Takiteasy

Apologies if this is answered in the BoB thread but that thread is now over 1200 posts long and the search function did not return anything meaningful.

My question is, when paying for BoB with Avios, how does the crew computer know if there are enough Avios on the account?

mikeyfly

I imagine the system is fed live data up until takeoff at which point it'll know your current balance?

mikeyfly

I suppose once airborne someone in your house account could clear you out and you could get away with a free G&T

hostime

I have noticed that the barcode in the BA app looks different every time I open it. I presume the barcode is coded to contain my Executive Club number, my points balance, and a date and time for when it last updated. When you pay onboard with Avios they must scan the barcode and are not able to just type in your Avios card number, unless you have a physical card, in which case only bronze and above are accepted (I suppose they reason if you travel enough to have bronze or above you'll be earning enough Avios to be able to cover your coffee).

bwaflyer

If you're Blue, we need to see the app, and you must have enough Avios showing on the app to cover the purchase. For Bronze and above, we can swipe the physical card.

Ldnn1

Is there even a physical card for Blue any more? I thought it was virtual only now.

OSIModel

Going by the size of the bar-code and the type it's probably a

danboy767

Wouldn't worry too much as for the flight I took in mid Jan, my first BOB and probably last the Avios were never deducted!

it might have been teething trouble as the crew only actually made it just past the exits with the service. I think the quote by the CSM\CSD in front of rows 6-9 that BA management had "Thrown them (the crew) to the dogs!" says it all really.

MrsW

Same here, we paid with Avios on a BoB flight at the end of Jan and the points have not been deducted.

layz

First trip Avios weren't deducted, subsequent trips Avios were deducted a few days after the flight.

I believe the barcode only contains your BAEC number and surname, it doesn't update.

corporate-wage-slave

I've done 37 Avios transactions since it started. 21 have gone through now, taking up to 2 weeks to come through, and projecting that recent transactions I suspect I have had 4 free bacon rolls, 1 porridge, 1 sparkling water, and 5 free cups of tea or coffee. Transactions from day 2 haven't processed yet. Most of the recent ones are processing but there is one recent one that should have shown up - it was the second purchase on a flight where the first purchase has gone through - and that's the porridge.

bwaflyer confirms something I was told about this before, namely that the system doesn't know your Avios balance. If you are Silver plus then the assumption is that you will be potentially overdrawn for only a short time, indeed the flight you are on should have credited well before the Avios are debited. The system does, however, have the ability to block bad debtors, which will bring a new frisson to the DYKWIA thread in due course.

Oxon Flyer

You presume far too much sophistication on BA's part. FT members have decoded their own barcodes, and it's BEAC number + first 7 characters of surname.

FWIW, there's plenty of utilities on the web that'll decode your barcode for you, so if you do think that yours keeps changing, you could always decode what it says and report back.

aidy

Yup, i can confirm that is the case, unless your surname is less than 7 characters (mine is 3) it just shows the surname.. no xxx or anything like that

Takiteasy

Thanks.

Question arose as my kids are Bronze, but don't have much of an Avios balance.

We normally travel with their cards (as I don't know their number by heart) but not with ours, and we're thinking of using their cards for the on-board purchases.

Maybe be I am better off continuing to pay by credit card rather than risking them barred from BAEC for going in the red because of their parents' G&T habit!

happyintheair

The barcode sometimes disappears/ isn't scan-able.

I know my exec number so have recited it when that happens. Once they asked to see the card, but when they looked at the app and saw Gold, they said,. ah OK and 'entered it manually' (wrote it on a bit of paper)

The other few times no card was needed - so I presume there is no check for availability in that case.

Re - overdrawn balance - wouldn't any flight generate more Avioses than the purchase of F&B? So overdrawn wouldn't happen?