Originally Posted by Gardyloo
If it's BAEC you want then you should look at a WT+ "T" fare ex-SEA rather than ex-YVR. Generally WT+ rides on the Seattle flights are considerably cheaper than on the YVR-originating ones. Taxes and demand, I presume.
You can tell when a fare on BA is a qualifying one when you book it through BA.com; you will get a prompt on the confirmation screen that tells you it's a qualifying EC fare. Generally WT+ "T" bookings (not "W", the high-priced ones) are competitive with economy booking classes that would also qualify, except WT+ is more comfortable. All WT+ paid flights are EC-qualifying. Most booking engines like Expedia don't offer premium coach ticketing options, so one is left with pathetic BA.com.
Use the "premium economy - cheapest" option when booking.
I thought about going for BA EC Gold on our current DONE4, but I couldn't justify it when I looked at our travel patterns. AA's plan is just too generous given AS EQM/Pts for all our west coast flying, as well as points for BA transatlantic if we just drive a couple of hours north and are prepared to pay for WT+ instead of WT-, which is no contest.
Thanks for these comment, Gardyloo. I'm happy to go from SEA but doing a search on BA, for YVR-LHR-CAI I still get the WT+ price of CA$2600 but for WT+ with SEA-LHR-CAI a price of US$3700 comes up (using Oct2005 and June 2006 dates in both cases)! So I guess in this case the demand is reversed.
I tried to check out your point about looking at the BA confirmation screen but it seems to come after the payment screen so was reluctant to go that far-- didn't want to accidentally hit an irreversible "purchase" button.
I do have a question too on your last point about going for BA-Gold. Since I will be travelling with my wife, would it make sense for one of us to do that while the other did the AA Plat Chal (both of which should be attainable in our AONE5)? I suppose someone has discussed pros and cons but I've been unable to find it in my searches.