BA ONLY ON AA MILES

Old Jul 17th, 2016, 05:19 PM
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BA ONLY ON AA MILES

I had plenty of AA miles for 2 tickets to MRS but I only get BA flights from any airport I try that is an AA hub through the AA web site so I end up paying like $675 in LHR fees and BA fees for a ticket that used to cost $40 when on an AA flight. AA agents could not find any AA flights to Europe.

what gives on this -AA must fly to LHR, CDG etc from some US hubs
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Old Jul 17th, 2016, 05:25 PM
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1. From where. And when.
2. Also post on the airline forum.
3. If you have to fly into LHR, may be cheaper to switch to a budget airline, but flying out of LHR these days will cost in taxes regardless of airline.
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Old Jul 17th, 2016, 05:27 PM
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Yes there are AA flights . . . depends on where you are flying from.
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Old Jul 17th, 2016, 06:14 PM
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If you don't fly on an AA plane, you get charged those crazy high fees. I just went through this for our recent trip as well and had to make sure we chose the flight that was serviced by an AA plane. You will find them to CDG and LHR. However, if you want to fly to MRS and put that in as your final destination, since AA does not fly there, you will have to fly on a different airline's aircraft even if you use AA miles and then you have to pay that very high fee. It might be cheaper to just use your miles to get to CDG or LHR and then book a separate flight to MRS.

Another very easy option is the take the TGV from CDG directly to MRS I have done this several times and it is so easy and convenient.
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Old Jul 17th, 2016, 06:23 PM
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One more thing- I have noticed that flights where you can use miles on AA "sell out" far in advance but then they sometimes open up again closer to the departure date. For example, we have an upcoming trip next month that I booked using miles many months ago. Then as I periodically checked because I wanted to see about changing the departure date by a day or two, all flights using miles were unavailable. Today I looked again and there were flights available for my date of travel and dates around it that were not available a month ago. So, I guess you can just keep checking and hope AA makes more flights available using miles.
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Old Jul 17th, 2016, 06:36 PM
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"If you don't fly on an AA plane, you get charged those crazy high fees."

Not true. I have flown on Qantas and Cathay Pacific and JAL on AA miles without outrageous fees. BA is known for high fees, and LHR is known for high departure taxes.
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Old Jul 17th, 2016, 07:01 PM
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it's a british air thing. our last trip using miles(BA world trav. plus) cost us about 900 in fees and taxes. United's flight cost less than 100 this summer.

if you call AA directly, maybe they can help you find flights on partner airlines that don't show up on the chart. ???
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Old Jul 17th, 2016, 09:52 PM
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Same thing is true with DL. Book DL with DL miles and you can do NYC-LHR for very low fees (and can go with either DL or VS)...book with AA and if you go BA, the fees are, as noted, outrageously high.

Also, though, any airline can get you. Since I was forced to move out of NYC to NJ, for the sake of various people, it is easier for me to fly fro EWR. This past June, I was making a round trip with my DL miles and wanted to pay with 60,000 miles. There was only 1 DL flight from EWR to CDG but coming home from LHR to EWR, for 60,000 miles no luck. I had to book my return from LHR to DTW with a connection on some prop plane back to EWR or use 90,000 miles. Makes a lot of sense but this is the way airlines operate.
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 04:19 AM
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I find the Alaska Airlines website better for clearly showing the fees on the alliance airlines' flights.
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 06:43 AM
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Phone AA and ask about flights on Iberia through Madrid, or look on aa.com for Air Berlin (who fly from Miami and Ft. Myers to Germany.) You might need to start in Miami (only BA serves TPA/MCO) to avoid BA metal. When, how many people, for how long?
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 07:16 AM
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Even using FF miles, you get charged with airline fees and taxes, which vary based on where you fly from and on which airline.

Your issue is very simple: if you fly on BA, you get charged the "cost" of fuel as a fee. If you fly on AA or any of its other partners (Qantas), you don't get charged the "fuel fee".

For a $1000 ticket, AA prices its flights:

seat cost = 700
airport and airline fees = 50
taxes = 250

BA prices its flights for the same itinerary and flight plan:

seat cost = 200
fuel surcharge FEE = 500
airline/airport fees = 50
taxes = 250

This is why a BA flight with the same $300 in airport fees and taxes as an AA flight will cost more. BA charges the fuel as a "fee."
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 12:51 PM
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We flew to Paris/CDG last year on AA miles and on an AA plane. Just keep searching. I'll do anything to avoid going through London on BA.
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 12:54 PM
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I quit too soon on above answer. Here's what I did: I narrowed the search only to AA and I checked back every single day until the seats opened up. It truly changes from day to day, even hour to hour, so you have to stay on it. Eventually something should open up but grab it immediately because it will soon be gone. It's all based on their flight averages.
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 02:52 PM
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Do whatever it takes to avoid BA if you are trying to use AA miles. Heathrow is a nightmare. The fees are unacceptable. And, you could lose the fee you've paid due to weather.

This is the sad tale of what happened to me. Initially flew First Class on AA from Chicago to London then the hour and a half economy class BA flight to CDG. I went through the nightmare of changing terminals at Heathrow involving a chaotic walk, bus ride through the bowels of the airport, another chaotic walk, long lines in security and finally to the gate, barely making my connecting flight to Paris in spite of 2.5 hour margin between flights.

On the return from CDG to Heathrow (economy) connecting to what should have been the BA Business Class flight to Chicago, my flight out of CDG was cancelled due to fog in London thus making it impossible to arrive in time for the flight home segment in which case that exorbitant fee was not refundable. Believe me, I tried to no avail.

When notified of the cancel by email on morning of departure I called BA and met a brick wall. The most unhelpful agent I spoke to offered a flight to Chicago the next day(!) as "nothing else" seems to be available. I blew that guy off and called AA where an agent immediately got me on a direct flight from CDG in Business Class departing four hours earlier than the original itinerary.

Lesson learned - never again will I Fly on BA under any circumstances - paid or using miles. I was ripped off for nearly $700 in fees for an hour and a half flight on BA in economy. Heathrow will never again see the likes of me. That airport is a disaster to be avoided at all cost.

In future I plan to be persistent in repeatedly calling and/or checking on line until I can get exactly what works for me with AA when using miles. Keep searching until you get what you want!
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 05:08 PM
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Wanting also to avoid BA on a recent trip, I found flights all on AA by simply requesting business rather than coach. It cost significantly more miles but not only was I able to avoid BA but also the terrible itineraries offered at the price of coach.
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 05:13 PM
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The trouble with flying business on AA metal is that none of the flights I have looked at have lie flat seats (it's why I'm flying first from Tokyo this year).
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Old Jul 18th, 2016, 05:45 PM
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"...none of the flights I have looked at have lie flat seats..."

Some do.
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Old Jul 19th, 2016, 07:03 AM
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>

First world problems much?
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Old Jul 19th, 2016, 07:14 AM
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"First world problems much?"

Of course, but I "pay" extra (only FF miles) on long haul flights in order to sleep, and I need an actual lie-flat seat to do so. If you can sleep on a tilted bed, more power to you, I can't.
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