Originally Posted by
Yoshi212
I do not believe the actual cost and paid prices of "miles" are known in any public way.
When you pay QR for a flight and credit to BA's program QR credits your account from a bank of bulk purchased (This is also the way airline associated credit card companies do it) miles and BA puts those miles into your account hoping you redeem them poorly or they expire.
When you use BA Avios to book a QR flight BA pays them in a prearranged way & amount for the flight.
Not really. If you are part of an alliance, there is a mechanism to credit redemptions and accruals, be it for awards, lounge vists etc. Periodically the tallies are reviewed, and if one partner draws more than they give into the pot or a particular partner, the balance is set to zero by paying cash.