Holidaymakers Warned About Avios Point Scams on Social Media

Travellers are being warned against buying frequent flyer points through unofficial channels after a couple lost hundreds of pounds in a scam involving British Airways Avios points on Facebook. 

A small business owner and frequent traveller believed he was getting a deal when he bought 60,000 Avios points for £200 via a Facebook group. He planned to use the points to upgrade to business class flights for a holiday in Corfu with his partner, an experience they otherwise couldn’t have afforded, as tickets without the points cost £1,300. 

However, after booking the flights, the passenger was notified by British Airways that the points were fraudulently obtained. The airline removed the points from his account, leaving him with non-refundable hotel and transfer bookings worth £700. 

“This hit us hard, both financially and emotionally,” the traveller said. “We were so excited. I had the points in my account before I even paid, and I still got scammed.” 

Picture credit - thepointsinsider.com

Despite transferring the money only after seeing the points in his Avios account, he later discovered the seller had used stolen points. The fraudster deleted their Facebook account shortly after the transaction.  

British Airways confirmed that he was not at fault and refunded the legitimate Avios he had used. However, as buying or selling points through third-party sources violates BA’s terms and conditions, they could not honour the fraudulent points. 

Legitimately, up to 60,000 Avios points can be transferred between users via the airline’s website for a £50 fee. 

British Airways stressed that only transfers made through official channels are valid and warned customers not to purchase points through external platforms. 

Thanks to new banking regulations introduced last October, the passenger was eventually refunded the £200 he paid through his bank. 

“This is a wake-up call,” he said. “If scams like this are happening in one Facebook group with 75,000 members, they’re probably happening elsewhere too.”