Originally Posted by
stifle
I, on the other hand, am getting tired of American posters coming onto the forum complaining about fees and charges on redemptions on EU airlines — it's standard practice this side of the Atlantic, so the assumption that everywhere should be like America grates.
Welcome to FlyerTalk, Luca314, nonetheless!
It's not just US carriers. When I book awards with SQ the fees are usually $100-200 for long haul flights. When I try to use my useless flyingblue miles, AF will try to charge me 200 euro in fees for a 1hr flight. It's usually basically the same price as buying a Y ticket and not using miles at all. I think I paid 500 euro in fees to take advantage of a "deal" over the summer and fly a friend to Europe with miles. Wow! a savings of 200-300 euro from buying the ticket! Hardly an award.