Note: A lot of info in this post refers to the 35% transfer bonus between AMEX Membership Rewards and British Airways Avios that runs until June 7, 2013. More info here: Deal Blitz Alert: 35% Transfer Bonus from AMEX to British Airways Avios. If you’re reading after June 7, 2013 you can still get some great value out of your Avios miles.

British Airways/Iberia Avios miles are [glossy term=”distance based awards”] distance based awards:  on the surface, it seems like you’re getting a bad deal on award redemptions. But, as with anything involving miles, it opens up possibilities to find great values on non-stop short distance flights.

One partner award that especially interests me is the direct flights from Miami on AA. Miami ends up being a short hop in many cases to exotic and foreign destinations. A big thing I look for when I travel is to get away from what’s familiar and comfortable — and you don’t necessarily have to travel across the globe to achieve that.

Using your British Avios to book on American Airlines can be your answer to a cheap vacation in this part of the world:

Non-stop flights to the Caribbean & Latin America on American Airlines — From Miami-MIA/FLL

View AAtoCaribMIA in a larger map

Non-stop flights to the Caribbean & Latin America on American Airlines — From New York-JFK/EWR/LGA

View AAtoCaribNYC in a larger map

Non-stop flights to the Caribbean & Latin America on American Airlines — From Dallas-Ft. Worth-DFW

View AAtoCaribDFW in a larger map

How to Book

1. Search AA.com –> Book Award Travel for available dates. If you’ve made your mind up on a destination, then search until you find dates that will work and make notes. If you’re flexible on destination but have fixed dates, then I suggest searching all of the routes and making detailed notes– this will help you put the puzzle together later. Full guide on searching American Airlines availability.
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2. If you don’t already have the miles, Transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to BA Avios
   
   
   
   
3. Login to BritishAirways.com –> Executive Club –> Spending Avios –> Book flights with Avios and search the exact dates and cities you found from the AA website. If all is well, you should find your flights. Proceed through the booking process. I always select the top choice which represents points due + taxes only. Any of the choices further down are essentially giving you a choice to buy Avios for 1.3 cents. Some might see this as a good deal, others not. Personally, I skipped it because, with the promo going on, I can transfer AMEX points to BA Avios at a cheaper price than buying those same miles for 1.3 cents/Avios. For example, if you expect to earn 1.5 cents/points on your AMEX and you add in the 35% bonus, you’ll find that you can transfer AMEX miles to Avios at a cost of 1.11 cents/point vs buying them for 1.3 cents.
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4. All done! You can now head back to AA.com and add the new itinerary to your account by searching the flights and dates. This should load up your full reservation in the American Airlines system and allow you to review and pick your seats.

Full Flight Options

If you just want to go somewhere over specific dates, I recommend printing the chart below and methodically searching AA.com for award availability and making notes.