Is BA about to devalue Avios?
Aug 24, 2014, 6:51 pm
#32
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Battleaxe Alliance
Posts: 22,127
Quite. I don't see how BA's aggressive targeting of US consumers to join BAEC via Chase and the like makes strategic sense. It willl maybe bring in $10-20M a year in side business, but considering the disquiet on here and the number of posters presumably comfortably in the Ł50K+ personal spend level, that benefit starts looking questionable pretty quickly.
Those here who are comfortably in the Ł50k+ spend level with BA would be in an extreme minority and likely to be GGLs so the effect of Chase-induced Avios spending would be relatively small on them - more bothersome for them could be difficulties with redeeming Jokers on certain routes.
Having said all that, I wouldn't be particularly surprised if they increased the required Avios on some routes.
Personally, I do think the earn ratio from flying in comparison to credit card bonus/Tesco etc is very low and sometimes I do feel like I'm at a serious disadvantage for not being based in certain countries but then, I don't have to belong to BAEC if I don't like the programme, so I accept the bits I don't like and try to make the most of what I do like.
Aug 24, 2014, 6:54 pm
#33
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYZ
Programs: BA Gold/Marriott Gold/HH Diamond/IC Plat Amba
Posts: 5,989
Aug 24, 2014, 7:03 pm
#36
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: somewhere north of stateside...
Posts: 4,152
From the looks of it, roundtrips on non-stop flights only... does that mean that a Milwaukee-Chicago-Detroit flight, which would cost 18K Avios roundtrip, would now price at 39K? (19,500 X 2). Wow... it would indeed be very very low for this change to be made with no advance notice.
Aug 24, 2014, 7:05 pm
#37
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NY
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 121
Aug 24, 2014, 7:06 pm
#38
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: Miles&more, SPG, Hyatt
Posts: 536
A friend told me that in fact IB has always had a significantly more expensive oneworld chart than BA. It was only their BA/IB chart was the same as the BA OW chart - and that is still the case. I couldn't independently verify this because I couldn't find the old IB OW chart. Anyone has any thoughts? If what he said is true than in the end maybe nothing will happen to BA after all.
Aug 24, 2014, 7:19 pm
#39
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: DC/NOVA
Programs: AA Gold, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 192
A friend told me that in fact IB has always had a significantly more expensive oneworld chart than BA. It was only their BA/IB chart was the same as the BA OW chart - and that is still the case. I couldn't independently verify this because I couldn't find the old IB OW chart. Anyone has any thoughts? If what he said is true than in the end maybe nothing will happen to BA after all.
Aug 24, 2014, 7:24 pm
#40
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 970
They aren't talking about devaluing it for people based near a Ba hub. Just like the increase in value when 97% of Ba flights reduced cost (or stayed the same)
Presumably this allows Ba to be more competitive elsewhere by reducing the money that gets paid to aa for the "free" flights. As a Ba flyer I will presumably benefit from this.
If you're based in the uk, join baec. Based in the us, join aa. Based in japan, join jal.
Ba's revenues from selling miles is tiny compared with selling seats to last minute business flyers. In 2009 passenger Revenue was 7800 million, cargo about 600, and all other revenue 400, of which selling miles is a fraction.
Presumably this allows Ba to be more competitive elsewhere by reducing the money that gets paid to aa for the "free" flights. As a Ba flyer I will presumably benefit from this.
If you're based in the uk, join baec. Based in the us, join aa. Based in japan, join jal.
Ba's revenues from selling miles is tiny compared with selling seats to last minute business flyers. In 2009 passenger Revenue was 7800 million, cargo about 600, and all other revenue 400, of which selling miles is a fraction.
Aug 24, 2014, 7:26 pm
#41
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 970
Aug 24, 2014, 7:45 pm
#42
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,208
AEP-COR-AEP
IB Plus. 24,000 Avios plus $8.
BAEC 9,000 Avios plus $54
Aug 24, 2014, 7:51 pm
#43
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Battleaxe Alliance
Posts: 22,127
I am wondering if IB is covering some of that component with Avios, whereas BA isn't, or BA is taking in cash what they "don't" charge in Avios, or a combination of both, because the cash component difference seems fairly large.
I'm basically trying to see if there is a model difference between the two in terms of cash component.
Aug 24, 2014, 7:51 pm
#44
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: Miles&more, SPG, Hyatt
Posts: 536
I did notice BA's high taxes when I was booking AEP-SLA earlier this year. Ended up using Delta Skymiles to book AR. I personally ever bothered using IB for non-IB flights so I couldn't tell if this is widespread.