British Airways Devalues Avios in Both Halves of 2024

The British appear to still be salty about a certain July day back in 1776. British Airways enacted another devaluation of its Avios rewards as a Fourth of July punishment, creating a pattern of deteriorating value since its most recent downgrade at the beginning of the year.

This devaluation appears to only impact short-haul awards on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Here’s what you need to know about the latest mileage devaluation.

How Devaluations Work

What does it mean when a loyalty program goes through a devaluation? It means that it costs more to book the same travel. Most loyalty programs go through this regularly to mitigate the value of the points currently issued to program participants.

The British Airways Club has over 13 million members, and those members likely have billions of Avios between them. These outstanding Avios weigh down an airline’s balance sheet, and the simple way to alleviate this is to charge more for flights.

British Airways Now Charges More When Using Avios

British Airways is valuable because of its partnerships with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines through their joint membership in the Oneworld alliance. However, because of the devaluation, it’s now more expensive to use your Avios points with partner airlines than before.

Here’s a perfect example of this from our own Ryan Smith. He booked a flight on American Airlines from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to San Antonio International Airport (SAT) using BA Avios last night, and the same flight jumped in price overnight.

Despite paying 11,000 Avios yesterday, that same flight now costs 16,000 Avios.

This is ultimately a negative for all consumers. Before this devaluation, we valued British Airways Avios at 1.25 cents per point. After this, it’s likely to drop closer to 1 cent per point.

However, there is a way for travelers to fight back against this: avoid hoarding your rewards. It’s counterproductive, and ultimately risky due to devaluations.

New British Airways Avios Pricing for Alaska and American Airlines

Let’s look at the difference in cost from yesterday to today.

Flights of 3,000 miles or longer appear unaffected at this point. Moreover, other partners appear unaffected, meaning British Airways is continuing to differentiate its award pricing depending on which airline you’re flying.

How To Earn British Airways Avios

The British Airways Club an excellent loyalty program, as it gives users access to the Oneworld alliance, which includes Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, and SriLankan Airlines.

Opportunities to earn British Airways miles are abundant. If you want to earn Avios, U.S. consumers can apply for the British Airways Visa Signature^® Card, Aer Lingus Visa Signature^® Card, or Iberia Visa Signature^® Card.

The best way to earn heaps of British Airways Avios points is to earn rewards with credit cards that have transferrable rewards. American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards can all be redeemed for British Airways Avios at a 1:1 ratio.

Final Thoughts

As you hoist a hot dog and beer this Fourth of July, maybe put your points and miles strategy on your to-do list for next week. It’s never a bad time to do so, but it’s even more prudent as airlines devalue their rewards even further.