Well, that was nice while it lasted! The sweet spots that were available with using British Airways Avios for US Airway international flights have just been drastically altered by the addition of huge surcharges.
A few months ago when US Airways joined the Oneworld Alliance, all of their saver award tickets were available to be booked with British Airways Avios. That was great news for all the short-haul flights around the US and Caribbean using the US Airways network! But, another sweet spot of the distance-based Avios system was that the US Airways hub of Philadelphia put a lot of Europe at a good rate for awards! It meant you could fly one-way from Philadelphia to Frankfurt for only 20,000 Avios and $2.50. This was made even better by the fact that it allowed one-way award bookings on US Airways flights, something that US Airways doesn’t even do.
This was the price before BA started charging surcharges
The price on the same flight now that BA has instituted surcharges
But, according to DansDeals, British Airways has really altered this system by putting their familiar surcharges on the flights. Now, instead of only 20,000 Avios and $2.50, that same flight will cost the same 20,000 Avios and $282.50! That is a real shame as it kind of disrupts the ease and beauty of using Avios for these flights. The good news is that there are no surcharges on domestic US flights booked with Avios. The same goes for their flights to the Caribbean.
Takeaway
So, is this really a bad deal for most people? Probably not. US Airways still has their off-peak ticket pricing of 35,000 miles for a round-trip award to Europe from January 15 – February 28. In addition, AA has their off-peak chart of 40,000 miles from October 15 – May 15 to Europe and that includes US Airways flights. So, the people this would really affect are those who are located near Philadelphia or close enough to book a short-haul to Philadelphia. The real disappointment is that Israel is now a lot more expensive. Before the addition of the fuel surcharges, it was a great deal for only 30,000 Avios one-way and minimal fee. With the cost now being close to $700 PLUS the 60,000 Avios for a round-trip ticket to Israel, that is a big disappointment.
awful