Citi aa miles. Can I use with British?
Aug 11, 2018, 6:30 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 2
Citi aa miles. Can I use with British?
Hi
i have been a American Airlines advantage holder for years. I want to use my miles to fly direct from jfk. Can I use my miles on a flight that says aa but is actually a British airline?
i called several weeks ago and the agent made it sound like impossible to use my miles. Does aa fly to Europe directly from jfk? And can I use my miles??
i have been a American Airlines advantage holder for years. I want to use my miles to fly direct from jfk. Can I use my miles on a flight that says aa but is actually a British airline?
i called several weeks ago and the agent made it sound like impossible to use my miles. Does aa fly to Europe directly from jfk? And can I use my miles??
Aug 11, 2018, 6:38 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
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Posts: 29,586
Yes, you can redeem AA miles for travel on a BA flight, if award seats are available on the BA flight. There's no need to call AA; aa.com supports award bookings on BA and on a handful of other AAdvantage partners. There will be hefty cash surcharges payable for a TATL award flight on BA when redeeming AA miles.
Yes, AA does fly to several European cities, some via nonstops from JFK, others requiring a connection somewhere. Google "JFK airport wiki" and you'll see a list of all of AA's nonstop destinations from JFK.
Yes, AA does fly to several European cities, some via nonstops from JFK, others requiring a connection somewhere. Google "JFK airport wiki" and you'll see a list of all of AA's nonstop destinations from JFK.
Aug 11, 2018, 6:43 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 2
Thanks for the reply
the aa rep from advantage told me I have to log into the aa site to make any reservation. They made it so hard almost to discourage using my miles
what kind of fee with ba? Why is that? And how does one us aa miles and avoid fees?
the aa rep from advantage told me I have to log into the aa site to make any reservation. They made it so hard almost to discourage using my miles
what kind of fee with ba? Why is that? And how does one us aa miles and avoid fees?
Aug 11, 2018, 6:51 pm
#4
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BA imposes a carrier surcharge on most of its long-haul routes. This is done to increase BA's profits. AA only collects surcharges for award travel on BA and IB; the surcharges are more modest on IB.
To avoid surcharges, do not redeem your AA miles for travel on BA or IB.
Aug 11, 2018, 8:33 pm
#5
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Also see HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance. Read the Wikipost at the top of the page.
Aug 11, 2018, 9:22 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,632
No, you cannot use your miles on a flight that says AA but is actually a British airline (i.e. a "codeshare"). If you asked the agent how to do this, he/she undoubtedly said it was impossible.
However, you CAN use your miles on a flight that says AA and is actually AA; and you can also use your miles on a flight that says BA and is actually BA. If you insist on flying BA, you will have to pay high fees, there is no way around it.
Your miles are valid not just on AA, but also on a number of partner airlines. But you must always book through aa.com or by calling AA.
Last edited by SeeBuyFly; Aug 11, 2018 at 9:30 pm
Aug 12, 2018, 2:39 am
#7
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 24
Some research into this on your part would probably be helpful, but I'll summarize the situation for you.
British Airways will charge "fuel surcharges" on certain long-haul flights using their planes or their miles (avios). Typically, you can expect to pay about $500 per person per leg from a city in the Continental US to any city in Europe if the transatlantic part of that trip is on a BA plane, even if you're paying with AA miles. To avoid this, what you want to do is ensure that your flights are all on AA planes, or at the very least, make sure the flight over the Atlantic is on an AA plane, even if you connect in London on a BA plane to your final destination.
To quickly search for these optimal flights, do an advanced search from the AA.com main menu, select to use miles, select a date to start with (just guess something close). At the bottom of the page, in the Airline box, select American Airlines instead of All Airlines. Then click search. You'll get the same calendar search you normally get, except it will only show date availability when there is at least one option where all flights on are AA metal.
If you want to fly somewhere that AA doesn't fly to directly, but BA has flights to from London, first do a search from the US to LHR, ensure THAT flight is an AA flight, and then find a separate connection from LHR to your desired destination. Once you've found a date where both flights work, go back and repeat your search but select all airlines, and on the specific date you chose, find the connecting flight option that has the AA on the transatlantic leg. There will still be a cash component of the charge, but it will be substantially less. Coming back will be somewhat more expensive unless you can avoid British airspace on your flight back, but still less than a BA flight.
Hope that all makes sense.
