British Airways promotion: Earn 50% bonus Avios on hotel bookings
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
British Airways has launched a promotion landing you 50% more Avios on bookings with four different hotel groups. In order to take advantage of this offer, you'll need to book before Oct. 18, 2019 for any stay date available (excluding Accor, where stays must be completed by Dec. 31, 2019).
On the surface, this seems like a pretty good deal — after all, who doesn't love bonus rewards? But is it worth it to lose the points you could otherwise be earning? Let's take a look.
Earn bonus Avios with Marriott
You'll earn bonus Avios at Marriott, which is offering up to 3 Avios per dollar spent. In order to earn, you'll need to set your earning preference on your Bonvoy account to ‘Miles/other programs’ and select ‘British Airways Executive Club’ as your airline of choice, then enter your Executive Club information.
By selecting this option, you won't earn Marriott Bonvoy points for your stays. Depending on your Marriott elite status, you'd generally earn at least 10 points per dollar spent (except at limited-service properties, where you'll earn just 5 points). As TPG values Marriott points at 0.8 cents each, you're earning 8% return on your spend.
In contrast, if you select Avios as your earning option, you'll be earning just 4.5% return on your spend. This is because TPG values Avios at 1.5 cents each, and you're earning just 3 Avios per dollar. That makes this promotion a poor choice for Marriott.
Earn bonus Avios with Le Club AccorHotels
The situation is a little different with AccorHotels, which has an earning chart based in euros:
Currently, 10 euros is equivalent to $10.95. If you chose to earn Le Club AccorHotel points for your stay, as a classic member earning 25 points per $10.95, you're getting about 2.3 points per dollar you spend. TPG values Le Club AccorHotel points at 2 cents each, which means that your return is effectively 4.6% (2.3 points per dollar times 2 cents per point).
In contrast, British Airways will give you 3.75 Avios for every 2 euros you spend ($2.19), equivalent to 1.71 Avios per dollar. Your total return would be 2.56% (1.71 Avios per dollar times 1.5 cents per Avios). While that's a poorer return than earning hotel points, if you don't collect Le Club AccorHotel points, the British Airways promotion is a better bet.
The method to sign up is similar to Marriott's: On your account, click 'Manage my Le Club AccorHotels points' and then select 'Automatic conversion of my points into airline miles.' Choose British Airways as your frequent flyer program and add your Executive Club number.
Earn bonus Avios with Hotels.com
This promotion becomes more interesting when you leave traditional loyalty programs and instead move to online booking agencies like Hotels.com. British Airways is offering up to 9 Avios per pound ($1.24) spent if you book using this link and enter your Executive Club number at checkout. You'll earn 9 Avios per pound (equivalent to 7.26 Avios per dollar) if you choose to earn only with British Airways, or 4.5 Avios per pound (3.63 Avios per dollar) if you choose to earn both Avios and hotels.com rewards. If you choose to earn just Avios, you're netting a 10.89% return (7.26 Avios per dollar times 1.5 cents per Avios).
Earn bonus Avios with Booking.com
Finally, you can earn 6 Avios per pound (4.84 Avios per dollar) on booking.com, equivalent to 4.84 Avios per dollar. In this case, your return is effectively 7.25% (4.84 Avios per dollar times 1.5 cents per Avios). In order to qualify for the promotion, you'll need to book with this link and enter your Executive Club number at checkout.
Remember that when you book with any online travel agency, you won't normally earn hotel points or elite credits, and might not have your elite status benefits recognized.
Bottom line
This is a pretty generous promotion. After crunching the numbers, it makes sense to opt for Avios in some cases, though if you're after elite status you're better off avoiding the online travel agency deals and booking with the hotel directly to earn credit for your stays. Remember, stays must be booked by Oct. 18, 2019 so if you're looking to take advantage do it sooner rather than later.
