Do you collect Avios points?

[updin]

I've just started; how easy is it to redeem the points? I'm worried it's going to be really tricky. Is it very strict/limited as to how you can use them?

I have the Barclaycard Avios Plus, DH is going to get the Amex one but not just yet as I expect it'll be a couple of years before we want to utilise the companion voucher so not keen to pay the annual card fee just yet.

I’ve recently booked this. Economy and business class seats are guaranteed on every BA flight however everyone wants to go to Australia so it’s going to be hard to get as you’re all competing for seats!

There are sometimes last minute availability to Sydney but usually you have to book 355 days before on midnight and book the return leg separately. I would look at flying partner airlines eg Qatar as you can fly from regional airports from the UK to regional airports in Australia with fewer Avios/fees than BA. Alas you can’t use the 241 (companion voucher) voucher for Qatar yet (although there are rumours Qatar want to accept them, just waiting for BA for approve it but don’t hold your hopes.)

Thanks so much. Of course, it's Australia I want ... I have got a lot of Avios so will start pinning down dates and booking ahead.

You can convert Nectar points. Fortunately, my local Supermarket is Sainsbury’s, so we do that.

Can we transfer Avios collected on a Barclaycard to use with those collected with Amex?

they should all feed into the same BA exec account

We had no idea about the Avios estore - thank you for sharing that!

Thanks I’ve just signed-up for one

The most efficient combination of credit cards for collecting Avios currently is usually to have the BAPP as your first choice, then Barclaycard Avios for any places that take credit cards but not Amex and then get a Curve card (linked to the Barclaycard) for anywhere that only takes debit cards.

Also use the Curve to pay off your Amex so that you are effectively getting 3 Avios per pound spent. But don’t go over £10K of “quasi-cash” payments on the Curve otherwise the charges are punitive.

if you are spending £10K pcm, you might be better off with a Platinum Amex.

You can see availability on ba.com if you go into 'spend avios' and then 'find availability. If you're flexible with dates and can book a few months in advance then you should be ok. We've never had a problem finding availability.

I have the Amex platinum. There is a hefty annual fee (£575) but the benefits make up for that, IME.

SeatSpy is very good for “Where can I go?”

I’ve a question about the 2-4-1 companion voucher… we’ve got approx 180,000 avios and we will hit the £10k spend needed for the companion voucher with the BAPP Amex.

we want Orlando and appreciate you need to book 355 days out at midnight on the dot, however that is only going to be for the outbound flight - how do I book the inbound flight using the companion voucher? Do I just ring up BA at 355 days for the inbound flight and ask them to add to the booking and they take the voucher into consideration?

I think we’ve got enough enough for 2 x WT+ seats, plus the companion voucher and then will just need to pay for one seat (plus taxes with the others). A dummy run showed 95,000 avois needed for WT+ return to Orlando

I normally call the US line for the inbound and buy the flights then call them back in the morning and ask them to add it to the original CV booking. But that relies on you having enough Avios to be able to pay for the inbound without the CV.

Some will sort the inbound CV for you there and then but I normally want to get back to bed and not have to worry about it at that time in the morning.

I put all my monthly expenses on my BA Amex and haven’t paid for flights for family holidays in years (apart from the taxes). I’ve also flown business class a couple of times which isn’t something I’d ordinarily pay for.

@mobear how long in advance do you book? Because I tried recently to book two seats on avios and their just weren't 2 seats on the same flight, or there weren't available flights to book on avios on the dates we can make.

@CottagePieLaLaLa About six months? But we haven’t gone further afield than Europe in a few years. I just book my holiday to suit the flight availability as luckily we aren’t constrained by school holidays yet.