RichardInSF

I was wondering about that. There may also be worse redemption levels, that I don't know about either.

S.Bling

Don't forget the exhorbitant "fuel surcharges" and "taxes" that BA charges. You can easily pay well over 500 bucks for a "free" trip to Europe. For a couple of dollars more, you can just purchase the ticket and also earn miles on it.

The main draw of BA (and this sometimes overrides all the artificial surcharges and fees) is the C and F service and seats, which beats all other carriers in the region - hands down.

S.Bling

Quite the opposite is true.

Many of them are actually BETTER redemption levels using BA's miles, even compared to AA's lowest-priced "mileSAAver" restrictive availability:

e.g. (all of these are to redeem on AA metal):

Domestic/Canada = 25k (same on AA)
Bermuda = 25k (25/35k on AA)
Hawaii = 35k (35/45k on AA)

Central America = 35k (same on AA)
South America = 40k (40/60k on AA)

Europe = 50k (40/60k on AA)

India = 80k (90k on AA)
Japan = 50k (50/65k on AA)
China = 50k (70k on AA)

And if you are used to redeeming your AA miles on other OneWorld partners (even BA), things get even worse (to use AA's miles instead of BA's miles):

Europe domestic or shorthaul Europe = 9k, (vs 20k on AA)
US-MiddleEast = 80k (vs 90k on AA)
SouthAmerica-Europe = 70k (vs 90/100k on AA)
SouthAmerica-Africa = 70k (vs 150k on AA !!!)
Europe-WestAfrica = 40k (vs 60k on AA)
Europe-SouthAfrica = 50k (vs 60k on AA)

And the list goes on.

Bottom line - I would view BA's addition to MR as being better than MR adding AA themselves.

YMMV

kfreflyer

HELLO

I am new to the Forum. I am trying to figure out how I can get Amex points to my AA account. I have a AMEX-Starwood acct they let me transfer from there but was wondering if anyone new or had ideas of how to get from my Regular platinum Amex points to American Airlines.

I have heard there is a way to transfer to another airline or party then they can transfer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

mia

Welcome to Flyertalk. This is a frequently asked question, but there is no route to transfer Membership Rewards to AA without substantial lost value. Example:

60,000 Membership Rewards
=20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest
=25,000 American Airlines AAdvantage

However, you can transfer to British Airways, Iberia or Mexicana and redeem though their frequently flyer programs for travel on AA. Bear in mind that both AA and BA allow one-way award redemptions. You could redeem one direction using AA miles and the other using BA miles.

SkinsFan0521

I would just transfer my miles to British Airways 1:1 + 5,000 bonus and then you can use the BA miles to book travel on AA since they're partner airlines.

biggestbopper

Transfer to BA is a good option.

But, when I read this sort of thread I remember my own confusion and shock years ago when I figured out that the AA and BA programs were different and that I couldn't consolidate the 25K or so I had in each one.

Thank the Lord that FT has educated me--to the extent possible.

buffcoat

Plus, and please correct me if I'm wrong (please!) it's not easy (possible?) to use BA miles to book AA domestic flights.


If I'm wrong, I'd be really interested in knowing how to do that.

mia

There has been extensive discussion of this topic recently in the Milles Buzz section of Flyertalk because Chase recently offfered a large bonus to attract new British Airways VISA accounts.

I would start in this thread because it is more manageable length than the inital thread...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...versus-aa.html

mia

To book AA domestic travel online using BA miles.

1. Go to BA.com
2. LOGIN
3. Click "Book using BA Miles"
4. Provide US airports for both origin and destination, plus dates
5. The search will display this error...

British Airways does not fly all or part of this route. Your options are:

�Select another route
�Include our partners in the availability search

6. Click "Include Partners"
7. The results may include both Alaska and American Airlines.

lffisher

Hi - I'm trying to book a trip to SSA (Salvador, Brazil). American Airlines would charge 40K miles per ticket. I have over 120K AMEX points for 3 tickets, but AMEX doesn't transfer to AA.

However, AA codeshares with Alaska Airlines, and since AMEX does transfer directly to Alaska I though my problem was solved. Just transfer the points into Alaska, then book Alaska reward travel on its codeshare parter flight of AA. But alas, AA does not make those reward travel seats available to their partners so easily. No days are available to Alasks, even though they are available if you go directly through AA.

So, it seems I may need to get my AMEX points in my AA account. I can't find any way to do this without a 75% hit. Points.com is awful.

Other ideas? I am a little short on time, otherwise I'd open up some credit cards in all our names to help.

Thanks

mia

American Express Membership Rewards points do not transfer to Alaska Airlines program. What are you looking at which gives you that impression? (I am assuming your card participates in the USA version of Membership Rewards, other countries have different partners.)

However, Membership Rewards do transfer to British Airways Executive Club, and if AA has sAAver award availability you should be able to book and redeem through BA (unless there is a US-UK segment). Note that this has nothing to do codeshares, it is a benefit of AA and BA both participating in OneWorld alliance.

In any event, do not transfer your points until you have confirmed award availability through BA's website.

SFO777

+1
Also, check *A options as Amex MRs transfer to AC, which offers some of the best redemption rates.

jrjcopp

I have booked several AA award flights with BA points recently. The AA flights show up on the BA website with the correct points requirement, but the site has never allowed me to complete the transaction. So I would call, and BA Executive Club phone reps always made the reservation without a fee since I was unable to complete it online. One rep did mention they knew about the problem and thought it was no longer.

WashParkRam

Could I transfer my MRP's to StarPoints, and then turn around and convert them to AA Miles? Is that the best method, or am I missing something out there?