British Airways has today, on November 7, 2019, launched a new award sale, which offers a flat 50% off on Economy (World Traveller) and Premium Economy (World Traveller Plus) redemptions when flying British Airways through April 30, 2019. You can also fly Business Class (Club World) and First Class and make those redemptions at a 10% discount on miles. Here is the official promotion page for this British Airways Avios Redemption sale.
While British Airways has put a sale out on the back of the bus in the past as well, this is the first time that the premium cabins have also been discounted. The promotion offers a flat 10% off on these routes.
British Airways has traditionally charged a pretty large fuel surcharge, even on Economy class redemptions. In India, they even goof up on the GST for redemptions, many a time. But with this sale, you can reduce the number of points spent by half, hence reducing the hit to your account a bit. However, make it a point to check cash prices on BritishAirways.com before you figure you want to pay cash or redeem points.
The redemptions become attractive, however, when you move into the premium cabins, such as Business Class or First Class with British Airways. Even with the fuel surcharge, you would have a reasonably good value out of your miles for the premium cabins.
Check out the following redemptions, for instance, where you can fly between Mumbai and New York JFK for just 14,625 Avios and INR 20,184.
If you don’t already have British Airways Avios, you can transfer them from Citibank (PremierMiles/Prestige), HDFC Bank (Diners Club Black/ClubMiles) and American Express. Alternatively, you can buy Avios with a 50% bonus.
Bottomline
This is a very good promotion, and you should check it out if you haven’t already. The booking window is open through November 21, 2019, and you can travel through April 30, 2020.
Anyone planning to take advantage of this British Airways Avios redemption sale?
Tried to look for flights to London in March, funny story, under the more pricing options I see..
13k Avios + 33,111 INR or blah blah blah blah, 5.7k Avios +33261 INR.
The same exact flights, paid is 49,257 INR. This is some crazy math here.
IS 14625 Avios + 20184 INR in BOM-JFK is for which class Economy/Premium Economy or for business class?
How do we know if the taxes are inflated because of the GST goofup? Is there any workaround to price the redemption ticket with the right tax amount?