oneworld82

Dame boat: got this card in early 2013, then cancelled in 2014. I plan to reapply as I value BA Avios for frequent intra-EU flights. Also, how long does the companion ticket last? 2 years?

Happy

Do you realize the "companion ticket" (ONE TIME Usage Only) is only after you spend $30K in the 12 months you own the card? (even you dont mind to incur the costs to achieve that.)

On top of that, do you realize you would need to pay YQ on the companion ticket, AND the trip must be originated from USA on a R/T basis? (hence you cannot use it for intra-Europe travel.)

Furthermore, if you plan to use it on coach travel the YQ charges probably end up near 50% or more of a Pay Ticket in coach which would actually earn you some Avios versus the award ticket and the companion ticket would burn your Avios, plus a good size cash out of your pocket.

Finaly, if you plan to use it on Premium cabin travel, you need to update yourself on how much Avios will cost you NOW, versus 2013, after multiple devaluations since then.

The Avios are good but the companion ticket is totally worthless even to those who used it in the past, thanks to the huge devaluation on redemption front, coupled with the devaluation in earning. In 2013 you earn 1.25 per $1 spent, now you earn 1 per $1 since the zombie link died in October as reported on this thread that you should read back several pages to gain some knowledge.

36902BRF

I'd say it is very nearly completely worthless I think in some instances there still might be some value for F (YQ fees in F are nearly identical to J), but otherwise yes worthless and I have used them in the past. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to earn one these days.

oneworld82

Oh, I do realize that. I was just wondering how long it is valid for, as mine expired in November 2015 and so it would remind me of when I got it...

StartinSanDiego

2 years

mia

Overstated. The Avois required MIA-LHR-MIA in Club increased from 100,000 to 125,000; spending $30,000 now generates 30,000 Avois rather than 37,500. This means that I now need to earn 95,000 Avois elsewhere, rather than 62,500. That's a substantial price increase, but without the certificate I would need to earn 220,000 Avois elsewhere to redeem for two Club roudtrip tickets.

36902BRF

I agree the argument is overstated however you shouldn't just look British Airways unless that is your only option. I find the YQ fees charged by BA for J (and of course Y) really do minimize the value of the companion cert these days when compared to other options especially if one is able to generate a fair number of points through MS or what have you. At this point I cannot make the numbers work in J for the companion cert at least TATL from DC area. Yes other options take more miles but they still work out cheaper for me dollar-wise (even including my time to generate said miles).

As always YMMV and I can for sure see the value in the companion cert if one is "miles" poor.

Happy

The spend to earn Avios can be put to earn other currency which, even using AA miles to redeem BA flights, should not be much more than the 95,000 Avios but you do not need to be originate from USA , you could start the trip from Europe, and you can use one-way award also. Those 2 features are not to be ignored as it adds a lot of flexibility.

I would say BA F is an overrated product and J is downright inferior than other international airlines' product. Even its sister company Iberia has better J seats than the very old design very awkward and very narrow J seats with its backward/forward arrangement and no aisle access from the window seat. AA's new config 77W flying exclusively between JFK and LHR has the much better reverse herringbone seats that are many levels better than the BA Club World seats.

I would also say even DL miles redeemed the VS Upper Class would give you a better TATL experience than a BA Club World.

MIA-LHR is served by VS and it has amazing availability 3 months before departure in the height of Summer months fwiw. Superior service way over BA and the herringbone seats have aisle access from every seat. Leaving London the Upper Class Club is vastly superior than BA's lounges.

We do RTW trips 3 times a year sometimes more. We have not used a single BA TATL flight ever since AA put YQ on it. The last time we flew BA TATL was from YYZ when it had no YQ but could not fly from US. That is probably 5 or more years ago. Of course we are not married to a MIA-LHR-MIA routing and definitely not on BA. We flew MIA-LHR-FCO the past August on VS and AZ on award booked less than 2 months out - there was not even BA availability for our date(s), yet VS availability was wide open. To top it off, the MIA-LHR segment the cash portion was only $5.60. LHR-FCO added some $38 on it. Sure, it would cost you less Avios but essentially you are BUYING those saved Avios via YQ, at a cost that is not really cheap.

Unless you dont have other option than BA, and you MUST fly MIA-LHR-MIA on BA, then you are forced to use this cert, rather unfortunately. For the majority of people who can use other products then this cert has very marginal value to the point it is worth very little if it is not worthless. The marginal value is so small, with so much added restriction, it is just not worth it.

