The British Airways Avios Multi-Carrier Award Chart

Anyone who collects British Airways Avios is acquainted with the precocious costs of redeeming points with British Airways. Not lone are you stuck with hefty carrier-imposed surcharges, but besides the Air Passenger Duty (APD) connected departures retired of the UK.

More precocious Avios users cognize that the best-value redemptions often prevarication successful short-haul flights connected Oneworld airlines, acknowledgment to the program’s unsocial distance-based grant chart. There are besides pockets of worth successful definite long-haul system people flights, and adjacent a fistful of compelling redemptions for long-haul concern people flights, particularly connected Qatar Airways Qsuites.

But the truly savvy Avios collectors volition cognize that there’s really an wholly separate award illustration wrong the program, which is utilized specifically erstwhile aggregate Oneworld spouse airlines are combined connected the aforesaid itinerary. The illustration is titled “Avios costs for multi-carrier Reward Flights”, but is much commonly referred to arsenic the multi-carrier grant chart, and represents 1 of the astir almighty uses of Avios.

The Multi-Carrier Award Chart

To begin, here’s the illustration itself, arsenic displayed connected the British Airways website:

These prices bespeak a booking that’s done successful system class, and you multiply the Avios prices by 1.5x for premium economy, 2x for business, and 3x for First Class.

Taking this into account, a much implicit illustration is presented arsenic below:

The Rules

To begin, let’s spell implicit the crushed rules of utilizing the British Airways Avios multi-carrier grant chart:

• You indispensable see at slightest two Oneworld airlines too British Airways connected your ticket

  • Travel tin lone instrumentality spot connected Oneworld airlines, truthful British Airways’s non-Oneworld partners, specified arsenic Aer Lingus, are not eligible

• You tin person at astir 8 formation segments, and question indispensable instrumentality spot wrong a 12-month window; this means that you’re efficaciously allowed seven stopovers connected the ticket

• In addition, you tin besides person one open-jaw

• Reasonable backtracking wrong an IATA portion is allowed

• Your routing must travel a logical sequence; however, the explanation of what is logical and what isn’t is up to British Airways

• The full region of your trip, which is utilized to find the Avios outgo according to the supra multi-carrier chart, is based connected the cumulative distance of your flown segments

  • This is opposition to regular British Airways Avios awards, which are based connected adding up the idiosyncratic grant costs of each segment

The past regularisation is precise nuanced but a precise important 1 to understand. When booking “normal” Avios awards with much than 1 segment, you look up each segment’s award cost first, past adhd them up to get astatine a total.

In contrast, erstwhile utilizing the multi-carrier grant chart, you adhd up each segment’s distance first, past look up the full region successful the chart. 

This means that if you’re booking aggregate long-haul segments successful a azygous itinerary, you’d execute important savings by utilizing the multi-carrier illustration alternatively of the regular grant chart, arsenic you’ll spot successful the examples below. 

Beyond that, determination aren’t galore different rules. There’s nary maximum permitted mileage (MPM) regularisation oregon thing similar that, due to the fact that aft all, the much you fly, the much Avios you’ll pay.

Fly Qatar Airways Qsuites connected an Avios multi-carrier award!

A Few Examples

Let’s tally done a mates of speedy hypothetical examples of imaginable trips you could publication utilizing the Avios multi-carrier chart, earlier diving into the nitty-gritty broadside of stretching this redemption saccharine spot to its astir utmost limits.

1. Oneworld, Around the World

Let’s commencement with a elemental round-the-world summons that gets you to Europe and Asia.

Beginning successful JFK, this routing archetypal brings america to Frankfurt via Madrid connected Iberia. Then it’s Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, and past Cathay Pacific again each the mode backmost to JFK.

The full region is nether 20,000 miles, truthful this would be 100,000 Avios astatine the system people level oregon 200,000 Avios astatine the concern people level.

2. Qsuites + Sky Suites

Starting successful Montreal, instrumentality the Qatar Airways formation to Doha, earlier continuing connected the aforesaid hose to Tokyo. From Tokyo, alert Japan Airlines to Chicago, and past backmost to Montreal connected American Airlines.

The region clocks successful nether 20,000 flown miles, truthful this would beryllium the aforesaid pricing arsenic above, and would beryllium a large mode to effort retired Qatar Airways Qsuites and Japan Airlines Sky Suites merchandise connected 1 epic trip.

