(Hat Tip to Tym2Trvl on Twitter)
Good morning everyone. British Airways made an announcement overnight that they would be eliminating the 4,500 Avios award band for all award travel on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. The lowest Avios award band for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines will be 7,500 Avios starting on February 2, 2016. All other Avios award bands for travel on all other Avios partners remain the same.
Here is the *modified* British Airways Avios award chart for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. The original award chart is still valid for all other Avios award bands. The original post (showing 4,500 Avios flights and US Airways award flights is here).
In this post, I will show you all the non-stop flights from San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), and San Jose (SJC) that you can book with British Airways Avios. Dan’s Deals has details for several other airports here. I have broken up all the flights into the various Avios bands, starting with the shortest distance. Note: Alaska Airlines and Aer Lingus can be booked with British Airways Avios, but you will have to call British Airways to book the award ticket. Please read Book British Airways Avios Award Tickets for more information.
Distances between 1 – 650 miles = 4,500 7,500 British Airways Avios
This is how to read each line of the table: “Alaska Airlines flies to RNO (Reno-Tahoe) from SJC (San Jose) for 4,500 7,5000 British Airways Avios and $5.60 in taxes/fees each way.” These short flights are great for getting around the Pacific Northwest and Southwest.
| Airline | Destination | Distance | Taxes Out | Taxes In | Total Taxes |
| Alaska Airlines | RNO (SJC) | 188 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | LAX (SJC) | 308 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | LAX (SFO) | 337 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | PSP (SFO) | 421 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | BOI (SJC) | 523 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | PDX (OAK) | 543 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | PDX (SFO) | 550 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | PDX (SJC) | 569 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | SLC (SJC) | 584 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | SLC (SFO) | 599 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | PHX (SJC) | 621 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | PHX (OAK) | 646 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
Distances between 651 – 1,151 miles = 7,500 British Airways Avios
This Avios band is great for getting to and from Seattle. You can probably find several award flights to each airport every day.
| Airline | Destination | Distance | Taxes Out | Taxes In | Total Taxes |
| American Airlines | PHX (SFO) | 651 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | SEA (OAK) | 672 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | SEA (SFO) | 679 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | SEA (SJC) | 697 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
Distances between 1,152 – 2,000 miles = 10,000 British Airways Avios
Alaska Airlines has several flights to Mexico, including Cabo San Lucas (SJD), Puerto Vallarta (PVR), and Guadalajara (GDL). Taxes/fees for flights to Mexico are higher than domestic flights and watch out for taxes/fees for flights from Mexico, they are even higher. This Avios band will get you to and from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Chicago (ORD), both huge American Airlines hubs.
| Airline | Destination | Distance | Taxes Out | Taxes In | Total Taxes |
| Alaska Airlines | SJD (SJC) | 1219 | $28.57 | $51.04 | $79.61 |
| Alaska Airlines | SJD (SFO) | 1248 | $28.57 | $51.04 | $79.61 |
| American Airlines | DFW (SJC) | 1438 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | DFW (SFO) | 1464 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | PVR (SFO) | 1554 | $28.57 | $56.71 | $85.28 |
| Alaska Airlines | GDL (SJC) | 1612 | $28.57 | $62.05 | $90.62 |
| American Airlines | ORD (SJC) | 1829 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | ORD (SFO) | 1846 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
Distances between 2,001 – 3,000 miles = 12,500 British Airways Avios
This is the sweet spot for people living on the West Coast. Alaska Airlines flies to all 4 Hawaiian Islands from Oakland and San Jose for 12,500 British Airways Avios each way. You can also fly all the way to the East Coast if you want.
