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As the mileage currency of multiple airlines located in Europe, plus another in the Middle East, it's easy to assume that the Avios program is the go-to program for award travel in those respective regions. However, some of the best uses of Avios happen to be on partner airlines — well outside of Europe and the Middle East.
You can use Avios on dozens of partners to travel virtually anywhere. Most relevant to AwardWallet readers, you can redeem Avios for flights throughout the Americas (North, Central, and South) — including domestic flights in the United States.
With both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines as Oneworld partners, you can use Avios to travel anywhere in their networks. The only catch is that award seats must be available to partner programs before you can book the flight.
In this post, we'll cover some of the best ways to use Avios for travel throughout the Americas. But first, let's provide a brief rundown on the Avios currency if you don't know what this handy currency is.
Page Contents
- What Are Avios?
- How Avios Award Rates Are Calculated
- Avios Partner Award Charts
- Some of the Best Ways To Use Avios for Travel in North America
- Fly between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii
- Save money on last-minute domestic flights
- Fly short hops to expensive regional destinations
- Fly across the country in American Airlines Flagship Business (or Flagship First Class)
- Visit Cancun and other top destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America
- Enjoy select destinations in northern South America on the cheap with LATAM
- How To Book Award Travel Using Avios
- How To Earn More Avios
- The Bottom Line
What Are Avios?
Several airline loyalty programs use Avios as their airline mileage currency. Most notably, Avios is the currency used by British Airways Club. However, five other airlines also utilize Avios in their loyalty programs. The most recent addition to this list is Finnair, which just adopted Avios in 2024.
The full list of airlines that currently use Avios as the currency for their loyalty program are:
- Aer Lingus
- British Airways
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Qatar Airways
- Vueling
You earn Avios whenever you credit travel to any of these six airline loyalty programs listed above. Similarly, you can redeem Avios through these programs just as you would points or miles in other programs.
Best of all, you can transfer Avios between British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Aer Lingus, and Qatar Airways. Finnair is now allowing Avios to be transferred between its program and British Airways, which effectively lets you transfer to all the other programs. It's just a multi-step process.
The one exception is Vueling, which doesn't have the transfer capabilities of the other carriers. However, Vueling and Iberia have rolled out a combined Avios wallet, which lets you send Avios between the two programs and redeem them for award flights.
But even though all six airlines share a currency, the airlines each have their own program and different award charts. Each program often charges different taxes and fees for the same award. It pays to know which Avios partner can book a specific award at the cheapest rate.
In this post, assume we're discussing British Airways or Iberia Avios. Both use the same award chart for American- and Alaska-operated flights within North America — unless we expressly state otherwise.
Related: The Complete Guide To Earning and Redeeming British Airways Avios
How Avios Award Rates Are Calculated
For most awards, Avios award redemption rates are calculated based on direct flight distance. Determining how many Avios you'll need for your flights is simple. This is in contrast to both region-based award pricing and the dynamic award pricing now adopted by some programs, such as Delta SkyMiles and American Airlines AAdvantage®.
With Avios redemptions tied to flight distance, calculating multi-stop or connecting itineraries is straightforward: You'll redeem Avios based on the length of each flight segment. You can use a tool like Great Circle Mapper or MileCalc.com to figure out your flight distance(s). Then, add up all segments, and you'll have your award price.
One exception to the distance-based pricing is British Airways pricing on Qatar Airways — which more closely resembles a region-based chart.
