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Combine My Avios Has Returned With Changes: Here’s What You Need to Know
A few weeks ago, British Airways suspended Combine My Avios transfers, leaving many with points stuck in their account. In the end, BA confirmed via X that ‘Combine My Avios’ has been taken offline as a short-term measure as they introduce a new and enhanced transfer feature. Two weeks later, ‘Combine My Avios’ is back, and a few changes have been made.
Here’s what you need to know:
Permanent Links
The way you transfer to Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Loganair is now a little different. The first time you move Avios in or out, you’ll create a permanent link between your accounts. Once that’s set, your details are stored, and transfers can be done much faster. You won’t need to re-enter your details each time you transfer Avios. This new linking system is the same as the process already in use for Qatar Airways and Finnair.
Without linking your accounts, you can’t transfer. You can’t unlink your accounts, so it’s imperative that you link them with the correct details. Transfers must now also be done online, rather than via the call centre.
The details must match, including your:
- First name
- Surname
- Date of birth
No More BA as the Intermediary
Until now, if you wanted to transfer Avios, you had to transfer miles into your BA account, then to the other airlines. This is no longer required. You can now transfer directly between Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Loganair. BA is still only needed as an intermediary for Qatar and Finnair. This is a great improvement.
A Change to the Iberia Avios Rules
You used to need a 90-day-old account with at least one Avios earned with Iberia to transfer. You can now immediately transfer Avios into your Iberia Plus account.
There are Still Issues
Although the new feature is now ‘Live’, the page is still slow, and I got a few errors, such as ‘page content not available’ or simply nothing. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon.
You can view the ‘Combine My Avios’ page here >>>
Let us know what you think of these changes in the comments below:
ITA Airways & Virgin Atlantic’s Partnership Ends Soon
On 18th November 2025, the partnership between ITA and Virgin Atlantic will officially end. ITA has been gradually ending its partnerships with SkyTeam airlines, and Virgin is next in line. You will no longer be able to earn and redeem miles with Virgin when flying with ITA (and vice versa).
What You Need to Know:
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Tickets issued on or before 17th November 2025 remain valid for earning and redeeming points. You must also be flying within 1 year of the ticketing date.
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Award tickets for departures after 17th November cannot be changed, but they can be cancelled for a full refund of points (plus taxes and surcharges).
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If you’ve already flown and forgot to add your frequent flyer number, retroactive credit can still be requested up to six months after the flight.
- All other frequent flyer benefits will be discontinued as of Tuesday, 18th November 2025.
This is also part of the process of ITA leaving the SkyTeam alliance earlier this year and being in the process of joining Star Alliance, set for early 2026, due to being acquired by Lufthansa.
ITA is also beginning to establish partnerships with Star Alliance airlines. Once ITA has added all its partnerships, there will be way more earning and redemption opportunities than ever before.
You can learn more about alliances in our airline alliance guide.
Yet Another Hilton Points Devaluation
Hilton has increased its award pricing for its most luxurious properties yet again. Only a few months ago, the top-tier pricing was increased from 150,000 to 200,000 points. Now, Hilton has increased the threshold of a standard room redemption at some properties once more to 250,000 points. That’s a 25% increase overnight and a 67% increase compared to earlier this year.
Hilton seems to also be reducing points-earning opportunities. Recently, we have seen fewer promotions, and the ones that have been offered are lower than previously. On the flip side, Hilton has introduced branded debit cards as a fresh way to earn.
250,000 Points!
For example, the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal now has nights priced at 250,000 points compared to 120,000 last year and 190,000 with the May devaluation:
Based on this pricing (ignoring the Premium Room Rewards), Standard Room Rewards range from a value of 0.47p to 0.72p per point. Before the latest devaluation at the rate of 190,000 points, the value would have been 0.62p-1p per point, and before that, 0.98-1.58p per point; that’s a huge devaluation!
There have been smaller increases to thousands of hotels around the world, such as the Conrad Singapore Marina Bay (70,000-90,000) and the Conrad Tokyo (100,000-130,000) as reported on Reddit.
These increases do make the 5th night free on award bonus from Silver status and above even more valuable. If you booked 5 nights at the new 250,000 rate, you would pay 200,000 per night. However, on the other hand, that essentially gets rid of the bonus as you’re booking 5 nights but paying the same rate as you would have before the increase…
If you’re saving for a redemption, it’s worth double-checking whether the price has increased, especially if you were planning to move points from other programmes for your redemption. It’s also worth doing a quick calculation as to whether paying in points is actually valuable compared to paying with cash.
You can search for Hilton reward nights here >>>
Will we see more increases in the near future? Let us know what you think about this in the comments below!
