British Airways: it's for Americans too!

Giveaway today

Before I get into British Airways, I want to let everyone know about a giveaway on the blog today. AwardWallet was kind enough to furnish me with 25 free 6-month AwardWallet Plus subscriptions and 11 free AwardWallet One Cards. The Plus subscription allows you to see all of your mile expiration dates, download your points totals into Excel and also see your historical balances. The One Card puts all your mileage and points account numbers printed on one card for your convenience.

The first 11 commenters requesting a giveaway will receive a card AND a Plus subscription. The next 14 commenters will receive a Plus subscription. Comment away!

British Airways

British Airways is the national carrier of the United Kingdom. Nearly all of their flights originate or terminate in the U.K. 

British Airways' mileage currency is called Avios. Even though I've never flown on a British Airways plane in my life, and don't have any plans to do so in the near future, Avios are by far my favorite mileage currency. There are a few reasons for this:

Reason 1: Distance-based miles tickets

Unlike the conventional mileage currencies like Delta's that have different miles tiers based on the number of seats available, or like Southwest's that have their miles worth an exact amount of airfare, British Airways charges you in miles based on how far you fly. Here's a look at their "award chart", or the list of mile costs for any given flight:

Travel Distance in Miles (one-way, each segment)	Avios Miles Needed
0-649	4,500
640-1,149	7,500
1,150-1,999	10,000
2,000-2,999	12,500
2,999-3,999	20,000
4,000-5,499	25,000
5,500-6,499	30,000
6,500-6,999	35,000
7,000+	50,000

For a guy like me that does mostly quick short-distance trips, some of these mileage costs are literally an incredible deal. The only problem with this method is that the cost is not per trip, it's per segment. So if you want to go from London to Saint Louis and there's no direct flight on British Airways, you'll have to pay miles individually for each leg of the journey.

But wait, you say, I mentioned earlier I don't do any flying on British Airways. Why does it matter how cheap short flights are? Great question! That provides me a great segue into reason 2.


Reason 2: The oneworld alliance

I wasn't lying, I seriously have never flown British Airways. But I fly American Airlines all the time. And I use British Airways Avios miles to do it. They're both in the oneworld alliance so I can easily use my Avios miles on either airline (of course you know this because you read my post on alliances yesterday).

My girlfriend is currently in Saint Louis, which is 719 miles from Washington, DC, and which American Airlines flies to from DCA. So I just have to pony up 15,000 Avios miles for the roundtrip. If I had used American miles on the same flights, it would have cost me 25,000. 

Next year my girlfriend is moving to Chicago. American operates a ton of nonstops between DCA and O'Hare every day, but if I wanted to use American miles on them it would cost me 25,000 miles roundtrip. How much on British Airways? At 612 miles between the cities, this trip falls into the 4,500 one-way bucket with Avios miles. That means only 9,000 Avios miles roundtrip! Jeez!!


Here are some other fun city-pairs that can be had for 9,000 Avios roundtrip:

Saint Louis to Chicago
DC to Raleigh-Durham
New York to Toronto
Chicago to Toronto
San Francisco to Los Angeles
Miami to Montego Bay, Jamaica

Getting to nearby international destinations, for instance in the Caribbean, on Avios can make international travel much cheaper. Instead of paying a lot of Avios to fly one-stop to the Caribbean, or using a lot of miles on another airline to do so, you could buy a cash ticket or use miles to one of American's hubs near the destination you want to go, and then buy an Avios ticket for the next leg. Here's an example:

DC to Montego Bay - 5/31-6/7

Cheapest other miles only - United
47,500 miles (First Class Saver one-way, Economy Standard one-way) + $110

Cheapest other miles (to Miami) plus Avios (to Montego Bay) - United and American 
25,000 United miles + $10
9,000 Avios + $100

Savings: 13,500 miles

Reason 3: No late booking fees


Today is Friday the 19th. Let's say I want to go from Saint Louis to Chicago tomorrow. Two airlines fly direct to O'Hare.

United
12,500 miles
$2.50 taxes
$75 late booking fee

British Airways
4,500 miles
$2.50 taxes

You do the math. 

Having this late booking flexibility with Avios is key for people with uncertain schedules or for those who want to go away last minute.

Reason 4: An incredible credit card

The Chase British Airways card is incredible for two reasons. 

1. The signup bonus

You get 50,000 points for spending $1,000 in 3 months. That's a TON, especially when roundtrips can be had for as little as 9,000 miles. 

2. The miles per dollar

Most credit cards offer 1 mile per dollar. British Airways offers 1.5 miles. That's just ridiculous! In order to get one roundtrip to Chicago from DC, I just have to spend $6,000. That is a pittance compared to ~$25,000 for other airline credit cards. 

Caveats

Nothing is too good to be true. Here are some reasons why British Airways might not be right for you:

1. You travel long-distance

Avios prices are distance-based. If you travel long distances, say to Asia, British Airways will cost you a fortune more than with another airline.

2. You travel with multiple stops

Avios prices are also per-segment. If you can't find a nonstop oneworld flight to your destination, you'll have to pay separate prices for each flight on a one-stop itinerary. For instance, I can't fly directly to San Francisco from my base in DC. If I used Avios, I'd end up spending 29,000 Avios. With other airline programs, I'd spend 25,000. 

Wenneker Stamp of Approval? 

YES

All in all this is a fantastic program for short-distance and last-minute travelers. I heartily approve.

Here's a link to the British Airways credit card from Chase: British Airways CC

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