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TIPS FOR BOOKING AVIOS REDEMPTIONS BEFORE DEVALUATION FROM UK’S NO.1 FREQUENT FLYER EXPERT
Industry: Airlines       
Head For Points

Rob Burgess, editor of Head for Points, says that members of British Airways Executive Club should book their Avios redemptions NOW before April 28th devaluation

(TRAVPR.COM) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - April 8th, 2015  

Back in January, British Airways announced a major devaluation of British Airways Executive Club.  This amounted to a 50% increase in the number of Avios points required for some redemptions.

Members were given until April 28th to book at the old rates.  However, as it is 10 weeks since BA announced the changes, many members will have forgotten that the deadline is approaching!  They have just three weeks left to book.

Rob Burgess is editor of Head for Points (www.headforpoints.com), the UK’s largest frequent flyer website.  Over 140,000 people visited the site in January 2015.

Rob has the following tips for anyone still considering a booking:

Economy (Eurotraveller, World Traveller) redemptions are NOT increasing in price.  Because of the new ‘off peak’ and ‘peak’ redemption schedule, some economy rewards will actually get cheaper on off-peak dates.  If you only redeem for economy tickets, you have nothing to worry about ….

…. unless you live in the regions!  BA currently includes domestic connections to Heathrow for free on European redemptions.  Manchester – Heathrow – Nice is charged the same as Heathrow – Nice.  For new bookings from April 28th, you will be charged additional Avios for Manchester – Heathrow.  This will DOUBLE the cost of European redemptions for regional flyers.

If you redeem in premium cabins, you have a LOT to worry about.  The biggest devaluation is in Club World (long-haul business class) where redemptions on peak dates will cost 50% more.  Dubai, for example, jumps from 80,000 Avios points return to 120,000 Avios points.

In terms of percentage rise, the cost of upgrading from World Traveller Plus (premium economy) to Club World (long-haul business class) is hit even harder.  Whilst the cost varies by route, the number of Avios required for upgrades will rise by 240% in some cases!  A World Traveller Plus to Club World upgrade from London to New York, one way, will jump from 10,000 Avios points to 24,000 Avios points when travelling on an off-peak date.

British Airways lets you book Avios redemptions 355 days ahead.  This means that – if you book on the last possible date on April 27th 2015 – you should see availability through to April 17th 2016. 

As Easter is earlier in 2016, you should be able to lock in all of your trips until and including next Easter at the old rates.

British Airways will let you change the dates of any Avios booking without repricing.  If you know you want to go to New York this year but don’t know exactly when, it may be worth booking approximate dates and paying the £35 change fee later.  This would let you lock in the current pricing.

You cannot change the passenger name, however, nor can you push the date further forward than 12 months of the date you booked.

“For Avios collectors who want to redeem for premium classes, or who live in the regions and redeem for European flights”, says Burgess, “these changes are a major blow.  Many people have been collecting Avios points for many years for a dream holiday only to find that BA has moved the goalposts by as much as 50%.”

“The only upside has been the three months notice given of the changes.   I strongly recommend that Avios collectors spend the next three weeks understanding what will change and – where necessary – booking NOW in order to save themselves tens of thousands of Avios points.”

Background information:

Head for Points (www.headforpoints.com) is the UK’s No 1 website for collectors of Avios points, other frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty points.  It had 770,000 page views and 140,000 unique visitors in January 2015, 80% from the UK.

Head for Points was founded in July 2012 by Rob Burgess, an ex-City analyst.  Rob has not taken a long-haul flight in Economy for over 15 years, currently has over 10 million airline, hotel and credit card points and has used air miles to travel in Business Class and First Class with many of the world’s leading airlines.

Rob is able to supply quotes for pieces on:

Airline loyalty programmes
Hotel loyalty programmes
Car and train loyalty programmes
Avios
British Airways
Virgin Atlantic
Airline and hotel credit cards
Other reward credit cards
Maximising the value of reward schemes

Contact information:

Robert Burgess, Editor, Head for Points

robert@headforpoints.co.uk

07771 840507

39 Shawfield Street, London, SW3 4BA

www.headforpoints.com

@headforpoints

facebook.com/headforpoints

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Rob Burgess
Company: Head for Points
Phone: 447771840507
Email: 
robert@headforpoints.co.uk
Web: http://www.headforpoints...
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