The best ways to redeem British Airways Avios: from flights to Hawaii to island-hopping in the Caribbean


British Airlines It is the largest full-service airline in the United Kingdom and flies to more destinations in the United States than any other European airline.

The airline’s loyalty program, British Airways Executive Clubuses Tackle as its currency.

With a significant route network in the US, excellent airline partners and a loyalty currency that is easy to earn and redeem, British Airways Executive Club should be on your radar, even if you don’t travel to the UK. Unlike the major US loyalty programs, Executive Club does not operate using dynamic pricingalthough there are discounts for travel dates outside of peak season. As long as there is availability, you will always know what you will have to pay without unexpected surprises or redemptions of flights worth 300,000 points.

These are the best ways to redeem British Airways Avios.

Related: 5 reasons why you should consider British Airways Avios

Book short-haul flights in Europe with Avios

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Short-haul tickets on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus are by far the best British Airways Avios redemptions. They start at just 4,750 Avios plus £17.50 (about $23) for an off-peak award flight of 650 miles or less. An example would be a flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which can typically cost more than $100 if purchased with cash.

Partner awards, including those operated by Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Japan Airlines, start at 6,000 Avios but exclude flights within North America.

Unfortunately, while using Avios to book short-haul flights operated by American Airlines and Alaska Airlines was previously a great way to redeem Avios, Recent devaluations Current average prices start at 12,000 Avios for the shortest domestic flights. That’s not a terrible price, but it’s higher than what other programs charge for such short flights.

Thanks to British Airways Reward Flight Savings OfferExecutive Club members also have the option to choose to pay more Avios to reduce (already reasonable) taxes and fees.

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Related: How to book award flights using British Airways Avios

Use Avios to travel around the Caribbean islands

LARGE OLD SANDALS/SANDALS

Here’s a cool tip to discover more of the Caribbean once you’re there.

While inter-island flights in this region can be expensive, British Airways operates several fifth freedom routes where, for example, a British Airways flight originating in London will fly from Antigua’s VC Bird International Airport (ANU) to St. Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw Airport (SKB) several times a week.

You can book just the short leg between the islands, and British Airways charges these short flights like its short-haul flights around Europe. With the Reward Flight Saver offer, redemptions start from just 4,750 Avios each way plus £17.50 (about $23) on off-peak dates. Award availability is typically excellent across all classes on these fifth freedom flights, as many passengers disembark on the first stopover, leaving plenty of empty seats for the shorter second leg.

If you can’t decide between two islands in this beautiful part of the world, consider using Avios to travel cheaply between the two.

Related: How to fly to Hawaii from just 13,000 points each way

Book domestic flights in American Airlines business class using Avios

JT GENTER/THE POINTS BOY

Although American Airlines calls its domestic premium class cabin “first class,” it is possible to redeem Avios for this product at business class level fares.

The real problem is that American Airlines regularly flies internationally configured wide-body aircraft, including Boeing 777s and 787s, on domestic routes. For example, American’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner operates some flights between Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Miami International Airport (MIA), a 1,000-mile (1,623-kilometer) journey.

On this flight, you could book a business class scholarship for just 32,000 Avios. That’s a good deal for a fully lie-flat bed.

Pay for your flights from the West Coast to Hawaii with Avios

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Since we’re talking about American Airlines, another… Sweet spot with Avios is the ability to fly from major West Coast cities to the Hawaiian Islands for just 20,000 Avios each way, thanks to the distance-based Avios chart. That beats the award rate of many U.S. airline programs.

But in this case, it’s not just American’s route network that’s at issue. Alaska Airlines American is also a partner of British Airways, which means you have access to Alaska flights to Hawaii, though you’ll have to call to book Alaska flights with Avios since they can’t be searched on the British Airways website. That opens up routes that American doesn’t cover but Alaska does, such as San Jose’s Mineta International Airport (SJC) in California to Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Maui’s Kahului Airport (OGG).

So if you live anywhere on the West Coast, or can easily get there, Avios can be your friend in Hawaii.

Related: Save money: How to book flights to Hawaii using points and miles

Book Aer Lingus with Avios at low season prices

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If you can travel during the off-peak season (which spans roughly eight months of the year), you can fly to Dublin from several U.S. cities, including some as far west as Chicago. This award will cost you just 26,000 Avios for a roundtrip in economy class or just 50,000 Avios for a one-way trip in business class.

Let’s say you live in the South, in a city like Orlando or Miami, or on the West Coast, in Los Angeles or San Francisco. In either case, prices would only increase to 32,500 Avios for a roundtrip in economy class and 62,500 Avios for a one-way trip in business class. These are still pretty good deals considering the length of these flights.

The best part is that you won’t be charged anything. fuel surcharges when you redeem British Airways Avios for Aer Lingus flights.

Book Iberia business class seats to Spain with Avios

BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS BOY

You can book Iberia flights between the following city pairs for just 34,000 Avios each way in business class, plus modest taxes and fees:

  • Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) or Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, DC, to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD)
  • BOS or JFK to Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN)

This remains one of the The best sweet spots of any loyalty program and an incredible price to Europe.

While flights from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to MAD are slightly outside this distance range, they also cost 34,000 Avios each way in business class, which is a great deal.

How to earn Avios

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The easiest way to earn a significant amount of Avios for everyday spending is to request the British Airways Visa Signature® Card.

This card offers new applicants the chance to earn 75,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. TPG values ​​Avios at 1.4 cents each, according to our September 2024 report. ratingsmaking the full bonus worth $1,050.

The British Airways Visa Signature Card has an annual fee of $95 and allows you to earn 3 Avios for every dollar spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Level. In addition, you can earn 2 Avios for every dollar spent on hotel accommodation booked directly with the hotel. All other purchases allow you to earn 1 Avios for every dollar spent.

Remember that Avios can be transferred at a rate of 1:1 between the different programs that use this currency. Therefore, you may also want to consider the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card or the Iberia Visa Signature® Cardoffering 75,000 Avios each after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus generous earning rates and a low annual fee.

Because Avios is associated with many Transferable credit card currenciesThe following cards currently offer great welcome bonuses that you can easily convert into Avios:

In summary

You might be wondering why we didn’t mention using Avios for transatlantic flights with British Airways cards or redeeming Avios for non-flight rewards like hotels and cars. Since British Airways insists on applying huge surcharges to its award tickets, using Avios for transatlantic flights with the airline itself usually doesn’t make much sense. As for hotel stays and car rentals, the value you’ll get from using Avios to pay for them is often not worth the money you’re saving in the first place.

Now that you know the best uses, you can get incredible value from your Avios regardless of whether you prefer to fly in economy or premium class and whether you most frequently take international or domestic flights.



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