[PREM FARE GONE] BA/oneworld US to Europe for ~$1.4k on Biz
Oct 15, 2015, 8:45 pm
#242
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 721
Same reason I stayed away from this deal although I saw this deal since yesterday.With more than a million miles in my account I really need to burn rather than earn.
Oct 15, 2015, 8:45 pm
#243
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: ATL
Programs: HH D, MB G, IHG P, Nat'l EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 496
Click through this link and login: http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/...ember-benefits
Oct 15, 2015, 8:46 pm
#244
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SAN, DFW
Programs: BA Gold, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 307
Oct 15, 2015, 9:02 pm
#245
formerly known as DeltaNYC
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: YYZ, mostly...
Programs: AC SE100K / BA Bronze / Marriott Ambassador (LT Plat) / Hilton Diamond / IHG Plat
Posts: 1,704
Oct 15, 2015, 9:12 pm
#246
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,404
It's no secret that mistake fares aren't what they used to be. That said, I think today's deals were among the best EVER.
The problem was it took everyone a little time to figure out how to maximize what was available, and then there was only a few precious hours to book it.
Clearly the best deals were to European destinations other than London (that freakin' carbon tax, worse in biz class!) with travel completed by January 31 (so you get back 25,000 ff miles with the BA or AA promo). I paid $273 to fly in biz class to Rome, and I'll get back more Avios than I spent. An insane deal, with no blackout days.
You could pay the same to Athens, Paris or Barcelona for summer travel, but you don't get 25,000 Avios back. Considering you can gin up Avios points for .57 cents each at Staples now, that's a pretty incredible price, too!
Of course, the great limitation on this deal was how many Avios points you had. I had foolishly booked some COACH seats to Europe a few days ago with Avios. Just as I was contemplating whether it was worth cancelling those any paying the change fees (it was going to hurt, but yes, it would have been worth it), the deals went "poof."
The fares that are still left are a good deal, but only for those who have the necessary Avios points and don't mind spending another $1000. Oh, and you can buy your ticket through topcashback and save $13.
I have this bad memory of buying a BA coach ticket to India a few years ago for less than $300. The fare was really in the $500s, but there was a short-lived way to dump the fuel surcharge on priceline and get the price below $300. To my amazement, BA cancelled all the tickets, even for folks who paid more than $500. I don't think that's going to happen here, but I'd be lying if I said the chance was zero.
The problem was it took everyone a little time to figure out how to maximize what was available, and then there was only a few precious hours to book it.
Clearly the best deals were to European destinations other than London (that freakin' carbon tax, worse in biz class!) with travel completed by January 31 (so you get back 25,000 ff miles with the BA or AA promo). I paid $273 to fly in biz class to Rome, and I'll get back more Avios than I spent. An insane deal, with no blackout days.
You could pay the same to Athens, Paris or Barcelona for summer travel, but you don't get 25,000 Avios back. Considering you can gin up Avios points for .57 cents each at Staples now, that's a pretty incredible price, too!
Of course, the great limitation on this deal was how many Avios points you had. I had foolishly booked some COACH seats to Europe a few days ago with Avios. Just as I was contemplating whether it was worth cancelling those any paying the change fees (it was going to hurt, but yes, it would have been worth it), the deals went "poof."
The fares that are still left are a good deal, but only for those who have the necessary Avios points and don't mind spending another $1000. Oh, and you can buy your ticket through topcashback and save $13.
I have this bad memory of buying a BA coach ticket to India a few years ago for less than $300. The fare was really in the $500s, but there was a short-lived way to dump the fuel surcharge on priceline and get the price below $300. To my amazement, BA cancelled all the tickets, even for folks who paid more than $500. I don't think that's going to happen here, but I'd be lying if I said the chance was zero.
Oct 15, 2015, 9:12 pm
#247
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Madison, WI
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 973
Just wanted to say a huge "Thank You" to everyone who input on this thread.
I booked family of 5 + infant ORD - BCN for August. $1700 + 150K Avios, and should earn back most of those Avios. $350/person in CW is just crazy, and I know it's not the best product out there, but I'm super excited to fly on the upper deck of a 747 on the return LHR-ORD.
FYI - After booking, I went back into the "Manage Booking" and it allowed me to select both my BA and AA seats. I don't have status with either airline, so not sure why it let me select seats for free.
I booked family of 5 + infant ORD - BCN for August. $1700 + 150K Avios, and should earn back most of those Avios. $350/person in CW is just crazy, and I know it's not the best product out there, but I'm super excited to fly on the upper deck of a 747 on the return LHR-ORD.
FYI - After booking, I went back into the "Manage Booking" and it allowed me to select both my BA and AA seats. I don't have status with either airline, so not sure why it let me select seats for free.
Oct 15, 2015, 9:28 pm
#249
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,635
It's no secret that mistake fares aren't what they used to be. That said, I think today's deals were among the best EVER.
The problem was it took everyone a little time to figure out how to maximize what was available, and then there was only a few precious hours to book it.
Clearly the best deals were to European destinations other than London (that freakin' carbon tax, worse in biz class!) with travel completed by January 31 (so you get back 25,000 ff miles with the BA or AA promo). I paid $273 to fly in biz class to Rome, and I'll get back more Avios than I spent. An insane deal, with no blackout days.
You could pay the same to Athens, Paris or Barcelona for summer travel, but you don't get 25,000 Avios back. Considering you can gin up Avios points for .57 cents each at Staples now, that's a pretty incredible price, too!
