Book British Airways Award Flights Like a Pro: Part 11 – The Best Domestic Awards Using British Airways Avios Points

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Update: Beginning February 2, 2016, British Airways will no longer offer 1-way, short-haul (under 650 miles) coach award tickets on partner airlines in North America for 4,500 British Airways Avios points.  Instead these flights will cost 7,500 British Airways Avios points.

I get a lot of questions on British Airways Avios points, and started a series on how to use British Airways Avios points 2 years ago and finally finished writing it.

The best domestic awards using British Airways Avios points are ones that cost fewer British Airways Avios points than other airline’s miles.

For example, you can fly round-trip in coach to Hawaii from the West Coast for 25,000 British Airways Avios points.

Keep reading to find out other great uses of British Airways Avios points for flights in the US.

Book British Airways Award Flights Like a Pro:

• • Part 1 – Love it or Hate it: An Introduction to British Airways Avios Points
  • Part 2 – What Does a Distance Based Award Chart Mean?
  • Part 3 – Taxes and Fees
  • Part 4 – What Else Can I do with British Airways Avios Points?
  • Part 5 – Using British Airways Avios Points to Upgrade Paid Tickets
  • Part 6 – Using Cash and Points
  • Part 7 – Household Accounts
  • Part 8 – The British Airways Companion Pass
  • Part 9 – How to Find Award Availability
  • Part 10 – The Best International Awards Using British Airways Avios Points
  • Part 11 – The Best Domestic Awards Using British Airways Avios Points
  • Part 12 – The Best Short Distance Awards Using British Airways Avios Points

The Best Domestic Awards Using British Airways Avios Points

Link:   British Airways Avios Calculator

Link:   Book flights with British Airways Avios points (sign-in required)

Link:   Wandering Aramean Avios Tool

British Airways Avios is a distance-based program, so short flights cost fewer points than in region-based programs such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines.  

Region-based programs (for the most part) charge you the same number of miles when you fly within 1 region, such as North America.  Even if it’s a very short or inexpensive flight.

When you use British Airways Avios points, any coach flight under 650 flown miles is only 4,500 points 1-way!  The same flight using United Airlines miles might cost you more than double that!

And remember, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to both United Airlines and British Airways at a 1:1 ratio.

So when you want short, direct flights, check the Wandering Aramean Avios Tool or British Airways Avios Calculator to see if using British Airways Avios points makes sense for you!

And you:

• Pay NO fuel surcharges on partner airlines like American Airlines, US Airways, and Alaska Airlines
• Do NOT pay last-minute booking fees (great for folks like me who procrastinate…or folks who have to book tickets last minute)

I looked for a coach ticket just a few days in advance, from Chicago to Los Angeles.  The cost was $403.

Or you could pay 12,500 British Airways Avios points.

Here are some of examples of the best ways to use British Airways Avios points for domestic tickets.

Note:   British Airways has made changes to its Executive Club award program, which start on April 28, 2015. 1.   East Coast Trips, Such as New York to Washington, DC

A 1-way flight from New York to Washington, DC costs:

• 4,500 British Airways Avios points in coach
• 13,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class
• 15,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class (off-peak starting April 28, 2015)

So spending 9,000 British Airways Avios points for a round-trip coach ticket between New York and Washington, DC, is a great deal.  That’s because on US airlines like American Airlines, you’d pay 25,000 miles!

2.   Flights to Sin City, Such as Los Angeles to Las Vegas

Flying from Los Angeles or Phoenix to Las Vegas, you’d pay:

• 4,500 British Airways Avios points in coach
• 13,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class
• 15,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class (off-peak starting April 28, 2015)

And coach flights from Dallas, Portland, and Seattle, are just 7,500 British Airways Avios points each way.

3.   West Coast to the Aloha State, Such as Los Angeles to Honolulu

One of the best uses of British Airways Avios points for domestic coach award tickets is to fly from the West Coast to Hawaii.  Although Emily and I usually use American Airlines miles because of the large sign-up bonuses.

You can fly to Honolulu from Anchorage, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle for:

• 12,500 British Airways Avios points in coach
• 37,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class
• 42,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class (off-peak starting April 28, 2015)

So you’d pay 25,000 British Airways Avios points for a round-trip coach ticket from Los Angeles to Honolulu instead of 45,000 American Airlines miles.

4.   Flights to the Sunshine State, Such as Houston to Miami

From a long list of cities that includes Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Washington, DC,  you’d pay:

• 7,500 British Airways Avios points in coach
• 22,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class
• 25,500 British Airways Avios points in First Class (off-peak starting April 28, 2015)

Folks looking for flights to Florida destinations such as Key West, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa can get good deals using British Airways Avios points!  Note:  You’ll notice in my Trip Reports to Florida that I tend to use Southwest points instead.  For me, nothing beats the Companion Pass!

Using the Wandering Aramean Avios Tool you can quickly see the number of British Airways Avios points per 1-way coach ticket.

These are a only a few of the best ways I think you can use British Airways Avios points domestically.  However, your best personal use of British Airways Avios points might be to see your family in Tulsa!

Bottom Line

You can use British Airways Avios points to fly domestically using fewer British Airways Avios points than US airline’s miles.

Because British Airways Avios is a distance based program, you get the best value from short nonstop domestic flights like from New York to Philadelphia.

That’s because these flights can be pricey, especially when you book only a few days in advance!

And you can fly from the West Coast to Hawaii for 25,000 British Airways Avios points round-trip in coach.

You will NOT pay fuel surcharges on domestic flights nor last minute booking fees.  That’s why British Airways Avios points are great for last-minute expensive tickets!

What’s your favorite use of British Airways Avios points on domestic flights?