Short flights within Europe are a great way to spend British Airways Avios because of the distance-based award chart. For flights with a total distance under 650 miles, one-way redemptions start at 4,000 points off-peak and 4,500 for peak travel days in economy.
Business class is about double at 7,750 for off peak and 9,000 for peak. The taxes and fees range from $10-60 depending on departure and arrival airport, class of service, and the fuel surcharge. With British Airways award redemptions, you get a free checked bag which can be useful for trips that you have more than a carry-on.
We recently wrote how American Express 40% Transfer Bonus to British Airways now through November 15, 2018. With this bonus, you’ll now receive 1,400 British Avios per 1,000 Membership Rewards points, making this is a great way to use your Membership Rewards points.
British Airways has an extensive route network across Europe with flights departing from all four London area airports; Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), London City (LCY), and Standstead (STN).
Some example flight options include: London City (LCY) to Geneva (GVA), Heathrow (LHR) to Nice (NIC), and Standstead (STN) to Berlin (TXL). You can view a full list of short haul flights, on their website.
British Airways Executive Club award bookings have access to oneworld alliance partner flights and provides additional flight options for travel within Europe (all partner award flights will price at peak rate). This includes flights operated by Iberia, S7, Finnair, and Aer Lingus* (Aer Lingus award availability will not show on British Airways website and you must call to book). Some example flight options include Oslo (OSL) to Helsinki (HEL), Madrid (MAD) to Naples (NAP), and Moscow (DME) to St Petersburg (LED).
When booking awards with British Airways Executive Club Avios try to find routes without stopovers. This is because the total redemption amount is determined based off the sum of each segment. For example, a flight from Paris (ORY) to Casablanca (CMN) with a stopover in Madrid (MAD) will have price out at 12,000 Avios – 7,500 for Paris (ORY) to Madrid (MAD) and 4,500 for Madrid (MAD) to Casablanca (CMN).
While no airline award program is perfect for everything, British Airways distance-based award chart, offers great value with short-haul flights, and can be ideal solution to helping complete an open jaw Europe itinerary.
If you’re looking to redeem your American Express Membership Rewards Points, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or British Airways Avios, we recommend using the Juicy Miles award booking service, who can help you redeem for the lowest amount of miles while searching availability on partner airlines.
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Always check RyanAir because whereas the “taxes and fees range from $10-60 depending on departure and arrival airport, class of service, and the fuel surcharge,” with RyanAir, sometimes the ticket is cheaper than the “taxes and fees [which] range from $10-60” if you’re ok with sometimes flying into second-tier airports.
On every route I checked, for the trip we just took, it cost less to fly Ryan Air, than to pay the fees on BA.