When you have a relatively small number of points, goals can seem to be quite far away. I’m going to show you examples of what you can do with small points balances in the British Airways Executive Club and Aer Lingus AerClub.

A Weekend Getaway

Taking a weekend getaway to the beach or even a city break is quite easy to do with points. The lowest amount of points for a one way flight on both Aer Lingus and British Airways is 4,500, which would come to 9,000 Avios return.

What happens if you don’t yet have that many points? Well, the airlines have you covered. As you can see above, the total price is 9,000 Avios plus €49.57 in taxes and charges. You usually have to pay these so no surprises there. But look at the bottom right.

You can reduce your points outlay to as little as 3,000 return, if you’re prepared to pony up some extra cash. Remember that all reward flights feature one checked bag included as standard. You could also just book a one way flight and book the other way separately with cash, which halves the amounts if you have even fewer points in your account.

How Far Can I Go?

It is 4,500 Avios each way for flights up to 600 miles or 965km in length. From Dublin on Aer Lingus, that means Ireland, all of the UK, Paris, Brest and Nantes in France, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Brussels in Belgium and Dusseldorf in Germany.

Out of London with British Airways, that means the UK, all of Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, most of France, and virtually all Germany are within reach. Not too shabby at all!

Avios Reducing Ticket Prices

Frequent flyers generally value Avios at 1c or 1p per point, which makes it easy to work out how much they are worth. One other way to use them is to reduce the cash price of a ticket, which you will see towards the end of the booking process. That could reduce the cost of your weekend getaway, but should you do this?

British Airways is offering €10 off in the example for 1,000 Avios, which matches 1c per point. However the €22 off is 2,900 Avios, meaning that you’re getting less bang for your buck. Aer Lingus are offering €2 off for 250 Avios which is not as good value as the BA example. That being said, if you have a small amount of points laying around and will be hard pressed to use them, this provides a way to do that.

Overall Thoughts

That should illustrate just how few Avios points are needed to take a weekend getaway. Of course, the real value in the points is using them for flight upgrades, especially from British Airways World Traveller Plus to Club World (Premium Economy to Business Class). However, I sometimes use them for upgrades to Club Europe on Dublin to London, as it’s nice to have a little treat on the short flight.

Some people save their points for a big business class trip, some spend them as they get them – whatever you do will be right for you. Using Avios can result in big savings, especially if you can snag frequent flyer seats at popular times. Your saving over paying straight cash can be substantial (think ski resorts in Europe at half term, for example).

What say you? Are you someone who uses points regularly for a weekend getaway or are you a saver, an upgrader or something else? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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The two airlines ostensibly have no affiliation whatsoever with one another and the Dubai based airline is not a member of any airline alliance. Both carriers are standard competitors in the industry and there are no links between the two.

Well, if you don’t count this.

Qantas and Emirates Partnership

In 2013, Emirates and Qantas formed a close partnership meaning each airline placed the others code on their flights. This would allow a person to book a ticket from say Australia to Europe and return with Qantas, with the Australian airline’s flight numbers, but with the flights actually being operated by Emirates.

Essentially, the agreement allows each airline to sell tickets on the others flights as though they were their own. Codeshare agreements are quite common in the industry however this one is much more extensive than most. It has been extended a couple of times over the years, so clearly it works for the two airlines.

The Secret Back Door to Earning with Emirates

British Airways and Qantas are both members of the oneworld alliance which allows members of any frequent flyer programme to earn miles with any of the other member airlines. Third party airlines are generally excluded from earning even when it is a codeshare flight. However, the British Airways web site says the following when it comes to earning on Qantas.

The last line of text indicates any flight carrying the Qantas QF flight code on any third party airline will earn British Airways Avios as though you are flying with Qantas. This means that if you book a flight on the Qantas web site that happens to actually be an Emirates aircraft you will earn full Avios and Tier Points as though it was actually the Australian airline you were flying.

