British Airways has announced the way that travellers earn frequent-flyer points will be transformed from October. No longer will passengers collect points according to the length of the flight – BA now says it’s all about the money, with Avios awarded per pound, not per mile.
The airline says it will be a “transparent, consistent and simplified way to collect Avios” and is based on “customers’ feedback”. But airline points experts disagree, with one labelling it a “dud”.
These are the key questions and answers about what it will mean.
A brief history of airline loyalty schemes
The oldest surviving frequent-flyer scheme is American Airlines’ AAdvantage loyalty programme. The basic concept remains the same: the more you travel with a particular carrier, the more you are rewarded for your loyalty. The airline hopes that you will choose it ahead of rivals – and, as a reward, fill a seat which would otherwise be empty and travel on a journey that you would otherwise not make.
Schemes have acquired many bells and whistles. Stay in the right hotel chain, rent a car from the right company and pay with the right credit card, and points can be accrued in their tens of thousands – then used on partner airlines and for many other experiences, from afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason (Virgin Atlantic), a private tour of the British Museum and Tower of London (British Airways) to tickets for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France (Emirates).
BA also operates “Avios-only” flights – where the only way you will get on board is by using your frequent-flyer points.
Avios? Surely you mean Air Miles?
That was the frequent-flyer currency that British Airways introduced in 1988 – but it was replaced 12 years ago by a new currency, Avios, which is now used by BA and its sister airlines, including Iberia of Spain and Aer Lingus of Ireland. The idea remains the same. It’s a loyalty scheme: you earn points by flying frequently and can exchange those points for yet more flights. And we’re talking here about a radical change in the way that passengers earn.
What’s changing – and when?
For tickets bought from 18 October, you will earn Avios for each pound you spend, not each mile you fly. The basic deal is that you’ll get six points per pound – but if you’re a more illustrious member of the British Airways Executive Club, which you…
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