Diners Club Club Rewards - AA Bonus vs. BA

Last year there was a bonus for transferring DC points to AA, it was something like 41,000 miles for a 35,000 transfer so nothing to write home about. However, the BA program has among the highest fees in the industry. I paid about $600 per ticket for my last "free" ride, so AA at any kind of bonus may be better depending upon your individual circumstances.

Is the AA bonus a generally annual event or a one time thing?

Can't you convert Diners points to BA who is a partner of AA and then fly AA? I think prior threads all showed a really good conversion rate. 100k Diners = 150k BA.

Last year there was a bonus for transferring DC points to AA, it was something like 41,000 miles for a 35,000 transfer so nothing to write home about.

[...]

Is the AA bonus a generally annual event or a one time thing?
It's not one-time, but it's not as annual as the BA bonus, and it is generally (not just this last time) nothing to write home about.

However: AA and Diners have been connected up to now via Citi, but Citi just sold Diners Club North America (to Bank of Montreal), so I don't know if AA bonuses from the past can be used as a predictor of the future across this sale.

Can't you convert Diners points to BA who is a partner of AA and then fly AA? I think prior threads all showed a really good conversion rate. 100k Diners = 150k BA.
If you read the post you were replying to carfully, you'll see he already mentions BA, but that the fees and surcharges on BA awards are much higher than on AA awards. (Often hundreds of dollars higher on the same route!)

Also, the mileage charts are different, and it takes more BA miles than AA miles to fly from the US to what BA calls Europe 2 (while AA has the same mileage "price" for basically all of Europe).

(Finally, at present you can't fly AA trans-Atlantic using BA miles. Though you can fly other AA routes using BA miles.)

...the fees and surcharges on BA awards are much higher than on AA awards.

Not when redeeming BA miles for travel on AA. You can see this if you create a dummy award booking on ba.com for (example) a domestic US route. BA generally requires the same amount of miles for a domestic USA economy class redemption, but more for first class because they do not distinguish between two and three class aircraft in the way that AAdvantage does.

a couple of points -

1. AA miles are great because of the lifetime status.

2. mia is correct and it seems so odd, BA will charge you $500 to redeem on BA metal and just a few dollars to redeem on AA.

Not when redeeming BA miles for travel on AA. You can see this if you create a dummy award booking on ba.com for (example) a domestic US route. BA generally requires the same amount of miles for a domestic USA economy class redemption, but more for first class because they do not distinguish between two and three class aircraft in the way that AAdvantage does.

... it seems so odd, BA will charge you $500 to redeem on BA metal and just a few dollars to redeem on AA.

These fees are fuel surcharges. When another carrier operates the flight BA incurrs zero fuel cost, and the surcharge does not apply unless the operating carrier adds one. AA does not use fuel surcharges because (in my understanding) the FAA requires fuel cost to be included in the base fare.

The other fee which commonly appears on BA tickets is the UK Air Passenger Duty which applies only to depatures from UK airports. AA also adds this fee to award tickets. I have the credit card reciepts to prove it :rolleyes: .

[QUOTE=mia;13438097] AA does not use fuel surcharges because (in my understanding) the FAA requires fuel cost to be included in the base fare.
[QUOTE]

Good point, just this weekend I redeemed two BA awards for travel on AA metal: a 35K roundtrip HNL-East Coast for $10 in total taxes, and a 17.5K one-way HNL- East Coast for $5 in total taxes. Interestingly enough aa.com showed that the exact same flights for my particluar one-way would have cost 22.5K AA miles as opposed to only 17.5K BA miles on ba.com. I jumped on the bandwagon a few months ago and got in on the Chase BA Visa promo that yielded 100K bonus miles at a total cost of only $75 (the annual fee for the first year), I'm absolutely thrilled with the results.

BA generally requires the same amount of miles for a domestic USA economy class redemption, but more for first class because they do not distinguish between two and three class aircraft in the way that AAdvantage does.
Well, one of the reasons I want to fly AA in the US is because as a (lifetime) elite I get access to exit rows when making reservations. If AA still had MRTC like it did when I flew my first flight on AA about half a dozen years ago, I might not mind sitting anywhere else, but with the way AA planes are tighened up now and me being tallish, it's exit row or up front, and it sounds like up front BA miles (on 2-class AA planes) is a bad deal, and unless you know of a trick I don't know how I'd secure exit row at time of booking if I'm booking with BA miles. (I have zero status with BA.)

