Originally Posted by
atwnsw2
Thank you everybody for your responses.
I have 3 follow up questions:
Stephem: You mention the routing option of TPA-DFW-FCO which I had not considered. If I want to pick this one as an example, how would you go about finding this routing availability?
Guv1976: Yes, you are correct in that BA does fly TPA-LGW-FCO. Given that I have triple the amount of AA miles compared to BA miles, is there a trick to finding BA flights using AA miles?
General Question: If I use miles from TPA-LGW in business and buy a ticket in cash in economy from LGW-FCO, would I be able to check my luggage through to FCO?
The trick to finding BA award availability using AA miles is that you go to aa.com and search for an award. BA "awards" are displayed on AA.com. Of course given the $1000 extortion BA charges, the term "award" is used loosely here.
No, BA will not check bags through on separate tickets. If you fly TPA-LGW on one ticket and LGW-FCO on another, you'll have to go through immigration, claim your bags, then recheck them with BA for the flight to FCO.