The Avios program originally began in the 1980s, spearheaded by British Airways. In the last decade or so, British Airway's parent company, International Airlines Group, decided to consolidate the frequent flyer/loyalty programs of its subsidiary airlines: British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling.
Then, in 2023, Qatar Airlines officially decided to join the Avios family, making it such that there were four major airlines (in the Oneworld alliance) that all use Avios as their frequent flyer currency. Given the prominence of Avios in Europe/Middle East, it is of great importance to understand the Avios currency.
In this article, we will talk about the various ways to earn Avios (without flying), Avios expiration policies, how each airline prices its award flights (it is not uniform across each airline), award redemption sweet spots, and cancellation policies.
How To Earn Avios (Without Flying)
Credit Card Transfer Partners
You can get Avios via transfer partners with all major credit card issuers, making it extremely easy to get Avios:
- American Express (Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia) (1:1)
- Bilt (Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia) (1:1)
- Chase (Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia) (1:1)
- Capital One (British Airways) (1:1)
- Citi (Qatar) (1:1)
- Marriott (3:1) (British Airways)
- Ramp (1.5:1) (British Airways)
- Wells Fargo (British Airways, Iberia) (1:1)
Credit card issuers have historically offered occasional transfer bonuses to Avios programs. Based on the last few years, it's pretty standard to get a ~30% bonus when transferring your points to British Airways.
Buy Avios
You can easily purchase Avios from all the airline's websites. However, buying Avios at sticker price is not traditionally a good move (typically costs 2+ CPP).
These airlines do typically run promotional sales to purchase Avios at steep discounts. We've seen Qatar sell Avios for as low as 1.53 cents per point and British Airways sell them as low as 1.59 cents per point in the last year.
Additionally, British Airways has a unique product called the "Avios Subscription" which allows you to continuously earn Avios on a month to month basis for a monthly/annual fee. The best plan (the annual "Adventurer" plan) costs £1,989/year, but gives you 200,000 Avios in a year (16,667 Avios/month). Converting to USD CPP, this comes out to just 1.25 CPP to buy Avios, which is quite good all things considered.
Do Avios Expire?
Avios remain active as long as you collect, spend, purchase, or share at least one Avios every 36 months. This policy encourages members to engage with the program regularly to keep their Avios from expiring.
Notably, qualifying activity includes transferring points, meaning you could reset the 36 month timer by transferring in even just 1,000 points from AMEX, Chase, Capital One, or Bilt.
Wait, Are My Avios In My Qatar/Iberia/Aer Lingus/British Airways Accounts All The Same?
One of the most unique things about Avios is that they are used as the frequent flyer currency for multiple airlines. British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia are owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), while Qatar has a significant ownership stake in IAG.
This means you can generally transfer Avios 1:1 within these programs. For example, if you have 1,000 Qatar Avios, you can transfer them instantly to your British Airways account to use them accordingly.
However, it's worth noting that some transfers require jumping through another program. For instance, to transfer Aer Lingus Avios to Qatar, you need to first transfer to British Airways, and then to Qatar Airways. In other cases, you can just use the Avios website.
How Each Airline Prices Its Avios Award Flights
Aer Lingus AerClub
Aer Lingus uses a published award chart based on your distance traveled and times you're flying in.
British Airways Executive Club
Please note that British Airways award pricing changes frequently, oftentimes in the more expensive direction. These charts may be come out of date (and some prices already seem to be so).
British Airways uses a distance-based award chart for flights booked with Avios, making short-haul flights particularly attractive. The number of Avios required for a flight depends on the distance of the segment and the class of service. This system can offer excellent value, especially for shorter, direct flights within Europe and other regions.
Notably, there are two pricing charts (that are not easily accessible on the British Airways website right now). One is for flights booked directly with Avios flying on British Airways; the other is for Avios bookings on partner airlines.
British Airways Avios pricing for award flights flying on British Airways. Chart from Prince of Travel. Since awards are typically subject to change, these prices may have minor differences than what's currently searchable; Zone 1-3 for example, seem to be off by about 750 miles.
British Airways Avios pricing for award flights flying on partner airlines. Chart from Prince of Travel
Iberia Airlines Plus
Iberia also uses a distance based + off/on season chart for pricing award flights when flying on Iberia metal. Interestingly, Iberia has extremely favorable award pricing that we'll highlight later.
