[1/31] There are now fewer than two days left before the BA mileage devaluation takes effect. If you have a redemption in mind, we recommend booking as soon as possible!
By now, readers with a BA account have probably already received the email. Starting on February 2, 2016, BA miles will undergo a major devaluation: for short-haul flights departing from or arriving in the United States priced at 4,500/9,000/18,000 miles today (that is, flights of 650 miles or less), the award prices for the three cabin classes will increase to 7,500/15,000/30,000, while all other flight prices will remain unchanged. Since redeeming 4,500 miles for short-haul AA economy flights is currently one of the most valuable uses of BA miles, this devaluation is quite significant. After the devaluation, any one-way itinerary requiring a connection will cost at least 15,000 miles, which means it will no longer have any advantage over UA or AA. As a result, only nonstop flights within 1,150mi will still be worth redeeming. Note: this devaluation does not take effect until February 2, 2016, so there is still time to use your miles now! However, we expect the number of short-haul award tickets available to drop significantly, because many others are also booking these 4,500 miles awards. So if you want to use them, it is best to act quickly. Feel free to leave a comment and follow this devaluation news with us.