Overall Thoughts

While this means you can earn Avios on Emirates, it also means you it will work on any airline Qantas has a codeshare agreement with. If you happen to book a flight from Amsterdam to Sydney via Singapore, your Amsterdam to Singapore will be QF4218 but actually operated by KLM. That means you’ll fly KLM and earn your Avios that way.

The caveat is that you must book through Qantas and the flight must be a Qantas codeshare flight with a QF flight number. Flights on other carriers are marked quite clearly on the Qantas website, making choosing these services quite straightforward.

Have you earned Avios on Emirates before? Did you even know this was possible? I’ve heard it works seamlessly by those who have done it. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image via Emirates.

At the moment, one airline is selling the points for a little less than the others. That means now is a good opportunity to make a bit of a saving before anything changes.

Purchasing Avios?

With flight prices being high for premium cabins at the moment, purchasing Avios can make sense. You should get more value for your spend if you can find reward flights available on the dates you want to travel.

I had a look at the Avios pricing for British Airways Executive Club members, those enrolled in the Aer Lingus AerClub, Iberia Plus people and the Qatar Airways Privilege Club. This is what I found.

All the airlines are selling the frequent flyer miles for the same price… except Qatar Airways. As you can see, the prices are lower all the way through, with the gap widening towards the higher amounts.

Right now, Qatar Airways are offering a 50% bonus as well, which runs through until 11 May 2023. If you are a member of the Privilege Club, you can take advantage of this and get even better value for money.

Overall Thoughts

Of course, the big advantage to purchasing Avios for less money is that you can transfer them between each airline. As long as you’ve joined more than one of the programmes, you are welcome to flip them back and forth at your leisure.

I used to always think buying additional points was a waste of money. However with the current prices of some trips in business class being prohibitive, using points and getting a frequent flyer seat instead could save you a decent chunk of change. Remember though – if you plan to do this, check there is award flight availability before you make your points purchase as they’re not refundable.

Will you be buying some Avios from Qatar Airways at the cheaper rate and in this flash sale? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Fasttailwind / Shutterstock via Aerotime.

So when a sale does come around, I tend to jump on it, even if I don’t ultimately take the trip. Such is the case booking what appears to be a decent Delta One award sale to Bogota, Colombia. I highly recommend visiting the country’s high-altitude capital city.

Delta One to Bogota from Multiple U.S. Airports

I was alerted to this sale via @travelsergeant on Twitter. It appears to be valid from a number of U.S. airports. I only checked a handful, but from major airports in the Midwest and East, availability is quite good. The price appears to be 43,000 SkyMiles one-way, which drops to 36,500 when you factor in the 15% off Delta Amex card savings. Here’s the calendar from JFK in January 2024. This includes the nonstop JFK-BOG option much of the time.

Availability out of Chicago looks pretty good, too. However, you’re sent via Atlanta much of the time rather than JFK. It’s still a Delta One product, but you end up with a shorter international flight. The other airports mentioned in the tweet are Austin and Denver.

There are fewer seats out of California, but you do have some options. Here is SFO. Cost out of LAX is only a hair more, with better availability.

What is cool is that I was able to book a ticket from San Francisco to Bogota via JFK, which is in Delta One on both legs. The San Francisco to NYC flight alone often goes for much more than this, so this is a solid deal. Even though it’s not their Suites product, I’m glad to finally have a Delta One business class product in my upcoming itineraries.

Final Thoughts

As with as “flash sale” I have no idea how long this will last. Since you can cancel Delta award tickets from free, the modus operandi is to book now and figure out the rest later. Hope you find something you can use!

We are very lucky to be living in the digital age, especially as frequent flyers. The sharing of information instantly adds so much to airline alliances and partnerships. Being able to earn and redeem points on different airlines is something that was unheard of even 30 years ago.

Airlines Share Award Flight Availability

It’s no secret that airlines share award flight availability. As a member of the British Airways Executive Club, I can happily book flights with Qantas in Australia and vice versa, for example. There are, of course, a plethora of other options too.

You’d be forgiven for assuming members of each programme see the same seats available to snag with points. Well, that is not always the case as you will see below. When logged in to Qantas Frequent Flyer, you can see on 25 December 2023 there are seats from Los Angeles to Sydney in the Business Classic Reward category.

