How to triple your Avios with Balance Booster

Words: Freddie Reidy

Since you’re reading this, the chances are that Avios are flowing into and out of your account with the same regularity as the tide at your favourite, far-flung beach. But have you heard about the Avios Balance Booster that could take you back there?

Balance Booster allows you to turbo-charge the number of Avios you have collected in a 30-day period for substantially less than it would cost you to buy the equivalent number of Avios on the spot. Sounds easy? That’s because it is.

How it works

In a nutshell? Use cash to multiply the Avios you’ve collected by 1x, 2x or 3x from the moment they land in your account, or up to 30 days after.

Let’s say you’ve collected 750 Avios flying to Bordeaux’s famed vineyards. You can bring your next trip that smidge closer by multiplying the 750 Avios collected by the same again for £7.20 (750 x £0.0096), adding on double the number for £14.11 (1,500 x £0.0094) or even triple the number for £20.70 (2,250 x £0.0092) – and thereby collect an extra 750 Avios, 1,500 Avios and 2,250 Avios respectively. Pack your bags for a one-way Reward Flight Saver once you hit 9,250 Avios and pay just 50p to cover the taxes.*

What if I’ve not flown recently? 

If you’ve been keeping your feet firmly on the ground, fear not – you’re still included. With Balance Booster, you can also bolster your Avios haul with all the Avios you’ve collected on everyday spending, including Nectar point conversions or online through the Avios shopping portal and in store with retailers selling everything from food to fashion and more.

Boosting your balance on shopping like this gives you great flexibility, too. Say you’ve recently splurged on John Lewis, Mulberry or Selfridges, you can either select to multiply your total transactions within the last 30-day period or select individual transactions up to the value of 300,000 Avios a pop.

If a typical month sees you collect 907 Avios on groceries and other shopping, Balance Booster will give you an additional 907 Avios for £8.71, x2 for £17.06 or x3 for just £25.04.

What’s that? OK, we hear you – you’re not to be confined to one camp or the other. The good news is you can boost the balance of all Avios accrual across a 30-day period no matter how you collected them in the first place.

What can I spend my Avios on? 

Now you’re sitting atop a burgeoning Avios nest egg of alpine proportions, migratory trips south are not only closer than before, but cabin upgrades are also firmly within view. Lounge access, free-flowing Champagne and fine food served above the clouds are all yours to be had. A peak-time cabin upgrade from Euro Traveller to Club Europe en route to Bordeaux is yours for 6,500 Avios or 5,750 Avios off peak.***

If you’ve set your sights on a longer journey, off-peak upgrades from World Traveller to World Traveller Plus can be had for 17,500 Avios, from World Traveller Plus to Club World for 37,500 Avios. Peak time cabin upgrades stand at 30,000 Avios.** Luckily, Balance Booster will help you achieve all of these.

Outside the world of balance boosting on flights, shopping, hotel spends and other qualifying expenditure, your Avios options don’t stop there. Here are three more ideas to try.

1) Gift or transfer Avios
If ‘things’ are out and experiences are in, then the gift of travel is hard to beat. The giving of Avios not only brings a destination closer but offers flexibility, with hotels, flights and car hire all within scope. It’s perfect for birthday, wedding or Christmas presents. If you’re feeling like doing some good, you can even gift your Avios to charity – find out more here. 

2) Buy Avios
If you’re within tantalising grasp of a redemption flight or upgrade, then buying additional Avios can be a great option. You can add 2,000 to 200,000 Avios to your balance every calendar year.

3) Subscribe to Avios
The Avios answer to saving for a rainy day. With a choice of four monthly or annual subscription packages, you can add from 20,000 to 200,000 Avios a year monthly, or annually, with two months free.

Find out more

*Reward Flights are available to any British Airways Club Members with an Avios balance. In addition to your Avios, the only cash amount required for Reward Flights is a fixed cash amount. Your chosen date of travel will determine whether you pay a peak or off-peak Avios amount. When booking Reward Flights, you can choose all peak dates, all off-peak dates or a mixture of the two. For travel in First, a cash amount to cover taxes, fees and carrier charges will be payable. The taxes, fees and carrier charges will vary dependent on airline and destination and will be calculated when you book your flights. The final fee (i.e. Avios plus payable taxes, fees and carrier charges) will be displayed at the final stage of your booking. To find out more about Reward Flights click here. British Airways Club Terms and Conditions and Conditions of Use apply.
**An Avios upgrade is always to the next cabin, which can vary depending on the route and airline. On a short-haul flight, you could upgrade from economy (Euro Traveller) to business (Club Europe). On a long-haul flight, you could upgrade from economy (World Traveller) to premium economy (World Traveller Plus); premium economy (World Traveller Plus) to business (Club World), or business (Club World) to First. We offer a limited number of reward seats on all our published flights and so they are subject to availability. There must be reward flight availability in the next cabin for you to be able to upgrade to it using Avios. Most cash bookings can be upgraded with Avios either at the time of booking or later on, depending on availability. Only the lowest economy (World Traveller) fares (Q, O and G) cannot be upgraded with Avios at any time. You won’t be able to upgrade with Avios at the airport or on board.  
***An Avios upgrade is always to the next cabin, which can vary depending on the route and airline. On a short-haul flight, you could upgrade from economy (Euro Traveller) to business (Club Europe). On a long-haul flight, you could upgrade from economy (World Traveller) to premium economy (World Traveller Plus); premium economy (World Traveller Plus) to business (Club World), or business (Club World) to First. We offer a limited number of reward seats on all our published flights and so they are subject to availability. There must be reward flight availability in the next cabin for you to be able to upgrade to it using Avios.Most cash bookings can be upgraded with Avios either at the time of booking or later on, depending on availability. Only the lowest economy (World Traveller) fares (Q, O and G) cannot be upgraded with Avios at any time. You won’t be able to upgrade with Avios at the airport or on board. See Terms and Conditions here