Sometimes, certain airlines have higher taxes, certain destinations have higher taxes, or you'll be
charged higher fuel surcharges depending on what airline rewards program you book with.
British Airways is one of the worst offenders in the airline industry for
charging high fuel surcharges (also called carrier charges) on award bookings.
Asia Miles
charges the highest fuel surcharges among all the listed above
While the program is a great option for those that like to book Star Alliance awards (especially in that elusive first class cabin), Aeroplan has long been a favorite despite
charging high fuel surcharges.
Not exact matches
Because British Airways is notorious for
charging high taxes and fees (e.g.
fuel surcharge), it is often times more beneficial to use your Avios to book flights with other airlines.
We want to avoid London if possible since we scared of
high fuel surcharges and tax that they
charge there.
One thing that is very consistent across airlines is that taxes and fees are
charged as well, so watch out for airlines with
high fuel surcharges.
The
charge on this award flight is the result of British Airways»
fuel surcharge coupled with London Heathrow Airport's
high taxes.
While Aeroplan has
higher fuel surcharges, United
charges a whopping 110,000 miles for the same flight, so I'd rather pay a couple hundred more in fees and spend nearly half the amount of miles.
Though you can use Avios to fly on British Airways from the U.S. to Great Britain, the
high fees and
fuel surcharges charged by British Airways will often cancel out the savings of an award ticket.
KLM and Air France can have
fuel surcharges as
high as 200 Euros each direction, and the actual
charged rate is 50 Euros ($ 63 USD).
In addition, the
high fuel surcharges often charged on award flights operated by British Airways make these points most valuable when used on partners like American Airlines, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Aer Lingus, and others (see How to Redeem Avios Without Huge Fees and Su
surcharges often
charged on award flights operated by British Airways make these points most valuable when used on partners like American Airlines, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Aer Lingus, and others (see How to Redeem Avios Without Huge Fees and
SurchargesSurcharges).
Because British Airways is notorious for
charging high taxes and fees (e.g.
fuel surcharge), it is often times more beneficial to use your Avios to book flights with other airlines.
Considering the fact that United does not pass on carrier imposed
fuel surcharges for award tickets even on partners, some people prefer to book partners such as Lufthansa with United miles to avoid these
charges, even though 70,000 miles is
higher than other programs would
charge for that flight in business class.