Avios awards in the Americas
The Avios award chart features zones categorized by flight distance. The chart has nine zones ranging from flights up to 650 miles (Zone 1) to flights greater than 7,001 miles (Zone 9). On flights operating within North America, however, Avios award chart Zones 1 through 4 feature special pricing, and reflect the table below. These are the prices you'll find on American and Alaska Airlines.
| Distance/Zone | Economy | Premium Economy (on select flights to Hawaii/Alaska) | Business (Domestic First) | First (On 3-Cabin Flights) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 650 miles (Zone 1) | 12,000 | N/A | 24,000 | N/A |
| Up to 1,151 miles (Zones 2) | 16,000 | N/A | 32,000 | N/A |
| 1,152 to 2,000 miles (Zone 3) | 18,000 | N/A | 40,000 | N/A |
| 2,001 to 3,000 miles (Zone 4) | 20,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 80,000 |
| 3,001 to 4,000 miles (Zone 5) | 20,750 | 41,250 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
Related: British Airways Hikes Avios Awards on American and Alaska
Example Avios award pricing in North America
Here's an example of calculating the cost of a one-way award from St. Louis, MO, to San Francisco, CA, with a connection in Phoenix.
In determining the number of Avios required, you will need to know the distance between St. Louis and Phoenix plus the distance between Phoenix and San Francisco. When determining the distance between the airports, here's what Great Circle Mapper returned:
- St. Louis-Lambert International Airport (STL) to Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX): 1,262 miles
- Phoenix (PHX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO): 651 miles
Once you know the distance between each airport, you can price each leg of the itinerary.
- St. Louis (STL) to Phoenix (PHX): Zone 3 economy class costs 18,000 Avios
- Chicago (ORD) to San Francisco (SFO): Zone 2 economy class costs 16,000 Avios
- Total Avios required: 34,000 Avios
This is a good example of the pricing bands, as the 651-mile PHX-SFO segment prices in Zone 2 (16,000 Avios) and not Zone 1 (12,000 Avios). Be aware of segments like this that are just over (or just under) the dividing distance between bands. Finally, this is not a ticket where I'd use Avios, as you can find a far cheaper price between these cities in other programs.
Avios Partner Award Charts
Unlike the American Airlines AAdvantage program, the Avios programs do not utilize dynamic award pricing. This means that the number of Avios required for a flight will not change due to other factors like demand and current cash fares. As long as there's award availability, you'll pay a fixed price.
For this post, only partner award charts are included below. British Airways operates a handful of inter-Caribbean flights between British territories and former colonies. However, the majority of Avios redemptions for travel throughout the Americas are for flights operated by one of British Airways' partner airlines.
Currently, there are just two partner airlines on which you can redeem Avios in the Americas: Alaska Airlines and American Airlines.
To streamline award travel calculations, you can utilize the Avios award chart below for Alaska and American flights within North America:
| Distance/Zone | Economy | Premium Economy (on select flights to Hawaii/Alaska) | Business (Domestic First) | First (On 3-Cabin Flights) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 650 miles (Zone 1) | 12,000 | N/A | 24,000 | N/A |
| Up to 1,151 miles (Zones 2) | 16,000 | N/A | 32,000 | N/A |
| 1,152 to 2,000 miles (Zone 3) | 18,000 | N/A | 40,000 | N/A |
| 2,001 to 3,000 miles (Zone 4) | 20,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 80,000 |
| 3,001 to 4,000 miles (Zone 5) | 20,750 | 41,250 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
However, if you choose to fly LATAM, you'll abide by this chart instead:
| Flight distance (miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-650 | 8,500 | 12,500 | N/A |
| 651-1,151 | 13,500 | N/A | 24,750 |
| 1,152-2,000 | 15,500 | 23,000 | 30,750 |
| 2,001-3,000 | 17,000 | N/A | 50,500 |
| 3,001-4,000 | 31,250 | 62,000 | 93,000 |
Related: The Complete Guide to British Airways’ Partners
Some of the Best Ways To Use Avios for Travel in North America
One of the best ways to use Avios in the Americas is for last-minute flights. Personally, this is my favorite way to maximize the value of my Avios, as you're able to book when prices are high. While it may not be a flashy or fun way to use Avios, it's highly practical. Saving significant money is always a great redemption. I have a similar practice on last-minute United flights.