If I can't reserve an exit row seat and I have to fly domestic coach (and because of an award I can't qualify for an upgrade), AA suddenly becomes one my last choice airlines.

and unless you know of a trick I don't know how I'd secure exit row at time of booking if I'm booking with BA miles. (I have zero status with BA.)

I may be missing something, but as an AA elite, shouldn't you be able to get exit row in advance, even if booked with BA miles?

BA's site may not allow you to pick your seat, but I imagine adding your AA number to the record and calling AA should allow you to pick an exit row seat.

These fees are fuel surcharges. When another carrier operates the flight BA incurrs zero fuel cost, and the surcharge does not apply unless the operating carrier adds one. AA does not use fuel surcharges because (in my understanding) the FAA requires fuel cost to be included in the base fare.

The other fee which commonly appears on BA tickets is the UK Air Passenger Duty which applies only to depatures from UK airports. AA also adds this fee to award tickets. I have the credit card reciepts to prove it :rolleyes: .

the dirty little secret of mileage programs that US plans are much better than overseas ones - BA especially... :(

I may be missing something, but as an AA elite, shouldn't you be able to get exit row in advance, even if booked with BA miles?
BA's site may not allow you to pick your seat, but I imagine adding your AA number to the record and calling AA should allow you to pick an exit row seat.
When you book on AA with BA miles, get the AA PNR from the agent.
Go to AA.com, my reservations and find the same trip on AA
Add the details - you are treated with the respect you deserve!

These fees are fuel surcharges. When another carrier operates the flight BA incurrs zero fuel cost, and the surcharge does not apply unless the operating carrier adds one. AA does not use fuel surcharges because (in my understanding) the FAA requires fuel cost to be included in the base fare.

The other fee which commonly appears on BA tickets is the UK Air Passenger Duty which applies only to depatures from UK airports. AA also adds this fee to award tickets. I have the credit card reciepts to prove it :rolleyes: .

Sorry to say and this is not meant personally, but this comment sounds like a ripoff response from BA than a Flyer Talk observation. Whether they call it fuel surcharge or bonus for the CEO's weekend boondoggle, BA charges for mileage tickets are a total and utter ripoff which really irritate me. The fact of the matter is you don't ever want to get involved in any mileage program of any airline other than US ones. Most (maybe all) of those overseas don't even give mileage on most cheaper tickets. So they don't get my business. :mad:

The fact of the matter is you don't ever want to get involved in any mileage program of any airline other than US ones. Most (maybe all) of those overseas don't even give mileage on most cheaper tickets. So they don't get my business. :mad:

Peter, Air Canada's Aeroplan is consistently rated very high as a program to transfer points to, as their redemption values are often very good. Also, they are a separate business (no longer part of Air Canada).

... BA charges for mileage tickets are a total and utter ripoff which really irritate me. :

All prices (whether denominated in money or miles or points) reflect supply and demand. BA and VS are able to charge more for their transatlantic business class redemptions because they have a better product than AA and most other USA-based carriers.

In any event the point of my previous post was that you do not need to avoid BA's program to avoid paying fuel surcharges. The surcharges are determined by the airline operating the flight, not the airline operating the frequent flyer program.

The surcharges are determined by the airline operating the flight, not the airline operating the frequent flyer program.
I seem to recall that a CX flight I was looking at, that I could have gotten with either AA miles or BA miles, cost more in fees with BA miles than with AA miles. If so, that would seem to dispute the theory that it's only the airline operating the flight that determines the fees. My impression is that's it's a combination of both (and the outcome can very depending on whose miles you have and whose flights you're redeeming on).

The US Govt. is one of the few in the world which exempts award tickets from many taxes, such as the 7.5% excise tax (US) & $3.60 or so per emplanement (ZP), Passenger Facility Charges of $3--4.50 per airport (XF). So the only tax domestically is the Sep. 11 TSA fee of $2.50 per emplanement, which Yanxfann reports in Post #8.

I like BA's no-fee changes online, smaller cancel/ redeposit fee of $70, & long-standing one-way awards & lack of short-notice fees but hate fuel charges on their own metal.

All prices (whether denominated in money or miles or points) reflect supply and demand. BA and VS are able to charge more for their transatlantic business class redemptions because they have a better product than AA and most other USA-based carriers.

In any event the point of my previous post was that you do not need to avoid BA's program to avoid paying fuel surcharges. The surcharges are determined by the airline operating the flight, not the airline operating the frequent flyer program.

With respect to fees, you're wrong. The US prohibits US carriers from imposing fuel surcharges on award tickets originating in the US. DL, for instance, charges them for tickets originating outside the US but not within the US. This isn't the free market at work.