As you are probably already aware, there is an impending British Airways devaluation!  I’ve already written about the 6 winners and losers with the British Airways devaluation, but now that we’re less than a week away, it’s time to make sure you’re prepared for things.

Here’s a list of the things that you DO and DO NOT need to do before April 28th.

As a reminder, here is the old British Airways award chart

Old British Airways award chart (through April 27th)

and then the new British Airways award chart

New British Airways award chart (as of April 28th 2015)

DO: Book any intra-UK flights (for free)

I talked about how my wife and I just booked a flight like this recently.

Right now, flights within the UK are FREE on British Airways, as long as you’re connecting to a flight outside the UK.  So Belfast to London to Nice is only 4500 Avios

As of the British Airways devaluation, you’ll only get the free intra-UK leg if you are connecting to a flight in Zone 4 or beyond (greater than 2000 flown miles)

DON’T: Book any economy flights on British Airways metal

With the introduction of peak and off-peak pricing, most economy flights actually on British Airways will go down in price.

About 2/3 of the year is considered off-peak, and those prices are going down across all zones.  I mentioned saving 4500 Avios when we booked our flight from Belfast to Nice (paying 4500 Avios instead of 9000 Avios), but it’s actually only a savings of 3500 Avios, because those 2 flights would now only cost 4000 Avios each since they’re off-peak

DON’T: Book short-haul flights in Premium Economy or Business Class on British Airways metal

Economy class flights are going down (for off-peak flights) across all zones.  Premium Economy and Business class flights are also going down for off-peak, but only for the first 3 zones.

• Zone 1 (0-649 flown miles): Currently 6750 Avios for Premium Economy and 9000 Avios for Business.  New off-peak price is 5750 Avios and 7750 Avios
• Zone 2 (650-1149 flown miles): Currently 11250 Avios for Premium Economy and 15000 Avios for Business.  New off-peak price is 9500 Avios and 12750 Avios
• Zone 3 (1150-1999 flown miles): Currently 15000 Avios for Premium Economy and 20000 Avios for Business.  New off-peak price is 12750 Avios and 17000 Avios

Again, this is ONLY for flights flown on actual British Airways (partner flights are always charged the off-peak price)

DO: Book any long-haul premium cabin flights using Avios

First Class (in addition to Business Class and Premium Economy) prices are lower during the off-peak section, but the base costs are going up so much that even with the off-peak discount, it still will cost more than it costs today.

BOS-DUB is 25,000 Avios one-way in Business Class now, but it will be 37,500 Avios after the devaluation

If you want to take care of the Aer Lingus business class availability this summer, you’ll want to do it BEFORE April 28th.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT: Short-haul flights on partners (like in the USA)

Paying for short-haul flights on partner airlines with British Airways Avios is one of the best travel deals out there, even though trying to collect British Airways Avios even if you’re only planning on flying in the US is somewhat counter-intuitive.

(SEE ALSO: What’s the best rewards deal out there?)

(SEE ALSO: British Airways – good for domestic US travel too!)

I’ve booked several of these 4500 Avios flights (like when I went to the Family Travel for Real Life conference!) and for short-term short-haul flights that might cost $300, that’s a HUGE return on your miles.

(SEE ALSO: Why yes, US Airways, I WOULD like to pay $15 for the seat right next to me)

Hopefully this helps you out and reminds you what things you need to worry about this year.  Remember too, the Bonus Award night of Club Carlson is ALSO going away soon, so if you need a hotel stay for the flights you’ve booked, that would be a great option!

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