It's recommended to stick with short haul flights as they
pass on fuel surcharges for award travel, greatly increasing the cost of long flights.
For one, they pass
on fuel surcharges on their partner award flights and I'm not sure how much those fees can be.
I have also seen some arguing that the savings
on fuel surcharges make up for a lot of the increase in the award cost....
Mostly earning miles over hotel points, and earning miles on airlines that don't pass
on fuel surcharges when redeeming miles (United and AA).
Posts include: Distance - Based Awards; Household Accounts; Using Avios to Upgrade Paid Tickets; The Avios and Cash Option; Save Money
on Fuel Surcharges by Transferring British Airways Avios to Iberia; Using Avios For Non-Flight Redemptions; Using Avios to Book Domestic First Class Flights, Direct Flights, London Stopovers and UK Destinations; How to Redeem British Airways Avios Without Huge Fees; and Using British Airways Avios on Aer Lingus to Avoid Huge Fees.
Well, I just wanted to note that AA doesn't pass
on fuel surcharges with any of their partners except British Airways.
You can use any British Airways partner for short flights in Europe, and you can even use carrier itself, as it doesn't tack
on fuel surcharges for its European flights.
Unfortunately, I don't see Star Alliance partners like Asiana, Air China, and Thai
Airways on the no fuel surcharge list, so if you end up booking with them, you'll probably have to pay some fees.
For ClassicFlight awards, Air Canada's award chart is usually better than many of its partners, including United, but the airline often passes
on fuel surcharges levied by partners.
A
note on Fuel Surcharges: The flights above on British and Ibera will have obscene fuel surcharges if we book them with Avios.
Fortunately, when flying to Paris you won't have to deal with anything like the Air Passenger Duty (APD) fee that you get hit with on your trips to London, but you will want to keep an
eye on fuel surcharges with each carrier.
To get a better understanding of those nuances I recommend reading Travel Is Free's
post on fuel surcharges — that should help you avoid paying these fees if at all possible.
There still is value to be had but Aeroplan does pass
on fuel surcharges of StarAlliance partners to the member.
New ANA Airways Award Chart —
More on Fuel Surcharges and Some Revisions Now, let me begin by saying what I hate about their new program the most.
Just keep in mind that British Airways passes
on any fuel surcharges imposed by the operating carrier, so you should try to book carriers that have low fees (like Cathay Pacific) or domestic flights that have no surcharge at all.
American Airlines flights out of Chicago also provide good value, as do short - haul flights from American's other hubs in New York, Dallas, Miami (to the Caribbean
depending on fuel surcharges) and Los Angeles.
The only major airline that comes close with United in terms of low or no fuel surcharges is American but a.) American is not a transfer partner with Chase and b.) American does
carry on fuel surcharges when you book with British Airways.
The Supreme Court's review could have an
impact on the fuel surcharge case because the Court will address class certification when differences exist among putative class members, including situations where members of the putative class may not have been injured.
It is actually a good price, although the disadvantage of using FB instead of AA or USA is that they do still pass
on fuel surcharges with most airlines.
Though United has majorly devalued its award chart, the fact that it doesn't charge or pass
on fuel surcharges makes MileagePlus miles one of the best ways to book many highly desirable airlines and premium cabins that would otherwise require at least $ 500 in fees.
Other posts include Master FAQ Post on British Airways 100,000 Mile Offer, Spotlight on Taxes and Fees, Travel Together Companion Ticket, Household Accounts, Using Avios to Upgrade Paid Tickets, The Avios and Cash Option, Save Money
on Fuel Surcharges by Transferring British Airways Avios to Iberia, Using Avios For Non-Flight Redemptions.
Avios are not the best for flights abroad (as BA
tacks on fuel surcharges that render their points worthless when flown on BA flights), other than the above deal which is inarguably the single best way to get from the US to Europe if you happen to be lucky enough to live near Boston.
This is not the cheapest mileage cost to get to Europe, or even to fly Lufthansa first class, but United does not pass
on fuel surcharges to you.
They don't pass
on fuel surcharges to award tickets, and you can use United miles to book award flights with their Star Alliance partners (the largest airline alliance in the world!).
You can transfer your Chase points to British Airways and then to Iberia, where you'll save
on fuel surcharges.
It is possible to save
on fuel surcharges by redeeming for Lufthansa First with other airlines, like United, but you'll end up spending a ton more miles!
In many cases, it's definitely worth spending some extra air miles to save up
on the fuel surcharges.
ANA Mileage Club often passes
on fuel surcharges when you book award flights, but these surcharges are not required when booking with their Star Alliance partner United Airlines.