What is the difference between points and Avios?

If you're not familiar, Avios is the spendable 'points currency' of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling – all part of the International Airlines Group (IAG). Qmiles have now swapped to Avios at a 1:1 ratio, with the number of miles – sorry, Avios – you need to redeem for flights remaining the same.



In the world of travel loyalty in 2026, the term "points" is a general category, whereas Avios is a specific type of "currency" shared by a group of airlines including British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Finnair. The primary difference is flexibility. "Points" (like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards) are highly flexible and can be transferred into many different airline or hotel programs. Avios, once earned, are mostly locked into the "IAG/OneWorld" ecosystem. However, a unique feature of Avios in 2026 is that they are interchangeable at a 1:1 ratio between the accounts of these partner airlines; for example, you can move Avios from British Airways to Qatar Airways to book a "Qsuite" flight for better value. While 1 Avios is generally valued at about 1p (1.3 cents), the value of "points" varies wildly. Essentially, think of Points as "raw materials" and Avios as the "finished product" ready to be spent on a specific flight.

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Avios (or miles) will be your currency, so to speak, which you can subsequently use for get flights on any class, or upgrades. These are very valuable as you can imagine. Every time you fly, you get Avios based on your class of travel.

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The value of British Airways Avios is 1.83 cents per avios, on average. That means 10,000 British Airways Avios have a value of roughly $183. British Airways Avios are more valuable than the average airline miles, which are worth 1.32 cents each, as a result.

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Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on flight purchases made directly with Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and LEVEL. Earn 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations purchased directly with the hotel. Earn 1 Avios per $1 spent on all other purchases.

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Your Avios stay with you as long as you collect, spend, buy or share at least one Avios every 36 months — any longer and your Avios will expire and be removed, so remember to take action before those three years are up. There are lots of simple ways to ensure you'll never lose the Avios you collect.

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Avios is the reward currency of the Club We call them Avios. You collect Avios when you fly, take a holiday, hotel stay or car rental with us plus our wide range of partners. And when you've collected enough, you can spend your Avios for rewards such as flights, upgrades, hotel stays, car hire and more.

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Yes, selling Avios points online is an extremely easy and hassle-free process. We offer competitive rates and a quick and hassle-free process for selling your miles. Give us a call at 1-800-511-0315 and one of our executives will assist you with the process.

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If you really want to treat yourself, you can get a one-way flight in Aer Lingus' business class on the same routes from just 50,000 Avios (off-peak) or 60,000 Avios (peak). In other words, your 100,000 bonus Avios would be enough for a return flight in business class to Ireland on off-peak dates.

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There are many ways to collect Avios.
  1. Booking British Airways flights, holidays, hotel stays and car hire are great ways to top up your balance.
  2. Pre-booking seats, paying for extra baggage or upgrading your cabin on a British Airways or Iberia-marketed flight.


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London is calling your name, and you can use 1 million Avios to book 76 one-way economy tickets from New York-JFK to London-Heathrow (LHR) on off-peak dates. This low price is thanks to British Airways' distance-based award chart, which provides great deals on shorter off-peak flights.

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