BA miles How do I spend them?
Discussion
Ive now got just over 80k miles and want to start using them.
The wife is a school teacher so annual leave is very strict added to the fact I then have only certain times which I can take off due to my work.
Therefore there really only is 5 weeks a year which we can go.
So I want to go on the 28/05/2011-1/06/2011 but I keep searching and have found nothing. (maybe making an error).
Then I tired looking at future dates again no availability anywhere for the dates.
So am I doing something wrong here? You can only book 1 year ahead and even up to 12 months tim nothing so Im at a loss as to the point of me getting more miles.
Where can I use them as this is really may mean that these miles are unusable.
The wife is a school teacher so annual leave is very strict added to the fact I then have only certain times which I can take off due to my work.
Therefore there really only is 5 weeks a year which we can go.
So I want to go on the 28/05/2011-1/06/2011 but I keep searching and have found nothing. (maybe making an error).
Then I tired looking at future dates again no availability anywhere for the dates.
So am I doing something wrong here? You can only book 1 year ahead and even up to 12 months tim nothing so Im at a loss as to the point of me getting more miles.
Where can I use them as this is really may mean that these miles are unusable.
If you're trying to book a flight with miles out right then you're unlikely to find one for the dates you mention.
BA only release a few reward flights on each plane, and you need to be lucky to get hold of one. I've got a companion voucher to use and could only find flights to New York and Boston in September.
I would say they're most worthwhile being used for upgrades. For 80k miles, you could book a flight in PE to Hong Kong and upgrade both ways to Club.
BA only release a few reward flights on each plane, and you need to be lucky to get hold of one. I've got a companion voucher to use and could only find flights to New York and Boston in September.
I would say they're most worthwhile being used for upgrades. For 80k miles, you could book a flight in PE to Hong Kong and upgrade both ways to Club.
As already mentioned, BA opersate only a few Miles seats on their flights, so the golden rule is to book really early. If you can be flexible on dates and locations that will help.
Even better for getting what you want is to upgrade to either Club or Premier (not sure what it's called). We usually do the former, costs abot 30,000 miles a ticket for Europe, 100,000 miles for Noreth America/Caribbean. We do this especially when I get a companion ticket, and we've never really hasd any problems then.
R.
Even better for getting what you want is to upgrade to either Club or Premier (not sure what it's called). We usually do the former, costs abot 30,000 miles a ticket for Europe, 100,000 miles for Noreth America/Caribbean. We do this especially when I get a companion ticket, and we've never really hasd any problems then.
R.
I can't even upgrade - the option to 'upgrade with miles' is always greyed out unless I book a fully flexible ticket (which works out more expensive than buying a cheaper ticket outright).
European tickets seem much more available, long haul seems virtually impossible to book with miles.
One other thing - I'm sure the tickets you buy with miles are more expensive (based on the tax paid) so you actually don't end up saving *that* much money!
BA airmiles are a bit of a con, IMO.
European tickets seem much more available, long haul seems virtually impossible to book with miles.
One other thing - I'm sure the tickets you buy with miles are more expensive (based on the tax paid) so you actually don't end up saving *that* much money!
BA airmiles are a bit of a con, IMO.
It's difficult to get long haul availability, but I have managed it in the past to Jo'burg (economy - got upgraded to Club), to Barbados (Club - got upgraded to First) and to Buenos Aires (not ideal - one seat in First and one in Club, but they let me sleep in First next to my wife, after eating in Club).
Maxf said:
I can't even upgrade - the option to 'upgrade with miles' is always greyed out unless I book a fully flexible ticket (which works out more expensive than buying a cheaper ticket outright).
European tickets seem much more available, long haul seems virtually impossible to book with miles.
One other thing - I'm sure the tickets you buy with miles are more expensive (based on the tax paid) so you actually don't end up saving *that* much money!
BA airmiles are a bit of a con, IMO.
Hmm, not sure that's right. Tax is fixed on the seat, it's BA's share that affects the price of the ticket. I'm fairly sure they'd be acting fraudulently to charge a different tax on a redemption ticket over a cash ticket. Granted you pay a higher tax in PE and up, but it's still fixed. European tickets seem much more available, long haul seems virtually impossible to book with miles.
One other thing - I'm sure the tickets you buy with miles are more expensive (based on the tax paid) so you actually don't end up saving *that* much money!
BA airmiles are a bit of a con, IMO.
I've just booked Boston in Club for 2 with my companion voucher, paying the tax of £800. Two economy seats would have cost more than £800, and I've got two Club seats for that. I wouldn't call them a con in that respect. I'll admit they're not the best value compared to other 'points' systems, but they've cost me nothing to earn. I upgraded to Club on a recent trip to Hong Kong, which is the best use of them from my point of view.
