British Airways raised the cost of Avios redemptions on December 15, 2025. The increase hits both BA-operated flights and partner airlines like American, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines. Most awards went up around 10%, though some routes saw hikes as high as 14%.

The good news: BA gave advance notice, existing bookings are protected, and a few sweet spots survived untouched.

Key Takeaways

  • Avios redemption costs increased 8-14% starting December 15, 2025.
  • Cash surcharges also rose, particularly on economy awards.
  • Partner awards on JAL and Cathay Pacific saw the steepest increases.
  • First Class awards went up 10% (e.g., London–New York off-peak: 136,000 → 150,000 Avios).
  • Existing bookings are unaffected unless you change destination, cabin, or seasonality.
  • Avios part payment (reducing cash fares with Avios) is unchanged.
  • Some sweet spots remain: Finnair Singapore–Helsinki (62,500 Avios) and Qatar transfers.

What Changed

British Airways doesn’t publish a traditional award chart. Pricing is distance-based across nine zones, with separate (higher) pricing for Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. The December 15 update raised prices across all zones, cabins, and partners.

Here’s what BA told members:

“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.”

Advance Notice

Unlike some programs that devalue without warning, BA announced this change earlier in December and gave members time to book at old rates before the December 15 cutoff.

British Airways Avios Devaluation: Award Flights Now Cost Up to 14% More

Short-Haul Awards

Standard Awards (Excluding Cathay & JAL)

Zone Distance Economy Business
Zone 1 1–650 miles 6,500 Avios (+8%) 14,000 Avios (+12%)
Zone 2 651–1,150 miles 10,000 Avios (+11%) 18,500 Avios (+12%)
Zone 3 1,151–2,000 miles 12,500 Avios (+14%) 24,500 Avios (+11%)
Zone 4 2,001–3,000 miles 14,500 Avios (+12%) 43,000 Avios (+11%)

Cathay Pacific Awards

Zone Distance Economy Business
Zone 1 1–650 miles 11,000 Avios (+13%) 23,000 Avios (+11%)
Zone 2 651–1,150 miles 13,500 Avios (+13%) 33,000 Avios (+10%)
Zone 3 1,151–2,000 miles 16,000 Avios (+12%) 36,000 Avios (+11%)
Zone 4 2,001–3,000 miles 17,500 Avios (+12%) 51,500 Avios (+11%)

Japan Airlines Awards

Zone Distance Economy Business
Zone 1 1–650 miles 12,000 Avios (+14%) 19,500 Avios (+11%)
Zone 2 651–1,150 miles 12,500 Avios (+14%) 29,500 Avios (+12%)
Zone 3 1,151–2,000 miles 16,000 Avios (+12%) 34,500 Avios (+11%)
Zone 4 2,001–3,000 miles 17,500 Avios (+12%) 51,500 Avios (+11%)

Steep Increase

JAL Domestic Flights: These now start at 12,000–12,500 Avios each way in economy. A few years ago, they cost just 4,500 Avios.

U.S. Domestic Awards (American & Alaska)

Domestic flights on American and Alaska have their own pricing, and they went up too:

Distance Economy (Old → New) Change
1–650 miles 12,000 → 13,500 Avios +13%
651–1,150 miles 16,000 → 18,000 Avios +13%

Long-Haul Awards

BA published official before/after pricing for London–New York across all cabins:

Route Cabin Old Price New Price Avios Change
London–New York (return) Economy off-peak 50,000 + £100 55,000 + £120 +10%
London–New York (return) Economy peak 60,000 + £100 66,000 + £120 +10%
London–New York (return) Premium Economy off-peak 85,000 + £305 93,500 + £350 +10%
London–New York (return) Premium Economy peak 120,000 + £305 132,000 + £350 +10%
London–New York (return) Business off-peak 160,000 + £375 176,000 + £399 +10%
London–New York (return) Business peak 180,000 + £375 198,000 + £399 +10%
London–New York (return) First off-peak 136,000 + taxes 150,000 + taxes +10%
London–New York (return) First peak 160,000 + taxes 176,000 + taxes +10%