That being said, there are several other ways to redeem your Avios for flights throughout the Americas. In this section, we'll consider some excellent ways to redeem Avios for travel within North America.
Fly between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii
The key to maximizing your Avios's value between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii is taking advantage of the program's distance-based award pricing. Since British Airways prices awards by segment, Avios are best utilized for nonstop flights.
When redeeming Avios for flights from the mainland United States to Hawaii, you will have three American Airlines hubs from which you can choose to depart: Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Dallas. Alaska Airlines offers many more options for Hawaii-bound flights — including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, and even Anchorage.
We recommend departing from one of these cities to get the best value from your Avios. Any city that is less than 3,001 miles from a Hawaiian airport puts these flights in Zone 4 on the Avios partner award chart. Zone 4 economy awards cost 20,000 Avios. Dallas to Honolulu is a Zone 5 award flight, but that only bumps the cost up to 20,750 Avios in economy.
Here's an example of redeeming Avios for a flight from the mainland United States to Hawaii, flying out of Phoenix:
It's worth noting that Alaska Mileage Plan sometimes offers prices cheaper than 20,000 miles one-way to Hawaii. However, since there are many other great uses of Alaska miles, I'd prefer to keep my Mileage Plan miles and redeem Avios, if possible.
Save money on last-minute domestic flights
The closer you get to a flight's departure time, the more you can expect to pay for a flight. This is almost always the case when it comes to cash fares. Luckily, you can sometimes avoid expensive cash fares by redeeming miles — including redeeming Avios.
For example, at the time of writing, a flight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Omaha (OMA) departing three days from the time of writing costs $317 one-way in economy.
That same flight (plus several others on the same day) is available for just 12,000 Avios and $5.60.
This is not a rare occurrence. There are plenty of instances where you can book expensive domestic flights starting at 12,000 Avios. Keep in mind, however, that Avios award availability varies by route, and some domestic routes have little to no award availability — especially around holidays.
Also make sure you check other award options. Given America's dynamic pricing and the devaluation of the British Airways Avios chart within North America, you may find that American or Alaska's pricing is more advantageous.
For example, even though American was selling the ticket above for $317 one-way, you could have booked it for just 9,500 AAdvantage miles. So, Avios isn't the best choice if you have enough AAdvantage miles. However, other award flight options that same day exceeded 20,000 miles.
Related: A Guide To Booking American Airlines Flights With British Airways Avios
Fly short hops to expensive regional destinations
Like booking last-minute tickets, flying to specific regional destinations can be costly. Will little competition and few flights, some routes remain high-priced all the time. Consider this flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to St. George, Utah:
You can snag this for just 12,000 Avios and $5.60. Quite a deal. Living in a rural area with a tiny regional airport has taught me to look for these sorts of situations as a way to consistently save money.
Fly across the country in American Airlines Flagship Business (or Flagship First Class)
If you can find AAdvantage web specials for one of American Airlines' premium transcontinental flights, you may be able to score Flagship First for an insane deal. However, such pricing is a rarity with Flagship First (and many times Flagship Business) on these premium transcontinental flights often requiring over 100,000 miles one-way.
As a reminder, you can find a list of American Airlines' premium transcontinental flights on the American Airlines Flagship First Dining website. Eligible routes currently include three-class non-stop flights between:
- New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX)
- JFK and San Francisco (SFO)
- JFK and Orange County (SNA) on the A321T
- LAX and Boston (BOS) on the A321T
- LAX and Miami (MIA) on the Boeing 777-300ER
These routes are unique for a variety of reasons. However, one often overlooked element of these routes is lounge access for travelers booked in premium cabins.
On these routes, travelers booked in first class will have access to both the Flagship Lounge and Flagship First Dining room. Travelers booked in business class will have access to the Flagship Lounge and may be able to pay an additional fee or redeem miles to access Flagship First Dining.
