New British Airways Executive Club Avios Partner Award Chart from 30 May 2019 - 3% to 39% (?!) Increase in Business/First Class
After much speculation and apprehension, British Airways Executive Club has just launched their brand new Partner Award Charts that goes live effective immediately - while all existing redemption bookings are not affected by this change (unless you make a change that requires re-ticketing), all future redemption bookings using British Airways Executive Club Avios will follow the new chart now.
Photo Credit: British Airways
While it is not exactly easy to earn British Airways Executive Club Avios in Singapore (especially now that Mileslife is no longer functioning), one of the best ways to do so is to use an eligible credit card issued by Citibank (e.g. Citi Rewards or the Citi PremierMiles Visa Card) or by American Express (I highly recommend The Platinum Card and signing-up for one using my unique referral link will get you an additional 40,000 Membership Rewards points which you can convert into at least 25,000 Avios).
| Zones | Distance | Business Class | First Class | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old | New | % Increase | Old | New | % Increase | ||
| Zone 1 | 1 – 650 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 38.9% | 18,000 | 24,000 | 33.3% |
| Zone 2 | 651 – 1,151 | 15,000 | 16,500 | 10.0% | 30,000 | 33,000 | 10.0% |
| Zone 3 | 1,152 – 2,000 | 20,000 | 22,000 | 10.0% | 40,000 | 44,000 | 10.0% |
| Zone 4 | 2,001 – 3,000 | 37,500 | 38,750 | 3.3% | 50,000 | 51,500 | 3.0% |
| Zone 5 | 3,001 – 4,000 | 60,000 | 62,000 | 3.3% | 80,000 | 82,500 | 3.1% |
| Zone 6 | 4,001 – 5,500 | 75,000 | 77,250 | 3.0% | 100,000 | 103,000 | 3.0% |
| Zone 7 | 5,501 – 6,500 | 90,000 | 92,750 | 3.1% | 120,000 | 123,750 | 3.1% |
| Zone 8 | 6,501 – 7,000 | 105,000 | 108,250 | 3.1% | 140,000 | 144,250 | 3.0% |
| Zone 9 | 7,000+ | 150,000 | 154,500 | 3.0% | 200,000 | 206,000 | 3.0% |
According to the newly-released partner award chart, the number of Avios required for a redemption flight on a partner airline in Business and First Class will range from 3.0% to 38.9%. Fortunately, the bulk of these increases are on short-haul flights but if you are based in Singapore and typically use your Avios for flights on Cathay Pacific, you will notice that a one-way flight in Business Class from Singapore will increase to 16,500 (+10%) and 22,000 (+10%) for destination cities like Bangkok and Hong Kong respectively.
Photo Credit: Cathay Pacific
However, if you are planning to use your Avios for longer-haul flights, the increases for Zones 4-9 fluctuate between 3.0% to 3.3% only (and that in my opinion, is fairly reasonable). While it is strange that British Airways decided not to publish the changes until the date of change (30 May 2019), the devaluation is actually quite minimal for travellers looking to put their Avios to long-haul and medium-haul flights. If you are traveling to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Hong Kong however, it might be good to bring Singapore Airlines (using KrisFlyer Miles) back into the equation.
Business Class passengers now enjoy complimentary inflight Wi-Fi when traveling on Cathay Pacific.