Can I use Avios for Alaska Airlines flights?

Can you spend your Avios points on flights on Alaska Airlines?

In this article I want to look at how you can use your Avios to fly with partner airlines like Alaska Airlines.

The good news is that you are not restricted to spending Avios points on British Airways.  BA is part of a global airline alliance called oneworld, and this allows you to redeem Avios for flights with all of the member airlines.

This means that you can book Avios flights on:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Cathay Pacific
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• SriLankan Airlines

British Airways also has additional partnerships with Aer Lingus, LATAM and China Southern.

How do you book Alaska Airlines flights with Avios?

It’s easy.  You do it exactly the same way that you would when booking Avios redemption flights on British Airways.

Go to ba.com, log in to the British Airways Executive Club section and then go to the Avios booking page.

The process is identical to booking a BA flight with points.

What are the cancellation rules on Alaska Airlines flights booked with Avios?

The cancellation and change fee rules are the same as if you had booked a BA flight.  You can cancel your flight up to 24 hours before departure, either online or by calling BA.

100% of your Avios will be refunded.

Your taxes and charges payment will also be refunded, less a £35 cancellation fee per person.  If the taxes and charges were less than £35 per person, you do not need to pay any extra.

In addition, Alaska lets you switch your flight to another one for just $50 – even if no award space is available. You must keep the same routing and travel on the same day. This can only be done within six hours of your original departure time – it is handy if you wake up in Hawaii on your last morning and decide you can’t bear to leave for a few more hours!

How many Avios will I need to book on Alaska Airlines?

British Airways has a separate pricing chart for reward flights on partner airlines. This chart is no longer publicly available and some partners now have slightly different rates, so treat it as nothing more than a guide.

Here is the table:

For flights under 651 miles, British Airways has separate pricing for North American flights. This is 7,500 Avios in economy and 15,000 in business, one way.  Ignore the Zone 1 pricing shown above.

There is one ‘tweak’ to remember.  Whilst Alaska Airlines call their premium cabin ‘First Class’, it is actually treated as Business Class for the purposes of earning and spending Avios.  This is fair, since it is comparable to British Airways short-haul Business Class.

As you can see, it is very easy to book Alaska Airlines flights with Avios points and it opens up a large number of new travel destinations for you.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.5 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

---

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.