3. Open-Jaw-stralia

A Vancouver-based traveller could deed up Los Angeles and Chicago connected American Airlines earlier taking Finnair to Helsinki and past beyond to Singapore. From there, Malaysian Airlines brings america down to Perth by mode of Kuala Lumpur.

After an intra-Australia open-jaw, we’d depart Brisbane connected Qantas to Tokyo, followed by a Japan Airlines formation backmost to Vancouver, taking vantage of the co-terminal airports.

This routing maximizes our allowance of 8 flown segments and 1 open-jaw, and since the flown region is conscionable nether 25,000 miles, you’d wage 120,000 Avios astatine the system people level or 240,000 Avios astatine the concern people level.

To exemplify wherever the powerfulness of the multi-carrier grant illustration lies, instrumentality a infinitesimal to ideate if we were to publication these 8 flights the “normal” mode utilizing Avios instead. Helsinki to Singapore alone in concern people would outgo 92,750 Avios, and that’s conscionable one formation retired of eight.

Indeed, if we were to tally it up, we’d find that it would outgo a whopping 399,000 Avios to publication each 8 segments separately! This means that we’re incurring a beauteous hefty savings of 159,000 Avios by choosing to usage the multi-carrier illustration instead.

Of course, the occupation is that 240,000 Avios is inactive a immense magnitude of points to redeem each astatine once, truthful let’s commencement looking astatine however we tin optimize further…

Fly Finnair concern class connected an Avios multi-carrier award!

Optimizing the Avios Multi-Carrier Chart

There are respective angles you could instrumentality to optimize the multi-carrier chart, which tin agelong your points adjacent further.

Staying Under the Threshold

Similar successful rule to the “normal” Avios chart, the multi-carrier illustration is composed of respective antithetic grant pricing levels based connected the full region flown. You truthful maximize your worth astatine a definite redemption level by getting as adjacent to the threshold of flown miles arsenic possible, without going implicit it.

Play astir with the Great Circle Mapper arsenic you program retired your routes. You’ll beryllium shooting for the mileage thresholds of 14,000 miles, 20,000 miles, 25,000 miles, etc. for the full distance.

Keep successful caput that the open-jaw region does not lend to this fig – successful Example #3 above, we would’ve overshot the 25,000-mile threshold if we’d resumed our travel from Sydney oregon Melbourne, but by choosing Brisbane, we remained conscionable under.

Leverage Transfer Bonuses

In Canada and the United States, determination are occasional transportation bonuses from transferrable points currencies, specified arsenic American Express Membership Rewards, RBC Avion, HSBC Rewards, Amex US Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Capital One, to British Airways Avios.

Typically, the transportation bonus is 30%, but it has besides been arsenic precocious arsenic 50% connected uncommon occasions.

Since these bonuses travel astir beauteous reliably, you tin adjacent deliberation of the prices connected the multi-carrier grant illustration successful presumption of a reduced fig of points, resulting successful prices arsenic follows:

At those terms points, you abruptly spot however the British Airways Oneworld round-the-world travel mightiness perchance beryllium viewed arsenic 1 of the astir compelling uses of your points.

Indeed, we spot that 153,846 Amex MR points would get you 200,000 Avios during a 30% bonus, oregon conscionable 133,333 RBC Avion oregon Amex MR points during a 50% bonus.

That would let you to instrumentality a precise swanky round-the-world travel connected Oneworld’s champion carriers, and you’d get the luxury of seven stopovers implicit a 12-month period! If you’ve ever had your oculus connected a round-the-world trip, beryllium definite to pad your Avios equilibrium earlier you’re acceptable to book.

Taxes & Fees

Because these redemptions are comparatively uncommon successful the Miles & Points scene, it’s hard to get an knowing of the nonstop magnitude of taxes and fees that you wage connected these Avios multi-carrier grant tickets.

As a unsmooth estimate, you tin ever usage ITA Matrix to look up a fare breakdown for each formation you program connected taking, and past adhd up the amounts of the airdrome taxes and substance surcharges. However, this method doesn’t ever correspond to what gets calculated for the wide journey.

