When Canadians think about airline rewards British Airways Avios is probably not top of mind for most people, but Avios can be a great supplement to your other airline rewards. Because BA is a member of One World, the Avios program offers Canadians the ability to book flights on One World partner airlines, like American Airlines for U.S. travel and Cathay Pacific for Asian travel.
American Express offers the best credit cards in Canada for free travel, and the first card everybody should get is the American Express Gold card. The annual fee for this card is waived for the first year (and you’ll cancel before the year is done), and after spending $1500 in three months, you’ll get 25,000 Membership Rewards points. Further, when you apply, if you add an authorized user (doesn’t have to be a “real” person), you’ll get an additional 5,000 Membership Rewards points.
It has been a very long time since American Express has had a transfer bonus to one of their frequent flyer program affiliates. However, as of today, American Express Membership Rewards points are transferring at a 1:1.25 ratio to British Airways Avios! This is a 25% bonus on the normal 1:1 transfer.
TAM airlines, once a Star Alliance carrier and now part of the OneWorld alliance, has starting flying a fifth freedom routing of Toronto YYZ to New York City JFK to Sao Paulo GRU. The Toronto YYZ to New York City JFK route is starting March 29, and can now be booked.
There are dozens of frequent flyer programs available, but few provide as much value on a points-to-dollar basis than British Airways Avios points. Today’s Sunday Reader Question is: How do you best use British Airways Avios in Canada and the United States? Are they good?
