Originally Posted by lwildernorva

And, depending on the route, can be very valuable for that purpose. Best values come from nonstops to AA hubs. For instance, it takes 25K AA miles for me to fly from my home airport, ORF, to JFK. Money cost without using miles, about $225. I only need 9K Avios to make a booking through BA. In other words, for a little more than the miles I need to fly on AA, I can fly myself and my two sisters on the same plane using Avios.