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Booking Domestic Connecting (Positioning) Flights Close in to Departure

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JFK –> LCA emirates

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Miles and More problem

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SIN-TYO with UA miles?

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Struggle With Turkish Airlines Schedule Change

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Partner airline PlusPoint Upgrade Site Down?

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PIT to BER UA F/J redemption?

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Expiring Plus Points

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Booking New JAL A350 with AA miles

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Answers (9)

BA Avios Miles

BA Avios Miles

  1. Rob in Miami Member

    Does anyone know if its possible to transfer my BA Avios miles to some other program?
    Its probably a very simple question but I would love to do it ASAP.
    (The fact that I can never find any award availability even 10 months in advance, the fuel surcharges, lack of buying with cash while using miles to upgrade, the inability to book in First and not keep a pre-assigned seat- is enough for me to switch.).
    Thanks.

  2. MarkS Member

    You can only transfer them to Iberia Avios 1:1.

  3. Rob in Miami Member

    Thanks. Iberia must be better than BA. 1:1 is perfect. Thanks!

  4. ejg239 Member

    You can transfer them to Iberia Avios, which are especially valuable on short, multi-segment AA flights. They are also exempt from the AA $75 close-in booking surcharge for flights booked fewer than three weeks prior to travel. Here’s a post Tiffany wrote about that.

    [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/10/30/iberia-avios/[/URL]

    If you’re looking to redeem them for first class transatlantic flights, BA is probably your best bet. I have typically found good availability far out (330 days) or close in. The fuel surcharges are sadly inevitable on BA metal. I just think of it as “paying for economy, and getting first class from my miles I’ve accumulated.”

    Finally, while I’ve never done it, but I’m guessing if there is AA sAAver award space on an AA metal transatlantic flight, you might be able to book it using Avios to avoid the fuel surcharges BA levies. With that said, I’ve never seen AA flights listed on routes BA also serves so you might have to call the Executive Club if you’re finding AA sAAver space on AA.com.

    Finally, I travel BA First transatlantic often on Avios redemptions and never had an issue with selecting a seat. 1A/1K are usually held until 3-4 days prior to check in, but the rest of the cabin typically shows up for seat selection and is able to be selected with no issue. If you’re connecting in LHR to an onward Club Europe flight, however, you must pay for seat selection (typically $17-34) or wait until check-in (which I often do).

  5. MarkS Member

    I think you have to have the Iberia account open for 3 months. But I’ve transferred IB to BA and it was all instant. Other way is the same process. Just make sure you have the exact profile, name, birthday etc in each account otherwise it won’t work. And IB is not good at returning emails.

  6. Rob in Miami Member

    No availability using AVIOS in either Biz or First. 330 days out…. all the way down to 220 days out MIA to LHR. Last year I paid for First. Pre-selected a seat… months later it was removed without any email / phone call / etc. I can not imagine how BA continues to keep passengers.

  7. ejg239 Member

    Sorry to hear that [USER=1690]@Rob in Miami[/USER]. I typically find lots of availability from JFK/IAD, from which I travel most. And I typically find good space on AA between the two cities. So while less than ideal, you may want to do AA from MIA-IAD or MIA-JFK and then connect to BA.

    I must say, one of my favorite uses of Avios recently was JFK-YVR in Cathay First. Maybe another redemption to keep in mind if you’ve never been to Vancouver (We LOVED it!) and looking to avoid BA metal. You could also continue on to HKG if you’re swimming in Avios…

  8. Rob in Miami Member

    [QUOTE=”ejg239, post: 26393, member: 2800″]Sorry to hear that [USER=1690]@Rob in Miami[/USER]. I typically find lots of availability from JFK/IAD, from which I travel most. And I typically find good space on AA between the two cities. So while less than ideal, you may want to do AA from MIA-IAD or MIA-JFK and then connect to BA.

    I must say, one of my favorite uses of Avios recently was JFK-YVR in Cathay First. Maybe another redemption to keep in mind if you’ve never been to Vancouver (We LOVED it!) and looking to avoid BA metal. You could also continue on to HKG if you’re swimming in Avios…[/QUOTE]

  9. Rob in Miami Member

    The key is to avoid British Airways metal / equipment. There are so many uses for Avios. I need to rework wasted money with Avios etc.

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