Taxes more than a ticket
Dec 26, 2017, 8:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NY
Programs: AA Gold; SPG: Gold:
Posts: 473
Taxes more than a ticket
Hi: I have never flown BA but my mother has tons of miles on them. She would like to let my children use them to visit my grandson who will be spending a semester in Amsterdam. When I look for an award ticket the fees are more than purchasing a ticket. Is this really the way it works or is there some way around this? Any suggestions will be appreciated,. Can I use the miles on another airline that goes from NY to Amsterdam?
Dec 26, 2017, 9:02 am
#2
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,736
I presume you are looking at tickets in the World Traveller cabin (economy/coach)? In which case, yes this is the way it works, though it's not a direct correlation, since the cheaper revenue economy tickets are generally inflexible, for example. You may want to have a look at the sticky at the top of the Forum which explains how to make best use of Avios, but only occasionally is World Traveller a good use of them. As for alternatives, in the sticky you may want to look at Aer Lingus as an alternative way of doing this, which would be JFK to DUB, or using Avios for upgrades instead.
Dec 26, 2017, 3:46 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold 1MM, BA Gold, UA Peon
Posts: 6,106
You can use them on some other airlines. In your case Iberia is the main one, Aer Lingus may work for your routing too. For example you can fly Iberia JFK-MAD-AMS.
AA does fly PHL-AMS, but BA will still charge a large carrier surcharge if you use Avios for this. Iberia surcharges are much smaller.
AA does fly PHL-AMS, but BA will still charge a large carrier surcharge if you use Avios for this. Iberia surcharges are much smaller.
Dec 26, 2017, 10:33 pm
#6
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: GLA
Programs: BAEC GGL CCR, HHonors DIA
Posts: 148
Hi: I have never flown BA but my mother has tons of miles on them. She would like to let my children use them to visit my grandson who will be spending a semester in Amsterdam. When I look for an award ticket the fees are more than purchasing a ticket. Is this really the way it works or is there some way around this? Any suggestions will be appreciated,. Can I use the miles on another airline that goes from NY to Amsterdam?
Dec 30, 2017, 10:06 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NY
Programs: AA Gold; SPG: Gold:
Posts: 473
I desperately want to use these miles and not let them go to waste. If we are unable to use them for Europe I ask this: If we use the miles to fly r/t from New York to Honolulu, do we still have to pay the taxes and surcharges despite flying within the US?
This is the third generation: My mother's grandchild.
This is the third generation: My mother's grandchild.
Dec 30, 2017, 10:53 am
#8
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,736
Yes, you can and the taxes will be low for that. Somewhat better value for money can be had when used for short to medium non stop trips on AA, so hops around the East Coast for example. The other big low cost area for Avios is Asia. Again I'll refer you to the Sticky on how to use Avios for more information.
Dec 30, 2017, 11:02 am
#9
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Aberdeenshire
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 153
I desperately want to use these miles and not let them go to waste. If we are unable to use them for Europe I ask this: If we use the miles to fly r/t from New York to Honolulu, do we still have to pay the taxes and surcharges despite flying within the US?
This is the third generation: My mother's grandchild.
This is the third generation: My mother's grandchild.
Jan 8, 2018, 8:24 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NY
Programs: AA Gold; SPG: Gold:
Posts: 473
I'm sorry, I know I sound totally ignorant, but I've tried to fake book on BA for flights on AA from NY/hnl, It does not come up, I only get a note "we don't fly that route" and "we will only show availability on BA". How does one figure out how to use BA miles on AA regarding availability and costs?
Jan 8, 2018, 10:06 am
#12
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,736
I'm sorry, I know I sound totally ignorant, but I've tried to fake book on BA for flights on AA from NY/hnl, It does not come up, I only get a note "we don't fly that route" and "we will only show availability on BA". How does one figure out how to use BA miles on AA regarding availability and costs?
Jan 8, 2018, 10:16 am
#13
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 59
I'm sorry, I know I sound totally ignorant, but I've tried to fake book on BA for flights on AA from NY/hnl, It does not come up, I only get a note "we don't fly that route" and "we will only show availability on BA". How does one figure out how to use BA miles on AA regarding availability and costs?
Jan 8, 2018, 10:18 am
#14
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: JAX
Programs: Ex-BA/AA/CP/LY staff, BA Executive Club Blue, IHG Diamond, Marriott Silver, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 3,581
Are you perhaps trying to book from BA.com home page? There's no option to redeem Avios from the home page but if you log into BAEC and go to your account page, there's another new booking search function where you can specify whether you're booking with money or Avios.
Apologies if you were aware of this distinction already; wasn't clear.
Apologies if you were aware of this distinction already; wasn't clear.