Published 29 October 2026 | Updated 29 October 2026 by Kate Acaster
Avios points are the reward currency of British Airways and its partners. A Reward Flight to Paris costs 20,000 plus £5 return, off-peak, in economy. Buying those 20,000 Avios outright costs about £351. So if you’d have to buy them, a short-haul Reward Flight only beats paying cash when the fare is above about £356. Avios have no fixed pound value, so the useful question is what they’re worth on a given flight.
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What Avios points are and how you earn them
Avios is the currency of The British Airways Club, which many people still call Executive Club. It’s free to join. You earn on British Airways flights, hotels, car hire, partner shopping and some credit cards. On BA flights, earning follows what you pay, not how far you fly. Fares, carrier charges, upgrades, pre-booked seats and extra bags all count. Reward Flights, agency discounted fares and industry discounted fares earn nothing.
| Club tier | Avios per £1 | A £200 fare earns | Spend for 20,000 Avios |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 6 | 1,200 | £3,334 |
| Bronze | 7 | 1,400 | £2,858 |
| Silver | 8 | 1,600 | £2,500 |
| Gold | 9 | 1,800 | £2,223 |
A Blue member needs about £3,334 of eligible spend to reach 20,000 Avios from flying alone. At 6 per £1, earning on flights is slow.
How many Avios you need for a flight
Reward Flights are priced by distance, not by the cash fare. You pay Avios plus a cash amount for taxes, fees and carrier charges. On British Airways flights the cash amount is fixed. On Iberia, American Airlines and other oneworld partners it varies. Every Reward Flight includes a 23kg bag, and Avios.com says you can change a booking, subject to availability, up to 24 hours before departure for £35, or £50 by phone (£35 plus a £15 phone charge).
| Distance band | Avios plus cash | Example destinations | All-in if you buy the Avios |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short haul | 20,000 + £5 | Paris, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Geneva, Brussels | About £356 |
| Long haul | 55,000 + £150 | New York, Dubai, Boston, Washington, Toronto, Doha | About £1,115 |
| Longest haul | 77,000 + £240 | Mauritius, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro | About £1,591 |
Seats are limited. BA guarantees at least eight economy, two premium economy and four business seats on its flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick, and Avios.com says reward seats are released 355 days ahead. Our guide to when BA releases flights explains that window.
At a £120 fare, as in the example below, 20,000 Avios gives the weakest return.
What Avios points are worth
Avios.com says Avios have no fixed pound value. You can still measure them. Cash fare, minus the cash fee, divided by the Avios gives pence per Avios. Here is a worked example with made-up fares, not quoted prices. A £120 Paris return saves £115 for 20,000 Avios, about 0.6p each. A £600 New York return saves £450 for 55,000, about 0.8p each. Buying outright costs about 1.75p each, so both lose. At a £120 fare, Paris is a poor use of points you already own.
“Avios you’ve earned and Avios you’ve bought are different sums. Bought, the test is the cash fare against about 1.75p each. Earned, the test is whether that flight beats the other uses of the same balance, such as part payment on a trip you’d book anyway. A £120 Paris fare is a weak use of either.”
Kate Acaster, Chief Editor, Flight Tribe
Value tends to turn up where the cash fare is high relative to the Avios price. Check the Avios price for your exact dates, because the prices in the table are off-peak.
Should you buy Avios points?
Mostly no, unless you’re a few thousand short of a Reward Flight you’d otherwise pay a lot for. The table shows the three ways to buy. Boost is cheapest but only multiplies Avios you’ve already earned, so it can’t fill a big gap. Subscription is cheaper than buying outright, but it drips Avios in monthly.
| Option | Best rate | How it works | Cost of 20,000 Avios |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase | Up to 57 Avios per £1 | Buy 2,000 to 200,000 in one go. You don’t need to have collected recently. | About £351 |
| Boost | Up to 109 Avios per £1 | Pay to boost Avios you collected in the last 30 days by 100%, 200% or 300%. | About £183 |
| Subscription | Up to 101 Avios per £1 | Avios added every month, up to 200,000 a year. Pay monthly or yearly. | About £198 |
Use the last column of the Reward Flight table above as your test. If the cash fare is below the all-in figure for that distance, pay cash and keep your Avios. If it’s well above, buy only the shortfall. That test uses the outright price. A subscription works out at about £198 per 20,000, but it commits you to monthly spend, so it suits regular bookers, not a one-off top-up.
Edinburgh sits in the same 20,000 band as Paris, so the same break-even maths applies.
Other ways to spend Avios
Reward Flights aren’t the only use. Part payment starts from 1,000 Avios and can cut the cash price to as little as £1, and you still earn Avios and tier points. BA’s spending Avios page also lists seats and bags (see our guide to British Airways baggage fees), upgrades on selected fares, Avis and Budget car hire, hotels, and Nectar, converted 400 for 400. The price page lists the saving options for your booking, and you pick one before you pay. Part payment works on BA flights, American Airlines flights between the UK and North America, and some BA codeshares.
Sharing, transferring and keeping Avios alive
Avios expire if you don’t collect, spend, buy or share at least one Avios every 36 months. A household account lets up to six people, children included, share a balance. You can also transfer Avios to and from Iberia Club, AerClub (Aer Lingus), Loganair Loyalty, Vueling Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Finnair Plus accounts. If Avios are missing after a flight, claim within six months. Virgin Atlantic isn’t on BA’s list of transfer partners. Our Virgin Atlantic Flying Club guide covers that one.
Before you spend Avios
Check the cash fare first, then the Reward Flight price, then the all-in cost of buying the Avios. If you’re chasing a deal on a BA cabin, our British Airways sale dates guide shows when cash fares tend to drop, and our cheap business class upgrade guide covers the other routes into a better cabin. Prices change, so check the booking page before you spend.
Avios Points FAQs
What are Avios points?
Avios is the reward currency of The British Airways Club and its partners. You earn it on flights, hotels, car hire, shopping and some cards, and spend it on Reward Flights, upgrades, part payment and more.
How many Avios do I need for a flight?
BA’s off-peak return economy examples are 20,000 Avios plus £5 for Paris, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Geneva or Brussels, 55,000 plus £150 for New York or Dubai, and 77,000 plus £240 for Tokyo or Hong Kong. Prices depend on distance.
How much are Avios points worth?
There’s no fixed pound value. Work it out per flight: cash fare minus the cash fee, divided by the points. Buying Avios outright costs about 1.75p each. A Reward Flight beats buying them only if it saves more than that per Avios. For points you’ve earned, compare it with your other options.
Can I buy Avios points, and is it worth it?
Yes. You can buy 2,000 to 200,000 at once, outright at up to 57 Avios per £1. For 20,000 Avios that’s about £351, so a Paris return is only worth buying Avios for if the cash fare is above about £356.
How many Avios do I earn on a British Airways flight?
Blue members earn 6 per £1 of eligible spend, Bronze 7, Silver 8 and Gold 9. Airport charges and government taxes don’t earn Avios, and Reward Flights earn none.
Do Avios points expire?
They don’t expire as long as you collect, spend, buy or share at least one Avios every 36 months.
Can I share Avios with my family?
Yes. A household account lets up to six members, including children, share Avios. Avios can also be transferred to friends and family through Avios.com.
Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
How Kate works
Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
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