Oct 14, 2014, 10:32 am
Last edit by: Prospero
Help with British Airways and Iberia Carrier Imposed Surcharges
Using AAdvantage miles for awards using British Airways generally* incurs very high carrier imposed surcharges / fees (BA charges their own BAEC flyers these for Avios redemptions as well). AA awards on IB incur considerably lower fees (~$50 one way transatlantic is quoted by one member, the link to travelisfree.com below gives a BA flight with $458 YQ, IB $96). One FTer claims $700 BA YQ fees for SAN-PRG return, which is not unusual). You are likely to find lots of availability on BA using the aa.com award booking facility.
Intra-European awards using BA have significantly lower carrier imposed charges; some members may find using AA or other partner transatlantic connecting to BA may be acceptable.
NOTE: Paying YQ may trigger a host of other taxes and fees otherwise not charged on awards that do not include carrier imposed surcharges such as YQ. Flights within the Americas are YQ exempt.
As this is still flying on an award, these carrier imposed surcharges do not qualify for EQM or EQD earning.
Be sure to read the oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on thread wiki for information on searching for and finding alternative flights or those not shown on aa.com, which airlines' websites can find those, etc.
Read more about BA Carrier Imposed Surcharges on AA awards here (rrgg supplied most of these below:
Fuel Surcharge for AA award redemptions on BA are up - again.
Partner airline awards now bookable on AA.com (AB, AS, AY, BA, HA, HG, QF, RJ, US)
Does AA push most of its European Awards to BA to collect fuel surcharges?
Charts from TravelIsFree for the three alliances and how you will pay (or avoid) YQ: http://travelisfree.com/2014/04/15/m...surcharges-yq/
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
AA oneworld and Other Airline ("All Partner") Award information, rules (2015 on)
Originating a flight in the UK incurs an Air Passenger Duty, reduced for seats with less than 40" seat pitch (except those originating from originating in BFS / Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands (INV) or Islands, and connections less than 24 hours do not incur UK Air Passenger Duty, though they do incur airport Passenger Service Charges). Separate topic, dealt with:
UK APD / Air Passenger Duty charged for UK departures (Master Thread); defines what the APD is in the wikipost.
Avoiding crazy UK "APD" taxes when transferring through LHR on separate tickets
Archived posts May 2012 - 2016 may be read here.
Using AAdvantage miles for awards using British Airways generally* incurs very high carrier imposed surcharges / fees (BA charges their own BAEC flyers these for Avios redemptions as well). AA awards on IB incur considerably lower fees (~$50 one way transatlantic is quoted by one member, the link to travelisfree.com below gives a BA flight with $458 YQ, IB $96). One FTer claims $700 BA YQ fees for SAN-PRG return, which is not unusual). You are likely to find lots of availability on BA using the aa.com award booking facility.
Intra-European awards using BA have significantly lower carrier imposed charges; some members may find using AA or other partner transatlantic connecting to BA may be acceptable.
NOTE: Paying YQ may trigger a host of other taxes and fees otherwise not charged on awards that do not include carrier imposed surcharges such as YQ. Flights within the Americas are YQ exempt.
As this is still flying on an award, these carrier imposed surcharges do not qualify for EQM or EQD earning.
Be sure to read the oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on thread wiki for information on searching for and finding alternative flights or those not shown on aa.com, which airlines' websites can find those, etc.
Read more about BA Carrier Imposed Surcharges on AA awards here (rrgg supplied most of these below:
Fuel Surcharge for AA award redemptions on BA are up - again.
Partner airline awards now bookable on AA.com (AB, AS, AY, BA, HA, HG, QF, RJ, US)
Does AA push most of its European Awards to BA to collect fuel surcharges?
Charts from TravelIsFree for the three alliances and how you will pay (or avoid) YQ: http://travelisfree.com/2014/04/15/m...surcharges-yq/
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
AA oneworld and Other Airline ("All Partner") Award information, rules (2015 on)
Originating a flight in the UK incurs an Air Passenger Duty, reduced for seats with less than 40" seat pitch (except those originating from originating in BFS / Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands (INV) or Islands, and connections less than 24 hours do not incur UK Air Passenger Duty, though they do incur airport Passenger Service Charges). Separate topic, dealt with:
UK APD / Air Passenger Duty charged for UK departures (Master Thread); defines what the APD is in the wikipost.
Avoiding crazy UK "APD" taxes when transferring through LHR on separate tickets
Archived posts May 2012 - 2016 may be read here.
