Originally Posted by
mzwhsr
Just wanted to jump in to provide another data point on my experience (today) of applying SWUs to a reservation that included a BA transatlantic segment, going from PE/W to J. I had previously upgraded an itinerary early in 2024 without having to pay anything more than the increased APD, but having tried multiple times today (with more than one reservation booked and ultimately cancelled/refunded) with AA EP desk, it seems that there's no way to avoid additional YQ/carrier imposed fees on a BA segment upgrade any longer.
The first agent I spoke with was beyond hopelessly uninformed, and was adamant that there was "UK luxury taxes", and that I needed to pay at ~$733 per person. I asked whether this was actually YQ, but the agent got pretty angry that I would question her, so I thought I'd try a HUCA. The second agent I spoke to - this time on a new reservation - was knowledgeable, and confirmed that it should just be the increased APD, but when they ended up consulting with the rate desk, they were told that there would be the YQ to collect too - this time it was broken down - $535 was the increased YQ on the single BA segment ex-US. To be fair, this exactly matched the difference in YQ on BA between PE/W and J when looking at revenue fares.
Long story short, I gave up and will go with a one confirmed and one waitlisted segment, all on AA metal. This also continues to explain the hugely different immediately confirmable upgrade space on transatlantic segments between AA (zeroed out for weeks at a time) and BA (with reasonable but spotty availability).
IMHO, this is quite the reduction in the usefulness of this benefit. And I feel like it's not really in the spirit of the SWU - compared with a mileage upgrade on AA (from anything other than a full-fare Y), the SWU replaces the miles and the co-pay of $350 on transatlantic flights. Using a SWU on a BA segment just obviates the mileage component. And, to be clear, AA has very similar deltas in YQ between these fare classes too, but again the SWUs on AA metal mean that we don't have to pay the difference. I hope the BA folks using their SWU-like upgrade instruments on AA are getting the same raw deal we AA'ers are when trying to apply SWUs on BA metal... ;-)
Ultimately YMMV because there have been recent reports on this thread that some folks have got lucky avoiding the YQ...
Just had a similar experience, booked PE on BA and called in to apply SWU's, and was told it would be an additional $1,000+ per person on top the PE fare which was already close to $1,000 more than AA coach. The "luxury tax" was already covered in PE but the increment was both the APD (ex-UK) and the YQ. I just canceled the booking, other than as a last resort this makes an SWU on BA useless to me. It is what it is but removes an option I had hoped would be more attractive.