May 30 is here and that means the promised devaluation of British Airways Avios for partner airlines is here as well. While they didn’t ever say exactly what was going to change in amounts (except highlighting that some routes could be “only” 4%), Seat31B did a great job at digging out amounts while on the phone with agents.
This is the New British Airways Redemption List – Post Devaluation
Now that the devaluation is here, I went through 36 combinations of routes and cabins of travel to find out the new, official British Airways redemption amounts for partners and here it is!
| Zone | Distance (in miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | 1 - 650 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 24,000 |
| Zone 2 | 651 - 1,151 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 16,500 | 33,000 |
| Zone 3 | 1,152 - 2,000 | 11,000 | 16,500 | 22,000 | 44,000 |
| Zone 4 | 2,001 - 3,000 | 13,000 | 25,750 | 38,750 | 51,500 |
| Zone 5 | 3,001 - 4,000 | 20,750 | 41,250 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
| Zone 6 | 4,001 - 5,500 | 25,750 | 51,500 | 77,250 | 103,000 |
| Zone 7 | 5,501 - 6,500 | 31,000 | 62,000 | 92,750 | 123,750 |
| Zone 8 | 6,501 - 7,000 | 36,250 | 72,250 | 108,250 | 144,250 |
| Zone 9 | 7,000+ | 51,500 | 103000 | 154,500 | 206,000 |
Good News / Bad News
Good News: Mid-Range/Long-Haul see slight increases
Bad News: Short-Haul routes are crushed
The good news is that there are quite a few amounts that did just go up a few percent in Avios amounts. The bad news is that the routes that got slammed (like with over a 30% increase) are the ones that Avios are so perfect for – the short-haul. Remember that Zone 1 no longer applies to flights in North America anyway but the increase in Zone 2 pricing really makes a situation where using Avios is not the huge value it was over just using American Airline miles for AA flights in the US.
An up top look at the single Qsuites seat – This QSuites award goes up from 37,500 Avios to 38,750
It does mean that routes like I talked about the other day (cool international business class routes for 15,000 Avios) are only seeing a marginal increase – 10%. Those same awards will now cost 16,500 Avios. The other route I had mentioned, Qatar QSuites for 37,500 Avios, will now cost 38,750 – an increase of just 3%. So, there is still some value to be had but not at all for short-haul partner flights.
The new cost for the Qatar QSuites route – previously 37,500
Summary
Devaluations are never fun for the customer but at least we still have some great ways of generating Avios – they are a transfer partner of several major reward programs and they sometimes have sales on buying them. In some cases, it will still end up being a better value to use Avios than American Airline miles for one world alliance flights simply because Avios are easier to earn than AA miles.
Hey, British Airways, we know this isn’t the last devaluation so at least do us the courtesy in the next devaluation to let us know what things will cost after you devalue the program.
[…] The Official, New British Airways Avios Redemption List – Post Devaluation. […]