The Airmiles reward scheme is being turned upside down and the big news that will leave many growling is that you will need to pay taxes and charges when redeeming flights.

On 16 November Avios will launch. Effectively it is a merger of the Airmiles, British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus rewards programmes. As well as taxes being charged, a new map of destinations split into zones based on the number of points required has also been drawn up.

Yet the key to this is that you can book using Airmiles in their current form until 15 December for travel within 12 months. However, between 15 November and 15 December redemption must be done by phone as the website will become the Avios website. In that period, members can choose whether to use points as Airmiles or Avios miles. After 15 December any remaining Airmiles will be converted into Avios miles.