The Best Ways To Use 10,000 (or Fewer) British Airways Avios

The British Airways Club is one of the best loyalty programs in the world of points and miles, thanks to the ease of redeeming its currency, British Airways Avios.

British Airways and its vast network of Oneworld partners operate thousands of short- and long-haul routes worldwide. Combine great routes with the airline’s excellent distance-based award chart and you can redeem some flights for super low mileage, including some routes under 10,000 miles one-way.

This can be incredibly useful, as cash fares on certain short-haul flights can be expensive.

Some redemptions offer better value than others, but everything you need to know about redeeming 10,000 or fewer Avios is detailed below to make the most of your Avios.

Redeem for Short-Haul Awards

British Airways uses a distance-based award chart, and shorter flights cost fewer points than longer flights.

While this can be detrimental for booking long-haul awards, it opens up excellent value for short-haul awards. British Airways prices every segment individually, so you should stick to nonstop routings whenever possible. British Airways Avios can be extremely valuable on short, nonstop routes between markets where cash fares may be expensive.

This is especially true when booking last-minute, short-haul award flights, especially on business routes like Chicago (ORD) to New York (LGA).

However, since not all British Airways short-haul tickets are priced the same, here are some specifics you should keep in mind:

• British Airways has 2 different award charts: one that applies to flights on British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia, and the other for flights operated by a single partner airline (other than Aer Lingus and Iberia).
• There are different prices for peak and off-peak dates.

Short-Haul Redemptions Start at 4,750 Avios

It’s important to remember that British Airways prices every segment individually. This means that nonstop routings provide the best value.

For example, BA charges just 4,750 and 5,250 Avios for off-peak and peak redemptions under 650 miles, respectively.

Medium-Haul Redemptions Start at 7,250 Avios

While the lowest prices come with the shortest flights, you can also find good value for your Avios on longer flights.

Flights from 651 to 1,150 miles can be redeemed for 7,250 Avios off-peak and 8,250 miles during peak times. This opens up huge value if you need to fly across Europe, for example, from Warsaw (WAW) to London (LHR), which is 916 flown miles.

Flights from 1,152 to 2,000 miles only cost 9,250 Avios during off-peak periods. This might include a flight from Tokyo (NRT) to Manila (MNL) on Japan Airlines, which is a flown distance of 1,892 miles.

Short-Haul Redemptions in Business Class Start at 8,500 Avios

If you prefer to fly up front, you can book short-haul redemptions under 650 miles in business class for 8,500 Avios off-peak or 9,750 Avios during peak periods. This can be worthwhile on short-haul flights on a partner flight operated by Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, or other airlines that operate select short-haul routes with wide-body aircraft.

North American Redemptions Are a Bit Pricier

Zone 1 pricing differs slightly for flights to, from, or within North America. Using Avios for flights within North America used to be one of the best ways to use them. However, British Airways has consistently raised the prices for flights within North America over the past several years. Using Avios for flights on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines starts at 12,000 Avios, more than any other part of the world.

While that is much higher than the cost in other parts of the world, it can still make sense in certain situations. Just check the cash cost of the flight and the cost using American AAdvantage or Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards points before you use your Avios.

Transfer to Other Forms of Avios

While there are several good ways to use British Airways Avios, Avios are now the loyalty currency of 6 different airlines:

• British Airways
• Iberia
• Finnair
• Aer Lingus
• Qatar Airways
• Vueling

Sometimes, the best use of your British Airways Avios is to transfer them to one of these other programs. Each has its own award chart and sweet spots.

British Airways Off-Peak Economy Between the U.S. East Coast and London

Because British Airways has a distance-based award chart, the sweet spots are usually for direct flights. The distance between New York and London actually falls into a sweet spot where it only costs 13,000 Avios for a one-way economy flight during the off-peak season (20,000 Avios during peak season). Remember that taxes and fuel surcharges may be higher than with other airlines, so make sure to compare the price in miles and cash.

Redeem for Upgrades on British Airways Flights

You can also use Avios on paid tickets. With this option, you can upgrade a cash booking to the next cabin wherever available. This is available for British Airways, Iberia, and American Airlines flights.

Avios upgrades can be done at the time of booking, or you can upgrade an existing flight. To determine how many Avios you need for a one-way ticket, subtract the Avios required for the cabin you booked from the cabin you wish to upgrade to.

Depending on how much you value short-haul business class, these can be worth it if you’re flying British Airways within Europe.

Score a Discount on a Paid British Airways Flight

Booking a paid British Airways ticket? You can use your Avios to get a nice discount on your ticket. When booking a ticket, you can use some of your Avios at the checkout screen.

You can take advantage of this discount by using very small amounts of miles. The discount varies from booking to booking, but in the example of a round-trip ticket between New York (JFK) and London Heathrow (LHR) above, it starts at 2,000 Avios for a $26 discount, yielding a value of 1.3 cents per point.

However, using the highest discount offered — 14,400 Avios for a $116 discount — reduces the value to just 0.8 cents per point. With this in mind, you’ll always want to do the math before you use Avios for a discount.

Redeem for Hotel Stays or Car Rentals

You can also use your Avios to book a hotel stay or car rental through Avios.com. The redemption price depends on how much your hotel stay or rental car costs in cash.

For example, a 1-night stay at the Conrad Orlando at Evermore in August costs 66,800 Avios or $449 cash, giving you a value of just 0.67 cents per Avios — far lower than what you’d achieve with a short-haul award ticket.

The cent-per-point value tends to be lower on these redemptions, so we recommend avoiding hotel and rental car redemptions. You can get far better value for other options on this list.

Earning Avios

British Airways is a transfer partner of Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy. Transfers from all except Marriott Bonvoy are at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to Avios at a 3:1 ratio, and you get a 5,000-Avios bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred.

Note, too, that transfer bonuses from Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards tend to be frequent. We have seen these bonuses as high as 40% in the past.

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to redeem relatively small amounts of British Airways Avios for maximum value, and you can make the most of booking short-haul business class flights. Redeeming short-haul award tickets generally gives you the best value for your miles. This is especially true if you’re booking a last-minute award ticket where the cash cost is double or triple the regular price.