BA Avios subscriptions

[Mattg]

You must be joking....one of the most popular routes...UK..AUS. And you try getting those four seats back home...on BA no way. (And try getting them outbound)

If booking 355 days in advance, you can often now get 2 Business seats on QR using Avios. (Since they aren't available to QFF members or Velocity yet at that point.)

 

[doctorstrangelove]

Great deal but situational use involving comparing the distance reward charts of both BA and Qantas as they're staggered slightly differently along with the different points cost in each category. The recent AFF article published in the last day or so pointed out some nice sweet spots for domestic travel in Australia. As already mentioned in this thread PER - MEL in J is very good value (recently I purchased this $1500 flight with 12,100 Avios + $191). Chuck in the additional value of picking up Reward Booking SCs if you're a Points Club member (I got 38SC for this flight). Also if timing allows make sure to book an A330 rather than the 737! I'll usually fly this route twice per year so I always try to make sure I've got at least 40,000 Avios in the kitty. I'd subscribe but I've already purchased points on the Septmeber 50% bonus deal which was a little less value for money than some of these.

However, now that Qantas FF program has been massively devalued (for my circumstances) by 1) making it almost impossible to book premium cabin availability with Qatar (only available now on Qantas website from 119 days out - pushed us to the very back of the queue; thanks again for AFF for doing the research) & 2) the hugely expensive surcharges on Emirates premium cabins I will be considering Avios beyond my previous solo use for them on Australian domestic. Living in Perth and trying to fly back to Europe really relied upon rewards availability in these two ME carriers if you're with QFF. As Qatar are now using Avios as a currency the situational use of Avios has definitely expanded for me! I now no longer see the 'point' of trying to earn with QFF and switched over to Velocity earning CCs this month after a long hiatus.

 

[djtech]

You must be joking....one of the most popular routes...UK..AUS. And you try getting those four seats back home...on BA no way. (And try getting them outbound)

Not sure if they are still keeping to their promise (someone's got to check) but from the BA website:

On all our British Airways flights to and from London Heathrow and London Gatwick we guarantee a minimum number of reward seats. We offer at least 8 seats in economy (Euro Traveller and World Traveller), 2 seats in premium economy (World Traveller Plus) and 4 in business (Club Europe and Club World).

 

[VPS]

Interesting new proposition from BA.

I've just been doing the maths on this, and I think it might actually be quite a good deal. It's better value than buying Avios at a 50% bonus.

British Airways | Buy Avios | Gift Avios | Share Avios

Avios subscriptions Loyalty Points Programme

pgt.shopping.ba.com

View attachment 302617

so did you actually decide to do and which one did you go with

 

[doctorstrangelove]

P.S. another sweet spot for those based in Perth are PER -SIN redemptions (availability OK by international standards but nothing like the choice buffet for domestic redemptions). With Qantas it's 57,000 points + $229. With BA Avios it's 38,750 points + $106 . This comes about about due to PER - SIN being a distance of 2,428 miles, which just pushes it into zone 4 with Qantas (2,401 - 3,600 miles).

 

[Leroy87]

Don't forget BA's pricing 'slider' that effectively allows you to buy Avios when you purchase a reward seat. Taking the smallest amount of Avios and largest dollars can give you an instant way to buy Avios on demand at a great rate. Tends to work best on mid-length trips and is very helpful for booking multiple tickets as you can get away with holding almost half the Avios required for the reward.

In QF domestic J we get things like...
MEL - BNE: 16.5k + $52 (default) or 8.8k + $167. 7.7k Avios at ~1.5cpp.
PER - MEL: 22k + $47 (default) or 12.1k + $191. 9.9k Avios at ~ 1.4cpp.

 

[Leroy87]

Not too shabby.

But I still prefer my annual “The Economist” subscription for 15/18K Avios paid in CAD for ~1.3 cpp AUD. Just need to make sure you play with BA account location settings and find the CAD currency payment option because the Economist has enforced geotracking for payment which automatically prices in USD for Aussies. I also claim back the marginal tax rate for “investment related purposes” to bring it down even further.

Sorry to sidetrack the thread again... I'm checking this one out here (Subscribe to The Economist) but when I click through to payment I'm getting the old 'payment region does not match'. Haven't found a way to get in yet sadly but I'll poke around some more.

 

[SYD]

Sorry to sidetrack the thread again... I'm checking this one out here (Subscribe to The Economist) but when I click through to payment I'm getting the old 'payment region does not match'. Haven't found a way to get in yet sadly but I'll poke around some more.

VPN set to Canada?

 

[Leroy87]

VPN set to Canada?

It's taking the payment region from the billing address of the card itself or from PayPal (those are the only two payment methods).
I guess I could set up a Canadian PayPal account and try and get a card added to it but it seems like a lot of hassle.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Was thinking that this might be an OK deal but when I log in to buy, it reprices from GBP to USD at about a 50% increase!

For example: the Explorer changes from GBP899 (~$A1,605) to USD1,545 (~$A2,461)!

Looks like I'm going to have to change my address back to the Old Dart.

 

[doctorstrangelove]

FYI - sorry if a little OT! I have posted about this in Qatar forum but thought it worth a mention here too. The possibility of an Avios earning CC in Australia - a gamechanger? It would be serious competition to QFF - hard to see why any savvy traveller would not ditch QFF CCs for one of these given better priced award availability for a lot of domestic stuff AND the access to premium Qatar seats greater than 119 days in advance.

