Often1

Taxes are imposed by various governments. For a single from Canada to Germany, those should be approximately $60-70. Anything else is a carrier surcharge. It is not a tax and is simply a fee charged by the carrier as the cash component of a redemption ticket. In your case, that is approximately, $1,100.

See if you can do this on UA and how it comes out.

audio-nut

Assuming you are flying one way, have you looked at points beyond FRA that have lower YQs?

24left

Just a FYI.....OP is not flying one way as he listed 110,000 miles in J, which is for a return ticket.

bennyblanco

Looking for a return, but flexible with dates. Going to read through the thread 24left pointed me to and then ask questions if needed.

24left

Just some additional info. You will not be able to avoid these carrier surcharges if you fly AC or LH to FRA. You will see from Jerry Hung's thread that you may have to fly a route with a stop and on other carriers (as rankourabu also noted).

warakorn

These are (mostly) not taxes.

hangingaround

Thanks to this sub I was able to book to my first redemption ticket using an extended layover and an open jaw. I've redeemed tickets before, but only to 1 or 2 destinations with a reward ticket. Now I look back and see it was such a waste. I'm posting my booking here to hopefully help give an idea on taxes with the award tickets. This is kind of a last minute trip since I was able to book an awesome cruise for super cheap. Redemption value is not that great, but I didn't want to pay $5000+ for 4 tickets. I was just happy I was able to book something so last minute. Thanks to rankourabu for helping me out.

4 tickets in Y in July.

YYZ-BOS - AC
BOS-CPH - SK
CPH- FCO - SK - open jaw
VIE-BRU - SN - 21 hours layover
BRU-CPH - SN - stop
CPH-BOS - SN
BOS-YYZ - AC

$293 in taxes + $30 booking fee

Also, I had to book 4 tickets using 3 accounts. I was trying to use up the kids aeroplan points. On the last booking, the CPH - FCO disappeared!!! I had to reroute my son on another route so we would end up in FCO around the same time.

YYZ-ZRH - AC
ZRH-FRA - LH
FRA-FCO - LH

Rest of the itinerary remained the same.

$562.66 taxes + $30 booking of fee

Later on the evening the CPH-FCO segment reappeared and I was able to change the ticket with $100 fee and received a refund for the tax difference.

This was my first time calling into the call center. I didn't need to wait very long, maybe 10 min. The rep I had was awesome! She was very experienced, friendly, professional. She told jokes and would sing too while we waited for the system to load. Apparently she has been working there for 20 years.

jerryhung

just also a data point

I booked ex-AKL (New Zealand) Aeroplan flight on TG (AKL-BKK-TPE one-way in Y) and there is no YQ as NZ law, so for 4 pax it's only $135 CAD!!

rankourabu

Same if you originate Australia.

BUT

If its a round trip,even though YQ is illegal in AU/NZ - you will get charged based on point of origin.

If one is going to Australia/NZ/Europe - always book two one ways, if not taking advantage of stopovers.

LearningToFly

I was flying YUL-BOS-LIS-OPO on TP (except for the first leg on AC). Due to a schedule change, I've been rebooked on YUL-ZRH (LX) and ZRH-OPO (TP). The new itinerary generates normally less taxes and fees than the older one, but agent said since it was due to a schedule change, "taxes" won't be recalculated. Is that true?

And if it's true, I could then have asked for something like YUL-ZRH-BCN (stop)-OPO without any added fee?

FYI agent accepted to rebook even though the schedule change was only a 24 minutes one.
Thanks for reading.

JustSomeGuy1978

With Brussels no longer an option ex YYZ come summer 2020. What are some good intermediate destinations to minimize YQ on YYZ-Europe reward tickets? Cairo, Istanbul???

briantoronto

I tend to book via YTZ so often can book LX (and I assume SN) online from there.

I don't mind the short hop in Y as the planes are usually pretty empty and they do a quick service to match Porter. And I don't have to UPX it home.

jerryhung

Visit here

2019's MOST Comprehensive Guide to Fuel Surcharge (YQ) Using Aeroplan Miles - PointsNerd
https://www.pointsnerd.ca/2019s-most...eroplan-miles/

No-YQ is one thing
Finding availabillity is another story - TK is easier but it may cause MPM issue
route via YUL is probably easier to find SN, LX, or even AC space

joet00

Just started planning for August/September 2020. 4 tickets in J. Looking to book Toronto to Madeira for 3-4 days, then fly back to Lisbon (10 nights) to drive thru Portugal and fly (revenue ticket)/drive/train into Spain (3 days), and then home to YYZ.

A forum search reveals a similar itinerary (BCN and FNC were flipped) was booked in 2018, so I think this is within MPM, with my PTO being BCN.

But I'm trying to understand how this fits with the new rules (1 stopover/open-jaw, in addition to the PTO). Is the below doable?

YYZ - FNC (stop)
FNC - LIS (open-jaw)
BCN (or some other Spanish city) - YYZ

Or might I have to pay both ways in/out of LIS:

YYZ - FNC (PTO)
FNC - LIS (stop)
(Revenue ticket to/from Spain)
LIS - YYZ

or

YYZ - LIS (stop)
(Revenue ticket to/from FNC)
LIS - BCN (PTO)
BCN - YYZ

Follow up questions:

I know I'll have to call in to book these, but am trying to confirm availability/options online.

Into LIS, I'm thinking TP or UA (to avoid YQ of course). Haven't seen any availability on TP on the AE website. Any insight on when TP releases seats?

Home from Spain, am hoping for LX (or UA) as well...but the website keeps showing me Rouge options. Any thoughts on more suitable options to come home?

Any thoughts/suggestions welcome (on either the travel between cities or the destinations themselves). Thanks!