[Coming later in 2018] Reserve/pay for seats with Avios
Mar 1, 2018, 6:43 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2016
Programs: BAEC - Lowly blue
Posts: 282
[Coming later in 2018] Reserve/pay for seats with Avios
Announced alongside "a number of new initiatives" coming later this year in the latest edition of The Club; "Executive Club Members will be able to use their Avios to pay for and reserve seats in advance via Manage My Booking"
BA - The Club - The Executive Club
BA - The Club - The Executive Club
Mar 1, 2018, 7:26 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: North East
Programs: Hilton HHonors, BAEC Silver
Posts: 1,204
Depending on the pricing structure, I feel that this would be a good solid progressive move. Perhaps it’s not quite so pragmatic to myself just now, but certainly in the past and possibly in the future this option would have been extremely useful.
Took a while to find the article but is under the best of BA news section. For some reason on my iPad the direct link seems not to be working.......I blame the weather
Took a while to find the article but is under the best of BA news section. For some reason on my iPad the direct link seems not to be working.......I blame the weather
Mar 1, 2018, 10:08 am
#5
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,387
I suspect customers with no status who have Avios and have no particular plan for what to do with them. There are lots of people who slowly accumulate a few tens of thousands of Avios but take no interest in the best ways to redeem and get good value.
Mar 1, 2018, 1:14 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 122
This is great news for me.
No status, lots of Avios (from a family member who travels for work), and I consistently get two companion vouchers each year.
Will save me spending £600(ish) each year for our long haul flight seat selection.
No status, lots of Avios (from a family member who travels for work), and I consistently get two companion vouchers each year.
Will save me spending £600(ish) each year for our long haul flight seat selection.
Mar 1, 2018, 1:24 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Brighton. UK
Programs: BA Gold / VS /IHG Diamond & Ambassador
Posts: 14,196
How good this is will depend on the rules and what BA does behind the scenes
Will all seats be available or will some (upper deck for example) be hidden so Gold and Silver get first dibs on them for example.
Obviously this will suit some people more than others and to many the number of avios needed won't matter because they will not be spending cash and they don't necessarily equate avios having a cash value
Will all seats be available or will some (upper deck for example) be hidden so Gold and Silver get first dibs on them for example.
Obviously this will suit some people more than others and to many the number of avios needed won't matter because they will not be spending cash and they don't necessarily equate avios having a cash value
Mar 1, 2018, 1:25 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: BA Bronze
Posts: 28
If I was being cynical I'd say that this would be a perfect thing to introduce if you were planning on making short haul redemptions HBO. "For only an extra 2000 avios why not add baggage and a seat reservation to your reward flight"
Mar 1, 2018, 4:13 pm
#12
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,387
Mar 1, 2018, 5:21 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: LHR, LGW
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,436
Mar 2, 2018, 1:00 am
#14
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond
Posts: 7,769
I've got a couple of thousand Virgin miles from East Coast trains that are practically useless to me. Should I ever fly Virgin, and I could use those to say select a better seat, it's a use for them and it takes them out of circulation as well.
Mar 2, 2018, 1:34 am
#15
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 732
The question for most people here is: Will the people using this be those who would have paid anyway, or those who would not? Depending on the answer, this could mean that more people are competing for the same good seats. Though I doubt this will be a significant problem. Actually, as an elite, BA is one of the better airlines for this. When booking 2+ months in advance 19/20 one of my preferred seats is available.