British Airways has launched a new feature for Executive Club members to buy Avios monthly using subscriptions.
You can sign up for one of the four packages that deposit Avios monthly to your account. You get two months “free” if you decide to pay a lump sum at the time of activating the subscription.
You can access BA’s page for buying Avios here.
Pros & Cons
- The lowest price you can buy Avios
- Requires upfront payment for the entire year, BUT Avios deposited monthly
- Automatically renew unless you cancel
- Won’t count towards the yearly purchase limit (also 200,000 Avios)
Subscription Options:
The price of an Avios under all these options is roughly the same – a bit over euro cent each. So the only difference is how much you are buying.
The price during the frequent sales is roughly 1.2 euro cents each.
Conclusion
British Airways is merely the latest airline that introduces a subscription option to purchase miles.
They should, however, sweeten the offer by offering some additional benefits such as elite qualifying miles, upgrade certificates, or award discounts, like many of their competitors, have done.
Avios can sometimes come in handy, although the number required for long-haul flights in business can be eye-wateringly high combined with expensive “fees.”
I use them for short-haul business class flights, and Rewards Flight Savers in economy and business to/from London are excellent value.
Terms and conditions of the offer:
1. When opting in for a Yearly Plan, the Subscriber will pay once, at the time of opting in for the Subscription.
2. When opting in for a Monthly Plan, the Subscriber will pay each month throughout the duration of their Subscription. First payment will be at the time of opting in and subsequent payments will be on the same day or as close to the same day in the following months, e.g., first payment on 1st October, second payment on 1st November and so on.
3. For Monthly Plans minimum term is 3 months.
4. For Yearly Plans minimum term is 12 months.
5. The Subscriber has the right to cancel their order within 14 days from opting in for their Subscription, providing their account balance is sufficient to remove the previously credited Avios.
6. Your Subscription will automatically renew after 12 months, unless cancelled.
7. Only one Subscription plan can be active at any one time.
8. Only one Subscription plan can be purchased per customer.
9. Subscription plan savings are calculated versus standard Buy Avios pricing.
10. The Subscriber can buy a maximum of 200,000 Avios in any one calendar year via Subscription. This is in addition to the 200,000 avios allowance through ‘Buy Avios’. We reserve the right to amend the maximum annual amount that can be bought via Subscription or otherwise at any time.
11. Avios can only be bought in specified amounts.
12. Subscription to Buy Avios may be amended from time to time for promotional activity.
13. The Subscriber will be able to spend Avios when they appear as credited in the Subscriber’s Executive Club account. There may be occasions where there is a delay of up to 3 working days in the Avios being credited to your account. If after this time you have not received your Avios, please let us know via the ‘Contact Us’ form at the bottom of the Buy Avios page.
14. Avios can only be bought on ba.com using the Buy Avios application.
15. The transaction currency will be pre-determined based on the registered country of the British Airways Executive Club account.
16. The Purchaser must be a Member of the British Airways Executive Club and age 18 years or over.
17. The Purchaser must have at least one Avios in their Executive Club account in order to buy Avios. If the Purchaser has a balance of zero Avios, they will need to have collected or redeemed Avios in the past 36 months in order to buy Avios.
18. The Purchaser will be unable to buy Avios if they have a negative balance.
19. The Buy Avios year begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December.
20. Purchasing Avios will reset the 36-month Avios expiry rule, as set out in the British Airways Executive Club Terms and Conditions.
21. You have the right to cancel contracts for the purchase of Avios within 14 days of purchase provided the Avios have not been used. To exercise the right to cancel the purchase of the Avios, get in touch using the ‘Contact Us’ form at the footer of the https://pgt.shopping.ba.com/subscription website. If you cancel, we will reimburse the entire payment up to 14 days after the day on which we were informed about your decision to cancel this contract.
22. Avios which are subsequently refunded will not constitute activity for the purposes of the 36-month Avios expiry rule in the Terms and Conditions.
23. In the case of Fraud or Misconduct, both as defined in the Terms and Conditions, British Airways reserves the right at any time in its absolute discretion to terminate the Membership of any Member and may cancel all accrued and accruing Avios of the Member and any Reward booking.
