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Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Old Dec 1st 2018, 8:28 pm
  #976  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by louie
Let me guess. Via LHR would be with BA across the Atlantic; via PHL with AA. If so, it's purely BA's greed. The difference is not genuine taxes but simply BA's "carrier imposed charges" which stay firmly in their pockets.
High fees also charged when redeeming AA on routes BA also fly.
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Old Dec 13th 2018, 11:50 am
  #977  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by tonrob


High fees also charged when redeeming AA on routes BA also fly.
Update on BA class action suit. DH and I received 50k points, between the two of us, from excess fuel surcharges between 2006 and 2013. These were flights we took using points, but paid the fuel charges. Shocked to find 50k points in our accounts. Then later in the day we received e-mails confirming it. Suit is called Dover vs British Airways.
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Old Dec 14th 2018, 8:43 pm
  #978  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by tonrob


High fees also charged when redeeming AA on routes BA also fly.
Ah, so it's not that I chose a route through LHR vs not LHR, it's that I chose a flight that was 'operated by BA'. Is this typical of how 'partner airlines' treat partners, or is this something unique to BA?
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Old Dec 15th 2018, 10:48 am
  #979  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Ah, so it's not that I chose a route through LHR vs not LHR, it's that I chose a flight that was 'operated by BA'. Is this typical of how 'partner airlines' treat partners, or is this something unique to BA?
If you use BA Avios points to fly on BA you will be charged high fees. If you use BA Avios points to fly on AA you will pay high fees. If you use AA points you will not be charged high fees. It's whose points you use.
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Old Dec 16th 2018, 6:40 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Mallory
If you use BA Avios points to fly on BA you will be charged high fees. If you use BA Avios points to fly on AA you will pay high fees. If you use AA points you will not be charged high fees. It's whose points you use.
So BA sucks, then, basically! (their mileage program, that is!)
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Old Dec 18th 2018, 12:17 pm
  #981  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Steerpike
So BA sucks, then, basically! (their mileage program, that is!)
Well basically, I just think of it as getting a ticket for half price. It's not great! I think you can still use Avios for airport hotels, which is nice.

You can also buy a ticket full price, and then use the points to upgrade to business.

Last edited by Mallory; Dec 18th 2018 at 12:22 pm.
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Old Dec 20th 2018, 1:49 pm
  #982  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Mallory
If you use BA Avios points to fly on BA you will be charged high fees. If you use BA Avios points to fly on AA you will pay high fees. If you use AA points you will not be charged high fees. It's whose points you use.
Not completely true. If you use AA miles on BA routes you’ll also get fleeced.
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Old Dec 20th 2018, 1:53 pm
  #983  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Steerpike
So BA sucks, then, basically! (their mileage program, that is!)
Nope. All programs have their sweet (and shitty) spots. BA’s sweet spots are mainly short flights (e.g. direct domestic US flights where the number of miles required can be much less than AA) or upgrades. They continue to serve me very well in these circumstances. No-one should redeem BA miles for long haul (or hotels) unless they’re certain they can’t get value via the ways I’ve described.
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Old Dec 20th 2018, 3:40 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by tonrob


Nope. All programs have their sweet (and shitty) spots. BA’s sweet spots are mainly short flights (e.g. direct domestic US flights where the number of miles required can be much less than AA) or upgrades. They continue to serve me very well in these circumstances. No-one should redeem BA miles for long haul (or hotels) unless they’re certain they can’t get value via the ways I’ve described.
Can you elaborate on the highlighted bit - did you mean domestic UK flights? I wasn't aware that BA operated short domestic US flights. Or do you mean you can get good value using BA miles on US domestic flights operated by, say, AA?
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Old Dec 20th 2018, 4:17 pm
  #985  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by tonrob


Not completely true. If you use AA miles on BA routes you’ll also get fleeced.
Well no sane person would use AA points on BA. LOL.
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Old Dec 20th 2018, 4:19 pm
  #986  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Can you elaborate on the highlighted bit - did you mean domestic UK flights? I wasn't aware that BA operated short domestic US flights. Or do you mean you can get good value using BA miles on US domestic flights operated by, say, AA?
We have used BA miles to fly London Heathrow to Paris and to Frankfurt. Quite a good deal.
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Old Dec 20th 2018, 6:17 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by tonrob


Nope. All programs have their sweet (and shitty) spots. BA’s sweet spots are mainly short flights (e.g. direct domestic US flights where the number of miles required can be much less than AA) or upgrades. They continue to serve me very well in these circumstances. No-one should redeem BA miles for long haul (or hotels) unless they’re certain they can’t get value via the ways I’ve described.
Similar with Alaska Airlines US domestic flights.
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Old Dec 21st 2018, 11:32 am
  #988  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

TonRob: Question. Yesterday we received new BA/Chase contactless credit cards. Do you know if we can actually use these in the UK like others do? Or do we still have to sign for it? Anyone know.
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Old Dec 22nd 2018, 4:31 am
  #989  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Basic Economy vs Main Cabin fares on AA -

Not sure how long they've been doing this, but when you book a domestic (US) flight on AA nowadays, they 'tease' you with a 'basic economy' fare, which is generally a good bit lower in price than the 'main cabin' fare (EG, $150 RT PHX-SFO vs $250, or $340 RT PHX-BNA vs $420). If you choose the 'basic economy' option, they throw warnings at you as follows, trying to get you to pay the higher fee:
  • seats assigned at check-in
  • not eligible for upgrades
  • no flight changes or refunds
  • board in last group (group 9).
I f**ing hate middle seats and I hate late boarding (bins always full) so I typically decline. But last week I decided to read all the small print. Even though it says 'seats assigned at checkin', you can actually reserve a seat for a small fee 48 hours before departure, and even though they say boarding in group 9, if you have the AA Mastercard then they still let you board 'early'. So I booked a $150 RT flight PHX-SFO, and it worked like a charm - I was able to reserve a forward window seat for less than $20 in the 48 hour window, and I boarded early with my card. I'm still about $80 ahead though I haven't made the return flight yet. They make it very hard to confirm that you still keep your early boarding privileges but I did eventually find it in the small print and sure enough it was correctly printed on my boarding pass. So worth taking the risk, in my opinion!
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Old Dec 22nd 2018, 5:57 am
  #990  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Can you elaborate on the highlighted bit - did you mean domestic UK flights? I wasn't aware that BA operated short domestic US flights. Or do you mean you can get good value using BA miles on US domestic flights operated by, say, AA?
No, I meant US (but also applies elsewhere) thanks to BA’s distance-based reward structure. Good explanation here:

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/maxim...s-award-chart/
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