British Airways Avios points become easier to use for Alaska Airlines with Oneworld integration
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British Airways is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. There are 14 airlines in this alliance, and you can use British Airways Avios points to fly on these partner airlines. That means you can get just about anywhere with British Airways Avios!
Another airline has just joined Oneworld — Alaska Airlines. It’s since made the British Airways points you’ve earned from the best travel credit cards way easier to use. I’ll show you why.
Book Alaska Airlines flights on the British Airways website
British Airways and Alaska Airlines have been partners for a long time. We’ve been able to book Alaska Airlines flights with British Airways for many years. The only problem is that these flights have not been visible online; we’ve had to actually phone the British Airways call center to book flights — much like cavemen reserved their award seats during the Paleolithic Era.
Now that Alaska Airlines has joined the Oneworld alliance, we’re now seeing Alaska Airlines award seats on the British Airways website! This makes finding and booking Alaska flights much easier.
At full strength, Alaska Airlines was making 1,200 flights per day pre-coronavirus — this after acquiring Virgin America to expand their fleet. COVID-19 has reduced this number, but when travel returns to normal, you’ll see many thousands of award seats you can book online that once were not there.
Alaska Airlines is based in Seattle and largely focused on serving the West Coast. You can find great deals with British Airways Avios, including flights to Hawaii for as little as 13,000 points. That’s one of the best options for award flights to Hawaii.
The Alaska Airlines website is still a must
The British Airways website is one of the best tools for viewing the true inventory of Oneworld airline award seats. The problem is that the desktop version doesn’t search for flexible dates. You can’t view an entire month at once like you can with many other airline search engines. The British Airways mobile app actually has this feature, so you can use that — although it frequently gives me errors.
If you want to book an Alaska Airlines seat with British Airways Avios, it’s still a good idea to start your search on the Alaska Airlines website. You can quickly find saver award seats for your desired route with their calendar view.
Example: Below, I searched for flights from Los Angeles to Costa Rica on the Alaska Airlines website. The flights that cost 15,000 Alaska miles + $23 in taxes are saver awards that I can find on the British Airways website. Through British Airways, these flights cost 13,000 points and $23. So you’ll save 2,000 miles each way by using British Airways Avios. Plus, you’re much more likely to have access to Avios than Alaska miles.
Using British Airways points whenever you can to book flights like this on Alaska Airlines is a good idea not just because it’s cheaper, but also because Alaska Airlines miles are extremely valuable and difficult to earn — while British Airways Avios aren’t difficult to earn at all. You can transfer the following flexible points currencies to British Airways:
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Amex Membership Rewards points
- Marriott points (you can also transfer these to Alaska Airlines)
- Iberia and Aer Lingus Avios
Save your Alaska Airlines miles for things like business class flights to Asia that cost thousands and thousands of dollars. You can read about the best ways to use Alaska Airlines miles for all the great ways to use your rewards.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines flights are now bookable online with British Airways Avios points. That’s great news, as we now don’t have to call British Airways to reserve our flights any longer. We always love to see carriers streamline their award booking process!
Let us know what you think — and subscribe to our newsletter for more miles and points news delivered to your inbox once per day.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Annual fee
$95
Welcome offer
Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Why we like it
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of our top credit cards for both beginners and frequent travelers. It comes with a nice welcome bonus, solid ongoing points earning on bonus categories and some great travel perks. The travel perks like delayed baggage and flight insurance will easily cover the already reasonable annual fee of $95. It earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points which is one of the best flexible points currencies: you can transfer to a number of travel partners like Hyatt and United, easily redeem for any type of travel through the Chase portal where you’ll get 25% bonus or even earn straight cash back.
Who is it best for?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is great for just about anyone. It’s large welcome bonus makes it easy to get immediate value and you’ll easily rack up points with its broad bonus categories, earning a decent return on travel and dining purchases. Chase points allow for easy redemptions made through the Chase Travel Portal, which allows you to book any sort of travel with no blackout dates, and you’ll get better value from your points compared to other bank’s travel portals.
Credit Score Recommended
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.
Good to Excellent
660
850
Details
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Pros
- Flexible points
- Unique transfer partners like Hyatt and United
- Great travel and trip delay insurance
Cons
- $95 annual fee
- Ongoing points earning is lower compared to other cards
Reward Rate
- 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 3x on dining.
- 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
APR
16.24%-23.24% Variable
Credit Needed
Good to Excellent
Foreign Transaction Fee
$0
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