Calchas

Sounds like she was manually rebooked into a J care class.

In principle she might!

Exec_Plat

Ive got a related question...

I am thinking of converting 430k AMEX MR points into 600K avios. The idea is to be able to grab F awards at 355 days for a trip a 13-15 months from now. My questions:

By Jan 30 for the 40% bonus... correct?

Currently not a BAEC member, would need to convert my current FF account into an EC account, yes?

If I find seats and use the award (QF btw) all is good. OW carriers, I'm EXP/CK with AA, relatively painless.

If I have to cancel or change, I pay modest change fees? GBP 17 or something? but must be done more than 24 hrs in advance.

Anyone know what are the added fees for QF F awards USA-AUS?

If I dont fly or change plans, I have 600k locked in AVIOS. Which isnt a big deal.

I kinda need to move on the transfer and then sit on the points for some months for the window to open- so feedback would be helpful.

Comments?

PS fantastic Wiki btw, really fine effort. Thx!

nux

You wouldn't 'convert' your current FF account, you would just need to open a new BAEC account.

US$55 change fee.
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...d-service-fees

Search for LAX-SYD return on ITA Matrix. BA will charge roughly the total taxes/fees/charges (i.e. everything except the base fare).
Looks like approximately US$934 for a return booking, of which US$780 is YQ. Plus of course the avios required.

Exec_Plat

Thanks! So this is the 'cost' of using BA versus AA for a QF award... (edit) confirmed with AA there is no YQ surcharge for AA awards.

Hmm. $2,000 for access to seats between 331 and 355 days out.... bummer. Seems like a necessary evil

jerry a. laska

You should look to the AA forum for information about what taxes and fuel surcharges AA will impose for an AA award on QF. I believe it will be much less than what BA will assess. You can also just make a dummy award booking on aa.com to see how much AA will charge.

Exec_Plat

Yes, did that and called the EXP/CK desk. Confirmed $114 in taxes for LAX-SYD return. No YQ fee. YQ is $780 when booked on ITA as a Qantas ticket (although that was SMF-LAX-SYD, RT...but generally close, confirming what nux posted.) CK desk confirmed no YQ on AA award.

Oh, good suggestion about a 'dummy' award. But I would bet there is no F award on AA for the next 331 days. Or if there is, good luck finding it!

Thanks-

smashin

Hi,

I am new to the forum but have read the entire "Spending Avios Points" guide along with other research on using Avios points. I am planning a new itinerary and would like to see my Avios points reach their full potential. Please point me in the right direction. If I am not posting in the most appropriate forum location please advice.

In 2011, I didn't know any better and booked a one-way ticket from DFW-LHR-PSA with my Avios. It cost $255+ USD but I booked it 4 days advance. I didn't know when I would return but when I was ready to go home two weeks later I booked another $255+ USD itinerary back with a few days layover to visit friends in London. I did this all through the BA.com website. I have since discovered that I did not use my points or cash-on-hand the most efficient way possible.

I am now in the process of planning another trip to Italy. I have found a round-trip non-stop from JFK-MIL (New York - Milan) for $636 but I'm not too keen on having my return set in stone. So I am leaning more towards booking the same departure flight one-way ($370) to travel with companions in order to have an open ended return. I understand that traveling from Dublin -> Boston is a wise use of my Avios. I can spend ~90 euros to get me from FCO (Rome) -> Dublin, then use Avios to get me from DUB -> Boston -> DFW. Or I can even use my Avios to from FCO (Rome) -> DUB through Aer Lingus. Admittedly, this is a new concept to me; I have to look up flights on Aer Lingus and then call BA/Avios and have them tell me what the points/surcharges would be from FCO (Rome) -> Dublin????

Regardless, going through Dublin, even if I pay the 90 euros to Dublin and explore for a few days would be less expensive than the initial $636 round trip non-stop and give me flexibility. Is there any flaw in my reasoning??

nux

Last minute and one way tickets can be good uses of avios, as a cash ticket at that time would likely be very expensive.

Is there award availability for when you want to travel?
Aer Lingus is good value with avios for TATL, such as BOS-DUB. For European flights the charges are reasonably high and so a cash booking may be better value.

I would concentrate on what options you have for the TATL, either award or revenue tickets and check availability for them. If you want to travel on a particular flight or date then you may not find any availability anyway.

Calchas

Welcome to FlyerTalk smashin!

I agree with nux. Your itinerary was actually not too bad, if you had tried to buy two one ways a few days before departure it would probably have cost you 2000 USD.

To work out the charges, use http://matrix.itasoftware.com to come up with a dummy itinerary with Aer Lingus. Then on the final page, it explains how it calculated the price. Look for everything except the part that says "fare", so we mean any kind of fee or tax. Everything except the fare will be charged to you. (Some airlines waive the YQ/YR fuel surcharge, BA does not!)

Within Europe, unless you qualify for Reward Flight Saver, you will probably find that it is cheaper to buy a cheap Y fare from a low cost carrier.

To work out the Avios cost, enter your desired route in www.gcmap.com, sector by sector, to find the distance of each sector. Then use the chart on this post: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...l#post24087980 (top line is the economy pricing) to work out which band you fall into, and therefore how many Avios that will cost. You do it per sector and then add them all up.

smashin

I think I have finally connected the dots! Thank you Nux and Calchas for the warm welcome and most helpful information and resources that I would have never found on my own! I calculated the fees and points necessary to fly from DUB -> BOS on Aer Lingus. I also found that I can fly Ryanair from FCO -> DUB for as low as $34.

I now have two more topics to cover:
(1) Do I get the same flexibility booking Aer Lingus through BA using my Avios? In other words, does it matter when I book the flight even if it's just a day or two in advance, assuming availability?
(2) How does one become a Reward Flight Saver? I Googled RFS and it took me to an Avios website. I have Avios points through BA.com but my log-in of course does not work on the Avios website. What is the best way to combine or activate RFS? What advantages does RFS offer? The website mentioned £35 + 9,000 Avios. That sounds like an incredible deal if it's TATL.

nux

1. No difference. 24 hours before the flight it becomes inflexible however.

2. You are confusing BAEC (BA.com) and Avios.com. They are different programs with a common currency of avios. You can only join Avios.com if you are a UK resident. You should have no need to join Avios.com.

RFS is offered by both BAEC and Avios.com. To be eligible for a RFS with BAEC you must have earned at least 1 avios in the past 12 months.

RFS only applies to shorthaul on BA metal. See: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...l#post24087989

Calchas

Happy to help. Yes you can book at any time, but as nux says the booking stops being changeable at t-24 hours but you can still book less than 24 hours ahead.

BA.com also offers RFS. It basically caps the fees and taxes on BA metal shorthaul flights to £35 for a return in Y. The RFS price will appear automatically when you search.

nux

RFS is available for all classes capped per segment at:
17.50 / 20 / 25 / 27.50 respectively for Y / W / J / F

Calchas

Who is offering W or F with RFS?

KARFA

Isn't W and F available as RFS on the DME route for the 747 flights?