It's important to note that some airlines impose ridiculously
high fuel surcharges on award tickets.
It's important to note that some airlines impose ridiculously
high fuel surcharges on award tickets.
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.
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.
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).
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.
As I mentioned before,
award flights
on Air Canada carry
high fuel surcharges so that is something to be aware of.
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.
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.
Awards on some of these airlines add
fuel surcharges — the
highest are typically British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Jordanian, and Qatar.
British Airways is one of the worst offenders in the airline industry for charging
high fuel surcharges (also called carrier charges)
on award bookings.
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.
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.
For instance, foreign airlines routinely add «
fuel surcharges»
on award redemptions that more than cover the additional cost of
higher fuel prices.
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.
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.
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.
Aside from the deceptive short - haul fares, Air Canada's
fuel surcharges and fees will hit your
award account the hardest when flying Air Canada flights
on long hauls, where the fees are naturally
higher and airport taxes tend to be as well.
The charge
on this
award flight is the result of British Airways»
fuel surcharge coupled with London Heathrow Airport's
high taxes.
If you book
on a Star partner, the
highest award level and a
higher fuel surcharge will apply.
After skimming this article, I started looking for BCN - > SEA
on Condor (Condor's own web site shows availability), but can only turn up
award availability
on BA via Alaska's site (which leads me to believe that this * should * be possible...), which with their ridiculously
high fuel surcharges isn't optimal.
Because of its
high fuel surcharges, taxes and fees, the worst value
awards on Virgin Atlantic are long - haul flights from the U.S. to Asia.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.