Originally Posted by
djplong
Just to give an example from a couple of days ago.. I booked my wife on a flight BOS-LHR, end of May to visit her son in London. I paid $512 r/t on AA (on BA metal).
The actual "fare" was $98.
The "carrier imposed fees" were $200.
The taxes were $214.
I'd hate to be saving up for years to get tens of thousand of points/miles to find out I'm only really getting a 20% discount on the ticket.
Getting a free flight last year, BOS-JFK-HNL and back on JetBlue and Hawaiian, cost me something like $20 in fees after the 62K True Blue points.
I will be most interested in what JetBlue's European offerings will be since other free flights on JetBlue have cost me $10 in fees.
Had you flown that on AA metal the $214 in taxes would still apply but not the $200 in YQ carrier fees. BA is one of the worst on this front and flights ex-UK add to the problem thanks to the APD charged (~$95 of the taxes are that; double it if in a premium cabin). JetBlue currently does not have a YQ fee but also doesn't fly long-haul. Impossible to know what the future will bring on that front.