Great offerings from British Airways
 

I don't usually do stuff like this, but BA is giving away the farm. For someone like me who can't afford the airfare these really help. There are two offers that look outstanding IMHO:

1 - Fly now and fly with a companion later. Register at ba.com/companion and fly by Jan 29, 2010 and get a free companion ticket to use in 2010 in any cabin. Good deal. And everything is on sale right now.

2 - Get a BA credit card and buy $2000 worth of stuff in 3 months (I know -it's lot) and get 100,000 miles! That's enough for a round trip from Europe to Southern Africa in business or two r/t trip coach tix USA to Europe. I never spend this much, but if you spend $30,000 in any year, they give you a free companion miles fare. It's a good deal if you spend a lot on credit.

My husband can't fly very far in coach, so I do everything I can to get upgrades and business flights. These are two of the best deals I've seen.

These are good deals indeed and I have already applied for the visa card. Please note that if you are not already a member of the Executive Club you must join first in order to find the offer for 100K miles.

Thanks, this is a tremendous deal!

For many of us groceries will make up a good part of the $2000 over 3 months. Here's a hint I've used before. I buy the grocery store gift cards to rack up the required purchases within the time limit. You just have to be careful not to lose the cards.

Very good hint atravelynn, thanks.

Wow-These travel tips are spectacular. I've told friends I am a milage whore.
Wish I could utalize this-I just got2 business seats American (Brisish) to Cairo for next year. Bought return on Lufthansa. I am trying to get upgrades on Lufthansa with United miles. I don't use United but have gotten codeshare miles & safeway miles with them. Need to wait the 330 days out to try for it.
Thanks for info. Chris

Does the 100k deal have to be on a new BA card? I've had one for a few years, would I still qualify? No problem for me to spend $2000 over three months....

In Australia the credit card things are not that wonderful. I am about to make a big purchase for the home and we are thinking of putting it on a card then paying it off immediately just so we get the points. BUT, they have made a huge change to the points system here. You normally have to spend about 20,000 or more to get a trip from Melb to Sydney... for those not in the know, that is a 1 hour plane trip! And, as you all know, Australia is MILES from anywhere and from memory you needed 200 or 300,000 to get a business class ticket to the USA.

The BA offer is good, but be aware of 2 things. It is not easy to get frequent flier seats on BA. I have 150,000 miles I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to use for years, and my dates have been very flexible. Also, the taxes you pay on the "free" ticket generally amount to much more than what you would pay on other airline's overseas routes from the US. So before you spend the money on the credit card, be aware of these caveats.

LyndaS yes it does have to be a new card.

Maybe you could apply for a second card? I think it's worth a call to ask.

The credit card offer is a very good one (already applied) but a few things to be aware of:

1) As mentioned BA charges very high fuel surcharges if you redeem on BA operated flights. You could easily be looking at $500-$600 on a "free" ticket between the US and Europe. US-Africa may be higher. It's still a good deal if you redeem in business class. Not such a good deal if you redeem in economy. You can also use BA miles to redeem on partner airlines which may not have fuel surcharges or their fuel surcharges may not be as exorbitant as BA.

2) The companion award for spending $30k a year is good on BA metal only. Again still a good deal in business as you could get 2 US-Europe business class awards for 100k miles (plus the fuel surcharges).

3) The lower mileage requirements are generally for BA only or one partner only awards. Once you need to starting mixing airlines, the mileage required may increase substantially. BA has 4 award charts - BA only, one partner only, BA plus one other airline, and 2 or more Oneworld airlines.

4) Household accounts - up to 7 people at the same residential address can "household" their accounts allowing the pooling of miles. This is a great benefit. There are some restrictions such as tickets can only be redeemed in the household members' names and how often you can make changes to your household.

For the offer on ba.com/companion (unrelated to the credit card offer), you have to purchase the ticket in an eligible (higher) fare class:

<i>Member must book a round-trip transatlantic ticket in qualifying World Traveller (Y, B, H), World Traveller Plus (W, E), Club World (J, C, D, R) or First (F, A) fares and book and travel between September 29 and January 29, 2010.</i>

Lynda,
The official BA representative on the BA forum at Flyertalk posted that previous (but not current) cardholders are eligible http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1004128 (post #137 on page 10). And I believe this is a US offer.

There's also a huge thread about the credit card offer on the Milesbuzz forum at FT http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1013709

There is also a UK deal with a joint BA/Amex card.

Darn, I'm a current card holder. Oh well, I guess slow but steady is the word here!

Patty points out a good point on the companion fare offer - when I first got the card two years ago, I recieved a free companion fare ticket with the card. When I went to see if I could use it on our last trip to Nairobi in May, the BA person quoted me appx 8k for the economy ticket, and about 10k for the WTP ticket. And no upgrades allowed on those either. Not in my lifetime I told her, that would have been more than if I would have purchased 2 of the lower class tickets in the specific classes.

