British Airways has extended its Avios part payment service for cash flight bookings, meaning that all flights can now be paid for by Avios plus a nominal £1.
BA has offered Avios part payment on cash flight bookings for several years, but until now the maximum number of Avios which could be used to discount the price “varied depending on multiple factors”, including what taxes and charges were applied to the flight.
This is no longer the case, meaning that providing Executive Club members have sufficient Avios they can now use them to pay for the total cost of any BA flight, less the £1 cash payment – or they can choose to use fewer Avios and pay a larger part of the flight in cash.
The service is also available on transatlantic flights operated by American Airlines between the UK and North America, and on British Airways codeshare flights “with selected partners”.
Avios part payment is separate to reward seat bookings, which allows members to redeem Avios on a limited number of seats on each flight (or in some cases all of the seats where the carrier is offering an Avios-Only service).
BA has also operated an Avios plus £1 service on short-haul Reward Flight Saver bookings for some time.
As Avios part payment bookings are made on cash tickets, members will still collect Avios and Tier Points on their flight, as well as any applicable bonuses.
The expansion of the Avios part payment scheme follows a similar move for BA Holidays bookings last year, allowing members to use their Avios to pay in full for holiday packages (less the £1 cash amount).
It’s generally agreed however that using Avios in this way represents a poor return against the value of an Avios, so readers should do their research before making an Avios part payment booking.
Commenting Colm Lacy, British Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“We’ve listened to our Members’ feedback and we’re really excited to be introducing this latest update for them.
“We know that most of our customers choose the lowest cash amount when it comes to making Reward Flight bookings, so we anticipate this to be a popular option for those using Avios part payment too. Ultimately, our goal is to keeping adding more choice and flexibility for Members.”
