Best use of Avios?

[burmans]

Actually my wife just got an email as below that caused me to look at the Avios eStore, possibly some good earners there with better earn rates than the equivalent Velocity or QFF store.

[FONT=fs_joeymedium]Shop now and get 500 bonus Avios[/FONT]

Buy something through Avios eStore before 22 June 2016 and on top of all the standard Avios you earn, we’ll give you 500 bonus Avios.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So 7k Avios effectively costs $110? I'm not so sure of the value of Avios I can tell if this is good value or not.

It might not be the 'best' value - but it means you can have quite a small balance of avios and use them to 'seed' the flight and then top up with cash. As I had a lengthy (6 hour) transit, the value for business class + lounge access for that time was worth it. (If you have lounge access via status then economy is much better value, especially with guaranteed exit or bulkhead rows.)

I think it worked out fairly close to the cost of purchasing incremental avios, except you have to pay a surcharge for buying the first 1000 avios (the first 1000 costs £31 subsequent blocks of 1000 cost just £16 each). Points + pay saves the initial £15 surcharge.

 

[junbugging]

you can have quite a small balance of avios and use them to 'seed' the flight and then top up with cash.

Yep, there is sometimes good value to be had this way. They actually give you options where it pays to do your sums, unlike QF and others on the Points+Pay front.

 

[joelyong]

The longer the flight gets, the less the value of the Avios. 2 weeks ago my dad went to SYD for work and decided to pop by MEL for the weekend before going home... Dutifully booked him a 9k J BA Avios ticket SYD-MEL one way on QF, less than 24h before flying. In that instance the Avios would have some pretty good value. Definitely more than $110. Depends on the specific circumstance.

So 7k Avios effectively costs $110? I'm not so sure of the value of Avios I can tell if this is good value or not.

 

[froggerADL]

I flew from Bangkok to Hanoi recently on a Qatar B777 in J for 9000 Avios and about A$90. I had the entire J cabin to myself and drank a bottle of Billicart Salmon NV. Great flight and excellent value. Qantas would have been 26,000 points plus roughly the same in taxes. You can buy this flight for ~A$470.

 

[TonyHancock]

The longer the flight gets, the less the value of the Avios.

Yep once you get up to the long-haul flights there is definitely less value. SYD-LHR-SYD came in at 250k in Avios with ~$1200 in taxes. (It became better value by using an upgrade certificate to F in conjunction with the Avios.)

I flew from Bangkok to Hanoi recently on a Qatar B777 in J for 9000 Avios and about A$90. I had the entire J cabin to myself and drank a bottle of Billicart Salmon NV. Great flight and excellent value. Qantas would have been 26,000 points plus roughly the same in taxes. You can buy this flight for ~A$470.

This is why I tend to value Avios at almost twice as much as QF points.

 

[froggerADL]

This is why I tend to value Avios at almost twice as much as QF points.

Or in this case, almost three times as much as QF points . There is a real sweet spot between 601 and 650 mile flights with Avios, which includes BKK-HAN and also ADL-CBR.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Or in this case, almost three times as much as QF points . There is a real sweet spot between 601 and 650 mile flights with Avios, which includes BKK-HAN and also ADL-CBR.

Even sweeter with the 'points plus pay' option available for some airlines (like KA/CX). That applies to the next band up as well in terms of value.