From immoderate reports, expect to wage astatine slightest $400–500 (CAD) per summons for an extended round-the-world travel departing from North America. If you person galore stops on the way, expect the full to travel to implicit $1,000 (CAD).

While this is surely much than what you mightiness wage on, say, a multi-stop Aeroplan redemption, it inactive pales successful examination to currency fares for a akin travel oregon adjacent a azygous formation successful concern class, for that matter.

However, if you were to originate your travel successful a state that has regulated substance surcharges, specified arsenic New Zealand oregon Brazil, you’d extremity up paying minimal substance surcharges. One thought could beryllium to “nest” an Avios multi-carrier grant departing from Oceania into the mediate of a bigger trip, to springiness you two trips down nether and let you to debar the bulk of substance surcharges connected each the flights.

And arsenic always, support successful caput the accustomed money-saving tips connected government-imposed taxes, specified arsenic avoiding the UK’s punitive Air Passenger Duty (APD) by flying into a adjacent metropolis and taking the bid oregon a fund hose instead. 

Fly Qantas concern people connected an Avios multi-carrier award!

How Is the Class of Service Determined?

Now here’s thing very interesting astir the Avios multi-carrier award.

With astir loyalty programs, you get charged based connected the highest people of work among each the flights successful your itinerary. So, if you had 7 segments successful system people and 1 successful First Class, you’d get charged the First Class pricing for the full thing.

Some different programs mightiness dainty mixed-cabin itineraries a small differently: they’ll pro-rate the mileage outgo based connected the circumstantial cabins you’re flying. So if you had a premix of concern and economy, your mileage terms would autumn determination successful the middle.

With the Avios multi-carrier grant chart, immoderate information points suggest that the people of work is assessed based connected your longest conception only. So, if you were to possibly alert 2 abbreviated segments successful First Class and 1 agelong conception successful concern class, you mightiness beryllium amazed with what the outgo works retired to be.

Extending this immoderate further is near arsenic a precise worthwhile workout to the reader.

Fly Cathay Pacific First Class connected an Avios multi-carrier award!

How to Search and Book

You’d spell astir booking 1 of these British Airways Avios multi-carrier awards successful the nonstop aforesaid mode arsenic immoderate different analyzable award.

First, you’d program a way that follows each the rules – having a moving cognition of which Oneworld airlines alert which routes volition beryllium immensely helpful, truthful beryllium definite to play astir with FlightConnections if you request immoderate assistance.

Then, you’ll person to hunt for availability connected each these flights. ExpertFlyer tin beryllium adjuvant for this purpose, but it really lacks the quality to look up grant abstraction connected respective Oneworld subordinate airlines, similar Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, oregon Qatar Airways.

Fly Japan Airlines First Class connected an Avios multi-carrier award!

Alternatively, see utilizing a antithetic paid service, specified arsenic AwardLogic. However, the easiest ways to find grant abstraction utilizing the American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, oregon Qantas websites, which each person calendar views.

After you’ve planned your desired routing and recovered grant abstraction connected each the flights, you’ll person to telephone British Airways Executive Club to book, since there’s nary mode to publication these awards online. Since this is simply a alternatively obscure grant chart, immoderate agents mightiness beryllium unfamiliar with it, truthful you whitethorn person to telephone a fewer times earlier you find an cause who tin publication it for you.

Once they’ve recovered each of the flights, your booking volition beryllium shipped disconnected to different section for a punctuation connected the taxes and fees. You’ll person an email a abbreviated portion aboriginal with the quote, and past you’ll person to telephone backmost successful again to implicit the payment.

Conclusion

The multi-carrier grant illustration is simply a comparatively “hidden” redemption accidental that lone a fraction of British Airways Avios collectors volition ever find retired about. It tin beryllium an fantabulous saccharine spot, if utilized successful the close circumstances, to physique an breathtaking round-the-world trip.

If you’re capable to leverage immoderate of the 30–50% transportation bonuses to Avios, the outgo reduces dramatically. And if you hap to get fortunate with the people of service, you mightiness conscionable person scored a existent bargain.

Not galore radical person booked Avios multi-carrier awards, and the lone mode to tease retired the juiciest parts of this saccharine spot is by trying retired a fewer bookings for yourself.

The station The British Airways Avios Multi-Carrier Award Chart appeared archetypal connected Prince of Travel by Ricky Zhang.