British Airways Club can be a controversial program. While there are plenty of great uses of British Airways Avios, the program is also known for its high fees and ever increasing redemption rates on British Airways.
Continue reading: British Airways Award Seat Guarantee: 12-14 Award Seats Per Flight, Always!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
@ben, if you’re like me (or more so if I’m like you) who’s booking 355 days in advance?!? It’s more about what are the options to get from Paris to joburg on Tuesday 🙂
Mick, please be advised that there are many of us out here who practice the old adage of the seven ‘P’s’ …. that being:
Prior, Preparation, & Planning, Prevents, P***, Poor, Performance.
When one is booking a spacious suite in an exclusive World Class hotel, a safari tour or train journey, for a week or more, booking well ahead is absolutely essential. Leaving one’s flight booking to chance can become a guaranteed disaster.
One is aware that this scenario does not suit everyone, however, it is the best way to avoid unnecessary complications, yes?
Sure, we’ll guarantee award availability, but it’ll cost ya… *excessive surcharges*
(Aero, since you’re our resident UK ‘expert,’ teehee, is this about right?)
Oh! Do express yourself better than that 1990. One expects so much more from you darlink …. Xxxx
1990, thank you for your question, sadly, I am not the right person to ask. The reason being ….
For over two decades now I have been able to use a travel office/agent, who books in very large volumes for one customer. As an employee of that customer, we obtained preferential travel discounts for personal travel. Upon my final retirement last June, I was granted the opportunity to continue booking through them.
I can give you a recent example however: our BA, LHR-JNB-LHR flights in F, just before Christmas, cost me a little over £10k. I have no idea what the cost would have been using other means.
I will not be billed for my forthcoming Singapore trip until I return. That will be one way out with AF, regional flights and back with SQ. Whatever the cost, I know that I cannot obtain my flights cheaper elsewhere.
I was not expecting to be allowed to continue to book through the travel office, hence my interest in points for miles in late 2024.
Sorry that I cannot be more helpful.
Mick, Ronnie is, in my opinion, correct in suggesting the LHR-JNB route. I travel that route annually and my last trip was just before Christmas. The BA, A380 ride in F, although not the best A380, F cabin was more than acceptable.
@Aero - no I suggested he should go with Lufthansa. Leave the good stuff to the rest of us.
The "real" AeroB13a at last. Another reader has been impersonating you. My suspicion is the adolescent who goes by many names. 1990/Penile/Moby Dick/etc., who has made his way to other blogs and graced us with his diarrhea of the keyboard.
Jack, I’m not impersonating others. Penile does. There may be others. I’ve been impersonated, too. Yes, the ‘tell’ for Aero is whether it’s ‘Diamond’ or ‘Guest.’ For me, you can usually tell based on my biases. No, I’m not interested in creating a profile. Of course, I object passionately to any calls for censorship. Thanks for your concerns.
Aero, thanks for that context. You scored on BA F to Joburg at $10K, especially if that’s total, like the two of you, RT. Wow.
355 I think the window. I've seen it at GMT as it seemed to be 1am BST over the summer
You haven't planned your vacations 2-3 years out? Why on earth not? I already have an hour-by-hour itinerary for New Zealand in December 2027.
As well as the ability to book early with guaranteed seats, in about half the cases where I book close to the departure date and all the award seats have been taken, BA will make an additional award seat available on my chosen flight (I’m a BA Gold member — there are lots of us and I assume this is routine and not that I’m special).
So yes, higher fees, but also a lot of added usefulness. You pays your money, you takes your choice.
Conversely, as a Flying Blue Platinum I usually really struggle to book any reward flights, no matter the dates.
1990, FYI ….
I’ve just checked out the LHR-JNB-LHR flights on the UK, BA, website. I just picked two random dates, A380 in F, cheapest cash fares, 2xPax, no points redemption, etc.
15-27 Jan, 2026 @ £9905:58
We booked fixed dates and fully flexible fares back in March, 2025.
I know I'm in the minority, but I very much appreciate BA's approach here. Having a reliably available option for when your travel plans aren't flexible is just so so nice.
Also, while it does nothing for the high cash fees, there are frequent enough transfer bonuses of 20-30% to BA from the major credit card currencies. Makes the higher point cost more manageable.
Even at £10K (about $13,500), that’s a decent deal for true First long-haul. Enjoy the safari/summer down there! Personally prefer Cape Town, but BA doesn’t fly F there, just J, usually.
If you are able to combine some transfer bonuses + have the BA Chase credit card which gives a rebate on award fees, BA becomes a very decent option for guaranteed availability. Are they the best product? No. Cheapest? Definitely not. But the reliability to be able to book business with them is nice.
I really appreciate this approach as someone who is happy to plan a trip when the schedule opens. I find myself flying BA at least one leg (although I reaaaally hate having to pay for seat assignments). I found the taxes to be cheaper then VA and like others, have often used transfer bonuses. I start stalking flights a few weeks before booking windows open and then narrow down which seems to have the best availability. Often that is BA (AF has gotten crazy expensive). Flying from the west coast, our flights are more limited to Europe, although I have had good luck to Japan.
This is all "bogus". I am surprised you didn't do the total cost of award redemption (Avios pts * valuation/mile) + exorbitant "fees".
I have done this calculation several times and don't find the award redemptions any more cost effective than buying a paid fare outright (I only book business class on international flights).
You can see lot's of availability on other carriers like Qatar, but the redemption rates are about the same as buying a business class ticket
Quite 1990, the Cape region is where one of our bolt holes is located. An unmissable pre Christmas annual ritual of ours is to enjoy the spring flora and fauna on the nature reserve. Kiteboarding, whale watching and beach walking are some of my favourite activities. However, one also appreciates an evening braai, cold Savanna and the Table Mountain View’s.
JNB is closest to the residence of a family member who we visit. Prior to the Chinese virus outbreak, we would often take the train to the Cape rather than fly, or, occasionally drive down the Garden Route.
I find a great deal of value -- yes, VALUE! -- in BA and especially in their guaranteed (minimum) availability. Neither my wife nor I have jobs where we can "suddenly" drop everything and go on vacation. Advance planning is required. We're celebrating my wife's birthday in Sicily and 2 one-way tickets in Business (FCO-LHR-SFO) cost me 110,000 Avios and $1,000. The last valuation I can find from OMAAT is that Avios are worth 1.3¢ each. But the tickets returned a redemption value of 8.5¢ each just looking at cash out-of-pocket. If I include the value of the Avios themselves, the return is still great at 7.2¢/each.
I have no complaints...as long as I'm *not* on an A380! (I hate flying backwards. Whoever thought that was a good idea?)
Hmmm...read my post. I saved $15,869.44 out-of-pocket (value of Avios + "exorbitant fees") on two J tickets, Rome to San Francisco. YMMV, and apparently does...