Frequent flyer schemes are great for everybody whether you're flying every week or once a year. While you won't accumulate staus flying once a year, you will, however, gain air miles which each flight. Everybody knows that points mean prizes! Unfortunately, those less frequent fliers may get caught out when redeeming air miles according to a Simple Flying investigation. Simple Flying found that on a short haul route the value of an Avios could vary from as little as 0.34p all the way to 0.8p depending on the method of booking. While British Airways told us that Avios have no set financial value, purchasing Avios costs between 1.6p and 3.6p each.

Our Sample Flight

For this investigation, Simple Flying used a one-way flight between Cologne and London Gatwick on January 7th 2019 for two adults in the economy cabin. We are using the fares available on Tuesday, however, they have slightly risen since then, not affecting the value of an Avios. The cheapest fare offered was €26pp, making a total of €52. The plus fare including baggage cost €33.88pp, making a total of €67.76. A business class seat on the service will set you back €243.

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Booking A Reward Flight

It is possible to book a reward flight using Avios. This would cost anything from 4400 Avios + £82.24 to 8000 Avios and £32.24. Bizarrely, the airline offers different Avios/Money combinations when purchasing flights, however, the lowest Avios redemption was 4400, giving a flight cost of £82.24 Using 8,000 Avios brings the cost of the flight down to £32.24, or around €36. This remaining amount covers fuel surcharges, taxes, and fees. The fare represents a significant saving of €31.69 against our €67.76 fare. However, As in this case, 8,000 Avios is worth €31.69, that gives the value of one Avios as 0.39¢. Of course, there is also the point that if you book the 4400 Avios reward, your Avios would theoretically acquire a negative value.

Booking A Flight With Money Off

We ended up booking the flight using money with an Avios discount. With the €67.76 fare, we were given the option of spending 2,500 Avios for €22 off the flight or 1,000 Avios for €10 saving. This gives an Avios value of 0.88¢ or 1¢ respectively. We opted for the larger saving bringing our flight cost down to €45.76. While this represents €10 more than the value of a reward booking, an extra 5,500 Avios at €10 would give a value per Avios at 0.18¢.

A British Airways representative told Simple Flying:

"We are committed to offering customers good value and as many opportunities as possible to spend their Avios. Customers have flexibility in the way they pay for British Airways flights with Avios.  They can choose to pay in full with Avios or with Avios and money, plus taxes, fees and carrier charges on these flights. As well as using Avios for reward seats, customers can also use Avios for a discount on any cash flight with the Part Payment option."

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Things Get More Confusing with Upgrades!

The story gets more confusing with upgrading to business class. Ignoring the cost of an upgrade in Avios, this morning I was quoted €578 to upgrade my flight. This is on top of the already paid cost of the flight. Bizarrely, creating an entirely new booking for two in business class would cost only €486. At the time of writing, I was unable to upgrade using Avios.

What is your impression of the value of Avios? Let us know in the comments down below!