For me they're working well. I earn most of my points on my credit card, so it's money I'd be spending anyway, and is 'worth' more on flight upgrades than cashback would be able to cover.
Anyway, sorry, got side-tracked. Welshbeef, if you log in to your Executive Club account and click on 'Spending BA Miles', then underneath it click 'Check Reward Flight Availability', plug in your miles and dates, and it will tell you where is available. I've just checked, and there are quite a few places, but not all of them the most popular! The flight times might not be very social, I didn't go through it further than the city list. I wonder what Kuwait is like that time of year?
Are we talking Airmiles or something different?
If Airmiles, when I wanted to cash in a load the other year I just rang them, outlined my request, let them work on it and it met my needs (more or less). This involved 3 Business class flights, car hire, hotel and RV booking.
Apologies if this doesnt relate to Airmiles...
If Airmiles, when I wanted to cash in a load the other year I just rang them, outlined my request, let them work on it and it met my needs (more or less). This involved 3 Business class flights, car hire, hotel and RV booking.
Apologies if this doesnt relate to Airmiles...
Fourmotion said:
For me they're working well. I earn most of my points on my credit card, so it's money I'd be spending anyway, and is 'worth' more on flight upgrades than cashback would be able to cover.
I looked at a couple of air miles cards a while back and when you consider the ridiculous amount of miles you need to fly anywhere (50,000 miles to N America with BA miles?!!!) and how much the cards give you per £ spent (1 mile per £1) and the fact that you have to pay the taxes on your "free" flights anyway, then it ends up being a much less appealing option.
E.g.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex = £188 cash back.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex BA Card = 13,000 air miles, which is not even enough to get you a flight to Italy (excluding taxes).
Edited by youngsyr on Tuesday 12th April 15:19
youngsyr said:
I looked at a couple of air miles cards a while back and when you consider the ridiculous amount of miles you need to fly anywhere (50,000 miles to N America with BA miles?!!!) and how much the cards give you per £ spent (1 mile per £1) and the fact that you have to pay the taxes on your "free" flights anyway, then it ends up being a much less appealing option.
E.g.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex = £188 cash back.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex BA Card = 13,000 air miles, which is not even enough to get you a flight to Italy (excluding taxes).
Thats probably so for low spends..... but if you fly regularly AND with BA then the benfits rack up a lot quicker. Spend £10k on the card and you get a 2 for 1 voucher. Spend money with BA & you get 50% more. I do that on business anyhow, so I've got around 750k miles & a couple of 2 for 1 vouchers. E.g.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex = £188 cash back.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex BA Card = 13,000 air miles, which is not even enough to get you a flight to Italy (excluding taxes).
Edited by youngsyr on Tuesday 12th April 15:19
Fourmotion said:
Hmm, not sure that's right. Tax is fixed on the seat, it's BA's share that affects the price of the ticket. I'm fairly sure they'd be acting fraudulently to charge a different tax on a redemption ticket over a cash ticket. Granted you pay a higher tax in PE and up, but it's still fixed.
Perhaps not - my test wasn't terribly technical. I tried to book 2 seats using miles and though 'f
k that' when I saw the tax - searched for the flights as cash purchases and it didnt seem worth using the miles. I may have mixed the classes up or something though.The big benefot for me with BA Exec Club is the lounge access once you get enough points - as their are literally no flights available to where I fly (BA being the only direct carrier to Seattle from the UK).
youngsyr said:
Are you sure that's right? I looked into this a while ago and it worked out very much in my favour to take up Amex's Platinum Cashback Card. 5% cashback up to £100 on first 3 month's purchases followed by 1.25% cashback.
I looked at a couple of air miles cards a while back and when you consider the ridiculous amount of miles you need to fly anywhere (50,000 miles to N America with BA miles?!!!) and how much the cards give you per £ spent (1 mile per £1) and the fact that you have to pay the taxes on your "free" flights anyway, then it ends up being a much less appealing option.
E.g.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex = £188 cash back.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex BA Card = 13,000 air miles, which is not even enough to get you a flight to Italy (excluding taxes).
An example:I looked at a couple of air miles cards a while back and when you consider the ridiculous amount of miles you need to fly anywhere (50,000 miles to N America with BA miles?!!!) and how much the cards give you per £ spent (1 mile per £1) and the fact that you have to pay the taxes on your "free" flights anyway, then it ends up being a much less appealing option.
E.g.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex = £188 cash back.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex BA Card = 13,000 air miles, which is not even enough to get you a flight to Italy (excluding taxes).
Edited by youngsyr on Tuesday 12th April 15:19
Spending £27k in a year nets you 40k miles. It would have earned, if you maxed your 5% 3 months (£100), then at 1.25% for 9 months, £412.50 in cashback. 40k miles would allow you to upgrade a return flight from PE to Club on a long haul flight. The cost to upgrade the flight in cash would be in the thousands if you booked in advance.