Short-haul example (London–Geneva, each way):

Cabin Old Price New Price
Economy off-peak 9,250 + £0.50 10,000 + £1
Economy peak 9,750 + £0.50 10,750 + £1
Business off-peak 15,000 + £12.50 16,500 + £15
Business peak 16,250 + £12.50 18,000 + £15

Cash Surcharges Went Up Too

It gets worse: it’s not just Avios. The cash portion of redemptions increased as well, and not uniformly. Economy awards got hit hardest proportionally, with cash fees rising 13-23% depending on the route and how you split Avios vs. cash.

BA lets you choose between “more Avios, less cash” or “fewer Avios, more cash” when booking. Previously, the low-Avios option was often a sweet spot. That’s less true now, the cash increases were steeper on the low-Avios options, so burning more Avios generally makes more sense going forward.

Booking Tip

The “fewer Avios, more cash” slider used to be a hack for extracting better value. Post-devaluation, the math often favors burning more Avios instead.

What About Avios Part Payment?

Avios part payment is unchanged. This devaluation only affects Reward Flights (full award bookings). If you use Avios to reduce the cash price of a revenue ticket, that pricing wasn’t touched.

Amex Companion Voucher Impact

If you have a British Airways American Express Companion Voucher:

  • Traveling with a companion: The companion still pays no Avios, but the main ticket is now priced at the new higher rates.
  • Traveling solo (50% off): The 50% Avios discount applies to the new pricing, so you’ll pay more than before.

Upgrades Using Avios

The Avios required to upgrade from one cabin to another is now based on the new pricing. If you have an existing booking and want to upgrade on or after December 15, you’ll pay the higher difference, even if your original ticket was booked before the change.

What’s Protected

If you booked before December 15, your award is safe at the old price, even if your flight is months away. You can still change the time or date without paying more Avios. But if you change the destination, cabin, or move from off-peak to peak, you’ll pay the new rates.

Change Type Top-Up Required?
Time No
Date No
Destination Yes
Cabin Yes
Seasonality (off-peak → peak) Yes

Reward Seat Guarantees Unchanged

BA still guarantees minimum reward seat availability on Heathrow and Gatwick flights:

  • Economy: 8 seats
  • Premium Economy: 2 seats
  • Business: 4 seats

London City flights guarantee 2 business and 2 economy reward seats.

Sweet Spots That Survived

Not everything got worse. A few high-value redemptions are unchanged:

  • Finnair Business Class: Singapore–Helsinki. Still 62,500 Avios + ~S$88. One of the best long-haul redemptions in the Avios ecosystem.
  • Qatar Airways via Avios Transfer. You can transfer Avios 1:1 from BA to Qatar Privilege Club and often find better pricing. For example, Singapore–Hong Kong in business costs 36,000 Avios on BA but just 22,000 Avios via Qatar, with no fuel surcharges.
  • Short-Haul on Iberia. Iberia Plus often prices awards lower than BA for the same routes. Worth checking before you book.

Pro Tip

Since Avios transfer 1:1 between BA, Qatar, Iberia, and Finnair, always compare pricing across programs before booking. Qatar in particular often undercuts BA on partner awards.

Final Thoughts from AwardFares

If you’re sitting on Avios, the value just dropped. Short-haul redemptions (historically BA’s strength) are still decent, but the gap between Avios and cash fares is narrowing.

A few practical takeaways:

  1. Book direct flights. BA prices awards additively, so connections double the cost. A Singapore–Kuala Lumpur–Hong Kong itinerary costs the same as booking SIN–KUL + KUL–HKG separately.

  2. Check Finnair, Qatar, Iberia. Transfer your Avios and compare pricing. Qatar in particular often beats BA on partner awards.

  3. Burn more Avios, less cash. The “fewer Avios” slider used to be a hack. Now it’s often worse value.

  4. Use AwardFares to compare. Search using other Avios program (like Finnair Plus) to find where your Avios go furthest.

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