Mountain Trader

I'm with Happy on this one.

Maybe if you squeeze really hard you can find some value for the cert in the numbers, especially if you want a stopover in London and then go on to a distant destination. But the numbers don't allow for the indifferent (or worse) service, often inedible food and that seating arrangement that's like a furniture store.

The bloggers who have long touted the big Chase BA offers now file trip reports describing the cramped seating and weak soft product. And don't forget the charge for selecting a seat in Business Class, which even the cheerleaders on the BA board have trouble defending.

36902BRF

Under the current AA awards chart you'd need 200k AA miles for two round trip J ticket to Europe from MIA. And after March 21st You'd need 230k AA miles for round trip J. That seems a pretty insane redemption on BA metal with the associated YQ fees. If that is your alternative then I'd say the companion cert is looking pretty good math wise to me (especially since BA Avios are quite a bit easier to get general speaking). Now an AA redemption on non-BA metal looks a lot better b/c you avoid the insane YQ fees.

The issue with the companion cert to me is not the Avios required but the YQ fees. Redeeming AA on BA metal does not allow you to avoid the BA YQ fees. I do concur with you on the limits placed on using the companion cert to limit its value though you can reportedly do open jaw (to/from the same region) and even possibly one way awards though I have not tested this. So it may be a bit more flexible than the terms state.

Happy

Where did I say that using AA miles on BA flights is one of my alternatives?

Did you actually read my post about we usually do 3 RTWs a year sometimes more, and have NOT flown BA TATL since AA put YQ on it? Obviously AA miles on BA would NOT be the alternatives. On top of that I even gave the most recent TATL done this year, exactly MIA-LHR and onto FCO, using DL miles flying VS, a superior product over BA. And of course you could still go to LHR with a connection in Europe on other partners that you dont need to fork over the YQ.

I think I have already addressed that part - what you "saved" in the amount of Avios, you pay with CASH in the form of YQ - essentially you are BUYING your avios with out of pocket cash at a non-trivial amount.

Like I said multiple times, unless you MUST fly MIA-LHR and could not/ would not go slightly out of your way to get to LHR, then yeah, on the number you MIGHT be slightly better to earn that cert if you do not mind being fleeced on the insane YQ - but as Mountain Trader pointed out, that is just on the number, without accounting on all the restrictions, the inferior hard products and the badly lacking soft products of the BA J or F cabin. I and many others would gladly find other ways to get us to LHR if that is where we need to be, such as our very pleasant flight on VS just 4 months ago versus handed AA/BA our hard earned cash for an inferior product. It just does not compute, even only on the number because ultimately it is the products that you use that determine the "value".

Just like the DL miles being maligned by everyone but in all reality, it is often a better currency than AA, especially since the stealthy devaluation started almost 3 years ago in the form of stingy availability and pushed every TATL direct flight to BA metal. I would gladly pay 62.5K DL than 50K AA when MIA-LHR was wide open on VS in August but even BA had only a few days and AA had exactly one in the whole months of August.

As for cumulating BA Avios, sure we do that because we fly a lot intra-Continents - that is, intra-Europe, intra-Asia, intra-Australia / New Zealand, and even intra-South Africa where BA's sub Comair has its hub at J'oburg and serves major hops in the country and Namibia. Though now with the Rand fell another 25% this year and probably would stay low the next year, buying a ticket to fly Comair's low cost arm Kulula.com is a far better value than using Avios when it only costs $55 to fly between J'oburg and CPT while it costs 7500 Avios + $44. The option is obvious. For the other intra-Continent flights though, Avios remain the best option and that is where our Avios go.

36902BRF

I was just pointing out the error (in my opinion) to the statement that AA doesn't cost a lot more than 95k miles. I consider 105-135k additional miles to be considerably more that is all. I read the rest of your post and agree with it, I was just calling out what appeared to be an error in my opinion and the fact you seemed to be implying somebody might actually want to use AA miles on BA TATL that is all.

cruisingmickey

I just want to make sure that I won't lose my avios (that I earned from using my BA CC) if I cancel my card since the avios are already in my BA account. I understand I will lose any avios that haven't posted yet so that's okay.

I did a search and it sounds like I won't lose them, but just want to confirm.

Thank you!

Happy

You will not lose anything that has posted to your BA account.

However BA account itself has a life span. I dont remember it is 2 years or 3 years without activity you would lose the account and points in it. Check this area on BA site to make sure.

beltway

3 years; any activity (earn or burn) resets the clock.