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Previously in order to use BA.com to book award tickets on partner airlines you had to find availability without BA flights and then include partners.
It was a process that confused many.
Now however BA.com is displaying all partner flights without that whole process, just search and book!
BA.com is still not as powerful as searching OneWorld flights on AA.com. On AA.com you can see an entire month and easily change the class of service as well. Plus the most important feature of AA.com’s award search is that you can filter the month-long view for just nonstop flights, which can help piece together an award or find a specific flight (like Tel Aviv-Berlin nonstop to help find Air Berlin availability). Still this makes it much easier to book awards on BA.com once you’ve done your research and found sAAver award flights on AA.com. Qantas.com is another good OneWorld award research website.
You do still need to call to book awards on partner airlines like Alaska and Aer Lingus. Their flights have no fuel surcharges.
With Avios you never pay a close-in expedite fee, you can book one-way awards, you can book an infant for just 10% of the Avios instead of 10% of the full paid fare, and you only need activity every 36 months to keep your miles alive.
Step 1: Login to your BA.com Avios account.
Step 2: Scroll down the page and in the bottom left you will see this “create a trip” search box. Type in where you want to go. (Below: Los Angeles to the Hawaiian Islands is an Avios bargain at 25,000 miles round-trip with no surcharges.)
Step 3: Just select the flights you want, no more having to include partner flights after searching, they’re there already! You can even see award availability on this screen for the entire week and shift the weekly award view back and forwards. (Below: NYC to Montreal and other short-haul awards are just 4,500 Avios each way with no fuel surcharges)
Step 4: Confirm your selected flights. (Below: A flight from NYC to Tel Aviv on Air Berlin is just 60,000 Avios round-trip with $81 in taxes.)
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Need Avios?
-Get A 30% Bonus When You Transfer American Express Membership Rewards Points Into British Airways Avios (For example this drops the cost of that round-trip short-haul Avios award from 9,000 to 7,000 AMEX MR points, the flight to Hawaii from 25K to 20K, or the round-trip to Israel from 60K to 47K)
-Chase British Airways Visa, 50,000 bonus Avios for spending $1,000, an additional 25,000 bonus Avios for spending $10,000 in 12 months, and another 25,000 Avios for spending $20,000 in 12 months for up to 100,000 bonus Avios.
Earn 2.5 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases and 1.25 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases. No foreign exchange fees. Every calendar year that you make $30,000 in purchases, you will earn a free companion ticket when you redeem Avios for a flight on British Airways. $95 annual fee.
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45 Comments On "BA.com Overhauls Their Award Search Engine!"
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how much for airberlin first or business? and are they any good?
I tried booking nyc to montreal had a $58.00 or something like that per ticket charged.
@high flyer:
They only have business on the overseas flight.
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/24308
@yitz:
Flights to Canada incur international taxes on any airline.
Book NYC to Cleveland and you’ll pay just the $2.50 TSA fee.
I always have trouble finding availability… even though sometimes I go to American Airlines sight and see that i can book with 25000 American miles… Is there a good technique to find the availability you need ?
Much improved, but it still easier to search on AA then go to BA to book. AA is quicker and you can easily see availability for the entire month and in which class with one view. To see business or first on BA, you need to start your search all over again.
@Az:
BA is best for booking nonstop flights.
99% of the time people tell me that it’s because the AA.com flight has a stop.
You can always just book it as 2 separate tickets on BA.com, the price is the same as they charge per leg.
@ryan:
True.
And AA.com lets you filter the calendar for nonstops, a killer app for me.
Still this makes it much easier to book awards once you’ve done your research on aa.com
Does BA charge tax/surcharges on infant tickets in addition to the 10% Avios?
is it only berlin air without the major fees ?
If only BA would allow me to book Alaska flights online. I’ve been having trouble getting them to waive the phone booking fee for Alaska lately (it adds up when booking 4 seats).
I’m new to all this. Is there any reason not to transfer my Amex points to Avois with the 30% bonus?
@Devorah:
Just some minor taxes in my experience.
@sam the man:
For flying to Israel?
Air Berlin is the best option, though you can also lower fees to about $200 by transferring your BA Avios to Iberia Avios and booking an Iberia flight.
@azhoopsfan:
I wish they would add Alaska flights online!
But I’ve never had a problem getting the phone folks to waive the fee when BA.com won’t book it.
@JR:
Depends what you are looking to redeem for.
BA is great for many flights, but terrible for many other flights due to high rates and high fuel surcharges.
I diversify and use BA when it comes out to be best and other miles when they come out to be best.
