If you ever needed proof that this hobby was worth pursuing ….

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• Ninmurai says:

  16 Apr16 April 06:46

  Wouldn’t it be a little gratuitous to call the flight “free” for the totally uninformed?. Looking at ITA Matrix, taxes and fees comes to £175 excluding fuel surcharges which aren’t payable using AA miles, plus another £5 for telephone service charge if they don’t waive it.

  In my experience people just hear this sort of number and get put off, no matter how much you convince them of first class travel!

  • Rob says:

    16 Apr16 April 09:11

    Hence the little comment at the bottom of the page!

    As you’re over there, you may have a better idea than me of whether you can escape the departure tax by flying Etihad from the Netherlands instead.

    • Ninmurai says:

      16 Apr16 April 20:45

      Most definitely ex-EU would be better. The main rules are:
      1) No stopovers, only transfers <24hrs
      2) No transfers in a 3rd region with exceptions
      3) You're allowed MPM+25%
      4) The cross-region carrier must publish a fare between a start and end airports.

      So AMS-LHR-CDG-BRU-AUH, as long as there's no stopover, would be a valid routing as it satisfies all four points above.

      • Rob says:

        16 Apr16 April 20:50

        To be honest I was thinking of AMS to Abu Dhabi direct, if possible! With a cheapo single to Amsterdam to avoid Air Passenger Duty. Looks like it can done from Brussels as well.

• 21h21j says:

  16 Apr16 April 07:05

  Where most people get put off the miles and points game is from statements like these: “You can fly this (one way) to Abu Dhabi, for free*” When free is actually after spending £5000 on a credit card and then having to pay £336 in taxes. When you can pay for a round trip to AUH in economy for £375 it doesn’t look like such a great deal to most people.

  Since the demise of the Airmiles scheme Simon Calder has been vocal in telling consumers that free flights are anything but that. BA’s fuel surcharges and APD are two major hurdles in people getting value from miles and points.

  • 21h21j says:

    16 Apr16 April 07:15

    £336 is incorrect as it includes the YQ which AA do not charge.
    From ITA:
    United Kingdom Air Passengers Duty (GB) £134.00
    United Kingdom Passenger Service Charge (UB) £39.75
    (YQ) £161.50

• Phillip says:

  16 Apr16 April 07:24

  There is a reason why there are so many types of credit cards out there – not all are suited to each person’s lifestyle. If someone’s everyday spend will not make up the £5000 needed to trigger the AA bonus, then the card is probably not the best fit for that individual. You wouldn’t really be going out there randomly spending the £5000 just to get the bonus miles.

  A lot of people enjoy and are creative with the miles and points “game”. Booking flights for friends and family etc etc – it all adds up. Others don’t have the time or patience to do it. Part of it is an art! At the end of the day, if you are earning miles and points on what you would normally spend your money on, then taxes aside, the fares for these flights are free.

  I agree that you can get cheap return fares to AUH – but if I have earned those bonus miles at no extra cost, for the same price I have the option of that, or treating myself to a first class ticket there, and either another cheap redemption back (given that the taxes are far less from AUH), or a cheap one way fare in economy! I know what I would choose, but it doesn’t mean that’s what everyone else would choose.

• Nick says:

  16 Apr16 April 08:39

  If your not too bothered about luxury travel then try looking at http://www.flypgs.com for traveling economy STN-DXB for as little as £230 rtn. Yes it’s nice to travel first or business but collecting points/miles needs acuracy and knowledge to be able to maximize.

• Martyn lamb says:

  16 Apr16 April 13:00

  Im a beginner in this hobby since january 2013, but i know 1 thing that is enough for me, if i keep using my cards for normal day life then each year I will have enough points to fly business class return to the west coast of america for the cost of less than an economy ticket. that will do me just fine. and with a bit creative planning will always make sure we qualify for a companion voucher. something very nice to look forward to every year.

• Boddingtons says:

  16 Apr16 April 13:53

  Best bet is of course to fly this journey AUH-LHR and thus avoiding exUK taxes etc. That way it’ll cost you perhaps £20 in taxes/fees when booked through AAdvantage, including the £5 UK call centre booking fee.

  • Rob says:

    16 Apr16 April 14:52

    Good point. You may even get better food flying outbound as airlines generally get better quality stuff from their home base.

• Rasper says:

  16 Apr16 April 19:50

  Do I need aa miles to book ethiad or can avios be used?

  • Ninmurai says:

    16 Apr16 April 20:48

    Etihad isn’t bookable using Avios as it’s not an airline partner of British Airways.

  • Rob says:

    16 Apr16 April 20:48

    AA – Etihad is not a oneworld member or BA partner, unfortunately.

• KilburnFlyer says:

  17 Apr17 April 23:36

  From the AA Credit card posting: “Because AA includes Russia in their definition of Europe, a return BA flight to Moscow in flat-bed Club World would be just 40,000 AA miles.”

  Would it be possible to book LHR-DME return in Club World using 40,000 AA miles, then once booking is on BA website upgrade the outbound to First using 10,000 BA avios?

  • Rob says:

    17 Apr17 April 23:42

    No. If you want to fly First, you are better off booking First one-way with 30,000 AA miles (I think) and coming back using Avios.

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