The best way to redeem British Airways Avios points: From flights to Hawaii to Caribbean islands

British Airways is the largest full-service airline in the UK and flies to more destinations in the US than any other European airline.

Airline loyalty programs, British Airways Executive Clubuse Greeting as its currency.

With an extensive US route network, great airline partners, and easy-to-earn and redeem loyalty rewards, British Airways Executive Club should be on your radar, even if you’re not traveling to the UK. Unlike the big US loyalty programs, Executive Club doesn’t operate using dynamic pricealthough there are discounts for off-peak travel days. As long as there are seats available, you’ll always know what you’ll need to pay without any surprises or 300,000-point flight redemptions.

Here are the best ways to redeem British Airways Avios.

Related: 5 reasons why you should care about British Airways Avios

Book short-haul flights in Europe with Avios

Short-haul tickets on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus are arguably the best British Airways Avios redemptions. They start at just 4,750 Avios plus £17.50 (about $23) for an off-peak reward flight of 650 miles or less. An example is a flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), which would 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 previously using Avios to book short-haul flights operated by American Airlines and Alaska Airlines was a great way to redeem Avios, recent devaluation Average prices currently start at 12,000 Avios for the shortest domestic flights, which isn’t too bad, but it’s higher than what other programs charge for such short flights.

Thank you British Airways Economy flight promotionExecutive Club members can also choose to pay more Avios to reduce taxes and fees (which are already reasonable).

Related: How to book award flights with British Airways Avios

Use Avios to Island Hopping Across the Caribbean

Here’s a great tip to help you experience more of the Caribbean once you’re there.

While flights between islands in this region can be expensive, British Airways operates a number of fifth freedom route For example, British Airways flights departing from London will fly from Antigua’s VC Bird International Airport (ANU) to St. Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw Airport (SKB) several times per week.

You can only book short-haul flights between the islands, and British Airways prices these short-haul flights the same as short-haul flights within Europe. Using the Reward Flight Saver offer, redemptions start at just 4,750 Avios each way, plus £17.50 (about $23) on off-peak days. Award availability is often strong across all classes on these fifth freedom flights, as many passengers disembark at the first stop, leaving plenty of seats available for the second short leg.

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

Related: How to Fly to Hawaii for Just 13,000 Points Per Flight

Book domestic business class tickets on American Airlines with Avios

Even though American Airlines calls its domestic first class “first class,” you can still redeem Avios for this product at business class rates.

What’s really remarkable is that American Airlines regularly operates internationally configured widebody aircraft, including the Boeing 777 and 787, on domestic routes. For example, American’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner operates several flights between Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Miami International Airport (MIA), a 1,013-mile journey.

You can book a business class ticket on this flight for just 32,000 Avios, which is a pretty good price for a lie-flat bed.

Pay for West Coast flights to Hawaii with Avios

Since we are talking about American Airlines, one more thing 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 Avios distance chart. This price is higher than the award prices of many US airline programs.

But in this case, the problem isn’t just American’s route network. Alaska Airlines American is also a British Airways partner, which means you can access Alaska flights to Hawaii, although you’ll need to call to book an Alaska flight with Avios because it’s not searchable on the British Airways website. That opens up routes that American doesn’t serve but Alaska does, such as San Jose 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 could easily relocate there—Avios could be your companion in Hawaii.

Related: Save Money: How You Can Book Flights to Hawaii Using Points and Miles

Book Aer Lingus with Avios at off-peak prices

If you can travel during off-peak hours—which last about eight months of the year—you can fly to Dublin from a number of US cities, including as far west as Chicago. This will set you back just 26,000 Avios round-trip in economy or just 50,000 Avios one-way in business class.

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 both cases, the fare would only increase to 32,500 Avios round-trip in economy and 62,500 Avios one-way in business. Those are still great deals considering the length of those flights.

The best thing is that you won’t be charged any fees. fuel surcharge when changing British Airways Avios tickets to Aer Lingus flights.

Book Iberia Business Class to Spain with Avios

You can book an Iberia flight 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’s 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 is still one of the The most attractive point of any loyalty program and an unbelievable price to Europe.

While flights from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to MAD are a bit outside this distance range, one-way business class fares are also 34,000 Avios, which is a really great deal.

How to earn Avios

The easiest way to earn some meaningful Avios for everyday spending is by signing up British Airways Visa Signature® Card.

This card offers new applicants the chance to earn 75,000 Avios after they spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening the account. TPG values ​​Avios at 1.4 cents per Avios, according to our September 2024 report. valuationbringing the total prize money to $1,050.

The British Airways Visa Signature card has a $95 annual fee and earns 3 Avios for every dollar spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Level. Additionally, you can earn 2 Avios for every dollar spent on hotel stays booked directly with the hotel. All other purchases earn 1 Avios for every dollar spent.

Remember that Avios are transferable. with a 1:1 ratio between different programs using this currency. So you might also want to consider Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card or Iberia Visa Signature® CardEach account offers 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, along with attractive savings rates and a low annual fee.

Because Avios cooperates with many transferable credit card currencyThe following cards are currently offering attractive welcome bonuses that you can easily convert into Avios:

• American Express Business Platinum Card®: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first three months of becoming a card member.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
• American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. Plus, get 20% back in statement credits on eligible restaurant purchases (up to $100) in the first six months of card membership. Terms apply.
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Earn 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

The last line

You might be wondering why we haven’t mentioned using Avios for transatlantic flights on British Airways metal or redeeming Avios for non-flight purchases like hotels and cars. Because British Airways insists on adding large surcharges to its award tickets, using Avios for transatlantic flights on the airline itself often doesn’t make much sense. For hotel stays and car rentals, the value you get from using Avios to pay for them is often not worth the savings in the first place.

Now that you know how to best use it, you can make the most of your Avios regardless of whether you prefer to fly economy or premium and whether you regularly take international or domestic flights.