American Express points
#2




Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: Airport Lounges (Usually in ORD and LHR)
Programs: AA EXP 1MM, AY Gold, QR Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,716
The Hawaiian transfer is now gone, so that leaves transferring to BA Avios as the most likely best value proposition.
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 35,055
Welcome to FlyerTalk!
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL
Programs: AA PLT, UA SLV, MR LTT, HH LTD
Posts: 10,745
If only you'd asked this a month ago when we could transfer to Hawaiian and redeem on Alaska as a OneWorld partner (55,000 points business class PHL to LHR). The problem with BA redemptions are the carrier surcharges they add to award redemptions. They're insane sometimes. While you will often find 57,000 point business class redemptions on BA, you'll also pay $800 in fees.
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 35,055
If only you'd asked this a month ago when we could transfer to Hawaiian and redeem on Alaska as a OneWorld partner (55,000 points business class PHL to LHR). The problem with BA redemptions are the carrier surcharges they add to award redemptions. They're insane sometimes. While you will often find 57,000 point business class redemptions on BA, you'll also pay $800 in fees.
BA or IB Avios can offer very good value for travel on IB for nonstops from the U.S. to Madrid. BA Avios can also be transferred to Finnair Plus, which offers decent redemptions on AA between the Mainland U.S. and the Caribbean, Central America, and Hawaii.
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2025
Posts: 2
We still don't know whether the OP lives at an AA hub or an AA spoke; whether he is looking to fly domestically or internationally; whether he wants to fly in Coach or in premium cabins; etc. All of these things can affect which Amex transfer partner is best for redeeming for travel on AA.
BA or IB Avios can offer very good value for travel on IB for nonstops from the U.S. to Madrid. BA Avios can also be transferred to Finnair Plus, which offers decent redemptions on AA between the Mainland U.S. and the Caribbean, Central America, and Hawaii.
BA or IB Avios can offer very good value for travel on IB for nonstops from the U.S. to Madrid. BA Avios can also be transferred to Finnair Plus, which offers decent redemptions on AA between the Mainland U.S. and the Caribbean, Central America, and Hawaii.
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 35,055
Finnair award chart here:
https://www.finnair.com/us-en/finnai...-with-partners
BA Avios can be transferred to AY (Finnair), and vice versa.
But a few caveats:
1. I don't know whether Finnair collects carrier surcharges on AA international redemptions.
2. You will only be able to book those AA flights for which AA has released partner availability to Finnair.
3. You cannot check Finnair's AA award availability online: you must call or chat with a Finnair agent.
Once in Europe, you may find that BA Avios offer good value for travel to or from London.
Good luck!
Edited to add: For roundtrip international Coach travel, I would always check cash fares via the Amex travel portal. In some cases, you might get better value from your Amex MR points by using them as cash to buy a ticket from the portal, rather than transferring them to an airline to redeem for an award ticket.
https://www.finnair.com/us-en/finnai...-with-partners
BA Avios can be transferred to AY (Finnair), and vice versa.
But a few caveats:
1. I don't know whether Finnair collects carrier surcharges on AA international redemptions.
2. You will only be able to book those AA flights for which AA has released partner availability to Finnair.
3. You cannot check Finnair's AA award availability online: you must call or chat with a Finnair agent.
Once in Europe, you may find that BA Avios offer good value for travel to or from London.
Good luck!
Edited to add: For roundtrip international Coach travel, I would always check cash fares via the Amex travel portal. In some cases, you might get better value from your Amex MR points by using them as cash to buy a ticket from the portal, rather than transferring them to an airline to redeem for an award ticket.
Last edited by guv1976; Jul 8, 2025 at 2:39 pm





