BA Holidays with AviosFlight and hotel packages, part-payment, and when they beat booking separately

Enlarge

What we'd do first: price the same trip three ways on the same day: as a BA Holidays package, as cash flights plus a hotel booked directly, and as reward flights plus a hotel. Write down each total.

How Avios part-payment works on a package

BA's part-payment page sets out the basics (BA: Avios part payment on flights and holidays, checked 13 Nov 2026, 21:34 Lima):

• You need to be a British Airways Club member and logged in.
• You "can save money on your trip with as little as 1,000 Avios". The more Avios you use, "the less cash you pay – this can be as little as £1".
• Your options "will vary depending on your chosen travel class, destination, whether your flight is one way or return and the number of people in the booking". You choose from them on the price page.
• "Even when using Avios to make a saving, you will still collect Avios and tier points".
• Changes and cancellations "depend on the fare type or holiday booked".

The package booking terms add the rules that matter most (British Airways Holidays Booking Terms and Conditions, checked 13 Nov 2026, 21:35 Lima):

• The discount isn't fixed. It "will depend on the Avios balance in your account and the total price of the basket" (6.8), and BA Holidays can "alter the applicable Avios discount rates at any time" (6.9).
• Avios only at the start. Once the booking is confirmed, "it is not possible to use Avios as a form of payment for any future balance payments on that booking" (5.2.3). If you pay a deposit, the balance is cash.
• No Avios for fees or price rises. "Avios cannot be used to pay for any applicable fees or any increase in price" (7.6.5).
• Refunds come back cash first. On a partial refund, "any non-Avios payment will be refunded first, followed by a refund of any Avios" (7.3.1), and Avios go "to the lead account on the booking only" (7.3.2).

Enlarge

What you earn on a package

• Tier points: members booking a Flight + Hotel or Flight + Car package "will earn 1 tier point per pound (£) spent on the total price of the holiday package paid before travel", split evenly between the people on the booking (5.10.1), credited "within 14 working days" of the trip (5.10.2).
• Avios: UK-registered Club members can collect "Bonus Avios" where advertised; "The actual level to be awarded will be displayed at the time of booking" (5.9). They appear "5-6 weeks after completion of travel" and go only to "the first named adult in the booking" (5.9.3, 5.9.4). If the booking is cancelled, none are awarded.

Because BA changes the earn rate from time to time, check the Avios shown at booking rather than relying on a figure in an article.

Protection, deposits and what isn't covered

BA's Holidays page says you can "secure your holiday with a low deposit and pay the remaining balance in as many instalments as you prefer", and that packages are ATOL protected (British Airways Holidays, checked 13 Nov 2026, 21:34 Lima). One catch: the booking terms say "the CAA, under the ATOL scheme, does not reimburse any Avios that were used as a form of payment" (4.1.1.1). The cash part is protected; the Avios part isn't.

Two other points. BA Holidays prices "include pre-payable taxes" and, for UK departures, an estimate of local charges such as city taxes (6.3), so check the price breakdown. And BA's Holidays page says holiday bookings by phone have no booking fee, while flight-only phone bookings have a £10 per person fee.

Enlarge

A worked example: a week in Europe for two (hypothetical)

Every number below is hypothetical, to show the method. We didn't reproduce a live package or part-payment offer. The trip: two adults, one room, seven nights, economy return flights from London to a European city. Totals are for the whole party. We value Avios at an assumed 1p each, our planning yardstick rather than a market price.

What it shows:

• In option B, each Avios saves 0.5p (£100 ÷ 20,000). That's below our 1p yardstick, so on these numbers part-paying costs you value.
• Option C uses Avios at about 0.96p each (the £500 cash fare less £40 in charges, divided by 48,000). That's close to our yardstick and nearly twice what part-payment gives here, but the total is only slightly below the all-cash routes.
• A and D cost the same in this example. In real searches they often won't. BA's terms describe a "Book Together and Save Discount" shown on a confirmation when the flight and hotel are bought together (6.7), so check whether the package is cheaper than the parts on your dates. A package also brings ATOL protection for the cash you pay.

If the part-payment offer you see gives you more pence per Avios than your yardstick, it may be worth using. If it gives less, keep the Avios for a reward flight.

Enlarge

How to price your own trip, step by step

1. Log in to your British Airways Club account and search for the package on your dates.
2. Note the cash total and the part-payment options on the price page. For each option, divide the cash saving by the Avios to get pence per Avios.
3. Price the parts separately: the same flights in cash and as a reward flight, and the same hotel booked direct with the same room type and cancellation terms.
4. Compare full costs at your own value for Avios, and decide whether ATOL protection on the cash is worth anything extra to you.
5. Before you book, check the amendment and cancellation charges BA shows you during the booking, because Avios can't be used to pay them.

Trade-offs

• Flexibility versus value. Part-payment lets you use small balances, from 1,000 Avios, which can't buy a reward flight. That's useful for topping up, but small savings rarely beat a reward seat on value.
• Deposit versus Avios. If you use Avios, they're used at booking; the balance has to be cash.
• Protection. A package is ATOL protected, but not the Avios part.
• Earning. You keep collecting Avios and tier points on a part-paid package.

If the numbers don't work

Book the flight with Avios as a reward and the hotel directly, or pay cash for the package and keep your Avios. For reading a reward price, see Avios pricing explained. For the pence-per-Avios method in more detail, see when cash beats Avios.

Enlarge

BA Holidays and Avios: FAQs