'Tons of Avios' Statement...
Feb 1, 2019, 10:46 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Kazakhstan
Programs: BA Gold, AirAstana Silver (much use as chocolate teapot)
Posts: 867
I'm currently on 1.1million, I've not dipped below about 700k in years, I've also got a couple of AmEx 2-4-1 vouchers. I went through a stage of using them fairly regularly, but seem to have less opportunity now. My last spend was on a couple of F tickets to the Caribbean, but cashing a 2-4-1 at the same time reduced the spend.
Feb 2, 2019, 12:03 am
#17
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL, IHG Spire Elite Ambassador, HH Diamond, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 357
I like my balance to never go below 100,000 avios but I've had 2 million avios balance at one stage - was doing 9,000TP a year. I would say 500,000 is a lot mainly because I like to use them up quickly before they are devalued.
Feb 2, 2019, 12:04 am
#18
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Brighton UK
Programs: BAEC-Silver, AMEX-BA Prem' Plus & Standard, Accor Gold, HH-Silver, IHG,IBIS On Business
Posts: 955
Blue-Silver in under 6 months and personal POV is that I need X amount to do an Amex 2-4-1 in whatever class we desire to wherever in the world we want to fly. Anymore is pointless in case of a devalue. Had 200k, booked a split 1st First out and J return fare ( open jaw) and zeroed the account on 30.12. Back up to 14k already with a TPR/ 3 day BA Holiday due to pay out 16,800 for the pair of us. We're leisure travellers and find amassing avios easy.
Mrs Clam has a member of staff whose boyfriend is BA CC and while he can't earn TP's on staff travel he somehow has nearly 1 M in avios somehow( seen by her so confirmed) so it's easy if you play the game. He won't tell her but we think it's all to do with Amex card switching which we are fans of ourselves.
Mrs Clam has a member of staff whose boyfriend is BA CC and while he can't earn TP's on staff travel he somehow has nearly 1 M in avios somehow( seen by her so confirmed) so it's easy if you play the game. He won't tell her but we think it's all to do with Amex card switching which we are fans of ourselves.
Feb 2, 2019, 3:09 am
#20
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London, ARN, HEL, ..... or MAN
Programs: BA GGL / GFL, Mucci Diamond!, HH Diamond, Radisson Premium, IHG Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 5,902
Just blown a significant number on my once-every-2-years longhaul family holiday - so am currently feeling very empty on fewer than 50k Avios 
Feb 2, 2019, 3:18 am
#21
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond *, IHG, Couples Romance Rewards
Posts: 2,351
I agree with others that on this board we mostly have a very inflated view of what a 'ton' of avios looks like. If you have 100000 avios, that is roughly equivalent to £1000 at 1 avios = 1p. So the person who has 7mn is sitting on about £70K equivalent of travel in vouchers which are liable to depreciate at any time. Not all that many people can have that amount of loyalty points saved up.
Earning between 20K and 35K Avios for a longhaul return for a work trip is something only a few of us are able to do (and as businesses cut back on premium classes for LH flights getting increasingly rare)
Given LH business or first is the most efficient* use of avios we feel happy with 150K to 200K in our HH account, with a companion voucher in the bank as well - just so we can snap up a return longhaul business redemption as it comes available. A recent trip to Dubai in F meant we 'saved' 7000 for the spend of 136K avios and a companion voucher, a decent rate of 5p per avios.
*previously subject to lengthy debate !
Earning between 20K and 35K Avios for a longhaul return for a work trip is something only a few of us are able to do (and as businesses cut back on premium classes for LH flights getting increasingly rare)
Given LH business or first is the most efficient* use of avios we feel happy with 150K to 200K in our HH account, with a companion voucher in the bank as well - just so we can snap up a return longhaul business redemption as it comes available. A recent trip to Dubai in F meant we 'saved' 7000 for the spend of 136K avios and a companion voucher, a decent rate of 5p per avios.
*previously subject to lengthy debate !