Mileage good for BA flights from USA to Europe Zone 1. Africa -not- included.
http://www.mychasecreditcards.com/br...ays/hp_postpin

regards - tom

I think you have misread the offer, Tom. Item #3 in the link that you sent explicitly states that you can use the miles either for an economy ticket between the US and Eur-1 (which costs 50k miles), or you can use the miles toward any other ticket (my bolding):

<i>You will receive 50,000 bonus BA Miles with this bonus offer, which can be redeemed for 1 transatlantic reward flight in World Traveller, economy class from the USA to Europe Zone 1, <b>or choose to redeem for another qualifying flight.</b></i>

I recently used AA miles to go LHR to JNB for two in business r/t on BA. The taxes and fees were under $500 for two, so I'm not going to complain. We started in March trying to find flights for June and as long as we were a bit flexible, were able to get perfect flights. We have good luck getting free flights because we plan our trips around the flights, not the other way around. We also never fly during peak times. And be flexible when and with whom you'll fly - we could have flown either BA or Iberia (or both) and gotten just what we wanted. Yes, it's more difficult, but not impossible. We are also going to move up our pseudo-planned trip to Egypt to get the other offer.

Me and DH applied for card. Hope to get them in time for Christmas shopping, and we'll put EVERYTHING on them - gas, food, heating oil (yes, some companies will let you), cell phones. Zim/Zam here we come!!

BeniciaChris - I thought I was the only one!! Do you do the airline sopping websites, too? I've gotten lots of miles (over 30,000) through AAdvantageeshopping.com and Deltamilesshopping.com, and it costs me nothing.

Lynda - if you have a friend, relative or acquaintance who will get the card, that person can but a ticket for you - no partial anything, but a whole ticket. Not too long ago my boss let me use his airline miles for two off-peak tix, but now he knows how it works so he keeps using them for himself!!! Bummer for me.

There's no fuel surcharge when using AA miles on BA metal.

Using BA miles on BA metal, I think you'll find that the total is more like $800 per ticket for US-Africa. There's a chart somewhere on ba.com that shows the surcharges. These are in addition to any actual taxes.

"or choose to redeem for another qualifying flight."
I saw that but don't know what a "qualifying flight" is. If it means any route that BA offers mileage redemption then why didn't they just say that? Why make it sound so restrictive saying - Europe zone 1? If there is a list or table that shows all "qualifying flights" I'd like to see it. Anyone?

regards - tom

This is temppting--though I've found those companion fare tix are not really a deal when you can do much better flying the lowest fare (tho they're non-refundable).

I've rarely flown BA tho, and based on only one recent experience (London to Toronto) I found it almost as bad as U.S. airlines, and this was in business. Did I have an unusual experience?

Thanks for all that useful ino Patty. The household card looks like a winner.

Just to clarify, a household account refers to BA Executive Club memberships, not BA Chase Visa cards. See #16 http://www.britishairways.com/travel...s/public/en_us

Tom,
These miles are just like any other BA miles and can be used for awards or upgrades. They're just citing one example because people may have no idea what 50k miles could be used for.

Calculator for redeeming on BA http://www.britishairways.com/travel...r/public/en_us

One partner only http://www.britishairways.com/travel...e/public/en_us

BA plus one partner http://www.britishairways.com/travel...s/public/en_us

2 or more Oneworld airlines http://www.britishairways.com/travel...r/public/en_us

The last one is based on mileage flown and not travel zone.

After looking at this more closely, I think the mileage amounts are actually the same for BA only or BA plus one partner.

So, from what I can tell, one can apply for EC membership under a household account and then get the credit card, yes?

An existing EC member can create a household account and invite other existing EC members to join or setup new EC member accounts during the householding process if those joining aren't already members (I think for minors you have to use the latter option).

I don't think it matters if you apply for the credit card before or after householding. Each member still earns miles individually but miles are pooled for redemption.

So to pay lower fees we should use our AA miles on BA and our BA miles on AA or other oneworld airline? That actually works out OK - only 75,000 AA miles needed for LHR - JNB business, but need 100,000 BA miles. Similar but opposite for JFK - Buenos Aires. Good to know!

Leslie - I think most airlines are cutting things pretty tight right now. There may be exceptions (I've never flown the great middle eastern or asian airlines) but flying is just no fun anymore. Just try to get from here to there for as little as possible.

<i>So to pay lower fees we should use our AA miles on BA and our BA miles on AA or other oneworld airline?</i>

Basically yes, with the exception that you can't redeem AA miles for BA transatlantic flights to/from the US and you can't redeem BA miles for AA transatlantic flights. The examples you cite would be fine.