Carrier Imposed Surcharge / YQ: AA award on BA / British (& IB) & avoiding it
Feb 9, 2017, 2:41 pm
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,586
It is 2 awards, I've done it through both DOH and AUH. Still, as far as I'm concerned it's worth the added miles as it means you get to fly quality airlines. You backtrack a little, approx 3 hrs, which didn't bother me at all. And you get a nice long sleep on the way over, no rush service and quick nap before hitting the ground in a daze. Plus you can fly into SAW should you so please.
Feb 10, 2017, 10:00 am
#17
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AUS
Posts: 248
For someone traveling in Coach (as the inquiring FTer hopes to), it makes little sense to pay 60,000 miles and some fees to route via the Middle East on two awards, versus 22,500 miles and about $200 to route via LON. To me, paying an extra 37,500 miles to save something less than $200 is crazy -- unless one wants to stop over for one or more days somewhere in the Middle East.
Feb 10, 2017, 5:28 pm
#18
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ORD [formerly] + HKG
Programs: CX Diamond, AA exExPlat, BAEC exGold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Starriott Titanium, GE
Posts: 2,966
I'm trying to price an award DUB-LHR-SFO in BA J (yes, don't judge...)
BA.com US (dummy Avios booking) quotes around $250 in taxes and fees and AA.com quotes $290. I looked at the components and the only difference is in the YQ. Why would AA charge a higher YQ? With such difference I would assume that it is not currency fluctuations too...
BA.com US (dummy Avios booking) quotes around $250 in taxes and fees and AA.com quotes $290. I looked at the components and the only difference is in the YQ. Why would AA charge a higher YQ? With such difference I would assume that it is not currency fluctuations too...
Feb 10, 2017, 5:36 pm
#20
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ORD [formerly] + HKG
Programs: CX Diamond, AA exExPlat, BAEC exGold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Starriott Titanium, GE
Posts: 2,966
I thought it's not possible to book EI with AA miles. And I guess BA is still 'better' than EI......
Feb 11, 2017, 11:09 am
#21
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
I assume DFW-PHL-ATH + a cheap cash fare ATH-IST doesn't appeal to you. (And granted, PHL-ATH is only seasonal.)
Mar 31, 2017, 12:03 pm
#22
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 98
Ugh! BA fees... Creative ideas welcome!
Hi,
My parents have roughly 200k AA miles each. One has 80k United Miles, the other has 12k United.
They live in south Florida (FLL, MIA). They are travelling into Kilamanjaro (JRO) in June and departing Livingston (LVI) in July. They are also trying to visit a friend in London on one side of this trip.
I am trying to work a nice comfortable business class trip out for them, without depleting all of their miles AND all of their cash. The best itinerary I found for 1 portion of the trip was 75,000 miles plus $650 pp. I tried calling AA to see if there were options for MIA-DOH-JRO but they showed no avail. I checked the BA Avios site to look for Qatar availabilty but I couldn't find JRO either.
For you AAa members, any creative ideas? Any way to reduce BA's high surcharges? Or alternate/hidden city ideas?
Thank you in advance!
My parents have roughly 200k AA miles each. One has 80k United Miles, the other has 12k United.
They live in south Florida (FLL, MIA). They are travelling into Kilamanjaro (JRO) in June and departing Livingston (LVI) in July. They are also trying to visit a friend in London on one side of this trip.
I am trying to work a nice comfortable business class trip out for them, without depleting all of their miles AND all of their cash. The best itinerary I found for 1 portion of the trip was 75,000 miles plus $650 pp. I tried calling AA to see if there were options for MIA-DOH-JRO but they showed no avail. I checked the BA Avios site to look for Qatar availabilty but I couldn't find JRO either.
For you AAa members, any creative ideas? Any way to reduce BA's high surcharges? Or alternate/hidden city ideas?
Thank you in advance!
Mar 31, 2017, 12:13 pm
#23
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: EWR
Programs: Mucci, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 587
I'd try AA metal into London. In order to fly to JRO, you have a few options. BA can get you to NBO, and then take Precision Air into Arusha. Obviously, BA has the huge surcharges for that one leg. The other two carriers into JRO that might work are KLM from Amsterdam and Turkish Airways from IST. Don't know if you have enough Star Alliance miles to do that, though. As you noted, Qatar does fly in from Doha, but award seats are very few.
Mar 31, 2017, 1:24 pm
#24
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,481
Hi,
My parents have roughly 200k AA miles each. One has 80k United Miles, the other has 12k United.
