Thinking about buying Avios points to top up your balance for a British Airways reward flight? Buying Avios is one of the available methods to boost your account for that free ticket or cabin upgrade. But is it good value for money? Let’s find out.
- Passenger1
Is Buying Avios Points Worth It?
Let’s say you have 20,000 Avios Points and want to fly to New York in Economy. For an off-peak, one-way Economy ticket, you need 25,000 Avios to be eligible for a redemption seat. You have 80% of the points required but are short by just 5,000 Avios, which is the remaining 20% of the balance.
Based on current exchange rates, buying 5,000 Avios will cost you £92 (1.85p/pt March 2026). This doesn’t sound too bad but considering the average cost to fly New York in the economy is £420 avg (taxes £150+) it means you will need to spend 22% of the cash price of the flight to get 20% of the remaining Avios needed. It doesn’t stop there though. When you buy this flight, you still need to pay the additional taxes and fees, as your Avios points only pay for the flight price.
Going by the numbers, and the fact that you still have to pay taxes, we generally don’t recommend buying Avios speculatively if you don’t have immediate plans to use them. But you may be able to justify buying small quantities of Avios, say, if you only need a few more to top up your balance before redeeming and if you plan to redeem immediately. In such a case, it might be cheaper for you to buy additional Avios points than to pay for a cash ticket provided the math works out in your favour.
Outside this limited scenario, it’s generally best to stick with alternative methods of accruing Avios, like earning points when you fly, take a holiday, hotel stay or car rental with British Airways and partner companies.
How To Increase Your Avios Points Balance
Buying Avios points can cost you anywhere from 0.8p per Avios point, when BA is running point purchase promotions, to as much as 3.1p per Avios point. On average, it will still cost you 1.7p per Avios point to purchase. However, when you redeem your Avios, you will only be redeemed for the value of 0.38p to 0.89p redemption.
For this reason, it pays to compare buying Avios other ways of boosting your Avios balance such as:
Flying with British Airways & partner airlines
Since Oct 2023, British Airways awards Avios by spend (not distance):
| Tier | Avios per £1 |
|---|---|
| Blue | 6 |
| Bronze | 7 |
| Silver | 8 |
| Gold | 9 |
Includes: base fare, carrier charges, seats, bags, upgrades.
Excludes: taxes, reward flights. Earn on BA/Iberia operated flights.
British Airways flies to more than 200 destinations in 80 countries. If you're a member of the BA Club, you can earn Avios when you fly with British Airways or its partner airlines such as Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines and Iberia.
You can use Reward Flight Finder (RFF) to find the best way to redeem your points for award flights and upgrades.
Converting Your Nectar Points to Avios
Since a 2021 link-up between Avios and Nectar loyalty programmes, you can also boost your Avios balance by converting Nectar points collected with over 300 brand partners on the Nectar.com Eshop portal (as well as off-line) into Avios. Nectar partners in the UK include eBay, Argos, ASOS, Esso and Booking.com. Find a complete list of Nectar partners here.
Earning Points with Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
It is even easier to earn Avios points with credit card sign-up bonuses. For example, Amex Gold offers a great deal if you are a ‘miles and points’ newcomer where 30,000 Membership Rewards points are awarded for signing up and spending £3,000 within three months. As of 2026, there are twelve UK credit cards which let you earn Avios points at a rate of at least 1 Avios per £1 spent.
| Card | Earn Rate |
|---|---|
| Barclaycard Avios | 1 Avios/£1 |
| BA Amex Free | 1 Avios/£1 |
| Amex Preferred Gold* | 1 Avios/£1 (MR→Avios) |
| HSBC Premier World Elite* | 1-2 Avios/£1 (HSBC→Avios) |
| Amex Nectar* | 1.25 Avios/£1 (Nectar→Avios) |
| BA Amex Premium Plus | 1.5 Avios/£1 |
| Barclaycard Avios Plus | 1.5 Avios/£1 |
| Amex Platinum Credit | 1-2 Avios/£1 (MR→Avios) |
How to Buy Avios Points
You can buy Avios points directly via this page of ba.com, and select the number of Avios you want to buy. Note that you can only buy Avios in select increments:
- 1,000-point increments from 1,000 Avios to 6,000 Avios
- 2,000-point increments from 6,000 Avios to 10,000 Avios
- 5,000-point increments from 10,000 Avios to 50,000 Avios
- 10,000-point increments from 50,000 Avios to 100,000 Avios
- 25,000-point increments from 100,000 Avios to 200,000 Avios
Once you have decided the number of Avios you want, enter your card details to make the purchase.
Additional Information
- You can only buy a minimum of 2,000 Avios, and a maximum of 200,000 (per calendar year). Your new Avios are usually available to spend right away but may take up to three working days in some cases.
- To buy, a gift of transfer Avios, you must be a Member of the British Airways Club and over 18 years of age.
- You must have at least one Avios point in your BA Club account. If you have a balance of zero Avios, you will need to have collected or redeemed Avios in the past 36 months to buy Avios. You are not allowed to buy Avios points if your Avios balance is in the negative.
- If you are not satisfied with your Avios purchase, you have the right to cancel the transaction within 14 days of purchase provided none of the Avios have been used or redeemed.
Monthly Avios Subscriptions (Better Value Than Spot Buys)
Steady top-ups at 0.99p per Avios beat one-time purchases.
Launched in 2022, British Airways Club members can subscribe for automatic monthly Avios deposits. Pay annually for best rates (12-month commitment) or monthly (min 3 months, auto-renews).
| Plan | Avios/Month | Avios/Year | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | p/Avios (Annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voyager | 1,667 | 20,000 | £22 | £259 | 1.30p |
| Traveller | 4,167 | 50,000 | £46 | £549 | 1.10p |
| Explorer | 8,334 | 100,000 | £88 | £1,049 | 1.05p |
| Adventurer | 16,667 | 200,000 | £166 | £1,989 | 0.99p |
Key benefits: 200k/year limit (plus separate 200k spot buy allowance). Points available immediately (up to 3 days). Can gift/transfer. Pay with Avios-earning credit card for double dip. Subscribe here.
Best for: Companion Voucher deadlines, Barclaycard upgrade vouchers, or guaranteed top-ups for high-value redemptions. Skip if: you can earn via transfers (<1.2p/pt) or wait for 40-60% spot-buy bonuses.
Requires British Airways Club membership + 1 Avios balance.
Running low on Avios before they expire?
Learn how to avoid losing your points and maximise redemptions before balance hits zero.
To Sum Up
While we don’t generally recommend buying Avios, since you can get better value exchanging Nectar points or AMEX membership reward points for Avios. But if you have already maximised your points earnings through other means, you may want to use the Avios you have so far, and redeem them for British Airways reward flights after a quick point purchase.
