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.
You'll also be hit
with a high fuel surcharges for most flights to Europe, EXCEPT when flying with Delta.
Unlike using Korean Air SkyPass to book award tickets on Delta to London, you won't get hit
with high fuel surcharges.
You'll also be hit
with a high fuel surcharge for most flights to Europe, EXCEPT for when flying with Delta.
You'll also be hit
with a high fuel surcharge for most flights to Europe, EXCEPT for when flying with Delta.
Even
with the high fuel surcharge, it's easy to pay more just for coach with other airlines.
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.
In general, short nonstop flights
with Avios won't incur
high fuel surcharges.
The cost of
high - quality, human - grade ingredients has continued to rise along
with increased shipping costs and
fuel surcharges.
South African Airways flights should be avoided, though, since ANA
fuel surcharges tend to be
high with them.
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.
BA will also impose
higher fuel surcharges on most longer flights, but you can avoid those
with shorter distance flights.
Be mindful of
high fuel surcharges with some airlines in the Star Alliance, such as Lufthansa or Swiss International Air Lines.
Some of them have
high mileage redemption rates, some make redemptions a bit complicated, while others hit you
with excessive
fuel surcharges.
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.
You should also be aware that
fuel surcharges and airport levies, which can be as
high as $ 200 for a flight, also eat into your CPM; when planning a flight paid
with reward miles you need to factor this in as well.
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 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 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.
Though Miles & More awards carry
high fuel surcharges, their redemption rates are relatively comparable to the main domestic airlines, though occasionally
with a bit of a discount, such as 50,000 miles for round - trip flights between the U.S. and Europe in economy class.
Where United is more expensive
with mileage requirements, it often makes up for it by not forcing you to pay
high fuel surcharges.
Still, it is worth noting that 126,000 miles is still cheaper than a United partner award (140,000) and
with no
fuel surcharges, the
higher mileage requirement isn't as bad as it first appears compared to those other airlines.
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.
But it's not nearly enough to just allocate them some kind of uniform valuation, as some miles may be very valuable for a given type of redemption (e.g. Avios for short - haul economy awards) and quite a poor value for other types of redemptions (for Avios, ultra long - haul in a premium cabin
with high mileage cost and often
high fuel surcharges).
Not only will you pay
fuel surcharges (albeit smaller than what you would when crossing the Atlantic), but you will also get hit
with the very
high Heathrow Airport taxes.
The charge on this award flight is the result of British Airways»
fuel surcharge coupled
with London Heathrow Airport's
high taxes.
For Delta long - haul Business class, you're almost always better off booking Delta
with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles (except for the UK flights, due to
high fuel surcharges).
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.
Foreign frequent flyer programs often get a bad rep — after all, who wants to put up
with high redemption rates and
fuel surcharges?
The only downside
with Aeroplan could be finding flights that don't impose
high fuel surcharges.
Then, once you're abroad, you'll be better off on short - haul British Airways flights so you can avoid those
high fuel surcharges associated
with flying across the Atlantic.
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.
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.