bmchris

I'm trying to decide whether to switch from AA EXP to British Airways Or Alaska Airlines programs. AA EXP doesn't make sense for me going forward, since I likely won't requalify as EXP in 2015, and usually fly AA in paid F, so upgrades are unattractive.

I'm looking at mileage earn in 2015 and burn in 2016. What appeals to me for BA over AS, is the ability to earn companion ceritifcates with the Chase Visa.

My question is, generally speaking, how easy is it to get 4 award seats in F or J from DFW-LHR in summer, using compaion certificates (family of 2 adults and 2 kids). I'm looking at advice to make a decision on program to accumulate in 2015, and understand that past performance is no indication of future performance. If I can only likely get 2 seats, then BA would be less attractive for my choice of program.

TIA.

nux

Unlikely to get 4 seats on one flight in the same class, even if booking 354 days ahead. If you are flexible and can travel in pairs then you will have a better chance at finding something.

Also be aware of the additional cash component required of up to $1k per person for a return booking.

KARFA

You can always open a BAEC account and search to have a look at availability.

bmchris

The cash component is less of a concern. The free ticket outweighs the cost.

How about 2F and 2J on the same flight? Is that likely?

bmchris

I'll take a peek at availability. Thank you for that suggestion.

LondonAndy

I've found J from NYC to LON to not be a problem for 4 in the past. Heading east next year I've had to book 2 x F and 2 x J on the same flight - that seems to be quite "do-able".

Renaldo

I booked four F seats in July 2015 YYZ-LHR. I used Avios and the 2-4-1. There was availability about 340 days out.

bostonmadeagle

The value of a change to BAEC from AA from what you are wanting will depend on the what status you can achieve in BAEC.

For background, I was (well, am still until end of Feb) EXP and Gold in BAEC, mainly traveling LHR-East Coast in WTP and coach on AA. When AA pulled the BOS-LHR sector I knew my miles on AA metal would drop and I was reaching EXP thru 100,000 miles, with some domestic travel not paid F (so the upgrades were of value). I decided to seek GGL status as a result, and have just made it to 5000 tier points with only a few additional TP run sectors to help. I travel in coach domestically.

If you travel a lot in paid F on AA/USAirways you could credit those tier points to your BAEC account and (particularly if you're on transcontinental) reach the 5000 tier point goal and GGL status. You will then be able to force mileage redemption on the DFW-LHR sectors in 2015 as you wish (subject to no other GGL having already done so on your chosen flight). There's lots here by way of information which will explain how it works. I don't know which of the three criteria you reached to get EXP but I'd be surprised if you couldn't make it to 5000 tier points if you're in F most of the time. You would need four flights on BA metal though.

A real added benefit of Gold over AA is lounge access (and premium drink coupons!).

bmchris

I didn't realise that this was a requirment to be on 4 BA metal flights. I can see this via search of Flyertalk. But is there a reference to this on a ba.com site? I can't find it via search. I'd like to see the official requirements.

windowontheAside

This page is about bronze, but check the final paragraph.

"Next stop, Silver

Unless you're travelling in business or first, you won't be able to use our airport lounges just yet. But the good news is you're already half way to becoming a Silver Member. You'll need to fly BA at least four times and earn 600 Tier Points, or take a total of 50 BA flights, to move through to the Silver tier.

jerry a. laska

From britishairways.com:
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...ut-tier-points

bmchris

Thank you - I jumped the gun. I was just looking at the Gold Tier page on which there is no reference.

I guess there's no point in asking for a waiver for members of the British Commonwealth...

Sixth Freedom

BA redemption finder shows 5x DFW-LHR and 1x LHR-DFW flights with 4x award seats available in J next summer. No flights with 4x award seats in F are shown.

I think that you should take the FFP of the carrier that operates from a base nearest to your local airport. That way, you will be able to enjoy access to a wider range of destinations. BA only flies to one destination (LHR) from the USA so you are at the mercy of seasonality and demand to and from that one city.

bmchris

I agree with your suggestion - in theory. We are booked (in F and J) to go to Japan in 2015 as a family. Talking it over with my wife for 2016 travel, she definitely would like to go to Europe (hence the LHR requirement being fine). Plus we did recently return from JFK-LHR in BA F. We all absolutely loved it.

I did propose South Africa. But with children, she feels more comfortable visiting countries that are deemed to be safer. Happy wife - happy life.

nux

I would not rely on the information provided by that website as it is cached information. I have checked several of the dates it shows 4x award seats on and only two of them actually have availability.

Also I don't think it is good advice to use the FFP of the carrier that operates from your nearest local airport, I would look at the best FFP of the alliance that provides the best earn/burn ratio and other features for your particular travel patterns. For example if you live close to an AA or US hub, mainly fly AA/US (enough to reach Silver/Gold with a few BA flights) and want lounge access and to redeem for short direct flights then BAEC would likely be a better fit than AA/US.