Dreaded YQ question
 

Am booking using Aeroscam a YVR-TLS-CDG-YVR booking for next year and need help understanding YQ tax. AP routing shows $638.51 taxes. Exact same routing on UA: $135.80 (US). A chat to the call centre won't give me a real answer but FT forum folks will. Any way around this one? Only wish I had enough UA points.

Wait. Why can't you call into Aeroplan and book the routing you see on united?*

* personally never done this just asking based on what I read on here

SuperAngry, I could do that but AP shows the higher amount of tax for the exact same flights, (LH), so i don't figure they are going to give me the lower fare structure.

You can't avoid YQ with Lufthansa... Why are you flying through Toulouse? Are you planning on stopping there? Are your dates flexible?

Air Canada has SCAM fees. You are being ripped off. Get a toaster instead.

Perhaps the Penguin should watch this and produce an updated version. Anyhow the OP might get some useful tips from this video.

https://milepoint.com/forums/threads...bility.124008/

The taxes on United.com are for using United points, not Aeroplan points. Air Canada charges surcharges on award tickets on some carriers, and Aeroplan passes them onto you.

Here is a thread you may find useful, bottom line, if you dont want to pay $600+, you cannot fly AC, LH or OS over the ocean

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...demptions.html

If by "a bit more" you mean $503 ;), then as the OP showed, yes ...

On the UA Mileage Plus page does that UA routing show up as Blue Saver award? If so it can be booked on AE - for a bit more tax that the UA MP page shows. Ah nevermind I see that it is an AC routing found on UA.....

My point here, and apologies if it is not being presented properly, is not the YQ on LH, which we all know is bogus, but the fact the exact same flights on LH show with a much higher tax structure on AP than UA.

It is the YQ thats the difference - its not a tax, but is included in the Aeroplan "tax structure"
LH has nothing to do with it, or UA would be charging it too.
This is just co-pay to Air Canada for award tickets.

On the other hand, UA charges 140k to Europe on partners, while AE only 90k to most destinations.

I love when people call it Aeroscam like it's a brutal program when they don't know how to use it.

It's like calling Water Polo stupid because you can't tread water.

Pardon me if I get some of the semantics wrong...

1) YQ is charged for the following airlines; Air Canada, Lufthansa, ANA, Asiana, Thai, Austrian, LOT, TAP, Adria. That's current AFAIK, I'm sure it's always subject to change though.

- Exemptions are present for elite members, SE pays no YQ on any AC operated flights, Elite 75 and below (maybe someone else can verify how low it goes) pay no YQ on domestic and transborder AC operated flights.

2) That means that to be able to save yourself YQ, you need to fly on the following; Aegean, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Brussels, Copa, Croatia, Egyptair, Ethiopian, Eva, SAS, Shenzhen, Singapore, South African, Swiss, Turkish, United.

3) Based on that info, and the TLS airport wiki page, you've now narrowed yourself to Brussels, (potentially, depending on MPM) Aegean, Swiss and Turkish.

4) Now to cross the atlantic you'll need to use either Swiss, United, Brussels or Turkish and search individually. Odds are, based on your location, you're going to need to pay SOME YQ. You could however try and fly YVR-IAD (on United) IAD-IST-TLS (Turkish). If you can find SAVER award availability on United.com you should be able to call AP and list off the flights individually. It's not fool proof, but it's pretty good. They aren't really in the business of helping you circumvent their YQ, so you have to help yourself first. They'll probably suggest you fly YVR-YYZ-IST all on AC, that would probably be the most direct anyway, but loaded with YQ. Easier might be YVR-ORD-IST.

5) Hopefully you're not trying to get J class, because without IKK and YQ waivers you'll have a really hard time unless you book way in advance and are really diligent like some of the better board members here.

6) TL;DR, you can call the AP call center, they'll book UA routings for a fee, you can basically pick your own flights, but they have to have availability and you gotta do the research yourself.

I don't mind spoon feeding people a bit, cuz I think some people here are a bit curmudgeonly about sharing the knowledge but even for me this question was a bit weak. Almost any reading on the YQ topic would've given you some pointers.

If you don't like the program, feel free to leave it btw, but don't s*** on it when you don't know how to use it.

MG, yes the flights do show on UA page as a Blue Saver award. Their taxes are $135. AP for same flights are $638. Rankorabu said it best; appreciate the Wiki pointer. Obviously, AP is hopeless; the only bet is to slowly drain my miles and get that toaster

wow... now thats uncalled for - the OP was asking a legit question about a $500 "tax" difference, and in no way pooping on Aeroplan.

Not everyone can extract value from a system that is designed to screw you. I know how to do it, you know how to do it, but 99.9% of people have no clue - and end up paying thousands to Air Canada in fictitious scam fees.

No, dont give in. Read that thread, you clearly know how to search for seats, thats half the battle. Spend half an hour putting a route together - the reward will be $500 saved.

You need to know how to use it (i.e. which airlines /routes to make use of) and be flexible.

I'm flying YOW-BOS-ZRH-MAD-LIS-ZRH-YUL-YOW in Business for $340. I don't think it's useless at all..

What are your approximate dates... are you going to both Toulouse and Paris? Business or economy?

rankourabu: Thanks. Glad you could see the legitimacy of the question where others could not. I will try segmenting the pairings out on UA. I perhaps may have mis-stated the YQ portion of the question but when theres a $500 difference in the same 'tax structure' it gets blood boiling and makes we wonder why i saved points all these years.