Late Night AVIOS Adventure

Last night I stayed up late - to 00:00 GMT (or 01:00 BST), to grab the AVIOS flights as they were released - 355 days before the flight's departure date. The reason? There is a solar eclipse in August next year, and I knew I could save on standard flight costs by purchasing with my stash of AVIOS.

Flight Costs - with AVIOS

I was booking the outbound flights only for now - it will be another week, until the return flights are released, and I didn't want to risk losing the flights to someone else.

Standard flight costs with a bag are currently £222. There are 4 of us going - so that would have cost an eye watering £888 - just for one way.

By staying up late and leveraging my AVIOS points - I was able to book 10,750 AVIOS and £17.5. The AVIOS were free to me, as I received them with Credit card spend. So all 4 of us were booked for £70!

I do value AVIOS points at 0.8p - so even if you include that figure the total cost would be £414.

Additional Benefits

Additionally - should we decide to cancel - I only lose the cash element of the cost - £70, and the AVIOS are refunded to my account. A full hold bag is included for each passenger. With my status with BA - I was also able to reserve our seats for free.

Meteor Storms: A Cosmic Bonus

As if the eclipse wasn't enough, I recently learned that the Perseid meteor storm is expected to peak on the night of the 12 August - which just so happens to be the same night as the solar eclipse. By mid-August the sun is setting around 22:00 in Iceland - so it could be a fantastic stay.

Preparing for the Adventure

With the outward flights booked, the next step is to secure the return flights. I've got an excellent idea for accommodation - which I just need to do a little more reading up on before I fully commit. After that - I just need to figure out where is best to see the eclipse and where best to see the meteors - they will be about a few days before and after the eclipse.

Even though it's just under a year away - good planning now will ensure availability and cost savings for the options that I'm considering.

Happy travels!