Questions and Answers

Mid-level flyer. About 90% domestic, almost 100% AA. Lifetime Platinum, so status is not a consideration.

Upcoming business trip, DONE3 round the world. My gut says to collect AA miles given the elite level bonus. However, many say Avios are more valuable.

Should I collect AA miles and get more or should I collect Avios because they’re worth more?

Thoughts?

90% domestic travel, almost 100% AA. Lifetime platinum so status not an issue.

Upcoming DONE3 business trip and the question is where to post miles. Avios seem to be more valuable, but with AA I’ll get my PLAT elite bonus.

Are Avios more valuable? So much so that I should forego the elite bonus miles on AA?

i went from AA to BA and am now collecting AA points whilst maintaing status with BA. i never actually fly AA hard metal. i come to realize that the AA points are more a valuable for partner airlines for international travel. for example: Qatar business class LHR-BKK on A380s cost me 70,000 AA points and it would have cost 120,000 Avios points. i’ll use Avios only for BA flights from now on. the fuel surcharges are also heftier. i just used 80,000 AA points for First Class Qantas from Sydney-London and only paid US$60 !?! it’s always hundreds and hundreds with BA tickets.

p.s. the AA miles are also more versatile — example for use on Etihad (London-Perth) which you can’t use Avios points for. i reckon it all depends on where you fly and which partner airlines you like! BA J seats are 2-4-2 — pretty grim compared to Cathay 1-2-1.

@Flylots — I wouldn’t say Avios are [I]more[/I] valuable, just more useful for shorthaul economy redemptions. Crediting to AA is likely the better option in this case.

Thanks Tiffany, I think that’s the issue that was causing me concern. Since I expect to use the Miles more for long haul, AA it is. Although, we did use miles for my husband to join me for part of the trip and 20k Avios for (even regional) business class SIN-HKG seems the bargain!

Duane. Thanks for the comments. I have a soft spot for Club on BA, but 8 across is looking ever more unsustainable. Going back to back LHR-BOM on BA followed by DEL-HKG on CX a few days later will certainly prove that point I think!