British Airways has one of the more popular frequent flyer programs, with its Executive Club currency Avios currently featuring some nice sweet spots on its partner redemption chart for several intra-Asia itineraries with partner (oneworld) airlines.
Yesterday the airline sent out a rather vague email to several members stating that partner award redemption pricing would be “changing” from 30th May 2019. The message also links to a dedicated page of the airline’s website, which states:
“From 30 May 2019, we’ll be changing our Avios prices on reward flights with the following partner airlines: Alaska Airlines, Air Italy, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, S7, Sri Lankan and Royal Jordanian Airlines.”
That’s basically all partners and oneworld airlines, with the exception of British Airways itself and its IAG partners (Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling).
The statement goes on to say:
“Don’t worry if you have an existing Avios booking with one of these airlines. It’s still valid and you can make changes or cancel it if you need to. Our new Avios prices will apply to any changes or new bookings you make after 30 May 2019.”
What does it mean?
While British Airways has not yet published any of the new rates formally, they did confirm that “changing” actually means “increasing” in a response on Twitter. No surprise there.
That means the days of sweet spots we know and love, like JAL domestic flights for 4,500 Avios or 7,500 Avios one-way, may be numbered.
Even though there is no formal notification of the new rates, we have seen some indications of what it might include. Over at the