In case you felt news was too quiet during the holiday season, we now face the British Airways devaluation that will cost more points and cash.

The details of the British Airways devaluation

Starting December 15, 2025, British Airways will introduce higher points prices and higher cash copays for award flights. The airline has provided two concrete examples:

• London to Geneva, one way
  • Economy class
    • Off-peak: was 9,250 Avios + 50p, now 10,000 Avios + £1
    • Peak: was 9,750 Avios + 50p, now 10,750 Avios + £1
  • Business class
    • Off-peak: was 15,000 Avios + £12.50, now 16,500 Avios + £15
    • Peak: was 16,250 Avios + £12.50, now 18,000 Avios + £15
• London to New York, return
  • Economy class
    • Off-peak: was 50,000 Avios + £100, now 55,000 + £120
    • Peak: was 60,000 Avios + £100, now 66,000 Avios + £120
  • Premium economy class
    • Off-peak: was 85,000 + £305, now 93,500 + £350
    • Peak: was 120,000 + £305, now 132,000 + £350
  • Business class
    • Off-peak: was 160,000 + £375, now 176,000 + £399
    • Peak: was 180,000 + £375, now 198,000 + £399
  • First class
    • Off-peak: was 136,000 + “taxes, fees, and charges”, now 150,000 + “taxes, fees, and charges”
    • Peak: was 160,000 + “taxes, fees, and charges”, now 176,000 + “taxes, fees, and charges”

British Airways describes this devaluation as necessary due to increasing Air Passenger Duty, third-party charges, and market conditions (inflation).

We don’t know what all flight prices look like yet

A bit of unfortunate news, but British Airways does not publish an award chart. Instead, to learn the pricing for each route, you’ll need to price it out on their site. That means uncovering the new price before it becomes effective isn’t possible. We’ll re-evaluate the program once December 15 hits to see exactly how much damage there will be.

However, there are some takeaways we can see from the announcement:

• Avios pricing changes hover around a 10% increase.
• Cash copays increased between 10% and 20%.
• Changing flights after December 15 will incur the new (higher) costs.
• Upgrading flights using Avios will cost more.
• British Airways in their FAQ claims that “changes apply to all British Airways-operated flights, to all destinations”.

To elaborate a bit more on that last point, they’re admitting that all pricing for BA flights will increase. However, that also seems to imply that flights on partners might not increase. On the other hand, one of the reasons British Airways claimed to increase pricing is due to “third-party charges”. Interesting to see what wins out as it could go either way.

Avios programs can weather devaluations better than most

Normally, everyone talks about how you’re best off not transferring miles out of your bank programs into individual loyalty programs. Aside from risk of points expiring, one of the main reasons is to weather the storm on devaluations. An award with one program might represent the best value, but a month later, it might devalue to where it’s no longer the cheapest option. Thus, there is lower devaluation risk with points sitting in bank programs.

In a bit of a surprise, the same can apply to programs using the Avios currency. Unlike airlines sharing loyalty programs elsewhere in the world (like AAdvantage or Miles & More), each airline using Avios has its own unique award chart. Some of these airlines offer good deals on flying their own aircraft, or they might offer a benefit to booking partners on some routes. Any way you slice it, there is a different flavor with each, and you can freely transfer Avios amongst the programs.

Which airlines use Avios?

• Aer Lingus
• British Airways
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Qatar Airways

This neat little ecosystem allows you to just transfer your existing Avios from British Airways to another program at will. Don’t like the new pricing model British Airways introduces on December 15? You can still get good use out of your Avios by transferring them elsewhere. Perhaps that gives a sliver of hope for those of us with already-large Avios balances.

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