gegarrenton

Was beginning to think it'd never come!

jelliott04

We currently have 120K MR points. Mostly we fly AA (to Europe) and Southwest (domestically) so the MR points have been unusable for us as of late. I'm thinking about taking advantage of this 40% bonus but I hate to move my unusable points just to still have them be unusable. I know BA has high fees as well.

Can I use Avios easily to book an AA flight without fees? How does that work? I need to dig up the faq on using Avios.

mia

Scroll back to post 29.

FallenPlat

40%! I'm pretty happy. Domestic AA flights via Avios are the only reason I signed up for my Platinum card in the first place since even a 100,000 point sign-up bonus is worthless without an exit strategy. A potential Avios transfer bonus was also part of my thinking.

Here's how I look at it. Five salient points. First, by transferring to a foreign airline program such as Avios, you avoid Amex's $60/100,000 points transfer fee. Second, Avios only sees AA Saver space, which can be booked free on line (though sometimes this has to be helped along with a phone call). Third, by booking a domestic AA flight, you avoid all fuel surcharges. Fourth, you effectively have to book non-stop flights since each segment will be priced as a separate award. And fifth, domestic flight costs are pretty good, e.g., a sub-2000 mile mid-con flight is 20,000 points roundtrip.

And 20,000/1.4 = 14,286 points, according to my arithmetic. Being a DFW AA hub captive isn't all bad. The only downside I see is the gradual squeeze that AA is putting on Saver space. Yeah, I know: that's all like saying that I've just about perfected the electric car . . . except for the battery. But I'm still happy.

mia

Remember, Avois can also be redeemed for travel on flights operated by Alaska Airlines with no fuel fees. This isn't an AA-only feature.

robbierob03

I realize this is a simple question, so feel free to flame the noob if needed (but I really would appreciate an answer). Is the 40% bonus good for only one transfer during the promotional period, or can I make multiple transfers and have all of them get the bonus?

This is my first foray into Avios and I'd like to test the waters with one award flight booking before going all in.

aSiAnRiCk

Why I love Avios - PBI/FLL/MIA-ATL = 9K miles r/t vs 25K with AAdvantage. And I'm flying AA since it's BA partner.

VisaW

Yes, you can do multiple transfers. I did two last year during the 30% bonus period.

Agreed. DCA-JFK/LGA/BOS here in the Northeast is an equally good steal.

fayewolf

Home from SFO- i know there is SFO-DUB via aer lingus, but their business class seat is crap? I also was not able to find any award seats first half of 2015 for business class by looking at Quantas (not member of expert flying and UA is not letting me search )

My main destination is Europe or asia , any suggestions? I'm really hoping to only travel on business class

dukerau

Yes, true, Aer Lingus business class is not great, though they are upgrading it in 2015. To avoid fuel surcharges to Europe, the only flights you can book with BA are Aer Lingus or AirBerlin. AirBerlin is much better, but they don't service SFO. You'd have to have a domestic stop in LAX, ORD, JFK, or MIA (or RSW, but I doubt that's convenient). For travel to Asia, AA is the only airline that you won't get hit with fuel surcharges with. CX's fuel surcharges are the lowest I believe if you're willing to pay.

fayewolf

Many thanks for the information! I'm a noob for Avios points. ALways just been using UA *alliance.


I don't mind doing LAX- Europe at all . I will have close to 200K Avios if converting all my AMEX points over.
I can take a domestic AA flight to LAX. Then search for flights from LAX via airberlin?
How are the C class availability for AirBerlin? Best way to search? Thanks!

fayewolf

I used the AA to search for C class avail in March 2015, and found many avail to go from LAX to Dusseldorf via Air Berlin. Is this the same award that's available via BA?

Sorry for all these questions. I'm considering moving all my amex points over to Avios.

GUWonder

Unless AA is showing phantom AB availability -- and it has happened before -- the same award space is available using BA points. Sometimes, however, you'll either have to book each AB segment separately on BA's website or call up BA and have them book the AB flights since they don't always show up on the BA site. [It sometimes seems that BA has tried to hide the AB award space, as what used to come up reliably on the BA website more often now requires calling up.]

UAAAPeter

I am surprised it's back to 40%. I think it was 20% on Diners last time and I was not happy.

BA is also good for short distance travel in Europe. And enables stopovers in London. So, EDI-LHR stopover-FRA for example. I seem to recall reasonable fees.

Also I once got Hanover to Malaga for a reasonable amount of miles and $. I suspect small airports are best for rewards in Europe - like they are here.

Gagravarr

Short haul flights within Europe on BA come under "Reward Flight Saver", with the taxes and fees capped at £35 for a return. If you're connecting to/from somewhere else in the UK, the London-there leg is free. I'd suggest this HeadForPoints article as a good intro to both