Yes, you can get cheap upgrades at the airport, but on a peak route that isn't possible. Plus I think it's usually £400 each way. And the card has a £150 fee, but I think I save that in the favourable FX it brings.
So for me it's working. It's money that would be spent anyway, so I'm don't lose anything. It's all personal though. I love holidays and hate flying, so this just makes the experience a whole heap more pleasurable.
As far as BA lounges are concerned, you can't buy your way in to the T5 lounges. Either flying in Club or above or holding a Silver card or higher is the minimum. That may not apply to other airports where they have lounges
GT03ROB said:
youngsyr said:
I looked at a couple of air miles cards a while back and when you consider the ridiculous amount of miles you need to fly anywhere (50,000 miles to N America with BA miles?!!!) and how much the cards give you per £ spent (1 mile per £1) and the fact that you have to pay the taxes on your "free" flights anyway, then it ends up being a much less appealing option.
E.g.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex = £188 cash back.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex BA Card = 13,000 air miles, which is not even enough to get you a flight to Italy (excluding taxes).
Thats probably so for low spends..... but if you fly regularly AND with BA then the benfits rack up a lot quicker. Spend £10k on the card and you get a 2 for 1 voucher. Spend money with BA & you get 50% more. I do that on business anyhow, so I've got around 750k miles & a couple of 2 for 1 vouchers. E.g.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex = £188 cash back.
£12,000 annual spend on Amex BA Card = 13,000 air miles, which is not even enough to get you a flight to Italy (excluding taxes).
Edited by youngsyr on Tuesday 12th April 15:19
Beardy10 said:
It's the companion voucher that makes all the difference...and you can only use it when booking flights with miles. I booked the LA leg of our honeymoon flights using airmiles....100,000 for two people travelling Club Class out and First Class back. That's got to be at least £8k's worth of tickets.
Definitely, a few years back I took my son to New York for the weekend. New York was frankly irrelevant.... it was the fact we went there & back on Concorde that was special. Think it was 125k miles plus one voucher for the 2 of us. GT03ROB said:
Beardy10 said:
It's the companion voucher that makes all the difference...and you can only use it when booking flights with miles. I booked the LA leg of our honeymoon flights using airmiles....100,000 for two people travelling Club Class out and First Class back. That's got to be at least £8k's worth of tickets.
Definitely, a few years back I took my son to New York for the weekend. New York was frankly irrelevant.... it was the fact we went there & back on Concorde that was special. Think it was 125k miles plus one voucher for the 2 of us. It's 50,000 miles for one person's return trip in economy to North America - I just checked return trip for two to LA in October with miles and even with the companion ticket it's 50,000 plus £607 taxes in economy. In club it's 100,000 miles plus £915 taxes.
Even assuming you earn 1.25 miles per £ spent (and ignoring the £150 annual charge for the card that gives you 1.25 miles per £ instead of the normal 1 point per £), that's still the equivalent of £500 of cash back for the same spend as the miles required for the economy flights, plus you have to cough up the £607 taxes for the free tickets, so the equivalent cost of two economy flights to LA is £1,107, but with the air miles your flight selection is limited and you have to fly with BA. Seems questionable value.
For the club class tickets you're looking at a total equivalent cost of £1,915 for two club class return tickets, which looks like a great deal, assuming you can get the tickets when you want them.
youngsyr said:
It's 50,000 miles for one person's return trip in economy to North America - I just checked return trip for two to LA in October with miles and even with the companion ticket it's 50,000 plus £607 taxes in economy.
And thats your mistake.... burning miles for economy or premium economy (bar possibly a couple of routes) is really a total waste of miles, as the taxes & fees make up the majority of the cost of a normal ticketFor club, or F, (with or without the companion voucher) its much better value and better use of miles.
Personally my most often use of miles is to upgrade from premium economy to club which is superb value.
The BA card is aimed primarily at people who fly and purchase tickets regularly....if you do, then the miles rack up very quickly...
GCH said:
youngsyr said:
It's 50,000 miles for one person's return trip in economy to North America - I just checked return trip for two to LA in October with miles and even with the companion ticket it's 50,000 plus £607 taxes in economy.
And thats your mistake.... burning miles for economy or premium economy (bar possibly a couple of routes) is really a total waste of miles, as the taxes & fees make up the majority of the cost of a normal ticketFor club, or F, (with or without the companion voucher) its much better value and better use of miles.
Personally my most often use of miles is to upgrade from premium economy to club which is superb value.
The BA card is aimed primarily at people who fly and purchase tickets regularly....if you do, then the miles rack up very quickly...
So, it seems to me that unless you fly regularly with BA, and purchase your tickets yourself, and spend a reasonable amount (£20k plus) on your credit card per year, then the Air Miles credit cards aren't really worth it.
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