Your Avios Just Got Less Valuable: BA Raises Prices Across the Board

British Airways has announced another round of increases to their Avios redemption rates, effective from 15th December 2025.

If you've been saving your points for any flight you'll now need more Avios and will pay higher taxes and fees. This affects all British Airways flights across all destinations and cabins, as well as partner airline redemptions.

Look, in the grand scheme of things, we're talking about roughly 10% more Avios per redemption. It's not a catastrophic devaluation that renders your points worthless overnight. But it's the principle. I know that you're diligently collecting Avios, watching your balance grow, planning that trip you've been saving for... and then BA moves the goalposts. It's frustrating, even if the actual impact is relatively modest.

But this does seem rather ironic seeing has we posted in recent weeks an article asking "Has BA Found It's Swagger Again?"

The Numbers: What's Changed

British Airways has been fairly transparent this time, publishing a couple of examples of the increases on their website. The pattern is consistent: roughly 10% more Avios required for every redemption, plus increased taxes and fees on top.

London to Geneva (off-peak, each way):

• Economy: 9,250 → 10,000 Avios (+8.1%), taxes £0.50 → £1 (+100%)

• Business: 15,000 → 16,500 Avios (+10%), taxes £12.50 → £15 (+20%)

London to New York (off-peak, return):

• Economy: 50,000 → 55,000 Avios (+10%), taxes £100 → £120 (+20%)

• Premium Economy: 85,000 → 93,500 Avios (+10%), taxes £305 → £350 (+14.8%)

• Business: 160,000 → 176,000 Avios (+10%), taxes £375 → £399 (+6.4%)

• First: 136,000 → 150,000 Avios (+10.3%), taxes, fees and charges also increased

These changes affect everything: all Reward Flights, all Avios & Money options, Avios-only flights, and even the Avios required for upgrades. The only thing that isn't changing is Avios part payment, which remains unaffected.

Is an extra 750 Avios for Geneva catastrophic? No. Will an extra 5,000 Avios for New York fundamentally change your life? Probably not. But when you've been steadily accumulating points towards a goal, discovering you need an extra 16,000 Avios for business class is just a bit annoying, because that's months of additional earning for most people.

For families or couples booking multiple seats, the increases compound. Two business class returns to New York now costs 32,000 more Avios than it did before, and that's not an insignificant amount.

BA's Justification

British Airways has at least provided some explanation this time. According to their FAQ, the increases are due to "increasing Air Passenger Duty and third-party charges, as well as changing market conditions and ongoing inflation." They also claim they've "kept Reward Flight prices at the same level for some time", which is true.

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To be fair, Air Passenger Duty has increased in the recent budget, and inflation is real. These are legitimate operational costs that have gone up. And whilst Avios might feel like "free" seats to us, they cost BA actual money. Every redeemed Avios represents revenue they're forgoing or costs they're incurring to honour that seat. From that perspective, it's not entirely unreasonable that BA is splitting the burden of increased costs across both the cash component (covering taxes and fees) and the Avios component (covering the actual seat cost). They're essentially saying "costs have gone up, so both elements need to increase proportionally." It's logical, even if it's disappointing for those of us who've been saving points.

Still, at least BA has been upfront about the changes this time, rather than just updating the award chart overnight and hoping nobody notices.

Did I speak too soon? Find this over on our IG

What Happens to Existing Bookings?

There's some good news here. If you've already booked a Reward Flight for travel on or after 15th December, you won't pay more as long as you don't make changes. Your existing booking stands at the old prices.

If you need to make changes before 15th December, the old rates still apply. But if you make changes on or after 15th December, you'll pay the new higher rates if you're changing destination, cabin, or changing between off-peak and peak. Simple date or time changes within the same cabin and seasonality won't trigger additional the Avios charges.

If you've been planning a trip and haven't booked yet, you've got until 14th December to lock in the current prices.

Should You Still Collect Avios?

Despite the frustration, Avios aren't suddenly terrible value.

Don't hoard Avios indefinitely hoping they'll become more valuable, they just won't. If you use programmes like American Express Membership Rewards, consider keeping points there and only transferring to Avios when you're ready to book, protecting yourself against future devaluations.

And honestly, do the maths before you redeem. Sometimes paying cash is genuinely better value (more on that in the coming days!), especially when you factor in high taxes and fees. A redemption that costs £350 in taxes plus 93,500 Avios for premium economy to New York might not actually be better than just buying a ticket on sale.

Conclusion

The latest British Airways Avios devaluation is annoying, there's no point pretending otherwise. A 10% increase across the board, combined with higher taxes and fees, means your Avios buy you less from 15th December. But just to keep it in perspective, this isn't a dramatic slash that makes the programme worthless. It's a frustrating shift in the goalposts that will cost you some extra time to reach your redemption goals.

BA has at least been more transparent this time, providing clear examples and FAQs, and protecting existing bookings from the increases. The justification about Air Passenger Duty and inflation holds some water, but the 10% Avios increase on top of the cash increases feels a bit cheeky.

If you're sitting on Avios and are planning a trip, you've got until 14th December to book at current prices. If you're still saving, you'll need to factor these new prices into your planning.

Sam

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