Yes — but only if you let them. Avios lapse after 36 months of inactivity (just 18 for Finnair Plus), and a single earn or spend resets the clock. Here is exactly how the rule works and how to make sure you never lose a point.
It is one of the most common worries for new collectors: spend months building an Avios balance, then lose the lot. The reassuring truth is that Avios only expire through total inactivity, and keeping them alive takes about thirty seconds every three years. This guide explains the rule in full — and the handful of traps worth knowing.
What you’ll learn:
Avios can expire — but almost nobody needs to lose them. In the British Airways Club, your Avios stay valid as long as you have at least one qualifying activity every 36 months. That means earning, spending, buying or sharing even a single Avios once every three years resets the clock on your entire balance.
The one-line rule. Do something — anything — that earns or spends Avios at least once every 36 months and your balance never expires. A single click through the Avios eStore or a small Nectar conversion is enough to reset the timer for another three years.
British Airways operates a rolling 36-month window. It is not a hard three-year deadline from when you earned the points — it is a rolling clock that resets every single time you have qualifying activity on the account. Earn or spend an Avios today, and your whole balance is safe until three years from today.
If the account sits completely inactive for 36 consecutive months, however, the entire balance expires and is removed — not just the oldest points. There is no automatic grace period, and BA does not reliably warn you beforehand, so it pays to stay ahead of it.
Household accounts. Each member of a BA Household Account must generate their own qualifying activity to keep their personal balance alive. In practice, redeeming from the household pool usually deducts proportionally from every linked member, which counts as activity for all of them — but do not assume it; check each account.
The good news is that the bar is very low. Almost anything that moves Avios into or out of your account resets the clock. Here is what qualifies.
| Activity | Examples | Counts? |
|---|---|---|
| Earning from flying | A BA or oneworld flight credited to your account | |
| Everyday earning | Avios eStore purchase, hotel or car hire, Avios credit-card spend | |
| Converting in | Nectar to Avios, Amex Membership Rewards transfer | |
| Spending | A reward flight, a seat upgrade, or flight extras | |
| Buying | Buying Avios directly from BA (min 1,000) | |
| Moving between your own accounts | “Combine my Avios” between programmes; household transfers |
The last row is the important trap — covered in full in section 5.
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Avios is a shared currency across several airline programmes, and while most share the same 36-month rule, one is far stricter. If you spread Avios across programmes, know which clock each one runs on.
| Programme | Inactivity limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The British Airways Club | 36 months | Any earn or spend resets the clock |
| Iberia Plus | 36 months | Same rolling activity rule |
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 36 months | Same rolling activity rule |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 36 months | Same rolling activity rule |
| Finnair Plus | 18 months | Stricter — and transfers in do not count as activity |
The Finnair trap. Finnair Plus expires Avios after just 18 months, and transferring points in from BA or Iberia does not reset that clock. Points moved into a long-dormant Finnair account can expire at the end of that same month. Keep your Avios in a 36-month programme like the BA Club and only move them to Finnair when you are ready to redeem immediately.
You do not need to fly, and you do not need to spend much. Any one of these low-effort actions resets your 36-month window for another three years.
The simplest habit of all: set a calendar reminder every 35 months, or link your account to a free tracker, so a lapse can never sneak up on you. Better still, if you are actively earning Avios through everyday spending, expiry becomes a non-issue.
This is where people get caught out. Some things that feel like activity do not actually reset the clock:
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Sometimes — but do not count on it. British Airways has no official reinstatement policy, yet members regularly report success recovering a recently expired balance by contacting customer service promptly.
Act within about three months. Reinstatement is usually only considered if the Avios expired recently — broadly within the last three months. The longer you wait, the lower your chances.
Generate activity first. You will typically be asked to create new activity — for example transferring 1,000 Avios from a partner — before an agent will submit a one-time reinstatement request to the back office. Success is at their discretion and never guaranteed.
The takeaway is obvious: prevention is trivial, recovery is not. Never let it reach this stage.
Have at least one earn or spend every 36 months (18 for Finnair).
Set a calendar reminder at 35 months, or use a free expiry tracker.
Keep the bulk of your Avios in a 36-month programme like the BA Club.
Only move Avios to Finnair Plus when you are ready to redeem straight away.
Remember that combining or household-shuffling does not reset the clock.
If you spend on an Avios card, you never have to think about expiry at all.
The real risk isn’t expiry — it’s hoarding. Even if you keep them alive forever, Avios slowly lose value as BA raises prices. Don’t just protect your balance — read how much your Avios are worth and put them to work on a good redemption within a year or two.
The AviosArcana Editorial Team
We decode the British Airways loyalty programme in plain English, cross-checking every figure against BA’s published rules. We only recommend products we would use ourselves — and we tell you plainly when a redemption or card is not worth it.