Christa, I continue to hear positive things about Virgin, and I've considered joing that FF club since I've just used up the last of my mega miles (on Delta, for an upcoming trip to Africa). So I'm considering who to use for international trips where I have to pay for a seat. We don't fly much domestically.
I had great experiences on board on both Air FRance and Iberia, but both were business class from the U.S. to Paris and Madrid, which I assume are profitable business traveler routes and therefore have better "metal" (as Patty calls it) and service. (I stress on board because Iberia was a nightmare departing from Johannesberg.) In my admittedly limited experience, the foreign carriers still have the US ones beat by a longshot.
Those extra airline charges (fuel, baggage and the like) are being scrutinized right now by the US regulators who believe they're really fare hikes masquerading as fees.

I actually find Air France pretty bad (comparatively) for onboard service in business. Most of my AF flights have been on the LAX-CDG route. I like their seats which I find to be the most comfortable angled lie flats I've come across but generally find the service leaves much to be desired. I actually think the onboard service on Delta (and I'm not including NW) in business is better than either AF or KL.

I guess we got lucky on the LAX-CDG flight Patty. Service was good. But those seats....oooooh, the best (ours were lie flat), as was the entertainment system. Almost a tie was the business class seats on Cathay, which had duvets and silk covered pillows, which, as a charter member of the GameSit Club, I favor. Delta's certainly better than AA, tho I've had some awful experiences and acceptable ones.

Oooo yes, the Cathay duvets... Delta has some pretty nice duvets now too.

Oh goody. I'll find out on the Delta ATL-AMS flight next Aug., then KLM business to Dar Es Salaam. I'm praying for lie flats, but not getting my hopes up.

BA miles used to be a great way to travel cheaply many years ago, but as others have pointed out, the tax and other charges you have to pay on a long-haul redemption flight are really high.

All our BA miles posted this week and I just booked Australia for August, yay!

Carolyn and I both got the card and now have 100,000 mile credit. Likely use it for next African safari, i.e., USA probably to/from JNB.

regards - tom

I was denied the stupid card!!!!! It is a Chase Visa and I already had one (and I guess my credit score isn't as good as it should be) but my husband got his and the first 50000 miles posted. We'll see about the next 50000. We'll use it for either a trip to the Pantanal or back to southern Africa next year. Yeah, next year - bummer. Have to use them before they expire, so at least we have a deadline.

Patty and tom - Really glad to hear it. Patty - if you don't mind sharing, how much were the fees for your booking? I understand BA miles flights are still pretty pricey.

Yeah, me too about BA fees.
The card is for "oneworld alliance" airlines which includes AA. http://www.britishairways.com/travel...d/public/en_us

regards - tom

I booked my First Class BA ticket with my Alaska Airlines miles. I takes 160,000 miles. The fees and taxes are over $1,000.00. I'm flying from Seattle to J-burg r/t. Last time it was around $100.00, but now they charge the fuel surcharge too, which is priced according to the value of the ticket. As if sitting in FC cost them more fuel!!!

My Qantas booking in business was just under $300 per ticket. That included the fuel surcharge, taxes and a telephone ticketing fee because I needed a stopover and you can't book those online (except for London stopovers). Qantas does charge a fuel surcharge but it's not nearly as bad as BA flights.

Safarimama, what a ripoff! So you are paying the surcharge based on a retail price of a FC seat? Adn you have to pay that even though you are using Alaska miles? That's really lame. I guess when it comes time to use my 100,000 miles I'll try for a partner airline that has lower surchanrges.
Patty, I'm also thinking Australia or maybe BKK. Do you happen to know if Hawaii is a possible stopover? I know how hard it is to get FF seats on those flights, so I'm curious.

I don't think a stopover in Hawaii would work. First I believe HNL-SYD is operated by Jetstar which is not available for BA redemption. Even if it was, it would require a greater number of miles as you couldn't do it on a single partner.

Not sure what price BA is using to figure out the fuel surcharge amount. But it has to do with the value of the ticket somehow. I do know it's a lot more for F/C than in BIZ, which is more than econ. Still, it's F/C for $1000.00 some $$. I can hardly ever find room in biz class with mileage. I'm never very flexible, just a few days on either end.
I have to rethink my options next time. This is a ripp-off. I can understand if everyone regardless of class, paid the same amount for the fuel. The going rate is around $160 each way on other airlines.

I was thinking partner American perhaps, Patty. And I plan to have more miles by 2011! Anyway, I always figure something out.
SM, that's tough not being flexible cuz that's the trick with the airlines, and even then it's a crap shoot. Still, first class for $1,000 for that far is a pretty good deal when you think about it. I'm guessing that's at LEAST an $8,000 ticket, probably much more. And the BA first class lounge in Heathrow (assuming you stop there) is amazing.

LAleslie,
Yes, believe it or not ... but that SEA-JNB-SEA F/C ticket is about $25,000 retail, so yes, I'm OK paying $1000.00 for it, but I could go coach for around $1,350.00 on NW and accumulate the miles on AS! The reason I suffer that pain is to be able to go F/C on BA every other year or so. I still think the BA fuel surcharge is a rippoff!!

Yes, the First Class lounge at Heathrow is AMAZING!!!! I spend at least 15 hours there! The connections are not good.