Since American Airlines updated its award chart and announced several other program changes after it mergered with US Airways and British Airways levies
high fuel surcharges on transoceanic flights, LATAM Pass's distance - based oneworld awards can be one of the most economical ways to travel within the alliance.
Given
the high fuel surcharges on British Airways, the main other competing product for first class that actually offers award availability, Lufthansa first class remains the one to beat in terms of overall value, when it comes to award bookings to Europe.
In addition, some programs impose such
high fuel surcharges on award tickets, in which case you may be better off using dollars rather than miles (I'm looking at you, British Airways).
British Airways has a great frequent flyer Program except
the high fuel surcharges on award tickets, you can pool your miles using BA Household Account.
You should also avoid flying to London on British Airways because of the airline's very
high fuel surcharges on long - haul flights.
Award flight tip *: Round - trip business class awards from the US - Europe cost 88,000 miles, just beware of
high fuel surcharges on some partners.
Just watch out for
high fuel surcharges on certain transfer partners.
Keep in mind that Virgin Atlantic imposes rather
high fuel surcharges on its award flights, and you will also be subject to the high government and airport taxes when flying through the U.K.
American Airlines miles aren't the easiest award miles to use to get to Europe, since you will often have to route through London (higher fees), fly British Airways (
high fuel surcharges on longer flights), and they limit award availability on their own metal, especially for premium cabin flights.
It's important to note that some airlines impose ridiculously
high fuel surcharges on award tickets.
Just watch out for
high fuel surcharges on certain transfer partners.
It's important to note that some airlines impose ridiculously
high fuel surcharges on award tickets.
BA will also impose
higher fuel surcharges on most longer flights, but you can avoid those with shorter distance flights.
Not exact matches
Unlike using Korean Air SkyPass to book award tickets
on Delta to London, you won't get hit with
high fuel surcharges.
We got the British Airways Signature Card a while back and used it to fly to Europe (making sure to book flights
on AA to avoid the
high fuel surcharges, per your recommendation).
You'll avoid
high taxes and
fuel surcharges when you focus
on flights operated by a British Airways» airline partners.
Avoid British Airways» ridiculously
high taxes and
fuel surcharges by booking flights to Europe
on airlines like Air Berlin and Aer Lingus.
Using your British Airways Avios
on these carriers lets you avoid the
high fuel surcharges.
As I mentioned before, award flights
on Air Canada carry
high fuel surcharges so that is something to be aware of.
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.
Flying back
on British Airways means paying this
high exit tax plus
fuel surcharges, so you could be looking at an award redemption cost well above $ 400.
If you are going to use the points
on a British Airways flight, know that you will be paying
high fuel surcharges: $ 650 - $ 1250 for economy and $ 1250 for business class.
High cost for tax and
fuel surcharges on long - haul British Airway flights (equals the cost of a regular ticket
on some airlines)
The
highest fuel surcharges are usually
on Air France, British Airways, Emirates, Finnair, and Qantas.
Awards
on some of these airlines add
fuel surcharges — the
highest are typically British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Jordanian, and Qatar.
On the downside, you'll need to watch out for fuel surcharges on flights from some of Delta's partner airlines, which can be hig
On the downside, you'll need to watch out for
fuel surcharges on flights from some of Delta's partner airlines, which can be hig
on flights from some of Delta's partner airlines, which can be
high.
Aeroplan adds very
high taxes and
fuel surcharges to redemptions
on Air Canada flights making Aeroplan miles worth less than 1 cent for most popular routes.
You shouldn't fly British Airways
on long - haul flights due to its
high redemption levels and huge
fuel surcharges, but take a look at these 4,500 Avios bargains:
British Airways is one of the worst offenders in the airline industry for charging
high fuel surcharges (also called carrier charges)
on award bookings.
Generally, when going to Europe it's recommended to use Avios
on partner airlines in order to avoid the
high fuel surcharges that you get hit with
on British Airways when flying through London.
If you have to pay
high fees or
fuel surcharges on an economy or short - haul flight, you should be especially cautious about using points for that redemption.
However, keep in mind that Flying Blue does have
higher than average
fuel surcharges, which you'll want to watch out for especially
on those business class awards.
The biggest problem with British Airways» program is that it adds prohibitively
high fuel surcharges to award flights
on its own metal and
on some partners.
You'll notice that
on a sample Atlanta to Paris search in economy, only 50,000 SkyPass miles are needed, but you'll also see that the carrier - imposed fees (also known as
fuel surcharges) are quite
high.
For instance, foreign airlines routinely add «
fuel surcharges»
on award redemptions that more than cover the additional cost of
higher fuel prices.
Remember there are no
fuel surcharges on domestic flights, but taxes and fees for visiting Hawaii or Alaska are a little
higher than you're used to when staying within the contiguous 48 states.
Its important to pay attention to this because Air Canada passes
on fuel surcharges for most of its partners, and they can be
high.
However, the
fuel surcharge on airberlin's transatlantic routes tends to be
higher than
on partner airlines except British Airways.
For example, use United Airlines miles to book an award with no
fuel surcharges, or book an airline that doesn't pass through London so you can avoid the
high passenger duty
on business and first class travel.
To avoid
high fuel surcharges you should book
on Polish LOT which costs between 100 to 200 $ for a round trip flight from Europe to the US.
Flying Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines with no
fuel surcharges, and having Starwood Preferred Guest and multiple American Airlines» credit cards to earn points and miles keep this redemption
high on the list.
The drawback is that you will pay
high taxes and
fuel surcharges (~ 500 $) if you fly
on Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian.
The
fuel surcharges on these US to Europe routes are
high so I would not recommend these options.
Then return to Europe
on Polish LOT and connect back to your home city to avoid
higher fuel surcharges in this direction of travel.
Flying Blue does assess
fuel surcharges on award flights, however the
highest we've seen is around $ 250 for a business class flight to Europe.
Flying Blue does assess
fuel surcharges on award flights, however the
highest I've seen is around $ 250 for a business class flight to Europe.
The biggest knock against Virgin Atlantic is that using points for flights
on their own metal can result in some pretty
high fuel surcharges.
If I really wanted to avoid
fuel surcharges on an award then the drop in points when I transfer from Singapore Airlines to Virgin Australia might make sense in some circumstances where Singapore imposed
high fuel surcharges.
You'll just have to lookout for the
fuel surcharges because they might be
high on this route.
While this redemption is among the
highest of the airlines
on the list, you have to remember that with United you don't have to worry about
fuel surcharges and so your tickets to Europe will cost next - to - nothing.