US Airways and American Airlines are about to merge, and early next year US Airways will be part of American’s OneWorld Alliance which includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and more.
That means the miles of any OneWorld airline can be used to book US Airways flights starting early next year, possibly as soon as January 7.
One of the great values of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the ability to transfer its points into British Airways Avios points and use them on short non-stop flights. This includes flights on any OneWorld partner such as American Airlines (see how that works here) and soon US Airways.
With British Airways Avios you can get a round-trip ticket on its own flights and partners like American (and soon US Airways) for as little as 9,000 points. Why? Because the British Airways program bases its mileage prices for tickets on the distance your flight travels.
Here is the number of British Airways Avios points you will need for Economy Class tickets. Remember, Chase Sapphire Preferred® points can transfer directly to British Airways Avios at any time to take advantage of these prices:
Tier 1: 9,000 points roundtrip (4,500 one way) – flights of 0-650 miles each way
Tier 2: 15,000 points roundtrip (7,500 one way) – flights of 651-1150 miles each way
Tier 3: 20,000 points roundtrip (10,000 one way) – flights of 1151-2000 miles each way
Tier 4: 25,000 points roundtrip (12,500 one way) – flights of 2001-3000 miles each way
That compares to the minimum 25,000 miles you will pay for a flight if you book using regular US Airways or American Airlines miles. So the sweet spot here is using Avios for US Airways trips that are 2,000 miles or less roundtrip. Doing that you can save 5,000 – 14,000 points versus a traditional miles ticket.
The catch is you are charged for each segment you fly. So if you book a trip that has a connection, say Phoenix to Boston stopping in Charlotte, you will be charged points separately for Phoenix to Charlotte (1,773 mile distance = 10,000 points) and Charlotte to Boston (728 mile distance = 7,500 points) for a total of 17,500 points each way. But if you book a non-stop flight the distance flown is just 2,300 miles so it’s 12,500 points each way.
Your best deal is to find non-stop flights.
If you live in a US Airways hub, including Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Phoenix you are in luck with a lot of non-stop flilghts and you’ll have a lot of new options to use British Airways points on US Airways flights at cheap prices. Here are some examples…
Phoenix
US Airways has lots of flights non-stop from Phoenix that will be great deals with Avios to destinations including Costa Rica, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and more. Here are some examples with the price in points. Again, remember Chase Sapphire Preferred® points can transfer directly to British Airways Avios. And starting in 2014 you’ll be able to use Avios to book US Airways flights.
You can take a family of 4 to Los Angeles or Orange County for just 36,000 points roundtrip!
Destination
Distance
One-way price with Avios
Roundtrip price with Avios
Price w/ US Airways miles
Los Angeles
370
4500
9000
25000
Los Cabos
722
7500
15000
35000
Vancouver
1230
10000
20000
25000
New York
2153
12500
25000
25000
Cancun
1760
10000
20000
35000
San Jose, CR
2392
12500
25000
35000
Non-stop flights from Phoenix on US Airways
Philadelphia
Here are examples out of Philadelphia.
You can take your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend up to Montreal for a romantic weekend for just 18,000 points roundtrip for both tickets! Or get 2 tickets to Jamaica for just 40,000 points versus the 70,000 points you’d need if you used US Airways miles.
Destination
Distance
One-way price with Avios
Roundtrip price with Avios
Price w/ US Airways miles
Montreal
394
4500
9000
25000
Miami
1013
7500
15000
25000
Montego Bay
1480
10000
20000
35000
Cancun
1469
10000
20000
35000
New Orleans
1089
7500
15000
25000
Charleston
550
4500
9000
25000
Philadelphia nonstop flights with US Airways
Charlotte
You can take a family of 4 to Orlando to visit Disney World for just 36,000 points roundtrip!
Destination
Distance
One-way price with Avios
Roundtrip price with Avios
Price w/ US Airways miles
New York
544
4500
9000
25000
Orlando
468
4500
9000
25000
Aruba
1707
10000
20000
35000
Chicago
599
4500
9000
25000
Toronto
588
4500
9000
25000
Cancun
1041
7500
15000
35000
Charlotte nonstop flights on US Airways
Are there other catches?
You’ll need to find flights at the lowest ‘Saver’ level award. That can be tricky with US Airways as they are kind of stingy about making those frequent flier seats available, but it’s not impossible to find them and with deals like this it’s worth some flexibility.
You can’t do this just yet. US Airways has not yet joined the ‘OneWorld’ alliance and isn’t yet a partner of British Airways. But because they are merging with American Airlines they expect to be a partner in early 2014 and you’ll then be able to take advantage of this.
You’ll probably need to book over the phone when US Airways joins. British Airways might not have its computer system at BA.com ready to show US Airways award flight options. The good news is British Airways phone agents are friendly and hold times are reasonable at 1 800 452 1201.
You’ll need to pay some modest taxes and fees on your award ticket – less than $50 roundtrip in most cases.
It’s not just the Chase Sapphire Preferred…
We recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card if you plan to take advantage of this. It’s the most flexible card available that will let you transfer into British Airways Avios. You can also transfer your points into Southwest and United miles for many, many more options for reward tickets for you and your family.
> Click here to learn more and apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Other options include any Membership Rewards charge card from American Express, like the Premier Rewards Gold Card. They all transfer to British Airways Avios, often with bonuses for transferring, like 25% extra. Or, you can take advantage of the intro offer on the British Ariways credit card itself, which is often very generous. Check our bonus offers page for the latest.