For many travelers, the ability to score free flights is the highlight of not just airlines' but also many a credit card's rewards system.
Not giving in to temptation to claim a $100 gift card or other smaller rewards when they become available will pay off when one has enough to pay for an extravagant flight around the world entirely with points.
A recent poll run by Airlines4America found that 81% of those who use credit cards found that the ability to redeem travel benefits was extremely important to a rewards program.
Related: These are the best travel rewards programs of 2023
But as more people try to maximize points to bring down the cost of travel, airlines will routinely try to quietly trim their offering to avoid profit losses. As initially reported by a blog tracking different rewards programs, International Airlines Group (BABWF) -)-owned British Airways quietly upped the number of loyalty points required to redeem flights through its partners American Airlines (AAL) -) and Alaska Airlines (ALK) -).
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You'll need this many loyalty points to redeem a flight
Called Avios, the reward points used by the airline are collected by booking flights through British Airways or some partner airlines like Qatar Airways or Aer Lingus (AIRXF) -) as well spending on services such as lounge access or food aboard the flight or booking hotels and car rentals through the airline's website.
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For British Airways flights paid for with Avios, the biggest hike is for journeys between 1,152 and 2,000 miles (a range that includes flights from London to cities like Venice and Istanbul) — while previously available for 11,000 Avios, they will now cost 14,500 points to redeem. That is a price increase of 31.8%.
Effective as of Dec. 12, the change also hikes the Avios needed for a flight of less than 650 miles from 7,500 to 8,250 Avios while flights between 651 and 1,151 miles will go from 9,000 to 11,000 Avios.
Want to book a flight with a partner U.S. airline? It gets even worse
U.S.-based partners such as Alaska and American have their own points system for frequent flyers but Avios points can be redeemed for flights with the airlines. That, however, comes at a premium not just for the points needed but also for the severity of the increases — from 12,500 to 16,500 Avios for flights of less than 650 miles, 16,500 to 20,500 Avios for Zone Two flights of less than 1,151 miles and 22,000 to 29,000 Avios for flights between 1,152 and 2,000 miles.
Flights whose distance is from 2,001 to 3,000 miles will also be raised from 38,750 to 42,000 Avios to redeem but the 8% hike is significantly lower than some of the 20%-30% increases seen above.
While generally working on a one Avios for £1 spent system, there are ways to earn points faster by participating in promotions or using certain credit cards even if one will still need to spend thousands of British pounds to receive a free flight to a nearby city as a benefit.
"This is a very frustrating development, as using Avios for American- and Alaska-operated flights was previously a fantastic use of transferable credit card rewards," Ben Smithson of the Points Guy opined on the changes.
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