Air miles

[benny27 3]

Hello,

A friend of a friend has loads of air miles apparently, that he does not wish to use and says I can have them, probably gained by travel on British Airways..

I've never used them before, can they be transferred? And how do you go about using them? I've never seen any mention of them when I've booked flights only on the internet through , for example, Moneysupermarket in the UK

[jimbowx 341]

I am not sure how BA works but I have gotten tickets in some one else's name using my points. No real hassle.

[jimbowx 341]

Also since I assume it is an international ticket, make sure your friend has the name to match your passport and such.

[js007 795]

I think the miles can be transferred to another person. But that other person has to have a frequent flier account, which you can obtain for free. So, get the same kind of account as he has and then have him transfer the miles to you. Once you get those miles, you can try to book a trip using the miles, On the airline website, there should be a way to specify that you'd like to use frequent flier miles to pay for some or all of the trip.

[Grandpollo 366]

If an airline program allows transfers there is a ridiculously large fee which is avoided simply by having them "purchase" the ticket for the friend using their points. If the idea is to fly on them and arrange that fairly soon then just do that.

 

Some airlines require the person to have a list of people they do that for which is limited so check first. CX is one, IIRC.

 

Remember two things no matter how the points are used: one there can be few or no seats for when and where you go although this can be avoided using a higher redemption scheme which is usually double the "normal" points, and two, there are taxes and fees payable that can add up to as much as a low cost ticket (especially in coach), so make sure the points are not wasted by getting a flight but only saving pennies.

 

Also business and first class tickets are a far better deal than coach, on the order of 5 to 8 times the value for perhaps 3-5 times the points.

Edited September 30, 2013 by Grandpollo

[CheshireTom 1,377]

The number of BA miles (Avios) that can be transferred is limited to 24k and attracts a fee (140 quid). For a one-way flight to Bangkok, it'll cost you the 24k miles, an additional 50 quid plus tax and airlines "fees". Not worth the hassle IMHO.

 

All the info is on the BA website.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2013 by CheshireTom

[jimbowx 341]

As I recall the last time I transferred points it cost me as the account holder to pay $60.00 to do the transfer. In this cast I didn't have enough points for a full ticket and the guy in question had 3 people transfer him points to get the number he needed. In my mind it didn't save him much. I often will get tickets for my (now ex) wife or buddy for points then buy my ticket so I get the miles and status credit. It was always pretty smooth.

 

Also Grandpollo is correct about the class upgrade my next flight to LOS is on miles. It was 130K for coach and 240K for business class. The ticket costs were $1,300.00 for coach and $5,000.00+ for business. I think my fees were $70.00.

[Sailfast 503]

I agree that it would probably be more cost effective to have him simply book the ticket in your name. As stated before, make sure he gets all the information correct.

 

Often the fees for transferring miles are not that much less than purchasing miles.

 

IF there are fees (and there most likely will be), I suggest you use YOUR credit card to pay the fees and bring THAT credit card with you when you check in.

 

I recently booked 1st class through Star Alliance (ended up with Asiana over and All Nippon back).

It cost me 130,000 miles

I had to purchase about 15K miles, costing me $275

Fees about $70

 

Book early.

 

YMMV.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Sailfast

[joeaf 10]

Not all airline frequent flyer (FF) miles programs are the same. Watch out for the added items ie + taxes, fees, and carrier charges. When flying on British Airways (BA) metal, the fuel surcharges can be very high. The $70 in fees previously mentioned is right, but not on BA metal. See example of how high these fuel surcharges can be in the link below.

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-aadvantage/1347804-help-understanding-ba-fuel-surcharge-yq-aa-award-ba-9.html

 

Post #243_Last night I got on the the AA site to check/book 2 R/T Mile Saver Bus seats from JFK/LHR for next JulyAugust, and while the availability was there, there was also a $2,300 fee!! Can this be correct? fYI, I'm PLT for life.

 

Post #245_Even so, these numbers make no sense??

 

Post #247_They make perfect sense. BA wants your money
If flying BA you have to pay the fuel surcharge
If flying FROM UK, you have to pay the APD fee
This fee depends on the destination country and the class you are in.

 

NOTE: This was using AA miles and flying on BA metal.