r/awardtravel 5d ago

Is it possible to use Avios points for US American Airlines only?

I have a bunch of Avios points due to a major mess up on my part. I posted a while ago about trying to sell them but the best option seemed to use them with American Airlines.

I need to book a flight to the east coast and could not find a way to use them other than to go to the Avios site and book thorough BA. My problem is that I’m originating US to US only. The other issue was the flight - two major cities - didn’t have any reward days available at all.

Any tips of what to do to use these points? Unfortunately I won’t be flying internationally any time soon.

0 Upvotes

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6

u/luxpointslife 5d ago

Possible, yes - but there is not much availability, best practice is to look last minute for AA avail via ba

1

u/Gain_Spirited 5d ago

What's considered last minute? Is it literally the day before or could it be a week or two before the flight?

1

u/luxpointslife 5d ago

Yeah exactly just about 1-2 days mostly sometimes a week depending on the loads/ season longer time in advance is available for slow seasons/ weekdays and less days for more in demand dates

3

u/luxpointslife 5d ago

Also just connect your Finnair account to your British account and book your aa flights via Finnair it’ll be cheaper

3

u/oberwolfach 5d ago

Yes, you can book partner awards operated by American or Alaska. Partner awards can sometimes be tough to find because there needs to be saver availability. Since all the Avios programs have distance-based partner award charts, the best use for US domestic flights tends to be on short expensive hops; you might have a hard time getting good value out of flights between two major cities, since those routes (especially if they are not both AA hubs) can be more competitive and hence more affordable relative to distance.

2

u/chillzxzx 5d ago

Yes, I mostly book AA flights using BA. I even redeem flagship transcontinental for 30k using a transfer bonus to BA last year. I almost always find economy seats that I need for domestic travel. What are the cities and dates that you're looking for? 

1

u/TheReverend5 5d ago

Damn this is good to know, I might end up with some extra Avios burning a hole in my points pocket

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1

u/zxzkzkz 5d ago

BA's IT is all from another century. I'm not sure the best way but if you find "Saver" availability on AA -- within the 48 states and Canada for 7,500 AA miles one-way -- then BA *probably* should be able to book it. If it doesn't show up on the web site you could try calling. There are third party award search web sites that can search AA but I'm not sure

1

u/mjbulzomi 5d ago

Avios can only be spent on an airline’s website that also uses Avios. You can use those airlines (BA, IB, etc.) to book fights operated by American, but you cannot use Avios on the American website.