Use the Amex Rewards 40% Bonus With Short-Haul, Mid-Haul, and Hawaii Awards.
– Two tickets for less than the price of one on short-haul flights, or
– Hawaii for only 8,750 miles more than economy, or
– Mid-haul flights only for 3,750 miles more than economy.
This domestic deal is a double play. It takes advantage of an evergreen strategy using award chart discrepancies along with a new, credit-card bonus-transfer deal.
Know First: Award chart discrepancies
Award charts come in two flavors: “zone” and “flight-distance.” The former divides the world into regions, the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada, for example, and every destination within the zone costs the same number of miles. A flight-distance chart, on the other hand, charges miles based on the distance flown.
Opportunity knocks when one airline’s alliance partner uses a zone chart (American) and a partner (British Airways) uses a flight-distance one: they can be played against each other.
Know Second: Credit card transfer deal
British Airways and its point-transfer partner, American Express Rewards, are currently offering a 40% transfer bonus deal (for details go here), valid through Sept. 17.
How good is the deal combo?
Domestic Business Class for just 21,500 miles round-trip
One Example: New York-Miami flights in Business Class on American cost 50,000 AAdvantage miles round-trip. But using British Airways miles, that flight costs as few as 30,000 miles round-trip, and with the transfer bonus through Sept. 17, requires only a 21,500-point transfer.
That amounts to two tickets for less than the price of one in Business Class on American, or 3,500 fewer miles than coach. (See screenshot below.)
Here are 21 short-haul routes that offer American domestic Business Class for 21,500 Amex Reward transfer points when using BA miles, for example (innumerable more routes possible):
Atlanta to/from: Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia.
Chicago to/from: Albuquerque, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia.
Dallas to/from: Albuquerque, Charlotte, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix.
Denver to/from: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles.
New York to/from: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Miami, Orlando.
Hawaii Business Class Steal: only 8,750 miles more than economy
Los Angeles-Honolulu on American costs 80,000 AAdvantage miles round-trip. But using British Airways miles that flight costs 75,000 miles round-trip, and with the transfer bonus, only 53,750 transferred points.
That amounts to getting Business Class for only 8,750 miles more than economy.
Phoenix to/from Honolulu and Maui, and Los Angeles to/from Maui cost is the same.
Mid-haul flights only 3,750 miles more than economy
Los Angeles-Chicago on American costs 50,000 AAdvantage miles round-trip. But using British Airways miles, the cost is 40,000, and the Amex points required, given the bonus, amount to only 28,750. That is equivalent to getting Business Class for only 3,750 miles more than economy.
Here are 23 “sample” mid-haul routes that offer American domestic Business Class for 28,750 Amex points when transferred to BA miles.
Charlotte to/from: Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake, and Phoenix.
Dallas to/from: Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Miami to/from: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Phoenix.
Philadelphia to/from: Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and Salt Lake.
Side note: You do not need miles in a BA mileage account to check for space online, but you do need to be logged into your BA account. So before transferring Amex points, check availability online or call (800) 452-1201. My last transfer time was instantaneous.