What’s the Value of British Airways Avios?

British Airways points are known as Avios and can be a versatile frequent flyer currency to have. The U.K.-based airline is a member of the Oneworld alliance, which includes American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

How much are Avios worth?

Based on our analysis, British Airways Avios are worth 1.2 cents each. This is a median value, drawn from real-world data collected for 80 British Airways economy routes.

What does this value mean?

Our valuation of 1.2 cents per Avios provides a median value you can use to determine the relative value of your own redemptions. It is effectively what you can expect to get from your British Airways points if you use them for a random redemption.

If you go out of your way to look for sweet spots and use more advanced award techniques, you can definitely squeeze more value out of your points. On the flip side, it also means you can end up getting lower value than this if you’re not careful.

» Learn more: Should I book award travel this year?

How much are Avios worth in dollars?

With the calculator below, you can figure out how much your British Airways Avios are worth in dollars based on this value.

When is the best time to use Avios?

The best time to use your Avios for British Airways economy flights is 90 days before departure, according to our analysis. We found the average redemption value was 1.5 cents each.

However, you'll want to make sure you do the math (or use our calculator) to see if an Avios redemption is worth it. For all four booking windows we looked at, we found redemptions under 0.5 cent per point, which is a terrible value.

Here's what we found when looking at British Airways point valuations across different booking windows.

• 1.3 cents each when booking 15 days before departure, with a range of 0.2 to 1.9 cents per mile.

• 1.1 cents each when booking 60 days before departure, with a range of 0.2 to 1.9 cents each.

• 1.5 cents each when booking 90 days before departure, with a range of 0.3 to 1.9 cents each.

• 1.0 cents each when booking 180 days before departure, with a range of 0.4 to 1.8 cents each.

How flexible are British Airways Avios?

As a member of the Oneworld alliance, British Airways allows you to redeem Avios for award flights on any of its alliance partners.

Avios are unique because they're also a transferable currency, in a sense. You can move your Avios between other Avios-earning airlines, including Iberia, Finnair, Qatar Airways and Aer Lingus. Each airline might have different partners or redemption rates, so sweet spots can vary depending on which airline you have Avios with.

» Learn more: The beginner's guide to points and miles

How did we determine the Avios points value?

We analyzed the cash and points prices of 80 British Airways flights across a range of domestic and international routes. A regular economy fare class was used for all pricing data to be able to compare the valuations of similar Main Cabin-type fares that are bookable with points or miles on other airlines.

Departure dates were selected at 15, 60, 90 and 180 days from the day of the analysis. Return dates were chosen eight days after the departure date. This process allowed us to analyze a wide combination of days of the week and not bias the data towards expensive (i.e. weekend) or cheaper (i.e. midweek) flights. We used the median value of the dataset as the average.

This method differs from many others in that it looks at real-world redemptions rather than hypothetical, maximized redemptions. The advantage of this approach is that it provides an actual, real-world indication of how much these points are worth on average. That said, it doesn’t take into account the high-value redemptions that points enthusiasts seek.

Wondering what you can do with those Avios? Check out our points collector's guide to British Airways, how to redeem British Avios for maximum value, and learn which credit card is best for international award travel.