All of these routes fall in Zone 4 on the Avios award chart. As such, business-class awards are priced at 50,000 Avios, while first-class awards are priced at 80,000 Avios one-way. Unfortunately, seats are usually only available when prices are relatively reasonable using AAdvantage miles. But Avios are easier to earn, and you can often save a good amount by taking advantage of a transfer bonus.
One last thing: American Flagship First is being retired. But not to worry. The new Flagship Suite product looks excellent.
Related: How To Fly American Airlines' Best Business (and First) Class Seats Within the U.S.
Visit Cancun and other top destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America
Resorts in both Mexico and throughout the Caribbean are popular destinations for U.S.-based travelers looking for a beach getaway. Given that American Airlines has a hub in Miami, you can redeem as few as 12,000 Avios one-way on some routes.
Here are some popular routes operated by American Airlines and how many Avios you will need to book each flight:
- Miami to Cozumel (557 miles): 12,000 in economy, 24,000 in business
- Phoenix to Puerto Vallarta: 16,000 in economy, 32,000 in business
- Dallas to Cancun (1,028 miles): 16,000 in economy, 32,000 in business
- Miami to Curacao (1,192 miles): 18,000 in economy, 40,000 in business
- Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta (1,218 miles): 18,000 in economy, 40,000 in business
- Miami to Cali (1,552 miles): 18,000 in economy, 40,000 in business
- Charlotte to Aruba (1,706): 18,000 in economy, 40,000 in business
- Miami to Lima (2,608 miles): 20,000 in economy, 50,000 in business
The majority of flights from the United States to popular beach destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean fall within Zone 1 through Zone 3. A few longer routes fall under Zone 4. Destinations in northern South America departing Miami start in Zone 2 and run up through Zone 4.
It's often a great choice to redeem Avios for flights from the United States to many of these places, but check the ticket price. Some routes are fairly competitive, and you may be getting barely 1¢ per Avios on these redemptions. In that case, you might consider paying for the ticket.
Enjoy select destinations in northern South America on the cheap with LATAM
Given that awards on LATAM are priced according to the non-American and non-Alaska partner award chart, this makes these tickets a solid deal. Here are some of the shortest and cheapest options to consider:
- Miami (MIA) to Bogota (BOG): 15,500 Avios in economy
- Miami (MIA) to Quito (UIO): 15,500 Avios in economy
- Miami (MIA) to Lima (LIM): 17,000 Avios in economy
How To Book Award Travel Using Avios
AwardWallet has covered the Avios award travel booking process at length. Check out our post on how to search and book flights with British Airways Avios for all the details. Redeeming Avios is a relatively simple process but takes some time as a result of the rather dated search tool.
To book flights on partners, there must be Saver award availability. That means you won't see every American or Alaska flight available with Avios, even if they're available for award travel within those airlines' own programs.
Related: What Flights Can I Book With Miles?
How To Earn More Avios
As mentioned earlier, you can transfer Avios between the programs that use Avios as their loyalty currency. Plus, you can boost your Avios balance by transferring credit card rewards as follows:
Credit cards earning points in any of those programs can be used as a way to earn more Avios. You also can earn Avios through airline credit cards, including the British Airways Visa Signature® Card, Iberia Visa Signature® Card, and Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card.
- 3X Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL
- 2X Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations
- 1X Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Related: British Airways Visa Card Full Review
The Bottom Line
Redeeming Avios for flights throughout the Americas can be a solid use of this versatile frequent flyer program currency. My favorite move is to redeem Avios for last-minute domestic flights that let you avoid outrageous cash fares. Even beyond Avios specifically, this is one of my favorite domestic award strategies.
We've done our best to highlight some of the other great options for redeeming Avios for American and Alaska flights. Even after devaluations, one of the best ways to use Avios can be for these partner flights.
Just keep the unique British Airways segment pricing model in mind when trying to find the best use for your points. And always price out your itineraries — opportunities exist to book similar flights for less through programs such as Qatar Airways Privilege Club (for now, at least).
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