For partner Oneworld flights, Iberia uses the same exact chart that British Airways does for partner bookings.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Qatar Airways has been undergoing several reworks over the last few months with its integration into Avios. For Qatar award flights flying on Qatar metal, they don't have a published award chart, but they have a calculator tool you can use to determine the price of your awards.
Most recently, they updated their partner award chart to basically match exactly that of British Airway's partner award chart.
Something unique about Qatar Airways is their partnership with JetBlue. While you can't book JetBlue using British Airways or Iberia, you can book JetBlue flights using Qatar's website. Rates for JetBlue's business class vary, with routes flying 1,152–2,000 miles costing just 26,000 Avios.
Avios Sweet Spots
Since each airline prices its own Avios redemptions a little bit differently, the program as a whole has a variety of special sweet spots. Notably, you can stack transfer bonuses with these sweet spot deals to get even more value out of your points where possible.
Iberia Airlines: Business Class To Spain For 34k Avios
In one of the best award travel deals around, Iberia offers some incredible value for routes flying between 3,001–4,000 miles during off-peak dates: just 34,000 Avios one way. Routes flying 4,001–5,500 miles are also good, costing just 42,500 Avios one way.
Mostly Northeast airports qualify for the 3,001–4,000 mile band, while the likes of middle US airports & Miami fall into the 4,001–5,500 band.
US Airports <> Doha Via Qatar Airways Business Class For 70k Avios One Way
While British Airways says they have a specific partner award chart, there are pricing exceptions. In this case, British charges only 70,000 Avios one way to fly on Qatar Airway's business class—an awesome deal.
This deal is available from many US airports, including:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas (DFW)
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Washington DC (IAD)
Award taxes are bit steeper than the standard U.S. rate of $5.60, usually around $200–300 one way.
Aer Lingus: Economy/Business Class To Dublin For 13k/50k Avios
Aer Lingus has some pretty awesome redemptions when using Avios on its own flight offerings. For instance, during off peak travel times, you can get one-way award tickets in economy for just 13k Avios / business for just 50k Avios. This pricing is eligible for routes flying to/from:
- Boston
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Hartford
- Minneapolis
- Newark
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Toronto
- Washington
On peak isn't too bad either, with business costing a total of 60k Avios one-way (10k more Avios).
JetBlue Mint: Business Class To The Caribbean For 26k Avios One Way
Through Qatar's codeshare partnership with JetBlue, you can use Avios to book JetBlue flights. Notably, there are some very interesting rates on the Qatar/JetBlue award chart:
BRAND
Distance (Miles)
Economy Price
Business Price
0–1,151
8,500
17,000
1,152–2,000
13,000
26,000
2,001–3,000
18,500
74,000
3,001+
25,000
78,000
In looking at this chart, you can see that flights up to 2,000 miles flown actually represent strong value propositions for your points.
Avios Cancellation Policy
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus charges 42.50 Euros to change/cancel your award flight, up to 24 hours before departure. You will need to contact Avios.com to initiate any changes/refunds.
British Airways
British Airways has a complicated reward flight cancellation/redeposit policy where your region of departure will determine the fee. For example, if you are departing out of the United Kingdom and want to cancel/redeposit your Avios award ticket, the fee is 35 British Pounds. However, for North America departures, the fee is $55 USD. To see the entire pricing table, follow this link.
Notably, there is no charge for Gold Members to cancel their award tickets.
Iberia
Iberia has a very harsh award redeposit clause: bookings are nonrefundable except if the flight is operated by Iberia, Iberia Express, Air Nostrum, or British Airways.
If your ticket can be refunded, then expect a 25 Euro change/cancellation fee across all fare classes up to 24 hours before departure.
Qatar
Qatar allows cancellation/change requests up to 3 hours prior to departure. However, they charge varying fees depending on when the request has been initiated:
- More than 24+ hours before departure: $25
- 3-24 hours before departure: $100
- Within 3 hours of departure: Miles are forfeited
Conclusion
The Avios loyalty program, with its expansive network including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Qatar Airways, represents a robust platform for frequent flyers. With Avios, travelers can efficiently maximize their value on award flights, particularly through strategic transfers and redemption at sweet spots across the globe. Ultimately, the Avios program stands out as a significant asset for savvy travelers aiming to make the most out of their global adventures, especially for those traveling on Oneworld airlines.