I'm in two minds about this though. Their relative scarcity is part of what makes Avios so damn attractive here in Australia. A whole bunch of folks cashed up on Avios earning CCs booking Qantas Classic Rewards with them instead of QFF points might not be tolerated for long by Qantas...

Very early stages but I will be eagerly watching for further developments.

https://www.qatarairways.com/content/global/en/press-releases/2022/September/Qatar-Airways-Privilege-Club-and-Visa-Launch-a-10-Year-Exclusive-Global-Partnership.html

 

[Leroy87]

It's taking the payment region from the billing address of the card itself or from PayPal (those are the only two payment methods).
I guess I could set up a Canadian PayPal account and try and get a card added to it but it seems like a lot of hassle.

For anyone that was following this one it's still possible to do...

I setup Wise, formally TransferWise, and ordered my debit card (costs $10). As soon as it's paid for though you can start using it online, you don't need to wait for the physical card.

Created a CAD bank account in the app and transferred CA$236.17 into it (that's CA$209 + sales tax) - again, it's instant.

Set the region to Canada on the avios subscribe page and used the address from the Wise CAD bank account as the billing address and the debit card details as the card and through she went. Possibly you could just use any old Canadian address and it might still work but I was playing safe .

@Gold Member - do you get the Avios every year on renewal or do you have to cancel and resubscribe?

 

[goldenhorn]

Curious if anyone signed up for the subscription. I didn't have any Avios to be able to sign up so sent some over from MB.

I don't want to pay the highest plan annually so looking at monthly, although it's not as good a proposition. Do we think it's still worth it to sign up for monthly?

I'd be looking to use the Avois for QF flights to Perth from the East Coast of AU as I have family there.

Post automatically merged: Nov 6, 2022

Was thinking that this might be an OK deal but when I log in to buy, it reprices from GBP to USD at about a 50% increase!

For example: the Explorer changes from GBP899 (~$A1,605) to USD1,545 (~$A2,461)!

Looks like I'm going to have to change my address back to the Old Dart.

Were you able to resolve this by changing your address?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Curious if anyone signed up for the subscription. I didn't have any Avios to be able to sign up so sent some over from MB.

Were you able to resolve this by changing your address?

I have taken a subscription.

 

[devonindig]

I'm interested in buying this subscription but have never used BA Executive Club and have 0 Avios and it says you need at least 1 Avios to take part. Any suggestions about how to acquire a few Avios?

 

[kelvedon]

I'm interested in buying this subscription but have never used BA Executive Club and have 0 Avios and it says you need at least 1 Avios to take part. Any suggestions about how to acquire a few Avios?

1.Open a BAE account and credit your next QF flight to it.

2. Complete a survey on here ( I’ve never had any luck qualifying)

Paid Surveys Online | Earn More Avios

Avios For Thoughts, is an online market research panel which offers members of AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, and Vueling Club the opportunity to take part in online surveys shaped around your world. Tell us what you think and earn Avios. We...

www.aviosforthoughts.ie

3. Idk if this will work but BAE has just announced a partnership with Uber Uk offering 250 Avios for joining up. Might take some work around. This is the article in Loyalty Lobby

Earning British Airways Avios For Uber Rides In The UK + 250 Bonus For Linking Accounts By December 31, 2022

British Airways Executive Club members can earn Avios for Uber rides in the UK + 250 bonus Avios for linking accounts by December 31, 2022.

loyaltylobby.com

 

[devonindig]

1.Open a BAE account and credit your next QF flight to it.

2. Complete a survey on here ( I’ve never had any luck qualifying)

Paid Surveys Online | Earn More Avios

Avios For Thoughts, is an online market research panel which offers members of AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, and Vueling Club the opportunity to take part in online surveys shaped around your world. Tell us what you think and earn Avios. We...

www.aviosforthoughts.ie

3. Idk if this will work but BAE has just announced a partnership with Uber Uk offering 250 Avios for joining up. Might take some work around. This is the article in Loyalty Lobby

Earning British Airways Avios For Uber Rides In The UK + 250 Bonus For Linking Accounts By December 31, 2022

British Airways Executive Club members can earn Avios for Uber rides in the UK + 250 bonus Avios for linking accounts by December 31, 2022.

loyaltylobby.com

Thanks! I already have a BA account but will try the survey out and see if that works!

 

[SYD]

2. Complete a survey on here ( I’ve never had any luck qualifying)

Try setting your VPN to the UK.

I haven’t used this one but i found a promo for a Hilton surveys thing (US based). I‘d get screened out of all surveys that otherwise looked pretty much the same as e-Rewards, United and Accor ones I subscribe to (and can do). On a whim, set the VPN to USA and voila, I’d get through. Only needed to do one for some bonus points and then ditched it.

As an aside, my VPN screwed me yesterday. I couldn’t get my GYG app to login. Some weird error messages. Password reset wouldn’t connect. Frustrating. While I was eating my burrito, I realised I had my VPN on and forced to the US…

 

[goldenhorn]

I have taken a subscription.

Which one did you sign up for? Monthly or annual?

I'm interested in buying this subscription but have never used BA Executive Club and have 0 Avios and it says you need at least 1 Avios to take part. Any suggestions about how to acquire a few Avios?

I bought 3000 Marriot Bonvoy points and then transferred them to BAE. Cost about $60

 

[devonindig]

Which one did you sign up for? Monthly or annual?

I bought 3000 Marriot Bonvoy points and then transferred them to BAE. Cost about $60

I have already purchased (and transferred) my annual limit of Bonvoy points this year unfortunately. I was looking into transferring Hilton Honors points but it's a 10:1 ratio and takes up to 30 days so not the best value.