Using AA miles for a BA award flight
Apr 27, 2019, 5:55 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Central Florida, US
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 634
Using AA miles for a BA award flight
Apologies if this should have been posted on the AA forum instead.
I am contemplating trying to secure 2 seats in F on a BA flight using AA miles. Will there be a significant cash co-payment required?
I am contemplating trying to secure 2 seats in F on a BA flight using AA miles. Will there be a significant cash co-payment required?
Apr 27, 2019, 6:43 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: BA Gold, AA Lifetime Gold 1.8mm, IC Spire Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold et al
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Your term "co-payment" isn't what BA will use to describe the extremely significant charge they will impose on your proposed redemption but it is entirely accurate. In the absence of absolute necessity, it makes little or no sense to use AAdvantage miles in this way.
Apr 28, 2019, 9:15 am
#7
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: BA - Blue > Bronze > Silver > Bronze > Blue
Posts: 6,812
I don’t think BA fly F to Orlando do they?
I suspect it will be tough to find availability but you’d be much better off connecting domestically on AA if you can, otherwise fees will be north of 1200 dollars for two I suspect
I suspect it will be tough to find availability but you’d be much better off connecting domestically on AA if you can, otherwise fees will be north of 1200 dollars for two I suspect
Apr 28, 2019, 11:05 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
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Posts: 29,584
If award seats are available, the routing -- with all associated cash costs -- should come up if you do a dummy award search at aa.com; no log-in required.
Apr 28, 2019, 11:18 am
#9
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,769
Fees won't be quite as eye-watering as posters above suggest given you're (a) wanting Europe>US (rather than v.v.) and (b) avoiding UK APD if starting in BCN.
So for example fees for BCN-LHR-MIA in F would be £243 total. Not too horrific.
As noted above, BA don't offer F on their direct MCO flights.
So for example fees for BCN-LHR-MIA in F would be £243 total. Not too horrific.
As noted above, BA don't offer F on their direct MCO flights.
Apr 28, 2019, 11:27 am
#10
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Taxes such as APD will be the same on BA as they are on AA and the APD itself, if it applies, will be the same for F as CW. The issue at hand are BA's carrier surcharges (cash copayments) which are not taxes.
Apr 28, 2019, 11:59 am
#11
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Central Florida, US
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 634
BA flies to Philadelphia, Chicago and New York (LGA?) so you are correct. I would have to connect to AA.
Apr 28, 2019, 12:01 pm
#12
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Central Florida, US
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 634
Apr 28, 2019, 12:31 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Brighton. UK
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AA does fly LGA-MCO but not JFK-MCO (ends next week) for example.
You need to reverse engineer your trip by working backwards from MCO - where does AA fly from to get to MCO and then which of those airports does BA fly / to from and then which of those offer F service.
Then you'll have the complication that there may be BA rewards LHR-ORD (for example) but none on AA ORD-MCO or vice versa
Though booking with AA using AA miles means that you won't have the the same restriction that only MilessAAver can be booked via BA using avios.
Apr 28, 2019, 1:10 pm
#14
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For what it's worth, I do think this would have been better in the AA forum. Most of us here pay the fees associated with BAEC rewards whilst people on "the other side" would have been best placed to give you specifics and tips based on the AA FFP.