How to Use British Airways Miles: Post 4, Spotlight on Taxes and Fees
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
This is the fourth installment of my series on maximizing British Airways miles. Since so many of you got in on the super-lucrative 100,000 mile BA Visa sign-up bonus (see details of the current 100K offer), it would be beneficial to check out: General tips, Post 1 – Booking BA Awards, Post 2 – Booking Partner Awards, Post 3 – Oneworld Alliance, Post 4 – Taxes and Fees, Post 5 – Household Accounts, Post 6 – Companion Ticket, Post 7 – Using ExpertFlyer for Partner Award Availability, Post 8 - The Art of the Stopover, Post 9 - Leveraging Miles and Cash Redemptions, and Post 10 - Using Qantas.com to Find Oneworld Award Availability. Also, be sure to check out my post on the credit card deal itself and the lengthy Q&A in the comments section.
One of the less desirable aspects of using British Airways miles is the high taxes and fees they tack on to most award redemptions. But, while these fees can be higher than what you are used to paying with other loyalty programs, you can still get great value out of British Airways miles because their One Oneworld Partner award chart is generous and there are some hidden gems. Some of my favorite BA awards are Cathay Pacific Business/First Awards to Asia, Domestic awards on AA, and almost all South American redemptions on Lan and American.
Coach flights to Europe are hard to justify when the taxes/fees come to $500 - I'd probably just suck it up and pay for coach at that point. American Airlines flights to Asia don't make much sense if you live in a Cathay gateway city (check out my post on Oneworld coverage from yesterday), since Cathay has nicer planes and lower fees. However, considering you can get a whopping 100,000 BA miles for $95 with their Chase Visa promotion, I guess we can't complain too much about the miles not being the most valuable out there.
Overall, there may be other awards that make sense for you. My main goal is to give you a sense of what fees are out there so you can plan accordingly. If you want to do some research of your own, follow the tips I highlighted in this post - note that BA.com is by no means perfect. For example, if JFK-Madrid is available on American Airlines, it will automatically try to route you on BA through London. I'll be highlighting other means of checking Oneworld award availability later this week, so don't automatically think that the britishairways.com booking engine is 100% accurate - because it's not.
If you still haven't gotten the card, check out my original post on the deal and the long FAQ session in the comments section. If you apply through my site I get a commission, so if you support me doing more of these posts please consider using my link (it's the same exact offer as britishairways.com).
Now let's check out sample awards, starting with British Airways. These are just a small sample of potential awards, but I think it should give you a decent idea of what to expect for award fees.
Let's move on to American Airlines and see what their fees are like.
Now let's look at Cathay Pacific, which is one of the highest-rated carriers in terms of service.
Iberia
Qantas
Royal Jordanian
Finn Air
Japan Airlines
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
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- Annual companion ticket for travel on Delta (upon renewal)
- Ability to earn MQDs through spending
- Various statement credits for eligible purchases
Cons
- Steep annual fee of $650
- Other Delta cobranded cards offer superior earning categories
- Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months, starting from the date that your account is opened. Offer Ends 04/01/2026.
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- $240 Resy Credit: When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card for eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants, you can earn up to $20 each month in statement credits. Enrollment required.
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- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- With your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, receive upgrade priority over others with the same Medallion tier, product and fare experience purchased, and Million Miler milestone when you fly with Delta.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $650 Annual Fee.
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- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees