Originally Posted by
tattikat2
Couldn't you have decided about the surcharge issue in the 9 months while you were earning the cert?

Not as easy as that, because the ground has shifted. I booked a rewards ticket on BA in August 2010 (PHX-WAW-OTP-PHX) and the surcharge was c. $355 USD; nowadays, the fees for the same trip are over $550. A more than 50 percent increase in fees over the last 18 months has substantially affected the value of BA miles and 241s.