Ironically,
redeeming Avios to fly British Airways (instead of a partner) can accrue some of the highest fuel surcharges.
The biggest downside of using British Airways» Avios (points) are the fuel surcharges that get passed on when
redeeming Avios for flights.
I thought about
redeeming some Avios points for the outbound journey to Kauai, which is a great deal at 12,500 points per person since Avios is a distance - based award chart.
This example is particularly relevant for
redeeming Avios because British Airways operates from the UK.
This guide explains the rules of
redeeming Avios for travelers based in the United States, which is the majority of this site's audience.
Another great option for avoiding fees & surcharges when
redeeming Avios is by booking flights to Hawaii.
As a result, you're limited to
redeeming Avios in the AerClub program to the following airlines:
A second important strategy for
redeeming Avios is to avoid flights with high carrier surcharges.
Megan and I have two of these Travel Together Tickets and figured the fees would be worth the savings of only
redeeming Avios for one person.
First and foremost, you should understand that
redeeming Avios works differently from most other loyalty programs.
Key lessons when
redeeming Avios include non-stop travel, short distance, and economy class.
The third key lesson in
redeeming Avios is to avoid travel in premium cabins, which is why most of the examples in this article are for economy class.
The other great thing about earning and
redeeming Avios is that you can get create a household account to pool your Avios in one place.
Now check out my article on the sweet spots for
redeeming Avios!
Sign up online and begin collecting and
redeeming Avios immediately.
However, you will need to become familiar with the Alaska Airlines award chart to recognize which flights are available when
redeeming Avios.
I like earning and
redeeming Avios and have done so for some extremely valuable domestic economy awards (on a value - per - point basis).
If you get poor value by
redeeming Avios for Economy class awards under these promotional conditions just how bad is the value when the promotion isn't running?
Even a business class ticket (
redeeming Avios for business class tickets are not usually recommended) for 75,000 Avios per roundtrip is a good deal compared to United's 100,000 miles price tag.
While
redeeming Avios for a business class seat may be a decent value (like our Boston - Dublin and Auckland - Sydney examples), in general, the best value of the BAEC program is in short trip redemptions.
When
redeeming Avios directly through British Airways, you need to have enough Avios in your account to pay for the full ticket.
There are a few catches however, as you must have $ 30 000 on your British Airways card within the year, you will need to book your own flight with British Airways by
redeeming your Avios points.
Just a note to people using AA.com searching for Saver space, if you know the routings (e.g.
redeeming Avios on YYZ - DFW / ORD / MIA / LGA / JFK nonstop on AA) Remember to change the dropdown on the left to «Nonstop» and the Calendar availability will update to show the inventory (which is more relevant), instead of 1 - stop (which becomes 2 separate Avios booking)
I have been
redeeming avios for hkg - > pvg r / t with dragonair for 9000 avios + $ 86 fees.
United typically does not charge exorbitant fuel surcharges or other hidden fees for its own flights or flights on its partners like you'll see when
redeeming Avios or American Airlines miles on British Airways.
Even if you use your British Airways points (known as Avios), these charges could negate the whole point of
redeeming Avios for British Airways reward flights.
If you don't often travel with Iberia directly and you're considering getting the Iberia Visa Signature ® Card and
redeeming the Avios with Iberia's travel partners, these benefits will be of little value to you.
Sign up online and begin collecting and
redeeming Avios immediately.
You will also find that there are a lot of options when
redeeming Avios for international travel, but not domestically.
This means you can
redeem your Avios for travel with the following airlines.
As a member of the BA Executive Club, you can collect and
redeem Avios and receive special promotions from British Airways and other Oneworld partners.
Every calendar year you make $ 30,000 in purchases, you will earn a Travel Together Ticket - good for two years when
you redeem Avios for a flight on British Airways3.
Plus, you'll get a free Travel Together Ticket when you spend at least $ 30,000 on your card in a single year and
redeem Avios for a reward seat.
Note that you can't
redeem Avios for flights wholly within Canada.
Luckily, it is possible to
redeem Avios for reward travel without spending your money on these ridiculously high fees.
For flights to Europe,
redeem Avios on Aer Lingus or Air Berlin.
Members of a Household Account can not
redeem Avios for anyone outside of the account unless they first create a Family and Friends List in their British Airways account.
Since British Airways Executive Club is a distance - based program, try to
redeem Avios on short - and medium - haul nonstop flights for the best value.
Avios partners with Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, making it easy to
redeem your Avios points on any of these carriers for flights in North America without paying fuel surcharges.
If you don't mind doing some research, you can learn how to
redeem Avios wisely.
Hot Tip: British Airways is notorious for having high fees attached to their flights, but fees are much lower when
you redeem Avios for flights on American Airlines and Alaska Airways.
To balance out the use of Avios with the use of cash — while I never want to use more cash than I have to I also don't want to
redeem Avios at a bad rate as I don't have a very large number of Avios in my account.
That means if
we redeem Avios for one of these flights, we'll only be saving 1.49 cents per Avios by not spending cash.
Redeem your Avios for one reward seat for yourself, then use your Travel Together Ticket to bring a friend for only the cost of taxes and fees.
For example, say we have some family who probably aren't going to be getting the British Airways card because they don't know how to
redeem Avios.
Unlike British Airways, Aer Lingus isn't a OneWorld alliance member so you won't be able to
redeem your Avios for domestic American Airlines flights at a bargain.
This is especially useful when there is a transfer bonus with one partner, but you would like
redeem Avios with the other partner.
Even on short - haul routes within the US (traditionally a good way to
redeem Avios) you would probably have to be redeeming at short notice (when fares are very high) and on routes like New York — DC before it would make any sense.
While you can
redeem your Avios anywhere in the world, here is a list of flights you can redeem for that touch Canada
Air Berlin is a member of the oneworld alliance and is generally known for being a useful option for those looking to
redeem Avios for flights to the US and Middle East because it doesn't charge carrier surcharges on Avios redemptions.