Avios points needed for London Heathrow to Shanghai?

Avios overview

All of the points and surcharges referenced on this page are for a single journey (not return) and per person. Surcharges on a return flight may be less than double that of a single, depending on the element of the surcharge that relates to airport and country taxes.

To use your Avios points to fly from London Heathrow to Shanghai you'll need between 38,500 (off-peak days) and 44,000 (peak days) in Economy.

Upgrading to premium economy will cost an extra 16,500 Avios on top of economy. Premium economy seats cost 55,000 on off peak dates and 85,250 on peak dates

Business Class will require either 110,000 (off peak) or 0 (peak) Avios.

There is no first class cabin on flights from London Heathrow to Shanghai.

British Airways flies to Shanghai only from London Heathrow.

Find out which dates are peak, or off-peak in 2026.

Shanghai Avios needed table

Cabin	Avios Needed (Off-Peak)	Avios Needed (Peak)
Economy	38,500	44,000
Premium Economy	55,000	85,250
Business	110,000	0

Shanghai Avios & cash combinations

On most flights you can choose to reduce the number of points needed for a flight, and pay a higher cash element. This is called Reward Flight Saver. When you select a cabin during a search for a reward flight you'll see a breakdown of the points you need at the base of the page. Clicking "more pricing options" will give you five alternatives, where you use fewer points but pay more cash.

This is useful if you don't have enough Avios for a flight OR if you want to preserve more points for the future. You do not select an alternative points/cash combination on this page. Click Continue and you'll be able to make a decision on the next page. By default BA will select the combination with the highest number of Avios and lowest cash element based on the Avios you currently have in your account or household account.

Cabin Option	Off-Peak (Avios + Cash)	Peak (Avios + Cash)
Economy	38,500 + £110 27,500 + £165 21,500 + £230 16,500 + £265 11,000 + £300 7,650 + £330	44,000 + £110 37,500 + £165 33,000 + £230 24,250 + £265 17,650 + £300 11,600 + £330
Premium Economy	55,000 + £225 47,400 + £265 43,000 + £295 33,000 + £375 25,400 + £465 17,250 + £525	85,250 + £225 71,500 + £265 66,000 + £295 49,500 + £375 36,400 + £465 26,500 + £525
Business	110,000 + £299.5 92,500 + £449.5 82,500 + £539.5 72,600 + £639.5 57,250 + £909.5 39,600 + £1109.5	-

How to make your Avios go further

If you're based in the UK then there's a way to make your Avios go even further, and that's through a Companion Voucher. I've written extensively about these amazing vouchers. They're not free in that you have to spend at least £15,000 on an Amex Card, but they're absolutely worth it. Read my guide on is a BA companion voucher worth it? to understand how to use a 2-4-1 voucher. On top of that, you can also use a Barclays Cabin Upgrade voucher to reduce the number of points needed. You can get these by either being a Barclays Premier customer, or by hitting a spend level on a Barclaycard.

How can you search for reward seat availability?

BA offers a number of ways to search for reward seats: their "Reward Flight Finder", their in-app "Reward Flights" section and just making a dummy booking. There are also third party tools that you can use, although I've managed to find plenty of seats without having to pay for a platform. I wrote about the best (and worst) ways to search for Avios availability. If you're looking to book seats to a popular destination then planning ahead is critical: seats become available 355 days before the flight date.

London Heathrow to Shanghai Avios Frequently Asked Questions