Help - AA vs. BA
Jan 17, 2013, 9:18 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1
Help - AA vs. BA
I'm Exec Platinum on AA flying a bit over 100K miles/year mostly BOS-LHR which I do ~10-15x per year. AA recently cut back on BOS-LHR flights so i'm booking on AA but flying BA. I have some other long haul flights coming up which i'll need to book on BA (I have zero miles on BA). My issue is when I fly BA, I can't get upgrades etc. Also, using AA miles to fly to Europe sucks due to the fees! (using the miles are great when flying domestically) and I wanted to take my family to Europe this summer on miles - doesn't look like thats going to happen.
Should I continue to collect all my miles on AA? Should I start booking my flights on my BA account? Is there anyway BA would 'honor' my saphirre status even though i have zero miles on BA so I can use the lounge, get upgrades etc in the meantime? Starting from zero when you are used to the perks sucks.
Advice appreciated.
Should I continue to collect all my miles on AA? Should I start booking my flights on my BA account? Is there anyway BA would 'honor' my saphirre status even though i have zero miles on BA so I can use the lounge, get upgrades etc in the meantime? Starting from zero when you are used to the perks sucks.
Advice appreciated.
Jan 17, 2013, 9:29 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2003
Programs: BA GGL; AA LT Gold; AS 100K; DL MM GM; Hyatt G*list, Hilton Diamond; SQ silver
Posts: 3,806
I'm Exec Platinum on AA flying a bit over 100K miles/year mostly BOS-LHR which I do ~10-15x per year. AA recently cut back on BOS-LHR flights so i'm booking on AA but flying BA. I have some other long haul flights coming up which i'll need to book on BA (I have zero miles on BA). My issue is when I fly BA, I can't get upgrades etc. Also, using AA miles to fly to Europe sucks due to the fees! (using the miles are great when flying domestically) and I wanted to take my family to Europe this summer on miles - doesn't look like thats going to happen.
Should I continue to collect all my miles on AA? Should I start booking my flights on my BA account? Is there anyway BA would 'honor' my saphirre status even though i have zero miles on BA so I can use the lounge, get upgrades etc in the meantime? Starting from zero when you are used to the perks sucks.
Advice appreciated.
Should I continue to collect all my miles on AA? Should I start booking my flights on my BA account? Is there anyway BA would 'honor' my saphirre status even though i have zero miles on BA so I can use the lounge, get upgrades etc in the meantime? Starting from zero when you are used to the perks sucks.
Advice appreciated.
Ba however does not have an upgrade system like AA where you can upgrade domestic flights without forking any money or miles but just stickers you can earn by flying. All their upgrades have to be paid (with cash or miles). Furthermore on aircraft with premium economy (long hauls) they will upgrade you from economy to premium economy, not business. You need to purchase a premium economy ticket to get into business.
Finally, earning status on BA is hard to achieve if you do not fly paid J or F tickets. If your trips are in J or F, then do go for BA, but I would not do so if you only fly Y.
Jan 17, 2013, 10:36 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,234
This is not an issue of "using AA miles to fly to Europe." It is an issue of flying on BA. Fees are significantly lower on most other partners, so you can redeem awards with Iberia, Air Berlin, etc. for less money. And of course you can redeem on AA, though you might not get the most desirable routing.
If you were using BA miles on BA, you'd be paying the same fees. Effectively, using miles for coach awards on BA is a terrible use of miles because of the (don't call me fuel) surcharges. You'd probably end up forking out 50-75% of the cost of the paid ticket just to redeem your miles. The surcharges are there on Business/First awards as well, but you're still saving thousands of dollars vs. a paid ticket.
If you were using BA miles on BA, you'd be paying the same fees. Effectively, using miles for coach awards on BA is a terrible use of miles because of the (don't call me fuel) surcharges. You'd probably end up forking out 50-75% of the cost of the paid ticket just to redeem your miles. The surcharges are there on Business/First awards as well, but you're still saving thousands of dollars vs. a paid ticket.