How to protect your BA Avios while you are alive
There is no way to name a beneficiary or successor on a BA Avios account. While the account holder is alive, British Airways allows family pooling, transfers to another member, transfers to a partner program and gift purchases.
Because British Airways' terms forfeit BA Avios at death, anything preserved is moved or used while the account holder is alive. There is no way to name a beneficiary or successor on a BA Avios account. While the account holder is alive, British Airways allows family pooling, transfers to another member, transfers to a partner program and gift purchases.
How to protect your BA Avios
- •Book Reward Flights for family members; the passenger does not have to be you
- •Use Avios for cabin upgrades on family travel
- •Redeem for hotels, car hire or partner rewards through the Club
Naming who acts after a death
- Designation
The Club offers no beneficiary designation. A third-party nominee under clause 3.13 is a lifetime authority that does not survive the member's death and gives the nominee no claim to the balance.1
What British Airways's terms say about sharing and transfers7
- Pooling with family
A free household account lets a member pool Avios with up to six other people, seven in total and children included, into one collective balance that household members can spend. Everyone in the household still earns tier points individually.2
When Avios are spent, a proportional amount is deducted from each member's balance. The primary member must be a Club member, receives all communications, and alone can add or remove members or dissolve the account; others can ask in writing to be removed.2
- Family plans and household sharing
Household members cannot redeem Avios for anyone outside the household account, but can create a family and friends list, "the list of up to five nominated individuals which household account members can redeem Avios on behalf of."1
- Transfers to another member
A member can transfer Avios to another British Airways Club member. The Avios are sent to the recipient's Club account, and the fee is GBP 50 per transfer, waived for Gold members.3
- Gifting and purchases for others
Avios can be bought as a gift for someone else, and a member can book Reward Flights for family members without being the passenger.4
- Transfers to a partner program
A member can move Avios at equal value between their own British Airways Club, Iberia Club, AerClub, Loganair Loyalty, Vueling Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Finnair Plus accounts. Under Combine my Avios, "The accounts must be registered to the same individual under each of the Programmes."5
Moving Avios through Combine my Avios does not count as earning or redeeming Avios and does not prevent the balance expiring.5
- Authorized users and delegates
Under clause 3.13 a member can nominate another individual over 18 to act on their behalf in relation to their membership: checking Avios and tier points, tracking flights, changing meal or seat preferences and making redemption bookings.1
British Airways recommends that parents or guardians become third-party nominees for household members under 18.1
- Expiry and activity requirements
Avios expire if the member has not collected or spent Avios, or purchased or transferred Avios, for 36 consecutive months (clause 14.5).1
In a household account, activity by a Gold, Silver or Bronze member within the last 36 months keeps the other members' balances from expiring.1
Should you save your passwords for your family?
Some people store account passwords so a family member can sign in later. The practice has three practical limits:
- Two-factor authentication often blocks it. Most accounts require a second factor — a code sent to a phone, an authenticator app, a passkey, or a physical key. A saved password alone frequently does not grant access, and the recovery codes that would are easy to lose or let go stale.
- It usually conflicts with the platform's terms. Most operators prohibit account sharing and signing in as another person, including after a death. Stored credentials are not the operator's recognized access path, and using them can violate the terms of service.
- Operators provide other paths. Where an operator offers a designation tool — Apple's Legacy Contact, Google's Inactive Account Manager, a beneficiary designation — that mechanism grants access the operator recognizes. A password manager's own emergency-access or legacy feature passes credentials through a controlled process. Digital assets named in a will or trust give a fiduciary authority under each state's Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA).
Sources
Data sourced from British Airways primary sources (6 pages reviewed). How we research.
BA Avios customer support
The British Airways Club (Executive Club)
Phone
Mailing address
Website
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
Learn more
Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
Learn more
New Home
How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.
Learn more
Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate
Free forms for planning your estate: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Last Will and Testament
Name your heirs, guardians, and final wishes. Free for every state.
Codicil to a Will
Add, revoke or replace provisions of your will and republish the rest, signed as your state requires for a will.
Tools for Planning Your Estate
Free tools for planning your estate: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
Compare revocable living trust costs across providers including online services and attorneys.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Find out if a revocable trust makes sense based on your state, estate value, and family situation.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
Compare the cost of probate vs a trust for your state and estate value.
How Much Is the Federal Gift Tax?
Whether a gift owes federal gift tax, how much of the annual exclusion and lifetime exemption it uses, and whether Form 709 is due.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
Compare costs across estate planning providers including online services and attorneys.
