British Airways Executive Club has added a new method of acquiring Avios – via subscription. Unlike other subscription offers I’ve seen, this one offers potentially appeaing value.
Annual Subscription
The first thing to say is that if your BA Executive Club account is registered in the USA, either change it, or don’t bother with this promotion. The ‘best’ value to be had there allows you to effectively purchase Avios for ~1.5 cents each. That’s simply not good value.
If you happen to have a UK or European registered account though, things are more interesting. As you can see below, UK accounts can purchase Avios for as little as 0.9p (1 cent) each…
You can choose to pay an amount upfront, then you receive 1/12 of your contracted Avios each month. You cannot cancel for 12 months once you have signed up to an annual subscription (apart from the initial 14-day cooling off period).
If we look at the “Explorer” option, you would pay £899 upfront, and then receive 100,000 Avios over the course of the year. This works out at 0.9p per Avios.
It isn’t QUITE so straightforward a calculation, as having £899 invested for a year would earn you a return on your investment. You must also wait for the Avios to dribble into your account over the course of the year. You might also earn a bit of cashback or similar from the credit card used. But 0.9p per Avios is still a pretty reasonable approximation.
Monthly Subscription
If you prefer to pay monthly – allowing you to cancel once three months have passed – you can choose a monthly subscription.
If we look at the Adventurer option this time, you would pay £179 per month and receive 16,667 Avios per month. This works out at ~1.2 cents (1.07p) per Avios.
Terms & Conditions
1. When opting in for a Yearly Plan, the Subscriber will pay once, at the time of opting in for the Subscription.
2. When opting in for a Monthly Plan, the Subscriber will pay each month throughout the duration of their Subscription. First payment will be at the time of opting in and subsequent payments will be on the same day or as close to the same day in the following months, e.g., first payment on 1st October, second payment on 1st November and so on.
3. For Monthly Plans minimum term is 3 months.
4. For Yearly Plans minimum term is 12 months.
5. The Subscriber has the right to cancel their order within 14 days from opting in for their Subscription, providing their account balance is sufficient to remove the previously credited Avios.
6. Your Subscription will automatically renew after 12 months, unless cancelled.
7. Only one Subscription plan can be active at any one time.
8. Only one Subscription plan can be purchased per customer.
9. Subscription plan savings are calculated versus standard Buy Avios pricing.
10. The Subscriber can buy a maximum of 200,000 Avios in any one calendar year via Subscription. This is in addition to the 200,000 avios allowance through ‘Buy Avios’. We reserve the right to amend the maximum annual amount that can be bought via Subscription or otherwise at any time.
11. Avios can only be bought in specified amounts.
12. Subscription to Buy Avios may be amended from time to time for promotional activity.
13. The Subscriber will be able to spend Avios when they appear as credited in the Subscriber’s Executive Club account. There may be occasions where there is a delay of up to 3 working days in the Avios being credited to your account. If after this time you have not received your Avios, please let us know via the ‘Contact Us’ form at the bottom of the Buy Avios page.
14. Avios can only be bought on ba.com using the Buy Avios application.
15. The transaction currency will be pre-determined based on the registered country of the British Airways Executive Club account.
16. The Purchaser must be a Member of the British Airways Executive Club and age 18 years or over.
17. The Purchaser must have at least one Avios in their Executive Club account in order to buy Avios. If the Purchaser has a balance of zero Avios, they will need to have collected or redeemed Avios in the past 36 months in order to buy Avios.
18. The Purchaser will be unable to buy Avios if they have a negative balance.
19. The Buy Avios year begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December.
20. Purchasing Avios will reset the 36-month Avios expiry rule, as set out in the British Airways Executive Club Terms and Conditions.
21. You have the right to cancel contracts for the purchase of Avios within 14 days of purchase provided the Avios have not been used. To exercise the right to cancel the purchase of the Avios, get in touch using the ‘Contact Us’ form at the footer of the https://pgt.shopping.ba.com/subscription website. If you cancel, we will reimburse the entire payment up to 14 days after the day on which we were informed about your decision to cancel this contract.
22. Avios which are subsequently refunded will not constitute activity for the purposes of the 36-month Avios expiry rule in the Terms and Conditions.
23. In the case of Fraud or Misconduct, both as defined in the Terms and Conditions, British Airways reserves the right at any time in its absolute discretion to terminate the Membership of any Member and may cancel all accrued and accruing Avios of the Member and any Reward booking.
Bottom Line
Click here to be taken to the landing page for Avios subscriptions.
For Uk-based accounts, the cost of a monthly subscription – 1.07p per Avios – is competitive with BA’s regular 50% bonus promotions. So you are probably better off simply waiting until a 50% bonus coincides with an actual need for Avios.
The annual subscription – costing 0.9p per Avios – looks more appealing. It is, however, much more speculative. You are paying today for Avios that you won’t be receiving for the better part of a year. This leaves you at risk of devaluations. Or merely to forget to cancel your subscription before it renews automatically…
What do you think? Are you tempted to take out an Avios subscription? I know that I am… Let us know in the comments section…
