Say Adios to Avios?

Ten or more reasons why it’s a bad idea to fall for the hype, even if you’re mad at BA over the recent changes

FCF has never recommended betting all of your chips on one frequent flyer program, and the recent—and abrupt—changes to British Airway’s Avios program shows why. When you get burned, it can be first degree.

We gave an early notice of some of the changes in the October issue of FCF, although BA did not release the full details until Nov.16, when the program—and the new moniker, Avios— went into effect. By now, you will have heard the roar from the blogosphere.

Some of the changes that has everyone up-in-arms include BA’s award chart moving from a “zone calculation” (used by American carriers) to a “flight-distance calculation” (used mainly by Asian carriers).The result: Many long-haul flights now cost more, the award calculator doesn’t always price correctly, connecting flights cost more, free stopovers are gone, some partner award redemptions have increased, and most egregious, BA gave no grace period before the new mileage redemption rates took effect.

If you’ve been an FCF reader for more than a few issues, you’ll know that none of these is a reason to lose your cool.

I would not want to have all of my miles with British Airways, unless of course I had no choice in the matter. But if that’s not the case, then this tempest shows the wisdom of what I’ve been preaching since 1996, when FCF was founded: diversify. That way you’re not hurt too badly when one of your assets drops in value, even though it doesn’t feel good. You can use program diversity strategically, based on a variety of strengths and based on your goals of the single trip at hand.

Long-time FCF readers know that the advice we offer keeps you from having to be too concerned when a single program changes all that much. FCF’s focus isn’t on what you can’t do or what you have just lost, but what you can do and what you can get out of a new situation. That’s our mentality and our editorial mission.

So, what I’m saying is keep your shirt on. Don’t be swayed by the vitriol pouring from travel blogs and websites. If you liked BA’s program before, let me tick off its strengths and remind you of all the ways you can still use it to your advantage—the ways in which it still blows away the competition—for the premium, value-minded traveler.

The Big Reason to Stick

BA still offers the only First and Business Class upgrades that don’t incur a “surcharge,” which comes to as much as $1,100 on some airlines. (I want BA in my portfolio now more than ever!) Instead of bailing, and selling your BA-Mileage Stock, take advantage of BA’s current Amex Rewards transfer bonus of 30% to keep enough miles in your BA account for upgrades that you might need in a pinch.

Top Ten Ways to Use Avios to Your Advantage

Competitive Free Award Cost

• First Class to Europe: Fewer Miles for a Free First Class Award Ticket Equals a Free Upgrade to First Class. From many North American gateways (Boston, Chicago, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC), BA now charges fewer miles to London—120,000, down from 150,000. Transfer points from Starwood and you only need 100,000 miles, which is the cost of Business Class on many other airlines. In effect, it’s a free upgrade to First Class. Transfer miles now from Amex Rewards and the cost plummets to 93,000 with the bonus—less than many airlines charge for Business!
• Business Class to Europe: Fewer Miles for a Free Business Class Award Ticket Equals Almost a Free Upgrade to Business Class. New York-London on BA is now 80,000 miles, down from 100,000. Transfer points from Starwood and you only need 65,000, almost as much as many U.S. airlines charge for an economy ticket (60,000), including BA’s oneworld partner, American. Transfer now from Amex Rewards and you’re looking at less than 60,000, the amount most airlines charge for coach!
• Business Class to the Caribbean and Mexico: Fewer Miles for a Free Business Class Award Ticket Equals Cheaper Than a Free Upgrade to Business Class. American, like many U.S. airlines, charges 60,000 miles round-trip for a free Business Class award ticket from the Continental U.S. to the Caribbean and Mexico. BA charges as few as 30,000 miles from Miami to St. Thomas, or Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo. (On the latter route, AA charges 35,000 miles for an economy ticket, which is why I call this “the cheaper than free upgrade.”) Other examples of low cost BA routes from the U.S. are Dallas-Cancun, 30,000 miles; New York-Cancun, 40,000 miles; New YorkSan Juan, 40,000; and Chicago-San Juan, 50,000.
• Premium Economy to Europe: Fewer Miles for a Free International Premium Economy Class Award Ticket Equals a Free Upgrade. Most airlines charge 60,000 miles round-trip for a free economy ticket to Europe from the U.S. BA charges that amount from six North American cities (Boston, Chicago, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC) to London. A few cities in Europe, Brussels and Paris among them. Los Angeles to London requires 75,000 miles. With a Starwood transfer, the cost is only 60,000 points—still giving you a free upgrade compared to the cost of an economy award. The Amex Rewards transfer drops the cost to 58,000 miles.

Competitive (Wait, the Lowest!) Upgrade Award Cost

• First Class: Fewer Miles for an Upgrade to First Class. To London, BA now charges fewer miles—40,000, down from 50,000 round-trip from the eastern U.S. cities mentioned above—while western U.S. gateways remain the same (50,000 miles to London). Plus, the upgrade is valid on any—even deeply discounted—Business Class fares.
• Business Class: Fewer Miles for an Upgrade to Business Class. To London, BA now charges 5,000 fewer miles (20,000 instead of 25,000) from Boston, Chicago, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. From its other U.S. gateways, BA charges 25,000 to 35,000 miles round-trip, which is still much lower than the amount most U.S. airlines charge. Plus, there’s no surcharge on mileage upgrades! U.S. airlines charge up to $1,100 (Continental/ United). Factor that in when deciding which upgrade program to use.

Good Mileage Availability

• In general, BA has good upgrade and free award availability, especially from New York, where the airline offers 10 flights daily to London. That increases the odds of an upgrade or free ticket. (Continental, by comparison, only offers five flights on this route.) And the fact that BA offers three upgrade classes: Premium Economy, Business, and First, gives you access to more seats than does an airline such as Delta,  which offers only one upgrade class (Business).

Access to More Award Miles is Easy

• BA has many credit-transfer-partner options—Amex Rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Diners Club and Starwood—giving you access to more miles without having to buy them—while keeping your options open with all the other credit card airline partners—at the same time!

Booking Free Award Space Far in Advance

• With BA you can confirm free award space 355 days before departure, whereas U.S. carriers can only be booked about 11 months out (330 to 337 days).

In other words, with relatively few exceptions, the more I think about it, the happier I am to have BA’s Avios as a strategic investment in my Premium Upgrade Portfolio (PUP).