I think I need to jump back. I was reading threads about the high fees when redeeming BA flights. (Most of it is "fuel surcharge" but it is obviously not really for fuel since they say fuel surcharge is based on the distance traveled, and the fees from DFW to London are higher than the fees from DFW to London to Zurich. Plus the "fuel surcharges" are higher in business class than coach.)

Anyway, I thought that they said these high fees were only for flights that went through London, so people tended to use them in other locations that didn't go through London. Is that correct, or are there high fees on all BA tickets?

And either way, am I correct in saying that there are no BA flights from the US that don't go through London, so the only way to use a companion ticket is to pay the high fees?

I guess I am not seeing how these companion tickets are ever a good idea. I can go all the way from RNO to Europe for 200,000 miles on United (2 people, business class, RT), or I can pay 118,000 Avios from DFW to Europe, plus another 40,000 to get to DFW, so 158,000 plus $2037. I know you accrue points at 1.25 to 1, but still it just doesn't seem compelling to have a BA card compared with United. So is there another scenerio where it works out great?
Thanks