British Airways launches Avios sale with a 40% bonus when you buy in the next five days

British Airways have put Avios on sale with a 40% bonus promotion on purchased and gifted Avios, running for five days from today, Thursday 23rd April until Sunday 27th April 2026.

The offer at a glance

• Promotion period: Until 27th April 2026 at 23:59 BST

• Bonus rate: 40% extra Avios on all purchases and gifts

• Eligibility: British Airways Club members

• Where to buy: avios.com/collect-avios/buy

• Gifting: Recipient must hold a BA Club account with at least 1 Avios

The bonus Avios do not count towards the standard 200,000 Avios annual purchase limit.

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How the pricing breaks down

Rather than a tiered structure like some of Virgin Atlantic's points sales, the 40% bonus applies across the board on every purchase amount. The headline rates look like this:

• 2,000 Avios + 800 bonus = 2,800 Avios for £49 (57.14 Avios per £1, or 1.75p per Avios)

• 10,000 Avios + 4,000 bonus = 14,000 Avios for £195 (71.79 Avios per £1, or 1.39p per Avios)

• 25,000 Avios + 10,000 bonus = 35,000 Avios for £459 (76.25 Avios per £1, or 1.31p per Avios)

• 50,000 Avios + 20,000 bonus = 70,000 Avios for £899 (77.86 Avios per £1, or 1.28p per Avios)

• 100,000 Avios + 40,000 bonus = 140,000 Avios for £1,779 (78.7 Avios per £1, or 1.27p per Avios)

• 200,000 Avios + 80,000 bonus = 280,000 Avios for £3,539 (79.12 Avios per £1, or 1.26p per Avios)

As you'd expect, the bigger the purchase, the better the per-Avios rate.

Our thoughts

First, the timing. This sale has launched the day after we covered the strange story of BA quietly extending status to April 2027 for members with zero tier points, while leaving behind plenty of members who actually flew and spent. Whether this bonus is a coincidence or a bit of a goodwill distraction, we'll let you decide.

Second, the value. 1.26p per Avios at the cheapest tier sounds tempting, and it is better than the standard rate. But context matters, and we wrote a full piece on whether you should buy Avios at all, which is worth a read before you reach for your card: Should I Buy Avios?

Buying Avios is almost always more expensive than earning them through boosting, subscriptions, credit card sign-up bonuses, or shopping portals. Even at 1.26p per Avios, you're often paying more than you would through other routes.

Third, Qatar Airways, also part of the Avios family, regularly offers bonuses of 50%, 60%, and even 65% when you buy Avios through their Privilege Club. Those Avios can then be transferred instantly and for free to your BA Club account via the Avios website.

So while 40% is better than nothing, it's consistently below what other programmes are offering, and it's worth waiting to see what Qatar does next if you're not in a rush.

When this offer might actually make sense

There are a few scenarios where buying Avios at a 40% bonus could be worthwhile:

• You're a few thousand Avios short of a specific redemption and the availability is sitting right there

• You need Avios credited quickly and don't have time to wait for a Qatar promotion

• You've already maxed out Boosting, subscriptions, and other cheaper earning routes

• You're topping up a partner's or family member's account for a joint redemption

Outside of those cases, we'd generally suggest holding off, keeping an eye on Qatar's next sale, and looking at cheaper earning routes first.

The sale ends at 23:59 BST on Sunday 27th April.

Sam

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