 Poster: A snowHead
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This is just some information for anyone with too much time on their hands, like me. I decided to try and use airline miles for my upcoming Alps trip in March. This is usually impossible but being somewhat off-season I was successful. It sure took a bit more than miles, though. Check it out:
I paid:
130,000 miles (Alaska Airlines)
$1,200.00 carrier imposed surcharge to British Airways
$25.00 partner award booking fee
Germany airport tax $46.00 (you pay all these fees anyway, but just look at 'em!)
Germany airport security charge $8.30
Germany int'l departure chg $24.70
UK departure charge $43.80
US APHIS user fee $3.96
US customs fee $5.89
US immigration fee $7.00
US int'l arrival tax $18.60
US int'l departure tax $18.60
US Sept 11 security fee $5.60
Total cost $1,407.45 + the miles. If you're still with me, I got:
First Class SEA > LHR
Biz Class LHR > MUC
Biz Class MUC > LHR
Biz Class LHR > SEA
I estimate those flights would have cost around $7,500 in cash.
This feels like an OK deal, not a screamin deal. Typically I would have flown Premium Economy for just under $1200. I've never flown First Class internationally and it is being discontinued by many carriers, so I thought it would be fun to do once (and there was no room in Biz on that leg). Plus, I'm hopeful of some sleep for once; the drive to the hills after the long flight is tough.
A reminder that ski bags are free on most BA flights from US West Coast and just under $600 on LH!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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One of the only two times I have flown first class I recall before take off they came around to ask which champagne you wanted: Krug or Cristal. It was nice to have a choice. Enjoy!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Remembering that you are getting to fly first and biz class then I don't expect anyone is going to feel sorry for you. But to your core point - yes redemption flights longhaul are often poor value due to the fees imposed, I generally use my miles on intra Europe (for which BA have a pretty reasonable policy) or just for a discount on a paid fare.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
But to your core point - yes redemption flights longhaul are often poor value due to the fees imposed, I generally use my miles on intra Europe (for which BA have a pretty reasonable policy) or just for a discount on a paid fare.
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I didn't realize there's fees for redeeming long haul flights.
In any case, I found it better to accumulate miles on long haul flights (lots of miles) then use it on short flights. Mile for mile, I found long haul flights tend to be cheaper.
That said, those who fly for business a lot, just use the miles whenever you feel like it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I've got in to the airmiles game this year, as my girlfriend and I both turn 30 next year so want to do a big holiday to celebrate.
We have the BA AMEX premium card, which gave us a 25,000 points bonus for spending £3k in the first month, plus another few thousands points for spending anything in the first month, and after spending £10k we will get a companion ticket as well (2-4-1)
We're planning on going to Costa Rica, it's going to cost us 32,500 plus £350 each. It's not 32,500 points doubled as the companion ticket means we only use 1 lot of points, but two lots of taxes.
It's a saving of around £450 on the normal price through BA but when you consider it's cost us £195 membership fee for the card for the year, it's not really a huge saving.
Next year, i'll take out the AMEX gold card, and get all their bonus points plus they don't charge a fee for the first years membership.
It's nice to get the savings, but the amount of money we're spending, we're not seeing big savings at all really!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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get all their bonus points plus
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Check their terms, you might not get many bonuses as you are already an Amex customer
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These comparisons are often not “like for like”.
Avios tickets on BA can generally be cancelled up to 24hrs before departure for no (or nominal fee). A refundable business class UK/West Coast is c. £9k. A refundable economy ticket is about £2.5k. A refundable LHR GVA is probably about £800.
However, for most users on a leisure fare, the comparison is against the most discounted non-changeable ticket (because generally holiday plans change less than business trips) which in the case of EU/West Coast US is typically about £2k for business, or c. £500 economy.
There’s no option to have a cheaper “non-changeable Avios” ticket, so in some use cases Avios seems really expensive (e.g. the Costa Rica example above) and in others it’s amazing value. Generally, long-haul economy is an inefficient use of Avios.
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| swskier wrote: |
| ... We're planning on going to Costa Rica, it's going to cost us 32,500 plus £350 each. ... |
The easiest way to do that is to get a flight with Tui who have a new 787 on that route, albeit once a week. Their flight is direct (the only one from UK) and about £500 and no "points" business needed.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Longhaul economy tends to be poor value. You really need to doing long haul business class or short haul peak times (e.g. ski flights in half term) to make this game work.
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FAQ
