Yes, you can book an American Airlines flight with British Airways Avios! Sometimes for much fewer points! If that sounds strange, don’t worry. I’m going to walk you through it all. In this post, I will get into all the details on why you’d want to do this and how to do it.

Note: Redemption rates fluctuate, so may vary. These were the rates at the time of publishing.

 

How To Earn British Airways Avios

First, let’s talk about how to get your hands on British Airways Avios. It is easy to earn a lot of these points because British Airways is a transfer partner of American Express, Chase, and Capital One. British Airways also has its own credit card that is offered through Chase, the British Airways Signature Card.

 

 

How Am I Able to Use British Airways Avios to Book American Airlines Flights?

The reason that you can use British Airways Avios to book American Airlines flights is that both of these airlines are part of the same airline alliance, OneWorld Alliance. Airline alliances are partnerships between airlines that allow them to service more of the globe. Using our points and miles, we can leverage these alliances to our benefit by booking with one but actually fly on another. American Airlines currently isn’t a permanent transfer partner with any of the transferable points cards.  But, because of airline alliances, we can use our British Airways Avios to book American Airlines flights.

 

Why Use British Airways Avios to Book American Airlines Flights

You might want to use British Airways Avios to book an American Airlines flight if you don’t have any AA miles but want to book an AA flight. Also, there are times when it will cost you much fewer points to book an American Airlines flight if you book British Airways Avios! British Airways has a distance-based award chart. In a nutshell, you’ll find cheap flights when booking shorter, direct flights. Let’s talk about some examples.

 

West Coast to Hawaii

To book a flight on American Airlines from the mainland to Hawaii, you will spend 45,000 miles. Now, if you are flying from Los Angeles or Phoenix, that exact flight will cost you just 26,000 Avios thanks to the British Airways distance-based award chart!

Alaska Airlines is also in the OneWorld Alliance. If you find direct flights from Seattle, Portland, San Diego, and other west coast cities on Alaska Airlines, you can also book those for 26,000 Avios.

 

 

Short & Direct Flights

Depending on where you are going and the distance, you can find some domestic flights for 7,500 and 9,000 Avios each way. Alternatively, American Airlines might charge you 12,500 miles each way (although AA does have some great web specials at times.) You can also find flights to the Caribbean for a good deal by booking through British Airways. Taxes and fees flying back into the US can be a lot, so consider that.

 

 

How to Book American Airlines Flights With British Airways Avios

Now that you might be interested in booking your next American Airlines flight with Avios, let’s go over how to do it.

1. Open a free British Airways Executive Club account
2. Log in to your British Airways account
3. Select “book flight with Avios” and search for a flight
4. After finding the flight, transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Venture Miles, or use your Avios from your British Airways Signature Visa card.
5. Book your flight

 

 

Bottom Line

You can book flights on American Airlines using British Airways Avios, sometimes for a lot less than booking directly with American Airlines! This can be a great option for you if you live near an American Airlines hub. I especially love the west coast to Hawaii routes for just 26,000 Avios per person roundtrip! Next time you think of flying on American Airlines, consider booking through British Airways.