While comparing award options during our Oman planning, I picked one short domestic flight to check through several loyalty programmes.
The example was Oman Air WY903 from Muscat to Salalah on September 18, 2027: a nonstop flight leaving Muscat at 8:20 in the morning and arriving in Salalah at 10:00. One hour and forty minutes in Business Class.
It wasn't a flight I'd booked or a confirmed leg of our itinerary. It was a way to compare what the exact same operated flight cost through three different loyalty programmes.
The flight didn't change. The quoted points price did - quite dramatically.
One flight, three prices
These were the one-way, per-person Business Class award quotes visible in searches captured on October 28, 2026:
| Programme used to search | Points quoted | Cash charges quoted |
|---|---|---|
| British Airways Avios | 14,000 Avios | US$34.40 |
| Alaska Atmos Rewards | 15,000 points | US$31 |
| American AAdvantage | 30,000 miles | CA$15.30 |
Each result related to Oman Air flight WY903 from Muscat (MCT) to Salalah (SLL), on the same date, departing at 8:20 AM and arriving at 10:00 AM. The American and British Airways captures explicitly show Business Class. I had also confirmed Business Class on Alaska during the search, although the new Alaska trip-summary screenshot shows the route and 15,000-point price without reproducing the cabin label.
These were search results, not tickets I booked. None establishes that the same award inventory, final fees or conditions would still be available when I went to pay.
The obvious comparison - and the less obvious one
At first glance, British Airways appears to be the winner on points: 14,000 Avios rather than 15,000 Atmos points, and less than half the 30,000 AAdvantage-mile quote.
That difference is real as a comparison of the numbers shown on these searches. But it isn't a straightforward comparison of value.
An Avios balance, an Atmos points balance and an AAdvantage miles balance are three different currencies. They aren't automatically equally easy or expensive to acquire. Depending on which balances I already hold, which cards or transfer partners I can use, and how I value those points, the best booking route could be different from the one with the smallest number.
Even the cash charges need care. Alaska and British Airways were displaying amounts in US dollars, while American's quote was in Canadian dollars. Listing them together is useful; treating the dollar signs as one currency isn't.
And I wouldn't make a transfer simply because an award showed up in a search. The exact flight, cabin, passenger count, bookability, refund conditions and final checkout total all matter before points leave a flexible account.
What this changed about my search
The useful discovery wasn't a magical way to make every flight cheaper. It was how much the booking programme can affect the quote for a flight operated by another airline.
If I had searched only American AAdvantage, I would have seen 30,000 miles. If I had checked Alaska, I would have seen 15,000 points. Through British Airways, the same Oman Air flight appeared at 14,000 Avios.
For this search, those were three very different starting points. I still needed to decide which points I was willing to use, and whether the award could actually be ticketed under acceptable conditions.
The lesson
When a flight is operated by an airline with several loyalty partners, I now want to know more than whether it appears on one award calendar.
I want to know who else can book that exact flight, what each programme asks for, and what I'll give up by spending or transferring those points.
The aircraft, route and cabin may be identical. The points price doesn't have to be.
Source note: Original American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and British Airways award-search screenshots captured October 28, 2026; departure September 18, 2027. Alaska Business Class was separately confirmed during the owner's fare-selection search. Quotes are historical, unbooked and subject to change. No currencies were converted or combined.