The Reward Flight Saver (RFS) was introduced in November 2011 and has since transformed the short haul redemption game. Previously, short haul redemptions were subject to the usual high taxes, fees and surcharges and the RFS replaces the variable (and invariably expensive) cash supplement with a much more affordable fixed price supplement.
Available across BA's short haul network, these redemptions are subject to availability of the usual redemption classes. The scope also extends beyond the confines of Europe to include South Africa, by virtue of BA franchise carrier, Comair's network.
At present BAEC members cannot redeem Avios for Iberia Express (I2) or Vueling (YV) flights. However, Iberia Express flights with an IB code may be booked as standard redemptions. Note: on the MAD/LHR route where Iberia operates a number of flights on behalf of BA, these flights cannot be booked as Reward Flight Savers. It is also worth mentioning that if BA substitutes a wet lease aircraft then Reward Flight Savers may not be offered on it, particularly early on.
For your redemption to qualify as a RFS, all flights in your itinerary must be on BA and also less than 2,000 miles in distance. If your itinerary includes a short haul Air Berlin flight as well as BA flight, this does not qualify as a RFS and so the higher, variable set of taxes/fees/surcharges will be assessed against this redemption ticket. Similarly, if your ticket includes one or more long haul flights (zone 3+), the entire ticket reverts to a standard redemption and is priced accordingly.
Several fifth freedom flights operated by BA also qualify as RFS. The qualifying factor being the sector distance is less than 2,000 miles. The fifth freedom allows an airline to sell tickets for travel between foreign countries, as a part of a route connecting to the airline's own country. Bahrain to Doha is a classic example, as are a number of BA services that operate between Caribbean countries beyond London.
Important
It is also worth bearing in mind one additional point of qualification. You need to have earned at least 1 Avios point in the 12 months prior to booking to be eligible for the RFS option.
New variable rates applicable to bookings made from 28 April 2015
A 12 month forward view of peak and off peak dates is published on BA.com. See
here and navigate to “Working out the cost”.
* Variable airport and Government fees will be applied in lieu of the flat fee if the sum of the variable fees is lower than the flat fee
The maps below provide a small sample of cities within reach of LHR and JNB and their relative distance bands from each origin.
Zonal map - Origin London
Zonal map - Origin Johannesburg
Introduction | Standard reward flights | Multi-Partner reward flights | Reward Flight Saver | Avios & Money | Upgrading using Avios | Avios part payment | Using your companion vouchers | Additional Gold benefits | Hotel and car rental redemptions