Household accounts (HHAs), or family accounts as they are sometimes referred to are a way of pooling Avios for redemptions. They are also a way of allowing under 18s to join and earn Avios and gain status for themselves.
Each member must be registered at the same address. Setting up a HHA is easy and can be done online. The Head of the Household (i.e. the main applicant) can access an online statement detailing the personal transactions of each member, and the total combined mileage for the Household. The Head of the Household can add up to 6 additional members to the HHA. Once it is set-up, you as the Head of Household will see two mileage balances when you log into ba.com, a personal one, and a household one. The household one is the mileage balance of all the members, combined. While the Head of Household has access to a statement of combined transactions within the HHA, other members of the HHA can only review their own transactions.
From December 2013, HHA members can now spend their Household Avios on up to 5 additional family and friends who do not live at the same address. The Head of the Household can add family and/or friends to the new Family and Friends list which can be accessed via logging into your Executive Club account and selecting 'My family and friends' from the left hand menu.
Note: Avios cannot not be pooled with anyone who is added to your Family and Friends list, you can only share Avios in this way with individuals who live at the same address as you and are part of your Household Account.
Administrative changes to HHAs can be made online at ba.com by the Head of the Household only. This includes changes to contact details, adding or removing members from the HHA, and dissolving the HHA. Registering a change of address can also be made online, however this will have to be done separately for each member of the Household Account.
Avios earned is the only thing that is shared; status is NOT shared i.e. if one member is Silver and the other is Blue, the Blue member travelling alone will not have lounge access, Club check-in etc.
As you have to be 18 or over to join the Executive Club the HHA is a good way to let kids join. There is no age restriction when joining a family account (however infants aged under 3 will not earn TP and Avios unless you book a seat for them).
Let's recap with three very important numbers
7---The maximum number of members in a HHA is seven (Head of household and six others).
6---You can only make changes to a HHA once every six months.
5---Household Avios can be redeemed for up to 5 additional family and friends
Spending Avios from a household account
There’s a specific formula that calculates how Avios are deducted from each members account whenever a redemption is booked.
The figure above gives an illustrative example of how each HHA member is charged whenever a redemption is booked.
In this example the HHA has a combined balance of 200,000 Avios for which it wishes to spend 100,000 Avios towards a business class ticket for member C to travel from London to San Francisco.
The overall 'pie' is the sum of all Avios accrued by all individual members of the HHA. Member A has an individual balance of 120,000 Avios, which represents 60% of the total HHA pool. Member B has 40,000 Avios (20%), C has 30,000 Avios (15%), D has 10,000 Avios (5%). We can see here that member C doesn't have enough Avios Points to fund the ticket alone but as a member of this HHA, s/he can.
So when a redemption ticket is booked, each member of the account will be debited a pro-rata proportion of the Avios needed, based on their individual contribution towards the overall pool: 60% (60,000 Avios) from member A, 20% (20,000 Avios) from member B, and 5% (5,000 Avios). Member C, the lucky ticket holder will contribute 15,000 Avios (15%) towards the price of the ticket.
Keeping Avios alive!
If a Blue or Bronze member has had no activity in 36 consecutive months but they are part of an HHA which has a Gold or Silver member their Avios will be protected as long as there is an active Gold or Silver in the HHA. Other than that, make sure you keep an eye on this and ensure all accounts have some activity occasionally – of course, the easiest way to do that is a redemption due to the formula above.
Limitations of HHAs
If you set up a Household Account you can only redeem Avios for members inside the HHA plus friends and family specifically added to the HHA, unlike standard account holders who are essentially able to redeem Avios for anyone. This also applies to GUF2 vouchers, including those redeemed for purely paid tickets via a Travel Agent which have nothing to do with Avios and/or HHAs. Do bear in mind, the Executive Club does exercise some discretion for GUFT vouchers so the best bet is to check with your local service centre to see if they can help, particularly when upgrading a commercial fare for someone outside of the HHA that you have paid for as a Gold member.
Similarly as a member of a UK registered HHA, when redeeming Amex companion vouchers your companion must also belong to your HHA. However, a UK registered HHA member can travel as the companion of a standard member using the other member's Amex companion voucher. These rules differ for US registered members with a Chase companion voucher, who may choose to take anyone as a companion on their redemption voucher booking.
Remember also, if you are a HHA member without any transactions in the last 12 months to your name you will be unable to book a Reward Flight Saver ticket for yourself. One of the active members in your household would have to book it on your behalf or you would need to earn an Avios to book for yourself.
Note: Members of the HHA who are under 18 cannot redeem Avios for tickets for themselves.
Links
BA.com Household Account page [UK]
Household account terms and conditions [UK]
Q&A with Nicci