150% Avios

Business lowest – R, I – 150% Avios

Business flexible – J, C, D – 250% Avios

First lowest – A – 250% Avios

First flexible – F – 300% Avios

Fare classes come with different rules such as hand baggage allowances, and each fare class also has a different Avios earning rate.

Unlike many airlines, British Airways does not have a dedicated ticket bucket for Avios redemptions.

How do I know what fare class my BA ticket is?

British Airways make it easy to see your fare class. Once you have selected your flights and cabin class, you will be directed to a summary page with a link to ‘flight details’. Your fare class will be displayed on the pop-up.

Alternatively, you can see your fare class in ‘Manage My Booking’. Under the flight details drop down, there is a link to ‘More Flight Information’, which triggers a pop-up with the aircraft type, flight duration and other flight details and your ‘selling class’, which is you fare class.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works. You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 1.8 million monthly page views. Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios? Click here to read our latest news stories, click here to join our email list and click here to read our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series.)

How to get 20,000 Avios from Amex Gold or 30,000 Avios from Amex Platinum (December 2021 offer)

The sign-up bonus on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold converts to 20,000 Avios and the card is free for the first year. You can apply here.

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

You don’t qualify for the Amex Gold bonus if you have a British Airways American Express card. You DO qualify for the bonus on The Platinum Card, which converts into 30,000 Avios. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

If you have your own small business, the best way of earning Avios is via the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa. It has a sign-up bonus which converts to 10,000 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 look at the British Airways Accelerating Business card, because it currently has a limited time offer of 60,000 Avios when you sign up by 14th November. You can apply here.