| Airline | Destination | Distance | Taxes Out | Taxes In | Total Taxes |
| American Airlines | CLT (SFO) | 2296 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | OGG (OAK) | 2349 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | OGG (SJC) | 2355 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | KOA (OAK) | 2378 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | KOA (SJC) | 2384 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | HNL (OAK) | 2409 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | HNL (SJC) | 2417 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | LIH (OAK) | 2457 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| Alaska Airlines | LIH (SJC) | 2466 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | PHL (SFO) | 2521 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | MIA (SFO) | 2585 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
| American Airlines | JFK (SFO) | 2586 | $5.60 | $5.60 | $11.20 |
Here is the Great Circle Mapper showing the routes and distances to Hawaii, Aloha!:
Distances between 3,001 – 4,000 miles = 20,000 British Airways Avios
Distances between 4,001 – 5,500 miles = 25,000 British Airways Avios
Distances between 5,501 – 6,500 miles = 30,000 British Airways Avios
Distances between 6,501 – 7,000 miles = 35,000 British Airways Avios
I combined these last 4 bands into one section. Most of the flights, with the exception of Cathay Pacific’s flight to Hong Kong, cost 25,000 British Airways Avios each way. These flights have big taxes/fees (including fuel surcharges), so make sure you look at the out of pocket costs for your “free award flight.”
| Airline | Destination | Distance | Avios | Taxes Out | Taxes In | Total Taxes |
| Aer Lingus | DUB (SFO) | 5098 | 25000 | $15.70 | $40.20 | $55.90 |
| Japan Airlines | HND (SFO) | 5160 | 25000 | $290.00 | $319.11 | $609.11 |
| British Airways | LHR (SFO) | 5367 | 25000 | $256.80 | $377.42 | $634.22 |
| Cathay Pacific | HKG (SFO) | 6927 | 35000 | $100.40 | $123.28 | $223.68 |
Aer Lingus flights SFO-DUB (25,000 British Airways Avios + $15 taxes/fees):
You can actually search for Aer Lingus flights on United’s website, but it can be slow going. Calling British Airways might be faster and easier than hunting and pecking on United’s calendar (like I did for 40+ minutes).
Japan Airlines flights SFO-HND (25,000 British Airways Avios + $319 taxes/fees):
British Airways flights SFO-LHR (25,000 British Airways Avios + $256 taxes/fees):
Instead of spending 25,000 British Airways Avios and $256 in taxes/fees, I would probably choose the bottom Avios and Cash price. By selecting the bottom option, you are essentially buying British Airways Avios from British Airways for 1.14 cpp, a great deal in my opinion.
Cathay Pacific flights SFO-HKG (35,000 British Airways Avios + $100 taxes/fees):
Instead of spending 35,000 British Airways Avios and $256 in taxes/fees, I would probably choose the bottom Avios and Cash price. By selecting the bottom option, you are essentially buying British Airways Avios from British Airways for 1.12 cpp, a great deal in my opinion.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Can you still book 4,500 awards till Feb 2 ?
Yes, you can still book travel before Feb 2 at the 4,500 Avios price.
Sweet thanks
if i’m understanding their verbiage, i think you can BOOK before 2/2 for any flight till end of schedule, not TRAVEL BY 2/2.
I think you’re right, thank you for clarifying.
what about smf?
Nah, too far from the Bay Area :P
You forgot to add the telephone booking fee for booking with Alaska Airlines that they refuse to waive. I think you need to add $25 per ticket to the cost on the Alaska Airlines bookings too.
I’ve had the fee waived in the past, but I haven’t booked an Alaska Airlines Avios award ticket in the last year.
I booked 2 award flights on Alaska 2 separate occasions in the past 4 months and I didn’t ask British Airways to waive the booking fee, they just did it. Hope that will continue to be the case.
Thank you for the data points, glad to hear you were not charged the phone booking fee.
i too have not been charged for any Avios Alaska Air bookings.
Thanks for the datapoint. Good to hear :)
STS-SEA is still at 4,500 until 2/2.
Good deal, book that flight before 2/2
Hello, REALLY great article! Being a noob in this, I have 62k Avios points and want to do a trip to Europe.
My plan is to go from SFO to DUB then whatever cheap flight into Europe, I do have a question, is the Avios points used + Taxes always going to be the same regardless of time of the year?
example: Aer Lingus, DUB (SFO) 25000 Avios each trip all year round?
Much Appreciated!
Hmm, British Airways does offer off-peak award prices on certain routes, but I believe that only applies to routes operated by British Airways and a few partner airlines. The SFO-DUB route will never be more than 25k in economy. Search on United.com for award space.