Sarah Thompson, British Airways’ Avios expert, reveals everything you need to know about the new Reward Flight Finder tool, and more

What’s the best way of using Avios to buy flights?
We’ve launched a brilliant new tool called Reward Flight Finder. It allows Members to search much more easily for reward flight availability on ba.com.

How does it work?
Members can search for reward flight availability based on a predefined destination city, country or continent, and for travel up to a year in advance. If you know where you want to go on a particular date, the app will return specific availability. If you’re flexible on travel dates, you can look by month, within a 90-day window, or up to a year view.

The tool is also ideal if you’re looking for inspiration on where to go. You can search by continent or country, and it will suggest all possible BA destinations in that area. Once you’ve selected your destination and date options, an availability calendar will appear. You can then stipulate cabin choice.

Do BA call centres have better access to last-minute reward flight availability?
No, they also don’t necessarily have the most up-to-date information. In comparison, the Reward Flight Finder on ba.com shows real-time availability, including any last-minute options.

Has BA increased the number of reward seats?
Since the airline announced changes to the way Members can earn and spend Avios, we now guarantee there’s a minimum of two Club World/Club Europe and four World Traveller/Euro Traveller reward seats on all BA-operated flights offered for sale on ba.com. This has resulted in an increase of more than 500,000 reward seats and over nine million reward seats offered during the course of a year.

What are the other Avios benefits for Executive Club Members?
Last December, we made it easier for more Members travelling in Economy to upgrade using Avios. As a result, it’s now possible to do so from all classes (except the lowest economy fare classes). This is a great opportunity to use your Avios.

As before, whether travelling long haul or short haul, you can only upgrade by one cabin – so for those Members travelling to and from Europe, it’s a great opportunity to try our Club Europe cabin.

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This article has been tagged BA, Travel Tips