The change is already in effect, and 250,000 new seats have been released and will be loaded beginning July 28. This more than doubles the number of Avios reward seats British Airways guarantees per flight, with economy seats up to eight from four, premium economy up two from zero, and at least four business class seats per flight.

Many airlines don’t guarantee any seats will be made available for those booking using reward points, so this is an area where British Airways is actually far more generous than its competitors.

How to Book Your British Airways Avios Seats

British Airways makes Avios reward points fairly easy to use, once you understand the rules. For example, upgrades draw from the same space as points seats, so if a seat is available to book using Avios, it would also be available to upgrade a cash booking.

Now, there should be more of both, as the minimum number of seats available has doubled. There are also many cases where British Airways releases far, far more than the minimum number of seats, often unloading up to eight business class seats‰-even on a long-haul flight.

Here is the new allocation:

• 4 x Club World seats – for the first time a family of three or four can be sure there will be enough seats for them to travel together using points.
• 2 x World Traveller Plus seats – this is the first time that British Airways has guaranteed Avios availability in World Traveller Plus!
• 8 x World Traveller seats – the number of Economy Avios seats is doubled, although these are still likely to represent poor value once taxes and charges are added. British Airways guarantees a set number of seats on every flight will be made available for people using points, in every cabin except first.

Knowing that at least a set number of seats will be available to redeem Avios makes it easier for travelers to plan, and to jump on space as it becomes available. This is wonderful to see, as redeeming airline miles can be frustrating, and is not likely to become any easier as we move toward post-pandemic life and more people begin looking to travel internationally again. My advice: book as early as possible at britishairways.com.