A couple of weeks ago, the British Airways Club loyalty program announced plans for a devaluation. With the changes now being live, I’d like to go over the details (and acknowledge how I find the announcement about the changes to be oddly refreshing)…
British Airways Club increases award costs across the board
British Airways Club has just implemented a devaluation to award pricing. For what it’s worth, here’s what the announcement about the changes was like, in early December:
We wanted to let you know that from December 15, 2025, the price of Reward Flights will increase. This will affect both the Avios and cash elements of the fare.
We’ve kept our Reward Flight prices at the same level for some time, but we’re having to make these changes as a result of increasing Air Passenger Duty and third-party charges, as well as changing market conditions and ongoing inflation.
We want to reassure you that any Reward Flights booked prior to the price change will remain at the current price.
At the time, British Airways didn’t provide the full details about the updated pricing, but did share the below examples of how pricing would change.
With the changes now live, what are we seeing?
- In terms of the changes to the number of Avios required for award flights, it seems that there has been an average of a 10% increase, with all long haul flights seeing a 10% increase in pricing, across cabins
- In terms of the changes to the cash required for award flights, prices seem to have increased by £0.50 to £2.50 on short haul flights, and by £10 to £12.50 on long haul flights (those are one-way increases)
I hate devaluations, but I appreciate the honesty
Of course it’s unfortunate to see British Airways increase award costs, though as far as devaluations go, this one seems relatively mild and reasonable. Admittedly the program already has uncompetitive award pricing in some markets, so increasing those costs even higher only makes the program even more uncompetitive.
That being said, what stands out to me most about the announcement is how it’s communicated. It’s sad that this is worthy of praise, but it’s so rare to see an airline actually owning what it’s doing — British Airways is raising award costs, and there’s no silver lining. That’s it.
It blows my mind how often we see devaluations where the airline gaslights its members, telling them the changes are due to customer feedback, or somehow suggesting that the changes are positive.
So yeah, I’m not a fan of a devaluation, but I am a fan of at least owning the changes you’re making. And as far as devaluations go, this is hardly the worst one that we’ve seen. We’ve seen much worse devaluations with significantly more dishonest messaging.
Bottom line
The British Airways Club loyalty program has increased award pricing as of December 15, 2025. The airline claims that these changes are due to the increasing UK APD, market conditions, and ongoing inflation. It would appear that the number of Avios required for flights has increased by an average of 10%, while the cash component of award tickets has increased by anywhere from £0.50 to £12.50.
No one likes devaluations, but it could’ve been worse, and at least British Airways has been honest…
What do you make of this British Airways Avios devaluation?
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