The best uses of Avios points, ranked

There are many ways to use Avios points, including for flight redemptions, hotel rooms and even wine. But did you know that not all uses offer equal value?

(We have written this article as a reference article, so most long-term readers will be totally familiar with the points it makes. Remember that we were all beginners once, though.)

What is an Avios worth?

Before we look at the best use of Avios it is worth taking a look at what an Avios point is worth.

The most important thing to know is that there is no fixed value of an Avios point. The value you get will depend on how you choose to use your Avios, with some redemptions offering more value than others.

Having said that, there is a ‘floor’ value for many Avios redemptions of 0.5p per point: or, to put it another way, 2 Avios will save you 1p. This is generally the lowest value redemption you can get.

If you want to read more about how to value an Avios point then you should read this article about what an Avios is worth.

The best uses of Avios

In general, the best use of Avios is a redemption you genuinely value. There is no point saving Avios for the ‘best value’ redemptions if it isn’t somewhere you want to go.

For example, there is no point in using Avios to fly to, say, Kuwait, if you do not want to visit Kuwait – no matter how ‘good’ value the redemption may be!

The better strategy is to figure out how and what you want to do and then find the best way of using Avios in that situation. Your Avios are a tool to getting a great trip without spending a lot of money on your travel.

To help you find the best use for your Avios we have ranked Avios redemptions from best to worst depending on their general redemption value.

1. Flight redemptions

By far the best use of Avios is for flight redemptions. By using Avios for flights (which is what Avios was originally set up for!) you’ll often get 1p per point or more.

You can get even better value by using the Companion Voucher from the British Airways American Express cards, which let you take someone with you for the same Avios cost.

Avios tickets aren’t 100% free. You still have to pay a ‘taxes and fees’ cash element. This depends on your destination as well as cabin class, and can range from £35 for a Reward Flight Saver short haul flight to £600+ for a long-haul redemption in First.

The best value redemptions are in premium cabin classes such as Club World and First, as well as during peak times such as school holidays. This is when cash fares are highest and using Avios offers outsized value.

Here are some example redemption options, taken from ba.com:

• London to New York in Club World (business class): 100,000 Avios + £675 vs £1,395 round-trip:
• London to Hong Kong in Club World (business class): 150,000 Avios + £590 vs £2,045 round trip
• London to Barcelona in Club Europe (business class): 31,500 Avios + £50 vs £351

In recent years British Airways has allowed you to reduce the cash element to £1 on short haul redemptions by increasing the Avios you pay. If you do the maths, you will often see that the value of Avios decreases the more you use. This article explains why BA’s £1 taxes and fees are generally a bad use of Avios.

Make sure to read our beginner’s guide to Avios flight redemptions before booking, which explains how to maximise your Avios for flights.

…but not long-haul economy redemptions

Flight redemptions are often great value, but there is one exception. Using Avios for long haul economy redemptions is extremely poor value.

You will often find that the taxes and fees required for an Avios ticket are as expensive as buying a normal cash ticket. Here’s a £392 cash ticket for hand baggage only fare in late June:

I found a £393 cash ticket for a hand baggage only trip in late June, whilst here are the Avios options on the same flight:

(Note that British Airways has recently introduced Reward Flight Saver on long haul flights. The best option is still typically the ‘traditional’ option, in this case 26,000 Avios + £290.)

In this case, you would be using 26,000 Avios to save £122, which works out at 0.39p per Avios. That’s bad.

The maths changes if you need luggage. The same flights are £488 in standard economy, which includes 1 x 23kg checked bag. In this case, you would get 0.76per Avios, which is significantly better, although not particularly great.

The only other exception is for one-way tickets. British Airways will often charge more for a one-way ticket than a return, which means that an Avios redemption may be cheaper than the cash price.

Avios redemptions are also a good choice if you need the flexibility to cancel or change your booking at short notice. You can get a full refund (including the Avios and taxes and fees) minus a £35 fee up to 24 hours before departure. This article looks at the cost of cancelling an Avios ticket.

This article has a detailed look at why long haul redemptions in economy are poor value.

2. Upgrade Using Avios

You can also use your Avios to upgrade an existing cash ticket. This can offer good value and is a great way to fly in premium cabins if you don’t have enough Avios for a full redemption.

To Upgrade Using Avios, you pay the difference in the Avios cost according to BA’s reward flight prices from this chart. You also pay the difference in taxes and fees, which is negligible for most upgrades but can be significant when upgrading from economy (World Traveller) to premium economy (World Traveller Plus) due to the jump in Air Passenger Duty.

3. Supermarket shopping via Nectar

If you can’t (or don’t want to) use your Avios for flight redemptions then the next best thing you can do is convert them to Nectar points.

This is a new redemption opportunity and was introduced in February 2020, when Avios announced that Sainsbury’s and Nectar would be its new supermarket partner.

The Avios/Nectar partnership fundamentally changes the value of an Avios and introduces a new, higher base value of 0.8p per point.

This is because you can transfer an unlimited number of points between Avios and Nectar. For every 250 Avios you transfer you get 400 Nectar points, and vice versa.

Since 1 Nectar point is worth 0.5p at Sainsbury’s, Argos, eBay and other partners, what we are saying is that 250 Avios = £2, so 1 Avios = 0.8p.

This article looks at how the new Avios/Nectar partnership changes the maths for Avios collectors.

Poor use of Avios

There are just as many bad uses of Avios as there are good value Avios redemptions. These are the ones we would generally advise against:

Part Pay with Avios

Part Pay with Avios lets you reduce the cost of a cash flight by redeeming Avios instead. Note that in most cases, there is a limit on the level of discount – you cannot use Avios to pay for the whole ticket, unlike with a ‘classic’ redemption (see above).

Part Pay with Avios is great if you have a smaller Avios balance, as it lets you discount your ticket with as few as 1,000 Avios to save £10. In general, however, the value per Avios is not great, and actually decreases the more Avios you use.

Part Pay with Avios is generally a bad use of Avios.

Wines and spirits via Laithwaites

You can redeem Avios for wine and other alcoholic beverages on this page of ba.com. The majority of options are wine cases, but you can also buy a variety of single bottles and spirits.

For example, a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature champagne costs 13,300 Avios. You can buy the same bottle on Laithwaites.com for cash at £70.  This works out at about 0.52p per Avios which is not great value.

If you want to cash out your Avios for alcohol, then you would be better off transferring your Avios to Nectar and buying wine at Sainsbury’s for 0.8p per Avios.

This article takes an in-depth look at why using Avios for wine and champagne is poor value.

Hotels

You can redeem Avios for hotels via ba.com here. Bookings are made via an Expedia-style search.

The big thing to note is that hotel stays booked via ba.com using Avios will NOT get you status benefits or hotel points. The hotel will treat an Avios booking like a travel agent booking, which mean any status benefits you have will not be recognised.

Even if you ignore the lack of benefits, booking a hotel is a bad use of Avios. This is because you are generally only getting around 0.5p per Avios – much less than you would get for a flight redemption or even via Nectar. You are better off saving your Avios for better value redemptions and paying cash, instead.

This article looks at how you can use Avios to book hotel stays.

Car rentals

As with hotels, using your Avios for car rentals is a poor use of Avios as you generally get 0.5-0.7p per Avios. You are better off redeeming your Avios via Sainsbury’s at 0.8p per Avios and paying cash for a car rental.

You can also often get discounts for rental cars via holiday package bookings or various car rental ‘CDP’ codes – including via American Express cards.