Updated 16th January 2026
Summary
A one-way British Airways reward flight from London to Los Angeles costs 33,000 Avios plus £85 in Economy, 52,250 Avios plus £200 in Premium Economy, 110,000 Avios plus £249.50 in Business Class and 93,500 Avios plus £574.54 in First Class on an off-peak date. On a peak date, the corresponding prices are 38,500 Avios plus £85 in Economy, 74,250 Avios plus £200 in Premium Economy and 110,000 Avios plus £249.50 in Business Class.
Overview
All of the points and surcharges referenced on this page are for a single journey (not return) and per person. Surcharges on a return flight may be less than double that of a single, depending on the element of the surcharge that relates to airport and country taxes.
You’ll need at least 33,000 to fly from London to Los Angeles in economy, and that’s on an off-peak day. At peak times it will cost 38,500 Avios.
The Premium Economy cabin (World Traveller Plus) will require an extra 19,250 Avios. Points needed for Premium Economy range from 52,250 off peak to 74,250 on peak dates
You’ll need between 110,000 (off peak) and 110,000 (peak) Avios to fly in Business Class. That’s a minimum of 57,750 more Avios than Premium Economy.
First Class seats cost 93,500 Avios off peak. No peak First Class price is currently recorded for this route. First Class passengers can also select seats without an additional fee.
- British Airways flies to Los Angeles only from London Heathrow.
- Example flight numbers for this route are: BA0283, BA0281, BA0269, BA0295, BA0295, BA0191, BA0177, BA0113
- Typical flight time for this route: 11h 25m
Find out which dates are peak, or off-peak in 2026 for BA.
Los Angeles Avios needed table
| Cabin | Avios Needed (Off-Peak) | Avios Needed (Peak) |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 33,000 | 38,500 |
| Premium Economy | 52,250 | 74,250 |
| Business | 110,000 | 110,000 |
| First | 93,500 | Not available |
Los Angeles Avios & cash combinations
On most flights you can choose to reduce the number of points needed for a flight, and pay a higher cash element. This is called Reward Flight Saver. When you select a flight during a search for a reward flight you’ll see a breakdown of the points you need at the base of the page. Clicking “more pricing options” will give you five alternatives, where you use fewer points but pay more cash.
This is useful if you don’t have enough Avios for a flight OR if you want to preserve more points for the future. You do not select an alternative points/cash combination on this page. Click Continue and you’ll be able to make a decision on the next page. By default BA will select the combination with the highest number of Avios and lowest cash element based on the Avios you currently have in your account or household account.
| Cabin Option | Off-Peak (Avios + Cash) | Peak (Avios + Cash) |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 33,000 + £85 25,350 + £165 17,900 + £240 12,750 + £265 9,400 + £300 6,400 + £325 |
38,500 + £85 32,000 + £165 27,500 + £240 21,000 + £265 15,500 + £300 9,650 + £325 |
| Premium Economy | 52,250 + £200 40,750 + £255 35,750 + £315 28,600 + £360 22,000 + £420 14,350 + £470 |
74,250 + £200 60,500 + £255 55,000 + £315 45,100 + £360 33,000 + £420 22,000 + £470 |
| Business | 110,000 + £249.50 92,500 + £399.50 82,500 + £529.50 63,900 + £709.50 49,500 + £909.50 34,400 + £1,059.50 |
110,000 + £249.50 92,500 + £399.50 82,500 + £529.50 63,900 + £709.50 49,500 + £909.50 34,400 + £1,059.50 |
| First | 93,500 + £574.54 84,250 + £724.54 70,150 + £884.54 56,150 + £1,049.54 51,150 + £1,104.54 46,750 + £1,164.54 |
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How to make your Avios go further
If you’re based in the UK then there’s a way to make your Avios go even further, and that’s through a Companion Voucher. I’ve written extensively about these amazing vouchers. They’re not free in that you have to spend at least £15,000 on an Amex Card, but they’re absolutely worth it. Read my guide on is a BA companion voucher worth it? to understand how to use a 2-4-1 voucher. On top of that, you can also use a Barclays Cabin Upgrade voucher to reduce the number of points needed. You can get these by either being a Barclays Premier customer, or by hitting a spend level on a Barclaycard.
How can you search for reward seat availability?
BA offers a number of ways to search for reward seats: their “Reward Flight Finder”, their in-app “Reward Flights” section and just making a dummy booking. There are also third party tools that you can use, although I’ve managed to find plenty of seats without having to pay for a platform. I wrote about the best (and worst) ways to search for Avios availability. If you’re looking to book seats to a popular destination then planning ahead is critical: seats become available 355 days before the flight date.
Getting Avios seats on flights to Los Angeles
British Airways flies to LA once or twice daily, using either a 777 or an A380. The latter has much larger First and Business Class cabins, but note that the Biz seats are the old style Club World seats. The A380 refurbishment programme is due to start in 2026 which will see the plan upgrade with the new Club Suites as well as the brand new First suite. It will be the first plane to get that seat. As you might expect, LA to London Heathrow attracts a lot of passengers, which means that securing reward seats can be challenging. At the time of writing there is a reasonable level of Business Class seats but virtually no First seats. IF you need to get to LA using points, an alternative would be to connect in San Fransisco (although that can also have limited availability) or a second tier airport like Phoenix or San Diego. BA usually has good availability to both cities, and flights in to LA take just over an hour. If LA is your absolute focus then booking your seats 355 days out from your desired travel date will mean that there are a minimum of four release at midnight GMT.
Our Avios Calculator
You can use our interactive calculator to find the Avios needed between destinations. It’s easy to use, and contains up to date Avios and surcharge data for all the destinations that BA flies to across the World. Use our Avios points calculator.