My Top 5 Ways To Redeem BA Avios
Intro
British Airways has its own miles-based earning system, which is accumulated through crediting flights and other avenues to obtain miles to spend. These are called Avios. BA Avios are also relatively easy to come by with credit cards transferring points at a 1:1 ratio.
In general, BA tends to have high award surcharges for "fuel" much like with Virgin and some other UK-based carriers. However, I wanted to go over my top 5 ways of redeeming BA avios in hopes of it helping you on your next trip.
Deal 1: New York-Los Angeles/San Fran Last Minute
We all have emergencies at times or the need to travel last minute. On these transcontinental routes, prices can rise extremely high at the last minute. Don't fret as for 16,000 miles and minimal fees, you can book an economy award on these flights. I tend to see a lot of last-minute award space, more than what I see weeks in advance. One way in business class will run you 42K points and First 62.5K points.
For comparison sake on the same flight, this is out of pocket cash fare. Perhaps you might even get a free upgrade to main cabin plus.
Deal 2: East Coast- Europe 34K Miles Business Class
34 Thousand miles for a 7-hour flight is incredible value for business class. Iberia flies the A330 and A350 from New York to London, and with one-way prices upwards of 10,000$ for this particular flight, this shows terrific value. With only 93 pounds in taxes, BA skips on the usual surcharges of flying to London.
This might single-handedly be the best value to get from the East Coast to Europe on points. Perhaps you are interested in going somewhere else in Europe? Why not book an LLC later that day to get you around, at least you did the longest part in an all-aisle access lie-flat seat!
Deal 3: Fly Cathay Pacific To Australia
Cathay Pacific tends to be a nice airline, but an expensive airline. With 126 pounds in taxes and shy of 26K points, you can get from Hong Kong to Sydney directly with Cathay Pacific in economy.
Be aware that finding premium award space on longer flights with Cathay Pacific can be challenging. It's not impossible, but it requires some time and effort. You might end up booking it through American Airlines anyway as it's cheaper!
Deal 4: Experience JAL First Class 61K Avios!
JAL First Class is a sublime product. Even if American Airlines only charges 40K points for this ticket, it still represents terrific value as BA Avios are easier to obtain. For 61,800K points, you can experience the First Class Lounge In Tokyo, Cristal on the plane, full caviar service, and a 7-hour flight! Talk about value 😒
Award space can finicky, I was almost tempted to book this flight the second I saw it available. The most award space I find on JAL is from Tokyo to Paris but it doesn't come cheaply at 124K points!
Deal 5: BA First Class On The New 777
Considering this is the BA program, I must put at least one BA award here😅. Interestingly as I write this I am not seeing any award space on this route with the new 777. However, I flew this route last year and paid 85K points+ a lot of fuel surcharges (upwards of 500 GBP).
Yes, it is expensive. However, I find the new 777 in First Class to be fantastic and worth every point!
Final Thoughts
There are endless ways to redeem BA Avios, but these are my top 5 ways that I have redeemed them/wanted to. Yes, you can book flights to the Caribbean for 9k points, but most of the time those flights are sub 200$. First Class seems to hold the most value since for most of the population we can't shell out 10,000 for a ticket😅. Anyway I, I hope these might be able to help you when planning your next vacation!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
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