Are British Airways Avios Air Miles Worth Collecting?

I never collected Airmiles, but I have been collecting Avios for many years, and I do recommend collecting them if you like to travel, as you can collect them for free and get money off travel. I have flown long-haul on several occasions at a fraction of the price of a normal ticket by using my Avios points. However, you often have to be flexible with your travel dates and routes in order to get the best deal. Also, BA customer services are appalling if you even need to contact them for anything. So using Avios definitely has its pro's and con's.

If you can obtain a BA Companion Voucher (details of how to get one are further down) then your Avios can go even further.

Here are a few ways to collect Avios, both paid and free:

Flights — You can collect Avios with British Airways, oneworld® alliance partners and other airline partners. It depends on the fare class as to how many Avios you will earn.

Hotels — If you book direct with one of the BA hotel partners, than you can convert your points from the hotel’s loyalty scheme to Avios. You can also book hotels direct with British Airways Holidays, collecting 1 Avios for every £1 spent.

Car Hire — If you book with Avis, Budget and Zipcar, then you are eligible to collect Avios. The most are with Avis, where you can collect 5 Avios per £1 spent.

Shopping — This is probably where I collect more of my Avios. BA operates a website where you can access retailers through their site, collecting Avios. It works like Quidco or TopCashback only you receive Avios points rather than cash. It is always worth checking how many Avios you will receive for your shopping as often, it is better than the cashback.

Tesco Clubcard — You can convert your Clubcard vouchers into Avios. £2.50 = 600 Avios.

eRewards — No spend necessary. You can collect Avios for filling out surveys. Collect 600 Avios when you complete your first survey with eRewards. I have collected thousands of Avios this way. If you have time to spare, and you enjoy filling out surveys, then definitely give this one a go as it does not cost you a penny.

Rewards for Thoughts — Another way to collect Avios with no spend. When you enrol with Rewards for Thoughts and complete your first survey, you’ll collect 600 Avios. Then for each survey completed, you’ll collect up to 50 Avios.

British Airways American Express® Credit Card — This is the main credit card that I use. The card is free and offers you to collect 1 Avios for virtually every £1 spent on purchases. There is also a welcome offer where you get 5,000 Avios if you spend £1,000 in your first three months of Card membership. If you are a big spender then this card offers a Companion Voucher when you spend £12,000 each membership year (this has been reduced from £20,000). The voucher gives you a buy one, get one free flight with BA, you only pay the taxes. Whilst, this is s great voucher, especially if you have enough Avios to add towards it. The voucher is best used on long haul flights and if you are flexible with your dates. Prior to September 2021, the voucher could be used on any cabin class. However, sadly, now it can only be used to book an economy cabin.

There are other ways that you can collect Avios. Nutmeg Pensions, Capital on Tap, The Spectator, Fibre Broadband from SSE, The Economist, Midpoint money transfer, The Wine Flyer, Heathrow Rewards, The Bicester Village Shopping Collection®, Hackett, High Life Shop products onboard British Airways flights.

Avios are also available to be purchased. I would not recommend this unless you are only a few points away from what you need for your flight. Also, every so often, BA has offers where you can receive up to 50% more Avios for your money.

COVID and Cancellations

BA claims that their flights are fully flexible and cancellable. However, be warned, this is only half true. I had to cancel my flight as I contracted COVID before I was due to travel. Whilst BA did allow me to cancel my flight, the only option was for me to receive a voucher for future travel. I really did not want a voucher, as the travel rules have changed again, so I tried to contact their customer support. I tried calling with no joy as the line kept hanging up on me. There is no email address and their Twitter account ignored me. In the end, I had to take the voucher as it was only 2 days before my flight was due to leave.

I received an email from BA with two voucher codes on. However, there was no voucher value stated on the email, so I was unable to see how much my vouchers were worth. As I used a companion voucher, 125,000 Avios and paid £1400 for my flights, I had no idea what BA had reimbursed me as my Avios had not been refunded. Also, you are unable to use these vouchers online, you have to call their phone line.

I eventually contacted BA via Twitter who told me that I could have a refund but I would have to pay £35 per flight cancellation fee. I was not sure when I was going to be able to travel and I was £1400 out of pocket, so I took the hit and paid the £70 fee. I received my Avios back but not my voucher as it had expired.

When booking with BA, please bear this in mind, as I have been left very disappointed with their customer service.