3-Day Avios Flash Sale – 40% Bonus

a jar with a beach ball in it

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British Airways has launched a flash sale on its Avios loyalty currency that runs for 3 days through to Thursday 26 May and which gives Executive Club members the opportunity to purchase up to 100,000 Avios with a 40% bonus added on top.

Buy Avios With a 40% Bonus

According to British Airways:

There’s never been a better time to treat yourself – or someone else. For a limited time between 00:01 hr GMT Tuesday 24 May 2016 and 23:59 hr GMT Thursday 26 May 2016, you’ll be able to purchase up to 100,000 Avios and get a 40% bonus, in our three day flash sale.

For US-based members of the British Airways Executive Club those times aren’t particularly useful so here’s what they mean if you live stateside – the promotion runs from now through 19:59 ET (16:59 PT) on Thursday 26 May.

In this particular promotion it doesn’t really matter if you buy the minimum (1,000) or the maximum (100,000) Avios as you’ll still get the 40% bonus but the cost per Avios changes on a sliding scale – the more you buy the less you pay per Avios.

At the bottom end you pay 3.79 cents/Avios:

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While at the top end the price comes down to 1.98 cents/Avios:

Screen Shot 2016-05-24 at 15.55.39

Update: This is pricing for US Members only. OMAT is reporting that Executive Club accounts based in Europe are seeing prices as low as 1.44 cents per Avios so, if you’re based in Europe, make sure you check you offer.

Is It Worth It?

As I value Avios at somewhere between 1.0 and 1.1 cents each this definitely isn’t an offer for me…..and that’s despite the fact that this is one of the more generous “buy Avios” promotions we’ve seen for a while.

Also, if you take a look at how many Avios you need for reward flight…..

british-airways-award-chart

…it’s hard to rationalise buying Avios at these prices if you’re flying long-haul (don’t forget you have to factor in BA’s surcharges as well).

If you’re flying within Europe where Reward Flight Saver (RFS) means that taxes and surcharges are capped then it’s possible that, if you buy Avios at the cheapest rate, you could be ok during peak summer season….but I wouldn’t bank on it.

Even on short-haul routes within the US (traditionally a good way to redeem Avios) you would probably have to be redeeming at short notice (when fares are very high) and on routes like New York – DC before it would make any sense.

Bottom Line

I’m not a buyer at these prices and, at a guess, I’d say that most people who read this blog probably shouldn’t be buyers either.

Avios are not a very valuable currency and when you find them on sale for more than, for example, AAdvantage Miles (recently on sale for 1.8 cents each) then it’s a good indication that you should probably stay away.