ft101

Plenty fat to be cut elsewhere?

CalFlyer

I have not redeemed US-based FF miles in ages. Wasn't it that domestic awards were YQ free and international awards included YQ?

eternaltransit

If we are talking about YQ on redemptions, my point about the obfuscation still stands, that is, a carrier can opt not to levy YQ or other surcharges on their redemptions making it look like it better value than another FFP, but then hide that revenue by devaluing the redemption chart. Likewise a carrier a make their redemption chart look good, but then their revenue / liability offset requirements can be made up with surcharges. I agree that YQ etc. is an unnecessary scam that only serves to try and confuse, but think it is more a question of image rather than blatant profiteering.

Dave Noble

Neither US nor AA applies surcharges ( other than for travel on AA/IB ) ; I do not think that UA applies surcharges on its awards either

Dave Noble

It is a scam; for paid tickets it makes price comparisons difficult when using tools that show base fares since the fares-disguised-as-taxes can be very different

With redemptions, it is a scam ; if the airline wants to reduce its award values by making them "points plus cash" and having a higher award cost for points , then do so; don't try to misrepresent the FF scheme

UA Fan

Both are YQ free unless you are redeeming AA/US miles on BA/IB and some DL partners.

CalFlyer

I hope some consumer protection agency ultimately sues EK & Co. for these carrier-imposed charges. It is a scam. The implicit promise of "free travel" is retroactively broken. What prevents EK to raise the scam surcharge to the price of a regular one-way ticket, thus basically reducing the value of miles to zero?

Disgusting, really.

CalFlyer

That makes US programs suddenly look attractive.

Has anybody done their math if crediting EK miles to AS is worth it? How does AS treat short hauls (DXB-DOH etc.)?

techie

Please do wind back the drama. No consumer protection agency is going to sue any airline for imposing fuel surcharges on award tickets. I don't think any airline has ever or will ever put it in black and white that they provide "free travel" on award tickets. Some airlines do not impose fuel surcharges and they may be an attractive proposition to some people. But a lot do and it should not come as a shock to those who are frequent flyers (and, as such, more likely to accrue enough miles to redeem).

While there is nothing that stops EK from raising surcharges to the level of a regular ticket, common sense dictates that they will not do that, since they still would like for their FF scheme to be attractive. They would rather people paid in cash rather than miles, so they just limit the award inventory. While it may be hypothetically possible to go miles-only, but doing so would probably cause the number of miles needed to redeem to shoot up considerably. Fuel surcharge is a fluctuating part of a flight, so it makes sense to ask for it with money.

CalFlyer

When Delta Airlines in the 1990s raised their award requirements for intra-US awards, they were sued for breaking the promise that they had made to their frequent flyers - and DL lost. For many years, DL showed old miles and new miles side-by-side on their account statements.

I think airlines need to honor the "discounts" they are promising. Any mileage chart devaluation or the introduction of cash copayment requirement (carrier-imposed surcharge) is just dishonest. I am not sure that the typical program clause of "we can change the terms and conditions as we want" would hold up in many European courts, if really tested.

Why am I agitated? Because I am sitting on more than 4 million frequent flyer miles across different programs which I see continuously being devalued.

ft101

So for you to manipulate (within the rules) every credit card and manufactured spend option you can is OK, but for the airline to manipulate (within the rules) ways to improve their own bottom line is not?

They won't get sued - litigation over frivolities is almost unique to the USA.

I think the maths involved in crediting to AS must be good, for some at least, given the amount of reports of F redemptions on EK using AS miles.

Dave Noble

If you put $400,000 under the mattress and left it, would that not devalue over time?

I do not think that anyone would successfully sue EK for the change, not more than I would expect anyone to successfully sue AA for its finally wiping out its "old" miles a cpl of years ago or its removal recently of one set of awards

To me, it doesn't make sense to just sit on miles ; changes rarely improve value of miles and over time their value gets worse

carrier surcharges suck, but I don't see anything that is illegal happening

If you think AS may be better, have a look at earning rates at http://www.alaskaair.com/content/mil.../emirates.aspx and http://www.alaskaair.com/content/mil...rt-Africa.aspx for redemption rates

The redemption routes are a lot more limited on Emirates but depending on travel, can be better value depending on class of travel

kuroko

only possibility would be to "pay" the taxes with miles but no way to get around it

techie

Let's not forget that, while spending miles on airline tickets may be the first choice option, a lot of them do have other uses. EK, in this case, allow you to redeem miles for vouchers and event tickets. You may not want to do that and/or there may be a poor choice in either category, but at least you have redeeming options to choose from.

nemme99

AS only allow you to redeem flights that start or end in the US, so no option for short hauls on EK.