They live in south Florida (FLL, MIA). They are travelling into Kilamanjaro (JRO) in June and departing Livingston (LVI) in July. They are also trying to visit a friend in London on one side of this trip.
I am trying to work a nice comfortable business class trip out for them, without depleting all of their miles AND all of their cash. The best itinerary I found for 1 portion of the trip was 75,000 miles plus $650 pp. I tried calling AA to see if there were options for MIA-DOH-JRO but they showed no avail. I checked the BA Avios site to look for Qatar availabilty but I couldn't find JRO either.
For you AAa members, any creative ideas? Any way to reduce BA's high surcharges? Or alternate/hidden city ideas?
Thank you in advance!
My parents have roughly 200k AA miles each. One has 80k United Miles, the other has 12k United.
They live in south Florida (FLL, MIA). They are travelling into Kilamanjaro (JRO) in June and departing Livingston (LVI) in July. They are also trying to visit a friend in London on one side of this trip.
I am trying to work a nice comfortable business class trip out for them, without depleting all of their miles AND all of their cash. The best itinerary I found for 1 portion of the trip was 75,000 miles plus $650 pp. I tried calling AA to see if there were options for MIA-DOH-JRO but they showed no avail. I checked the BA Avios site to look for Qatar availabilty but I couldn't find JRO either.
For you AAa members, any creative ideas? Any way to reduce BA's high surcharges? Or alternate/hidden city ideas?
Thank you in advance!
Using your BA account, search all of QR's US gateways to DOH, not just MIA. Think ATL, IAH, DFW, ORD, IAD, etc. Find space on the long segment, then search the DOH-JRO flight separately. From most gateways it looks like this will require an overnight in DOH, make sure you keep the dates straight.
If you find flights that line up on BA, call AA and give the AAgent the flights segment by segment. You can then have them search for the flight from MIA to the gateway on AA, which they can include in the same award.
Apr 1, 2017, 11:17 am
#25
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: N/A
Programs: UA AA and more
Posts: 353
weird taxes on reward ticket
Hi,
Looking on a reward ticket possibility EUR-NA and finding weird taxes and fees.
The availability is BA both ways with connection in LHR, and I know they have huge LHR taxes but -
one way outbound, only available in Y, if I want to book it, the taxes are ~$270
one way inbound, only available in F, taxes are ~$500
roundtrip, same itineraries exactly (outbound Y, inbound F, BA flights, connections in LHR) total taxes ~$470.
HUH?
Looking on a reward ticket possibility EUR-NA and finding weird taxes and fees.
The availability is BA both ways with connection in LHR, and I know they have huge LHR taxes but -
one way outbound, only available in Y, if I want to book it, the taxes are ~$270
one way inbound, only available in F, taxes are ~$500
roundtrip, same itineraries exactly (outbound Y, inbound F, BA flights, connections in LHR) total taxes ~$470.
HUH?
Apr 1, 2017, 11:22 am
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,042
BA adds major carrier imposed surcharges. This is a known issue with BA flights. It's why there's in general award availability on BA flights even when none on others.
Apr 1, 2017, 11:23 am
#27
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,586
Hi,
Looking on a reward ticket possibility EUR-NA and finding weird taxes and fees.
The availability is BA both ways with connection in LHR, and I know they have huge LHR taxes but -
one way outbound, only available in Y, if I want to book it, the taxes are ~$270
one way inbound, only available in F, taxes are ~$500
roundtrip, same itineraries exactly (outbound Y, inbound F, BA flights, connections in LHR) total taxes ~$470.
HUH?
Looking on a reward ticket possibility EUR-NA and finding weird taxes and fees.
The availability is BA both ways with connection in LHR, and I know they have huge LHR taxes but -
one way outbound, only available in Y, if I want to book it, the taxes are ~$270
one way inbound, only available in F, taxes are ~$500
roundtrip, same itineraries exactly (outbound Y, inbound F, BA flights, connections in LHR) total taxes ~$470.
HUH?
Apr 8, 2017, 8:43 pm
#29
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 150
Help with ??? on BA flights via AA miles?
I'm not sure if I understand exactly how the oneworld partner awards work so please bare with me.
I've searched on the BA website for a trip from JFK-BKK in business and found award availability. The flights are both on BA. It goes JFK-LHR-BKK. Is this a valid iteniary to book with aa miles via customer service and will it only cost me the 70K miles?
I've searched on the BA website for a trip from JFK-BKK in business and found award availability. The flights are both on BA. It goes JFK-LHR-BKK. Is this a valid iteniary to book with aa miles via customer service and will it only cost me the 70K miles?