British Airways launched the Avios program in 2011 and it provided a great value for short-haul flights.
Unfortunately, awards have been devalued several times since then. Those awards originally started from just 4,500 Avios, before climbing to 6,000 Avios, then 7,500 Avios (May 2019 devaluation), and then 8,250 Avios (December 2023 devaluation) for US flights.
Today, British Airways raised partner award pricing yet again, without providing any warning. In an era of hidden award charts, I guess that’s not a surprise, but no-warning changes always sting the most. It provides the opposite experience of what loyalty should be.
I have pieced together most of the partner award changes that I found by searching for awards on routes within each zone. As with the December 2023 devaluation, this only affects short-haul awards, while most long-haul awards are unchanged. That’s bad news because the value in the BA program was always for short-haul awards, as flights within the Western Hemisphere are not subject to onerous fuel surcharges.
The devaluations are truly breathtaking. A flight like Cleveland to NYC is now a whopping 12K miles in coach or 24K in business class, while Miami to NYC is now a whopping 16K miles in coach or 32K in business class. Those are some absurd price increases which remove nearly all of the value from the BA program.
It’s yet another reminder why you should keep your points with banks and not with airlines that can devalue your points without warning.
The chart below shows the trendline from pricing before the December 2023 devaluation, pricing from yesterday, and pricing that started today.
| Zone | Flight Distance | Sample routes | Coach | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Flights that don't touch the USA) | 1-650 | Melbourne-Sydney | Remains 6,000 | Remains 12,500 | Remains 24,000 |
| 1 (Flights to, from, or within the USA) | 1-650 | Cleveland-NYC Pittsburgh-NYC | Late 2023 7,500 Early 2024 8,250 Mid 2024 12,000 | Late 2023 15,000 Early 2024 16,500 Mid 2024 24,000 | Was 30,000 Now ? |
| 2 | 651-1,151 | Miami-NYC Miami-Cleveland | Late 2023 9,000 Early 2024 11,000 Mid 2024 16,000 | Late 2023 16,500 Early 2024 20,500 Mid 2024 32,000 | Was 33,000 Now ? |
| 3 | 1,152-2,000 | Chicago-LA NYC-Cancun | Late 2023 11,000 Early 2024 14,500 Mid 2024 18,000 | Late 2023 22,000 Early 2024 29,000 Mid 2024 40,000 | Was 44,000 Now ? |
| 4 | 2,001-3,000 | LA-Honolulu NYC-LA | Late 2023 13,000 Early 2024 16,000 Mid 2024 20,000 | Late 2023 38,750 Early 2024 42,000 Mid 2024 50,000 | Was 51,500 Early 2024 58,000 Mid 2024 80,000 |
| 5 | 3,001-4,000 | Dallas-Honolulu NYC-London | Remains 20,750 | Remains 62,000 | Remains 82,500 |
| 6 | 4,001-5,500 | NYC-Sao Paulo NYC-Buenos Aires | Remains 25,750 | Remains 77,250 | Remains 103,000 |
| 7 | 5,501-6,500 | Dallas-Tokyo NYC-Tel Aviv | Remains 31,000 | Remains 92,750 | Remains 123,750 |
| 8 | 6,501-7,000 | NYC-Tokyo | Remains 36,250 | Remains 108,250 | Remains 144,250 |
| 9 | 7,001+ | NYC-Delhi | Remains 51,500 | Remains 154,500 | Remains 206,000 |
It’s worth noting that Avios rates vary between Aer Lingus, BA, Finnair, Iberia, and Qatar, and you can transfer Avios between airlines.
Iberia seems to have the new prices, but Qatar still has the 2019 pricing.
You can read this post for how to book using Qatar Avios.
For example, while Pittsburgh to NYC is now 12K BA Avios in economy or 24K in business class each way:
And the higher pricing is in effect on the Iberia site:
You can still book for 6K in coach or 12.5K in business class with Qatar Avios:
Unfortunately, Qatar doesn’t make it easy to book flights on American’s regional partners, but it can be done. See this post for more information.
I just wonder when the Qatar devaluation is coming, because the variance between them and BA Avios is now massive.
The best way to book American short-haul flight is definitely with Alaska miles now. Read more about that here or in this post.
What do you think of these changes?
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20 Comments On "OUCH! British Airways Massively Devalues Partner Award Pricing Without Warning For The 2nd Time In Half A Year, Here Is The New Hidden Award Chart And A Workaround For Lower Pricing"
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Was trying to book a flight NYC to mia and was so confused
Book through Qatar before they devalue without warning.
Cancun Mexico went form 11K, to 18K before airport fees.
Yup, it’s in the chart.
Wow this is crazy. Thats a 50% increase just like that? 50% is a LOT!!
Wow. Just transferred some points not long ago on promotion for a short haul redemption. I am glad I didn’t transfer more than I needed and have now zero avios. Those % promotions always feel hard to pass up but it’s always true don’t transfer more than you need because stuff like this!
Maybe this means there will be a big transfer bonus soon?
Usually it’s the other way around. Really slimy.
Yeah but they havent had in a while and amex will likely have this month
Did you ever write about Aer Lingus Avios program?
It doesn’t let you search partner awards, have to call?
Ouch
What about Finair?
Time for cash back cards
When I search on British Airways for LGA > MEM for the American flight, it is there for 16000 Avios. It used to be 11000 Avios. However, when I search for the same itinerary on Qatar, I get the following message: Award flights to your destination are unavailable for the next 30 days. To continue, please select ‘Pay now’, ‘Hold my booking’ or ‘Cash + Avios’.
Do I need to have Avios in my Qatar Account in order to bring back flights?
Also, can I transfer Avios between British Airways and Qatar and then back to British Airways, or once the Avios are with Qatar, they can’t be transferred back to British Airways?
“Unfortunately, Qatar doesn’t make it easy to book flights on American’s regional partners, but it can be done. See this post for more information.”
You can move back and forth freely.
I guess JFK to MIA is actually on American Airlines, while MEM > LGA is on a regional partner which is why it is not appearing. I follow now. Thanks!
Can I safely assume if the fare is on British Airways then Qatar will honor it, and if it is not on British Airways, then it will not be available on Qatar?
Assume nothing. Qatar service is very poor.
18000 Qatar Avios for a round trip flight is worth it versus 32000 BA Avios! Almost 50% cheaper
Is it a good idea to put all the information via the secure message on the Qatar side or play HUCA with Qatar? Does one have a better shot of going through than the other? WWDD? 🙂
I didn’t have luck when I tried the SM route one time.
31 000 nyc to TLV, which airline? (On avioos), 2 does Madrid avios better ? How many for coach nyc to tlv ?