Originally Posted by
malct
I would like to ask a few questions
1. Do Avios points expire , I understand that if there has been no activity on your account then you lose all the points.
2. Can you use the points on Seat selection when buying the cheapest economy tickers. I understand that you can upgrade to Business class with Points , But unsure if seat selection is included
3. Can you use the points in paying for a flight. ie Paying £800 for a flight, Can i use the points to get a reduction off the total flight
4. What is the average number of points for a upgrade to Business, Will this tell me during the booking process?
First you need to know there's Avios (which acts as currency) and Qpoints (which is for status / tier upgrade). Avios is also used by BA and other airlines and you can also collect Avios through credit card and BA's shopping portal.
For your questions:
1) Avios will expire when there is no activity for 3 years. So you can 'reset' your expiry date for Avios with any kind of activity (whether it's buying Avios directly or transferring some from BA etc.), of course taking a flight linked to your QRPC account (whether it's QR or BA or any other OW airline) will automatically reset the expiry date to 3 years from the date when the new Avios are credited into your account.
2) I'm not sure since I've never bought any seat on QR. You'll get free seat selection as OWS (QRPC Gold) and OWE (QRPC Platinum), or when online check in has opened.
3) Yes, you can pay with cash + Avios although the value is usually quite poor. You'll get more out of it with upgrades or award ticket redemption directly using Avios, though if you do this, you'll only either get the Avios/Qpoints for original ticketed fare (not upgraded fare) or no Avios/Qpoints for award ticket. You'll whether you'll get more value with your Avios through upgrading or getting award ticket.
4) It's roughly based on distance / destination. You can go to the 'Calculator' on QRPC to check the amount of Avios required for redemption (but they can be x2 the amount for Flexi redemption during peak or when normal rate redemption tickets have been given out, which is usually just 2 per flight), or it will also tell you when you try to book an award ticket though you'll need to have at least 50% of the required Avios to obtain an award ticket.