Of course, the great limitation on this deal was how many Avios points you had. I had foolishly booked some COACH seats to Europe a few days ago with Avios. Just as I was contemplating whether it was worth cancelling those any paying the change fees (it was going to hurt, but yes, it would have been worth it), the deals went "poof."
The fares that are still left are a good deal, but only for those who have the necessary Avios points and don't mind spending another $1000. Oh, and you can buy your ticket through topcashback and save $13.
I have this bad memory of buying a BA coach ticket to India a few years ago for less than $300. The fare was really in the $500s, but there was a short-lived way to dump the fuel surcharge on priceline and get the price below $300. To my amazement, BA cancelled all the tickets, even for folks who paid more than $500. I don't think that's going to happen here, but I'd be lying if I said the chance was zero.
The problem was it took everyone a little time to figure out how to maximize what was available, and then there was only a few precious hours to book it.
Clearly the best deals were to European destinations other than London (that freakin' carbon tax, worse in biz class!) with travel completed by January 31 (so you get back 25,000 ff miles with the BA or AA promo). I paid $273 to fly in biz class to Rome, and I'll get back more Avios than I spent. An insane deal, with no blackout days.
You could pay the same to Athens, Paris or Barcelona for summer travel, but you don't get 25,000 Avios back. Considering you can gin up Avios points for .57 cents each at Staples now, that's a pretty incredible price, too!
Of course, the great limitation on this deal was how many Avios points you had. I had foolishly booked some COACH seats to Europe a few days ago with Avios. Just as I was contemplating whether it was worth cancelling those any paying the change fees (it was going to hurt, but yes, it would have been worth it), the deals went "poof."
The fares that are still left are a good deal, but only for those who have the necessary Avios points and don't mind spending another $1000. Oh, and you can buy your ticket through topcashback and save $13.
I have this bad memory of buying a BA coach ticket to India a few years ago for less than $300. The fare was really in the $500s, but there was a short-lived way to dump the fuel surcharge on priceline and get the price below $300. To my amazement, BA cancelled all the tickets, even for folks who paid more than $500. I don't think that's going to happen here, but I'd be lying if I said the chance was zero.
Do people know for sure that the AARP discount is stackable with the 25k Avios promo? If you read the 25k Avios promo T&Cs it says "14.Cannot be combined with any other offer. " Does the AARP discount count as "other offer"? Has anyone received the 25k bonus when booking with the AARP?
http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/...rs/bonus-avios
Oct 15, 2015, 9:56 pm
#250
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: AA EXP, DL-Plat, WN-CP | Hotels: Choice-Gld, IHG-Plt, Rad-Gld, HH-Dia, Hyatt-Glob, Marriott-LtPlt
Posts: 2,889
Last edited by FindAWay; Oct 15, 2015 at 10:04 pm
Oct 15, 2015, 10:09 pm
#251
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,404
Yes, good points, if you had the Avios and booked within the promo period to get them back, it was an unprecedented deal. Lesson learned to always have Avios available.
Do people know for sure that the AARP discount is stackable with the 25k Avios promo? If you read the 25k Avios promo T&Cs it says "14.Cannot be combined with any other offer. " Does the AARP discount count as "other offer"? Has anyone received the 25k bonus when booking with the AARP?
http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/...rs/bonus-avios
Do people know for sure that the AARP discount is stackable with the 25k Avios promo? If you read the 25k Avios promo T&Cs it says "14.Cannot be combined with any other offer. " Does the AARP discount count as "other offer"? Has anyone received the 25k bonus when booking with the AARP?
http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/...rs/bonus-avios
It would be extremely surprising if BA didn't allow folks to earn the 25K bonus because they got a discount on their ticket price. I think they were thinking you couldn't get something like a 10K route bonus AND this 25K bonus. But I guess we'll soon get reports. It's also worth noting that you can credit the flights to AA and get their 25K bonus instead. For many folks, especially those with a preference for premium class travel, that might be a better choice anyway -- especially since it's easier to gin up BA miles than AA miles.
Oct 15, 2015, 10:10 pm
#252
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 338
Still working for me (as of 5 min ago). My recommendation is to log out of your avios account before you start your search. In addition, some city pairs (like SJC - LHR) don't show the high discount avios option.
Oct 15, 2015, 10:38 pm
#253
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: BA Gold; AA Lfe Time PLT ; Marriott Titanium, LFT GLD
Posts: 1,276
I passed on the AARP discount and booked on AA.com.
The AA extra points for discount Business will get me to EXP this year. Also F is empty on the flights I chose so I can use SWUs to upgrade our seats.
The AA extra points for discount Business will get me to EXP this year. Also F is empty on the flights I chose so I can use SWUs to upgrade our seats.
Oct 15, 2015, 10:40 pm
#254
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: West Coast, USA
Programs: Skywards Platinum
Posts: 3,747
Oct 15, 2015, 11:11 pm
#255
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Charlotte NC USA
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Exec Plat, Alaska 75k, IHG Diamond, Wyndham Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 862
This is a confusing set of promotions.
The google flights map, and even the BA.com sliding weekly calendar above a booking, are often showing different pricing (both lower and higher) than is being offered on specific flights options at ba.com.
On top of that, many times the avios + cash pricing isn't showing even when it's supposed to.
I can't tell when prices have sold out, or when I'm just witnessing a series of site glitches.
The google flights map, and even the BA.com sliding weekly calendar above a booking, are often showing different pricing (both lower and higher) than is being offered on specific flights options at ba.com.
On top of that, many times the avios + cash pricing isn't showing even when it's supposed to.
I can't tell when prices have sold out, or when I'm just witnessing a series of site glitches.
