Executive Club: Avios to be Awarded Based on Ticket Price for British Airways & Iberia Flights

The trend of revenue-based mileage accrual continues. Last year, the British Airways Executive Club announced a revenue-based earning system for Avios. Now, the details have been revealed. On flights with British Airways and Iberia, you will earn between 6 and 9 Avios per GBP of fare, depending on your status.

Previously, Avios were awarded based on booking class and distance, ranging from 25% (Economy Lowest) to 300% (First Flexible) of the distance flown. For short-haul flights, a minimum number of Avios was awarded, such as 125 Avios for Economy Lowest. Additionally, there was a status bonus of 25, 50, or 100 percentage points.

Starting from October 18, 2023, the number of Avios earned will no longer depend on distance or booking/travel class, but solely on the fare paid + surcharges (excluding taxes & fees) and your status in the Executive Club:

• Blue: 6 Avios per £
• Bronze: 7 Avios per £
• Silver: 8 Avios per £
• Gold: 9 Avios per £

You will earn Avios not only on flight bookings but also on upgrades, seat reservations, and baggage fees. Flights with Oneworld and other partner airlines will still be awarded based on booking class and distance. However, if a ticket is issued by British Airways and the flights are operated under BA codeshare flight numbers by partner airlines, Avios will also be awarded based on revenue. The same applies when booking a flight+hotel package with British Airways. There will be no changes to Tier Points, which will continue to be awarded based on travel class and distance category.

Examples

Especially for bargain hunters, this new system will result in significantly fewer miles earned compared to the previous system. Here are two examples:

Economy Class to Dallas for €375 roundtrip (booking class O)

British Airways, American, and other airlines often sell tickets from Europe to Dallas, Texas for around €375. The fare breaks down as follows:

• Base fare: €1
• Fuel surcharge: €170
• “Real” taxes & fees: €204

Under the new system, you will earn 67% to 90% fewer Avios:

• The old system (booking until October 17):
  • Without status: 2,620 Avios
  • With Gold status: 13,098 Avios

• The new system (booking after October 17):
  • Without status: 876 Avios
  • With Gold status: 1,314 Avios

Status customers in the BA Executive Club are particularly affected. Previously, they could earn up to a 100% bonus based on distance. Instead of earning 25% of the miles for booking class O, they could earn up to 125% of the miles.

Business Class to Austin for €1,950 roundtrip (booking class I)

There are currently a few dates where you can book British Airways business class tickets to Austin for around €1,950. It’s not a fantastic price, but it’s at least acceptable. The booking class is I for the long-haul leg and J for the feeder flight to London.

The total fare breaks down as follows:

• Base fare: €1,226
• Fuel surcharge: €500
• “Real” taxes & fees: €224

Both frequent and infrequent flyers can expect a halving of their Avios earnings:

• The old system (booking until October 17):
  • Without status: 17,630 Avios
  • With Gold status: 28,616 Avios

• The new system (booking after October 18):
  • Without Status: 8,890 Avios
  • With Gold status: 13,330 Avios

Conclusion

As usual, the transition to a revenue-based earning system is justified by claiming that it is easier for passengers to calculate their mileage accrual. That would be true if one could simply take the total fare x 6.

However, since taxes and fees are excluded, and the fare is still divided into base fare + surcharges, an estimated 80% of passengers will calculate a higher value than the actual earning. Additionally, there are two different methods of calculation running in parallel. There are no indications that this will change in the near future.

In the future, the majority of passengers will earn fewer Avios on BA and IB flights. The focus will primarily be on high spenders, rather than frequent flyers. To optimize Avios accrual with the same fare, it will likely be worthwhile to avoid flights with BA flight numbers. Fortunately, codeshare flights with partner airlines often cost the same.