How Does British Airways Peak & Off-Peak Pricing Work?

One of the features seen in many loyalty programs is peak and off-peak pricing, which levies a different cost on an award flight depending on the time of year or day of the week on which the flight is booked.

British Airways Executive Club uses peak and off-peak pricing for British Airways award flights, which is important to understand so you can maximize the value of your points.

What Is British Airways Executive Club Peak & Off-Peak Pricing?

One of the ways that British Airways Executive Club divides its pricing structure for British Airways flights is with peak and off-peak pricing.

As these names might suggest, peak dates are seen as more opportune times to travel, and cost more Avios to book. Peak dates almost always encompass summer, winter, and spring holidays; however, there are also some exceptions.

Conversely, off-peak pricing is available at a bit of a discount to ‌peak rates, as the dates fall on what British Airways believes to be less desirable times to travel. However, you may still find off-peak dates during busy travel periods.

As a reminder, with British Airways Executive Club, the amount of Avios you’ll spend on any particular flight is governed by a few factors, including:

• The total distance you travel
• The carrier with which you fly
• The date on which you fly

For example, the following chart shows the number of Avios required if you’re flying on British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Vueling, all of which are owned and operated by their mutual parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG).

As you can see, travelling on a peak date can significantly increase the number of Avios required for a flight.

Therefore, depending on which route you’d like to book, being flexible with your dates may very well preserve some of your Avios balance.

For example, suppose you’d like to fly from London Heathrow to Toronto in British Airways business class over the winter holidays.

An award search shows that on December 26, the total cost is 80,000 Avios plus $350 (all prices in CAD) in taxes, fees, and surcharges.

Out of curiosity, when you look for what’s available on December 27, you notice that the price jumps to 90,000 Avios, plus the same $350 in taxes and fees.

The difference here is that December 26 is considered to be an off-peak date, while December 27 is a peak date. In other words, you’d pay 10,000 more Avios to travel on December 27 just…