Feb 2, 2019, 3:20 am
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
Posts: 23,441
My baseline used to be enough for F to SYD (300K). Now I earn less so have settled for something over 200K to allow for an emergency family trip to SA. With significant pots (north of 100K also) also in Amex MR, VS, AA, KL and A3 that feels like plenty for contingency and holiday plans. I buy more tickets for cash now as they often offer a better combination of flexibility and value, consequently miles have become less important, and the value of holiding “tonnes” less important too.
Feb 2, 2019, 3:43 am
#24
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, AA Plat, HH Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,163
Well into 7 figures and climbing since opportunities to spend them seem to be getting less. My CC used to give Avios and 2-4-1 vouchers but no longer does and since then LH redemptions, even in J, work out cheaper to simply pay cash once fees have been taken into account. 125,000 Avios plus €600 in fees is €1,850 in value in my book and I can almost always better that paying cash on flights where there is redemption availability. The best use is still for SH redemptions in the US and within Asia but I cannot spend as many as I earn. Perhaps I need to reduce my notional value of an Avio to less than it’s current 1c.
Feb 2, 2019, 4:04 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Probably slightly over-stocked on Avios right now. Too many revenue flights in J as Gold, and continuous spend on my/her Amex. Currently HHA has 353k, split 237k/115k ... must get her to buy the next bunch of tickets!
Taking C-W-S' excellent definition, our primary use/need is the 137,500 needed for a 2-4-1 to CPT. So we are 'overstocked' already, having done that trip at the end of last year. And it will get worse, as we have 6 upcoming trips that will earn a skip-load more (~165k)!
We don't do redemptions ... to sustain Gold means we have to keep paying the J fares! So our only extra 'Avios spend' would be abating the cost of occasional s/h trips, such as 50k to save £280 to MLA in April. I guess an Avios upgrade to F would help whittle down the pile ... but that's hard to do when most of our routes are J-only, and on the others UuA to F is like the proverbial rocking-horse droppings!
Oh, these First World problems!
Taking C-W-S' excellent definition, our primary use/need is the 137,500 needed for a 2-4-1 to CPT. So we are 'overstocked' already, having done that trip at the end of last year. And it will get worse, as we have 6 upcoming trips that will earn a skip-load more (~165k)!
We don't do redemptions ... to sustain Gold means we have to keep paying the J fares! So our only extra 'Avios spend' would be abating the cost of occasional s/h trips, such as 50k to save £280 to MLA in April. I guess an Avios upgrade to F would help whittle down the pile ... but that's hard to do when most of our routes are J-only, and on the others UuA to F is like the proverbial rocking-horse droppings!
Oh, these First World problems!
Last edited by T8191; Feb 2, 2019 at 4:15 am
Feb 2, 2019, 4:28 am
#26
Community Director
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Norwich, UK
Programs: A3*G, BA Gold, BD Gold (in memoriam), IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 8,477
We don't do redemptions ... to sustain Gold means we have to keep paying the J fares! So our only extra 'Avios spend' would be abating the cost of occasional s/h trips, such as 50k to save £280 to MLA in April. I guess an Avios upgrade to F would help whittle down the pile ... but that's hard to do when most of our routes are J-only, and on the others UuA to F is like the proverbial rocking-horse droppings!
MrsNWI are also mostly leisure travellers - all of her TPs, 90% of mine - so it’s extremely rare that we can find a year when we don’t need all our revenue flights to re-qualify (for both OW and *A). We burn small amounts on RFS where it makes sense, and look for J to F which is hard to find on routes we fly, but I take the view that until we reach lifetime Gold, assuming it’s still around, it’s better to keep collecting the 100% bonus for Gold which will hopefully offset future devaluations, and then burning in retirement.
Consequently we're sitting on over 1m Avios/Aegean miles between us, and a correspondingly high number of hotel points.
Feb 2, 2019, 4:34 am
#27
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,949
The statement refers to those with an amount approximately 1 Avios more than your own total.
If I have 800,000, only a person with 800,001 will say 'I've got a ton of them'.
M
If I have 800,000, only a person with 800,001 will say 'I've got a ton of them'.
M
Feb 2, 2019, 5:30 am
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
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