Has anyone ever managed to actually use/spend Avios points?

Aubrey_Thicket

Hi all

Maybe it's just me being thick. Maybe I'm being cynical but I am starting to believe that may 32,000 Avios points are about as worth as a bag of nothing. Only yesterday, for the zillionth time I tried to book a flight with them only to see those familiar words 'There are no flights available on your outbound/inbound selection '. I shouldn't have really bothered I know but I held out a little help that the British Airways flights that were fully available in another screen would somehow be available to me to buy with my Avios points. However, as usual... No can do. Therefore, these flights that simply weren't available I simply just went and bought direct from British Airways. It is always the same old story... No flights on this day/at this time, yet Skyscanner tells me different.

So, am I ever going to be able to spend these Avios that I have earned?

I know some people may say that I can redeem them against Hotels so recently I tried that. My experience went....
Hotel for 1 night on Booking.com £89
Or, with Avios...
Spend 8,000 Avios and pay £109!!
Yes, that's correct! An extra £20 to use Avios, lol. It has been the same on numerous occasions.

So, my question is... Am I wasting my time with Avios or does anybody know any tips/advice on how I can actually spend them?

greenbee

Yes. Just booked 3 business class return flights to Venice.

My Avios are generated through work, and I don't generally get on a plane otherwise so it's nice to be able to use them. Having said that, the choice of flights was severely limited but I didn't expect then to be offering free seats on the popular flights.

martmonk

There are a limited number of avios redemptions available on each BA flight. Therefore the earlier you know where and when you want to go, the easier it is to find availability.
Generally the closer you get to your dates it becomes more unlikely you will find what you need.
Other redemption partners may be an option for you so that's worth exploring - Aer Lingus, Vueling, AA, Iberia, Flybe etc. However finding availability with partner airlines isn't always easy inline, your often better calling.

Caz3121

Aubrey_Thicket wrote: »

I held out a little help that the British Airways flights that were fully available in another screen would somehow be available to me to buy with my Avios points. However, as usual... No can do. Therefore, these flights that simply weren't available I simply just went and bought direct from British Airways. It is always the same old story... No flights on this day/at this time, yet Skyscanner tells me different.

not sure if you are referring to Avios (avios.com) or BA Avios but answers will be the same...
there is a difference between flights available for cash and flights available with Avios. skyscanner will only show flights available with cash and does not have a search for redemption flights
BA release 4 economy and 2 business redemptions on every flight (this is a committed minimum and there are often more) they re released 355 days before the flight and in some cases are snapped up quick with no additional availability appearing (peak popular routes) but often additional availability appears at other times
I have used my BA Avios for a number of flights, the most recent being to Palma during the summer
What route are you looking for? how far in advance of the flight? flexible with dates?

blindman

Aubrey_Thicket wrote: »

Hi all



So, am I ever going to be able to spend these Avios that I have earned?


So, my question is... Am I wasting my time with Avios or does anybody know any tips/advice on how I can actually spend them?

Look at Headforpoints for info

budgetflyer

I've had Qatar bus class to India, BA business to Malaga twice. Economy to London paris, palma Warsaw and Berlin. So yes u can use Avios for flights.
I use baredemptionfinder.com to narrow down routes with availability

ERICS_MUM

I've used AVIOS points as part payment for a BA flight. 30,000 points got me £200 off a flight to Orlando Florida (Club World). BA also have offers using the points, such as tickets for Walt Disney World. (Obviously their offers will be tailored to the destinations ��

This might not be the best use of the points but I'm happy.

Aubrey_Thicket

Thanks for the brilliant advice all. Maybe I'm doing something wrong then. To put my mind at ease would somebody mind taking a moment to check if I'm right in saying There is nothing available on Avios for the following:

Any UK airport (preferably Manchester) to
Orlando on dates (Outbound) 1st or 2nd April 2017 (inbound on 15th Or 16th April 2017).

Thank you in advance.

richardw

Availability for flights Tuesday 29th August is now on Iberia.com, BA.com and Avios.com, that's a lot of flights.

richardw

Aubrey_Thicket wrote: »

Thanks for the brilliant advice all. Maybe I'm doing something wrong then. To put my mind at ease would somebody mind taking a moment to check if I'm right in saying There is nothing available on Avios for the following:

Any UK airport (preferably Manchester) to
Orlando on dates (Outbound) 1st or 2nd April 2017 (inbound on 15th Or 16th April 2017).

Thank you in advance.

That's Easter holidays, at peak times seats are grabbed quickly, somebody probably grabbed those in April this year.

jpsartre

Aubrey_Thicket wrote: »

So, my question is... Am I wasting my time with Avios or does anybody know any tips/advice on how I can actually spend them?

I redeem my points all the time, both for myself and my family. For shorthaul flights (which I assume you are looking at given the number of Avios you have) I'd say availability is generally pretty good. Just looking at a random week in late October, there are flights from London to Copenhagen, Barcelona, Prague, Rome and Berlin most days (and those are just the cities I checked). For longhaul flights it's more route dependent. Obviously it also depends on the dates you want to travel and how early you book. It's hard to give any specific advice or know if youre doing anything wrong since you don't say which routes you're looking at and for which dates.

I've never used them for hotels but I assume that in th example you mention, the cheaper rate is non-flexible whereas the Avios rate is refundable. That would explain the price difference.