British Airways Devalues American Airlines and Alaska Airlines Awards

British Airways Executive Club has quietly devalued Avios award redemptions with its Oneworld partners, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines.

As reported by AwardWallet, the UK’s flag carrier quietly increased the number of Avios required on routes with two of its partner airlines.

British Airways Devalues American Airlines and Alaska Airlines Awards

If you’re looking to book Avios award redemptions with British Airways Executive Club partners, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, you’ll now find that many routes have increased in cost.

The award ticket price increase was introduced without any announcement from British Airways. The increase is not a flat-rate jump, but rather, routes have increased anywhere from 10–32% in terms of the number of Avios needed to book.

Redeeming flights on Alaska Airlines and American Airlines has historically been based upon a fairly consistent partner award chart.

With this round of devaluation, however, the cost of many routes have jumped, with some increasing as much as 32%.

For example, prior to the devaluation, a one-way economy flight on Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Anchorage would’ve cost 11,000 Avios, plus taxes and fees.

Today, with the devaluation in effect, the same Seattle to Anchorage flight now costs 14,500 Avios, representing nearly a 32% increase.

We can also see the devaluation of the Alaska Airlines route from Seattle to Honolulu.

Previously, you could expect to spend 13,000 Avios plus taxes on fees to book a one-way economy fare on this route. Now, with the devaluation, the same redemption costs 16,000 Avios, or a 23% increase.

American Airlines award flights follow the same trend.

Short-haul flights within North America used to cost 7,500 Avios for a one-way ticket. With the new increases, a flight from Toronto to New York City now costs 8,250 Avios.

This new price represents a 10% increase to the number of Avios needed to redeem for this route.

Additionally, in the past you could fly one-way in economy on American Airlines from Dallas–Fort Worth to Los Angeles for 11,000 Avios, plus taxes and fees. Today, that same route clocks in at 14,500 Avios.

Similar to the Alaska Airlines Seattle to Anchorage route, this is a 32% increase in cost.

Comparing Avios Short-Haul Pricing with Other Programs

To see how this fits into the rest of the points ecosystem, let’s compare these redemptions to other airline…