British Airways' mileage currency (Avios) offer a potentially advantageous option for redeeming for award tickets on AA, especially on shorter flights. This wiki (which originated in a thread in the now-closed US forum) attempts to summarize key aspects of the program, as well as several problems and workarounds relating to use of the BA website.



What are the general rules for redeeming Avios?

• Avios is charged per individual flight segment. The cost for a single connecting itinerary AAA-BBB-CCC is the same as the cost of two separate tickets for travel AAA-BBB & BBB-CCC.
• Avios uses a distance-based chart. (See below.)
  • International first and AA domestic three-class first cost roughly 4x as many Avios as coach.
  • For segments over 2000 miles, business class (and first-class awards on AA domestic two-class service) costs roughly 3x coach.
  • For segments under 2000 miles, business class (and first-class awards on AA domestic two-class service) costs roughly 2x coach.
• You can redeem one-way awards with Avios.
• Avios is generally region-agnostic. (That is, a given distance costs the same regardless of whether it traverses one or more world regions.) Thus, Avios can provide great value when flying to Hawaii for those who fly coach and can do so in one segment.
• There is no ticketing fee for online booking. If you call instead of booking online, there is a $25 ticketing fee. (Some people have success in getting this fee waived when an itinerary cannot be booked online, making a phone call unavoidable.)
• There is no close-in ticketing fee.

As of the May 30, 2019 award pricing changes, the chart for economy redemptions is as follows:


What's the process for redeeming Avios?Go to the Avios award search page; log in; and enter your desired itinerary.
Great! That sounds easy! What's the catch?Unfortunately, there are several practical restrictions on redeeming Avios for domestic travel on AA, especially when attempting to book online.

• Most importantly, AA MileSAAver awards must be available. (You can confirm award availability at the lowest level by searching the AA site directly or by using a third-party service such as Expert Flyer.)
• The BA search tool cannot generate partner itineraries that include more than one connection. (You can still book each segment as an individual ticket, although doing so will create problems if you wish to check luggage all the way through and/or if you miss a connection owing to flight delays.)

I want to change my seat but the BA site never gave me an AA record locator. What's the solution?
Look up your reservation on the AA site using the BA record locator. You can also go to "Manage My Booking" on the BA site; simply select the desired booking (you may need to click the large plus sign at the right), click "Choose Seats," and then follow the prompts. You will be redirected automatically to the AA site, where you can also view your AA record locator and add your AAdvantage member number to the reservation.

How can I Avios?

• Fly British Airways.
• Credit OneWorld flights to British Airways.
• Open a Chase British Airways credit card, ideally with a generous sign up bonus.
• Move Chase Ultimate Reward points (CSP, Ink Plus, Ink Preferred) to your BA account.
• Move AMEX Membership Rewards points to your BA account, preferably during the 2-3 times a year when a bonus is offered.
• Move Marriott points to your BA account. 60K Marriott points yields 25K BA Avios.
• Form a household account (see BA forum for discussion) so that miles can be pooled.

Credit: Much of this wiki is based on earlier work by SanDiego1K.