It’s been less than a year since British Airways Executive Club devalued award flights on Alaska Airlines and American Airlines and they have done so once again – without any advance notice. As reported by One Mile at a Time the amount of Avios required to redeem for flights on Alaska and American have dramatically gone up.
The new Avios requirements
The following are one way awards amounts based on city pair distance:
| Distance Zone | Old Price Economy | New Price Economy | Old Price Business | New Price Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 650 miles | 8,250 | 12,000 | 16,500 | 24,000 |
| 651 to 1,151 miles | 11,000 | 16,000 | 20,500 | 32,000 |
| 1,152 to 2,000 miles | 13,000 | 18,000 | 29,000 | 40,000 |
| 2,001 to 3,000 miles | 16,000 | 20,000 | 42,000 | 50,000 |
The short haul awards of up to 650 miles in distance, which have been very popular for Canadians, especially out east have nearly triple in cost over the past decade! These were once famous for only being 4,500 Avios one way and several years ago those were bumped up significantly to 7,500 Avios. Still at 7,500 Avios, they were a decent deal when compared to other frequent flyer programs. Then in December of last year those were bumped up t0 8,250 Avios one way – definitely getting worse but still manageable considering how easy it is to earn Avios for Canadians. But now with this week’s update, they are now 12,000 Avios one way! As Ben at OMAAT states: just brutal!
As you can see from the example above, Toronto to New York City is now 12,000 Avios. This will be the same for Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax to New York as well as to Philadelphia, Charlotte and other Northeastern U.S. cities. Same goes for Toronto to Chicago and on the west side of country this affects all of Alaska’s flights out of Alberta and B.C. to Seattle and Portland.
The saving grace may be Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Luckily, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan only charges 4,500 Mileage Plan miles for those same short haul awards and also significantly less for the longer distance bands. The miles are currently harder to come by for Canadians since there is no credit card option outside of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card and Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard. If and when MBNA brings in the promised transfer to Alaska Airlines then all h*ll will break loose – in a good way with the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard. However, there are so many mixed messages and different information on the MBNA Alaska Airlines partnership coming from management and customer service that who knows what is really going on.
Wrapping it up
Here we have another unannounced change to award flight pricing that affects the Canadian points and miles market significantly. British Airways Executive Club has been one of the more popular non-Canadian programs for Canadians not just for flights across the ocean but for flights in North America thanks to their partners Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. Award flights on those partners just became way more expensive including the very popular short haul awards that enthusiasts like to use for quick getaways or positioning flights for award tickets out of major U.S. gateways.
Title image via American Airlines