The British Airways Executive Club program has significantly increased Avios redemption prices for short-haul flights operated by American Airlines and Alaska Airlines — without notice.
This is the second increase in these releases in the last 12 months, and this increase is unfortunately worse than the last, but there are solutions.
What changes has British Airways made?
You will now need the following British Airways Executive Club Avios will fly on American or Alaska:
- Flights up to 650 miles in length: 12,000 Avios in Main Cabin Economy (up from 8,250 Avios), or 24,000 Avios in First Class (up from 16,500)
- Flights 650-1,151 miles in length: 16,000 Avios in Economy (up from 11,000 Avios), or 32,000 Avios in First Class (up from 20,500).
- Flight length 1,151-2,000 miles: 18,000 Avios in Economy (up from 14,500 Avios), or 40,000 Avios in First Class (up from 29,000)
- A flight 2,000-3,000 miles in length: 20,000 Avios in Economy (up from 16,000 Avios), or 50,000 Avios in First Class (up from 42,500).
Using your Avios through BA’s Executive Club program to fly domestically with American or Alaska was a great points and miles sweet spot. Now, there’s not much, especially in first class, that we wouldn’t recommend redeeming Avios for unless it’s operated by a wide-body aircraft.
Related: Reserve Premium Economy Seats for the Cost of a Coach Seat on Select Wide-Body Domestic Routes
Fortunately, there is no change for flights over 3,000 miles in length, which primarily covers long-haul flights operated by American Airlines (Alaska does not operate long-haul flights).
Are there alternatives to paying less points and miles?
The best option for booking American or Alaskan domestic awards onward, especially if you have transferable credit card points, is to redeem them through the Qatar Airways Privilege Club program, which also uses Avios as its loyalty currency.
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While the program may eventually follow BA’s increased prices, for now, you can book the following:
- Flights up to 650 miles in length: 6,000 Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios in Main Cabin Economy or 12,500 Qatar Avios in First Class
- Flights 650-1,151 miles in length: 9,000 Qatar Avios in Economy or 16,500 Qatar Avios in First Class
- Flight length 1,151-2,000 miles: 11,000 Qatar Avios in Economy or 22,200 Qatar Avios in First Class
- A flight 2,000-3,000 miles in length: 13,000 Qatar Avios in Economy or 38,750 Qatar Avios in First Class
These Qatar Avios prices are now significantly cheaper than booking the same flights with BA Avios.
Related: American Airlines Review First Class on the Airbus A321neo from Philadelphia to San Francisco
Another option is to consider redeeming Avios through Finnair Plus instead of Executive Club, another program that uses Avios as its loyalty currency. Finnair Plus charges a flat 11,000 miles for domestic flights operated by American or Alaska in economy class, regardless of length. While before this BA devaluation, Finnair Plus was only a good deal for long-haul domestic flights, you’ll now pay less for all domestic flights with Finnair Plus than with BA’s Executive Club program.
Remember that you can transfer Avios between British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Finnair Plus as often as you like at a 1:1 rate.
Bottom line
Loyalty programs that increase certain prices without warning (or “depreciate,” as we call them) are an unfortunate but unavoidable reality of the points and miles industry. Sometimes, programs, say, give 30 days’ notice before raising prices to allow members to book any planned redemptions at existing rates.
Unfortunately, the British Airways Executive Club did not issue such a warning to its members, and using Avios through the British Airways program to book domestic flights on American Airlines and Alaska is no longer a good deal. Fortunately, prices through the Qatar Airways Privilege Club program and Finnair Plus, which also use Avios as their loyalty currency, remain more reasonable and you can easily transfer Avios in any direction at a 1:1 rate.