Avios Balance Boost is back at 500%, but the rules have changed since last time
The 400% and 500% Balance Boost options are back on avios.com from today until 23:59 on Wednesday 16 September.
If you read our piece in January when a version of this offer last ran, you'll remember the big draw was being able to go back and boost anything you'd earned in the last year. This time it's the bog standard window of only Avios credited to your British Airways Club account in the 30 days that can be boosted.
Funnily enough, we had a question in our last Instagram Q&A asking if this offer would come back! Well, let us run you through what we've got this time.
The offer at a glance
Boost eligible transactions from the last 30 days by 100%, 200%, 300%, 400% or 500%
The 400% and 500% options are only available from 9 to 16 September
The first 300,000 Avios you boost in a calendar year are charged at the standard rate, anything above that costs more (see January's post for an explanation as to why)
Boosted Avios don't count towards the separate 200,000 annual Buy Avios cap
Avios normally arrive in your account immediately, but the rules do say within three working days at the latest
A quick reminder of what Balance Boost is
Balance Boost lets you pay cash to multiply Avios you've already earned, rather than buying a set amount outright. You pick the transactions (a flight, a month of card spend, an eStore order) and choose how much to multiply them by. If you've never used it, our full guide to how it works and when it's worth it covers the all of this.
Not everything can be boosted. You can't boost pending Avios, anything you've already boosted, Avios transferred in from Nectar or another airline programme, gifts and transfers from other members, or Avios you previously bought, received through Avios Subscription, or were given as goodwill or compensation.
What it costs this time
Here's what a 1,500 Avios transaction looks like on the boost page this morning:
100% boost: 1,500 Avios for £14.40 (104 Avios per £1)
200% boost: 3,000 Avios for £28.20 (106 Avios per £1)
300% boost: 4,500 Avios for £41.40 (109 Avios per £1)
400% boost: 6,000 Avios for £55.20 (109 Avios per £1)
500% boost: 7,500 Avios for £69 (109 Avios per £1)
That works out at 0.92p per Avios at 300% and above, which is the same standard rate Balance Boost always charges.
Should you?
If you had a decent chunk of Avios credited to your account in the last month, this will be the cheapest way to effectively buy more Avios. 60,000 Avios boosted by 500% is 300,000 Avios for roughly £2,760, and that's a pair of Club World seats to the US (plus taxes and fees).
It makes sense if you're short of a specific redemption, if the seats you want have appeared and you need to move now, or if you've had a big month and want to make it bigger.
It doesn't make sense if you're boosting for the sake of it. Avios bought at 0.92p need to be spent at more than 0.92p to have been worth it, and plenty of BA redemptions don't clear that bar. Our BA Avios value calculator will tell you whether the flight you have in mind does.
Sam
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