British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Iberia Plus regularly offer bonus Avios when you top-up your account by buying Avios. The Avios you purchase with any of these three programs can be freely converted to the other two partner programs, so we cover all buying Avios promotions here in one guide.
80% bonus Avios with Qatar Airways Privilege Club
| Offer expires: 11:59 pm AEST Sunday 20 August 2023 |
- Current offer: 80% bonus when you buy 5,000 Avios or more with Qatar Airways.
- Best value redemptions: short-to-medium non-stop domestic Business Class flights in Australia, the US, Asia and Japan. Qatar Airways Business Class to Europe and beyond.
- Book awards online or by phone: most awards can be searched for and booked on the British Airways Executive Club website. You can also transfer your Avios from Qatar Airways Privilege Club to British Airways Executive Club and book there.
- Avios expiry: 36 months with inactivity (buying Avios counts as activity).
- Minimum requirement: You may need to already have some Avios in your account before you can buy more.
You can purchase between 1,000 and 250,000 Avios (excluding the bonus) during this promotion. But the 80% bonus only kicks in when you buy 5,000 Avios or more. At the top end, you can buy 450,000 Avios (250K + bonus 200K) for AU$10,492.50. That’s equal to 2.33 cents (AUD) per Avios.
Example redemption: You can fly Qantas Business Class from Melbourne to Perth for 22,000 Avios + fees and charges. With this current promo, you can buy 23,400 Avios for just AU$565.11!
Offer history
Below is the recent history of Avios bonus promotions. We consider a 40% bonus with BA or an 80% bonus with QR to be the minimum baseline for a good deal.
- August 2023: 80% bonus with QR
- June 2023: 80% bonus with QR
- March 2023: 40% bonus with BA
- January 2023: 40% bonus with BA
- December 2022: 50% bonus with BA
- November 2022: 50% bonus with BA
- September 2022: 50% bonus with BA
- June 2022: 50% bonus with BA
It’s worth noting that buying Avios through British Airways in GBP (as per the table below) is cheaper than buying Avios through Qatar Airways in AUD, comparatively. However, we tend to see lower bonus offers with British Airways, so it balances out somewhat.
If we compare the cost of buying 200,000 Avios with a 40% bonus on BA or an 80% bonus on QR:
- BA with a 40% bonus: 200,000 Avios + 80,000 bonus Avios for £3,215 (AU$6,335) = 2.26 cents (AUD) per Avios
- QR with an 80% bonus: 200,000 Avios + 160,000 bonus Avios for AU$8,934 = 2.48 cents (AUD) per Avios
But if you buy the maximum of 250,000 Avios + 200,000 bonus with Qatar Airways, the cost drops to 2,33 cents (AUD) per Avios which is cheaper than buying the maximum of 200,000 Avios with British Airways during a 40% bonus sale.
Cost of buying Avios with Qatar Airways
For Australian accounts, Qatar Airways sells Avios in AUD. Here are a few price points on what you can expect to pay, before any bonuses. The full list is available when you click through to buy Qatar Airways Avios.
| Avios amount (QR) | Price (AUD) |
| 1,000 Avios | AU$55.46 |
| 20,000 Avios | AU$869.40 |
| 40,000 Avios | AU$1,678.80 |
| 80,000 Avios | AU$3,357.60 |
| 100,000 Avios | AU$4,197 |
| 125,000 Avios | AU$5,246.25 |
| 175,000 Avios | AU$7,344.75 |
| 200,000 Avios | AU$8,394 |
| 250,000 Avios | AU$10,492.50 |
Cost of buying Avios with British Airways
British Airways sells Avios in British Pounds, Euros and US Dollars. Pricing is not identical – Avios purchased in US Dollars cost significantly more than in Pounds or Euros.
Unfortunately, Australian Executive Club accounts can only buy Avios in US Dollars. But if your account has a UK address, you can buy Avios in Pounds for a far better rate. The current standard rates are listed below (when no bonus offers are applied):
| Avios amount (BA) | Price (£) | Price (€) | Price ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 Avios | £31 | €36 | $53 |
| 2,000 Avios | £47 | €54 | $80 |
| 3,000 Avios | £63 | €72 | $108 |
| 4,000 Avios | £79 | €91 | $135 |
| 5,000 Avios | £95 | €109 | $163 |
| 6,000 Avios | £111 | €128 | $190 |
| 8,000 Avios | £143 | €164 | $245 |
| 10,000 Avios | £175 | €201 | $300 |
| 15,000 Avios | £255 | €293 | $438 |
| 20,000 Avios | £335 | €385 | $575 |
| 25,000 Avios | £415 | €477 | $713 |
| 30,000 Avios | £495 | €569 | $850 |
| 35,000 Avios | £575 | €661 | $988 |
| 40,000 Avios | £655 | €757 | $1,125 |
| 45,000 Avios | £735 | €845 | $1,263 |
| 50,000 Avios | £815 | €935 | $1,400 |
| 60,000 Avios | £975 | €1,118 | $1,675 |
| 70,000 Avios | £1,135 | €1,300 | $1,950 |
| 80,000 Avios | £1,295 | €1,476 | $2,225 |
| 90,000 Avios | £1,455 | €1,647 | $2,500 |
| 100,000 Avios | £1,615 | €1,800 | $2,775 |
| 125,000 Avios | £2,015 | €2,257 | $3,462 |
| 150,000 Avios | £2,415 | €2,705 | $4,149 |
| 175,000 Avios | £2,815 | €3,153 | $4,836 |
| 200,000 Avios | £3,215 | €3,601 | $5,523 |
Note: Avios expire after 36 months of inactivity in your account. Make sure to keep your account active by earning/redeeming points regularly.
Why it might be worth buying Avios in advance
Generally, we’d advise against buying points without a specific redemption in mind. But British Airways Avios could be the exception to the rule. This is because Avios are great for short-notice domestic trips when prices are often sky-high.
For this reason, many experienced point collectors like to ensure they always keep a supply on hand.
In our guide to buying Avios and using partner points for Qantas flights, we explore the best uses of Avios. Make sure to check them out if you’re new to buying Avios.
The sweet spot in the Avios chart is for domestic flights with Qantas in Australia, American Airlines in the US, and Japan Airlines in Japan.
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