I have amex points and wondering if it’s worth to transfer to BA. I would like to see how many points from NYC/EWR to Chicago. At BA.com it tells me “no traffic rights between these 2 cities” they don’t go there? –how do these short hauls work? How can I see availability and point cost if I do not have points yet but might transfer?
Do you think the 30% bonus now is the best they will have? If I dont need to fly ASAP, does it make sense to wait for a better promotion for MR to Avios?
Jet blue is having a 2-day sale, going on now. Not sure how to rate how good the sale is…but a sale is a sale!
Still no Aerlingus. Oh well…
Are the only AA flights BA will show available those that are 12.5 k one way on AA (Economy Miles SAAVer) or if i see Economy anytime (25K one way) on AA should those flights be available on BA too ?
Cool! Thanks.
its still terrible and sucks. searched NYC-MIA 2/28-3/3 on AA and there is availability. none on BA.com
i hate this site!!!
Will it show partner airlines even if there is availability on BA ?
@Cindy:
It’s 15K
Try searching LGA-ORD. You can see it even if you don’t have points yet.
@Yoel:
There have been better promotions in the past, though they have been shrinking of late.
Transfer if you have a use for the next few months, otherwise consider waiting.
@Az:
sAAver only.
@bb:
Actually the problem belongs to you as AA.com is not showing any nonstop sAAver availability for NYC-MIA for those dates.
Find dates with nonstop sAAver availability on AA.com and BA.com will allow you to book it for 15K round-trip.
So much faster now.
@dan
it has to be non-stop? ba wont send me on flights for stopover?
@bb:
BA.com is programmed to find nonstops, especially within the US.
BA charges by the leg so if you want a connecting flight just book it as 2 round-trips. The airline will check your baggage all the way through and there’s no mileage difference between booking it one 1 or 2 tickets.
if i had the ba visa card previously, how soon can i apply for this card and receive the 50,000 bonus points?
Looking at flight 1709 LGA-MIA on 1/17. I see it as Economy Super Saver on aa.com but when I look on BA.com it only comes up at First Class when I enter a search for Economy. How do I change that?
@shirley:
Some people have had success with this card by applying and leaving the mileage number blank.
Other Chase cards are easier though. Find more links here:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/26590
The Ink cards give 50K points and the Sapphire gives 40K points which can be transferred to BA if you want.
@Apples10:
On AA.com you need to click the button to “Redeem AAdvantage Miles” and then locate nonstop “Economy MileSAAver” flights.
There are none on the 17th but the 16th has from EWR-MIA.
@Dan: Ah that’s what I’ve been doing wrong – thanks. Once you see search results, is there a way to change the class without starting your search from the beginning?
@Apples10:
Not on BA.com.
Can I transfer Amex points or BA Avios into AA miles?
@Yehuda:
No.
Hey dan, im trying to book a milage sAAver flight with AA miles going with LAN and BA does show it availble online but AA says they dont have it availible, does this make sense or do I have to HUCA?
@shlomo:
You need to call AA to book a LAN flight.
@Dan:
Thanx for the quick response, I called AA and they said its not available but I checked online on BA and it is availible, does that mean that if its availible on BA than AA can also see it?
@shlomo:
I’d call AA back until you find a rep who knows how to book LAN.
Hey Dan how does 12k get you from La to Cabo round trip. I don’t see that on any date?
@Mark:
You need to call BA to book Alaska Air flights.
I believe you broke this significant news and all others followed today. Did you have a post recently about all the mega awards out of the New York City area using Avios on AA? Trying to find it…
Not seeing the Payment type option on my BA. How many avios points is it from NYC to LAX?
@Reader:
Login to your BA.com account and look on the bottom left for the search box pictured in this post.
JFK-LAX is 25K RT.
wow, quick. Thanks
Am going to visit my daughter in Israel soon so I wanted to get a card w/o forex fees for myself to use, and leave one with her for expenses. I applied online for the Chase preferred Sapphire card and got a response back that it was accepted. Coming in mail in 7-10 business days. Just wondering if one of these BA cards might have been better deal. any opinion? Thanks!
@Az:
Yep, watch the class of travel option….it defaults to 1st class. If only a econo seat is aval itwill not showa match.
Trying to book DFW-STX thru MIA using Avios with BA partner airlines, AA.
I can’t get BA.com website to recognize STX as a port of call…
tried “spending Avios” option.
and “book with Avios”, but now I can’t even find that option again.
any suggestions?
newcomer to your site. great job.
what would you suggest for a European trip with about 200,000 AmEx miles. and 100,000 united miles?
unless there’s some other great idea you have. we have no special reason to go anywhere special.
no beaches.
good food Hashgacha.
husband and wife getaway for 1-2 weeks.
i keep trying on ba.com to see award flights to go fro jfk to lax from 6/2-6/6 and dont see any availability.