Why should you use Avios to upgrade? Whether you want a little extra leg room for a long-haul flight or fancy beginning your honeymoon with a glass of something bubbly in First, upgrading your flight with Avios is simple and a great use of your balance.
May 2025
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AviosAn example of how to spend your Avios: Upgrading with Avios Where could you go? for
Let’s take a look at how you can upgrade your flights using Avios…
You can upgrade using Avios when you book or upgrade an existing flight
You are only able to upgrade to the next cabin, such as from premium economy to business (Club World)
You cannot use Avios to upgrade the lowest economy (World Traveller) fares (Q, O and G).
You can use your Avios to upgrade a one-way or return ticket
Avios upgrades can be used on Reward Flights
All Avios upgrades are subject to availability and certain fare restrictions
The full list of Avios airline partners you can use Avios to upgrade with are:
Aer Lingus
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
Bangkok Airways
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
China Southern
Fiji Airways
Finnair
Iberia
Japan Airlines
JetBlue
Juneyao Air
LATAM
Malaysia Airlines
Middle East Airlines
Qantas
Qatar Airways
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Jordanian
S7 Airlines
Sri Lankan Airlines
Vueling
United Airlines
How many Avios you need to upgrade depends a couple of things:
Your choice of cabins: the Avios needed for the upgrade is based on the Avios price for Reward Flights in both the cabins you are upgrading from and to
When you are travelling: You’ll generally need more Avios to upgrade if your flight is booked for a peak date rather than an off-peak date
Because of this, there is no set amount of Avios you need to upgrade your flight.
To work out how many Avios you will need to upgrade you need to take away the total Avios needed for a flight in the cabin you are booking in, from the total Avios needed for the cabin you want to upgrade to.
The difference is how many Avios you will need to upgrade.
Yes, you can upgrade a new booking with Avios.
If you are booking with British Airways then you will need to use the ‘book and upgrade’ form. Here you can search for availability and use your Avios to upgrade by following the simple instructions.
Select the option at the top of the page to book with money and upgrade with Avios
Choose your flights as you normally would, selecting the travel class you want before an upgrade is applied. Tap on ‘Get flights’ to continue
You will then be taken to the next page where you can see availability on your chosen dates and the upgrade options
Select the flight and upgrade you want and then scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Continue’
You will then be taken to the payment page where you will be able to see if you have enough Avios for your chosen upgrade. If you have enough then you will be guided through the payment process and the Avios needed for the upgrade will be taken from your balance.
If you are a bit shy of what you need, there are several ways you can increase your balance quickly such as purchasing Avios, Balance Boost or moving Avios from other reward programmes.
Most bookings made using cash can be upgraded with Avios either when you are making the booking or later.
However, you’ll need to ensure there’s availability in the next cabin you want to upgrade to.
If you are looking to upgrade when making your booking, then you can check availability while going though the booking process.
If you have an existing booking with British Airways, then you’ll need to log in to Manage My Booking. You’ll need your booking reference and last name of the passenger for this.
Once you have done this, select your flight and select ‘Upgrade this flight with Avios’ to see if you can upgrade.
It’s worth noting that there must be Reward Flight availability in the next cabin up for you to upgrade. Because of this, it can sometimes be trickier to upgrade after your initial Reward Flight booking when you get closer to departure and availability becomes more limited.
Start collecting on your every day spend and make the most of Avios
