Creating a Household Account with British Airways

This is post #3 of a series regarding the British Airways Avios program.

Related Posts

1. Earn 50,000 Avois Points for British Airways Credit Card
2. Earning and Redeeming a British Airways Companion Ticket
3. Creating a Household Account with British Airways
4. Top 10 Redemption Opportunities for British Airways Avios Points
5. Get a $50 Statement Credit with British Airways Credit Card (this offer has expired)

This program changed (for the better!) in December 2013, so you can read the updates and FAQ’s here.

One of the biggest differences (and greatest perks) of the British Airways Avios program from other frequent flyer programs is the ability to combine all your accounts in your household. So let’s say you want to redeem an award for 150,000 points – you have 100,000 Avios points while your significant other has 50,000 Avios points. With other frequent flyer programs, you’d have to pay to transfer points from one account to another – which can be extremely costly and most times not worth it. With British Airways, however, you are able to combine all accounts (up to 7) into one account, FOR FREE, as part of their Household Account program.

Before I go into the process of setting this up, here are some things to know:

• As mentioned before, this is FREE to set up
• Up to seven members can be part of the household account – which five of them DO NOT need to live at the same address.
• Those members who are not at the same address will not have their points pooled, but instead you can book points for these individuals. You cannot use your points to book flights for those not on your household or “Friends and Family” account.
• You are able to change members in the household account every 6 months

Once this account is created all points will be pooled together for those on the household account. Those just on the “Friends and Family” list will not have their points pooled. This will give you the ability to redeem the award you so desire without each individual needing to hit that redemption threshold. This means that if both you and your significant other apply for the British Airways Chase Visa credit card for 50,000 bonus points, you can ultimately end up with 100,000 bonus points in one account allowing you to redeem for an award that costs 80,000 Avios points, for example.

Keep in mind that the only thing pooled is the points – elite status is still based on the individual as well as mileage expiration (36 months without any activity).

While this is a great perk of the program, make sure to read the other posts in these series to learn more about British Airways Avios points. There are some amazing redemption opportunities (i.e., 9,000 points round-trip between New York and Montreal which would have cost about $450), and then some really poor usages due to high taxes/fees (i.e., an economy award ticket from New York to London will run you about an additional $550+ in tax/fees on top of the points used).

Key Links:

• British Airways Chase Visa Application Link: 50,000 Avios points for new applicants after $2,000 in spend in the first 90 days; $95 annual fee waived the first year; earn 1.25 miles per $1 spend on all purchases and 2.25 miles per $1 on all British Airways purchases; free companion pass valid for 2 years after spending $30,000 annually on your card; no foreign transaction fees. Card application link.