British Airways will charge "fuel surcharges" on certain long-haul flights using their planes or their miles (avios). Typically, you can expect to pay about $500 per person per leg from a city in the Continental US to any city in Europe if the transatlantic part of that trip is on a BA plane, even if you're paying with AA miles. To avoid this, what you want to do is ensure that your flights are all on AA planes, or at the very least, make sure the flight over the Atlantic is on an AA plane, even if you connect in London on a BA plane to your final destination.
To quickly search for these optimal flights, do an advanced search from the AA.com main menu, select to use miles, select a date to start with (just guess something close). At the bottom of the page, in the Airline box, select American Airlines instead of All Airlines. Then click search. You'll get the same calendar search you normally get, except it will only show date availability when there is at least one option where all flights on are AA metal.
If you want to fly somewhere that AA doesn't fly to directly, but BA has flights to from London, first do a search from the US to LHR, ensure THAT flight is an AA flight, and then find a separate connection from LHR to your desired destination. Once you've found a date where both flights work, go back and repeat your search but select all airlines, and on the specific date you chose, find the connecting flight option that has the AA on the transatlantic leg. There will still be a cash component of the charge, but it will be substantially less. Coming back will be somewhat more expensive unless you can avoid British airspace on your flight back, but still less than a BA flight.
Hope that all makes sense.
Aug 12, 2018, 2:48 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,770
I see that no one has answered your actual question so far.
No, you cannot use your miles on a flight that says AA but is actually a British airline (i.e. a "codeshare"). If you asked the agent how to do this, he/she undoubtedly said it was impossible.
However, you CAN use your miles on a flight that says AA and is actually AA; and you can also use your miles on a flight that says BA and is actually BA. If you insist on flying BA, you will have to pay high fees, there is no way around it.
Your miles are valid not just on AA, but also on a number of partner airlines. But you must always book through aa.com or by calling AA.
No, you cannot use your miles on a flight that says AA but is actually a British airline (i.e. a "codeshare"). If you asked the agent how to do this, he/she undoubtedly said it was impossible.
However, you CAN use your miles on a flight that says AA and is actually AA; and you can also use your miles on a flight that says BA and is actually BA. If you insist on flying BA, you will have to pay high fees, there is no way around it.
Your miles are valid not just on AA, but also on a number of partner airlines. But you must always book through aa.com or by calling AA.
To clarify, all BA transatlantic flights are also sold as AA codeshares and vice versa. They are all bookable with AA miles, subject to award availability of course.
The point is that when booked as an award a BA operated flight will be booked under the BA code, with the applicable BA YQ.
Aug 12, 2018, 4:09 am
#9
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,632
For example AA6139 (JFK-LHR) is not bookable with miles because it is actually a BA metal flight. There's nothing "misleading" about that fact at all.
The OP has apparently been calling AA and trying to book a flight similar to AA6139. The agent has told him/her "no", and he/she is confused by that.
Aug 12, 2018, 4:19 am
#10
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,770
So if you say to an agent "I see there's a flight AA6139 JFK-LHR at 7pm - can I book that as an award?", what they should say is "That's actually a BA operated flight, but yes you can book it as an award [under the BA code] if there are award seats available." It would be misleading to simply say "no, that flight is not bookable as an award."
Aug 12, 2018, 2:12 pm
#12
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Aug 12, 2018, 3:04 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2003
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Hi
i have been a American Airlines advantage holder for years. I want to use my miles to fly direct from jfk. Can I use my miles on a flight that says aa but is actually a British airline?
i called several weeks ago and the agent made it sound like impossible to use my miles. Does aa fly to Europe directly from jfk? And can I use my miles??
i have been a American Airlines advantage holder for years. I want to use my miles to fly direct from jfk. Can I use my miles on a flight that says aa but is actually a British airline?
i called several weeks ago and the agent made it sound like impossible to use my miles. Does aa fly to Europe directly from jfk? And can I use my miles??
For example, in just a couple of minutes, I can book tickets tomorrow from JFK to LHR. Just tomorrow, as a random date, there are several options tomorrow for one way non-stop flights on British Airways for 30,000 miles plus $188 or for one way non-stop flights on American Airlines for 65,000 miles plus $5 in taxes. As others have mentioned, many of us prefer to avoid the fees British Airways charges but they do have more availability on the lower mileage tickets than American.
Keep in mind that connecting through Philadelphia or Charlotte will provide you with many more alternatives, depending on where you want to go. And, like purchasing tickets with case, spending time shopping and having flexible dates may save you miles. On the other hand, if you have little flexibility on dates, it may cost you more.
Good luck!