Searching the same route and date in the British Airways Executive Club shows exactly zero flights available. Both airlines are members of the oneworld alliance, so surely the same redemption availability should be presenting, right?

Well no. Airlines will sometimes offer award flight availability to their own frequent flyers and keep it hidden from their partners. This does make some sense, as you’d want to give your own customers first grab at the goodies. However it can be frustrating if you are a member of both programmes and can actually see it in action!

Overall Thoughts

Everything is not always what it seems when it comes to reward flights. Throw in airline revenue management to the mix and what you have is a constantly spinning carousel of ever changing availability.

This is why choosing a frequent flyer programme is so important and so specific to a person’s individual needs. In my case, I moved from Australia to Ireland and had to swap Qantas for British Airways. I haven’t really looked back… except at those Qantas Lifetime Status Credits that will always haunt me!

What do you think of airlines ring fencing award flight availability for their own frequent flyers? Good thing, bad thing? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/yyzgs-sheraton-gateway-hotel-in-toronto-international-airport/overview/?scid=f2ae0541-1279-4f24-b197-a979c79310b0

Having flown from Bangkok via Narita to Toronto on Air Canada there was a delay with the flight onwards to Dallas so I had to spend the night and fly out the next morning. It was a Wednesday night and the hotels didn’t seem overly busy.

Booking process:

There were quite a few hotels in the area with prices ranging from 22,000 points up to at least 40,000 points for the one night. I have status with multiple hotel brands so I eventually decided to book the Sheraton by Marriott which is connected to Toronto Airport terminal 3. There is also a train linking terminal 1 with terminal 3. That station is linked to the bridge connecting the hotel to terminal 3 so the ease of use is great.

I stopped at the check-in desk and asked if I could book there with miles. “No, only on the website” was the reply. I had the app open and ready so I stepped aside, selected and pressed confirm, and had a booking number within 30 seconds. I spent 35,000 Marriott miles which was higher than I had planned but I decided that the ease of use of the trains was a good enough reason for the splurge. The Sheraton Toronto airport hotel review was on.

The USP Express train service is available to whisk you into Toronto from terminal 1 (one stop away from the hotel). I always try to go to the highest point in any city I visit so once I had checked in I caught that train to Union Station and went up the CN Tower. The Tower is less than 10 minutes walk from the station under a covered walkway, but my story of that visit is for another time.

Hotel room:

I was given a room on the 4th floor. I was offered the opportunity to upgrade to the Sheraton Club Lounge. For about $60 extra you have access to a private lounge, a hot breakfast buffet, all day refreshments and evening hors d’oeuvres. It seemed like a good deal but I knew my schedule would not allow me to enjoy the facilities much. Once I got off the elevator the first thing I did was look for the ice machine. A room temperature soda is just not for me so ice is an important part of any hotel stay. The room itself was rather pleasant and large.

Hotel room – picture courtesy of Marriott.com

I had no problem powering up my computer as well as recharging my phone and iPad as there is a power and usb plug point next to the bed with 2 of each power point.

Power and usb adapters

My ice bucket got filled with ice as soon as I had put my bags down. A Keurig coffee machine with coffee and tea bags was also supplied. In the morning I love a hot cup of tea so I filled up the Keurig, boiled the water without a pod, put a cup with tea bag under the spout and there it was. A steaming hot cup of tea just the way I like it.

2 complimentary bottles of water were also available along with the already in service ice bucket.

Keurig coffee machine, water and ice bucket

I used the safe on the top shelf of the cupboard to lock up my computer and iPad when I left to go downtown. The cupboard also contained an iron, ironing board and hangars.

Safe, Iron, Ironing board, Hangars

The view out of the window was pleasant, at least there were no warehouses or parking garages blocking the view.

View from the window

Bathroom facilities:

The bathroom was average size with some really pleasant toiletries. They were Gilchrist and Soames brand. There was body wash, conditioner and shampoo in squeeze bottles in the shower which also had a nice hand shower. On the counter was Gilchrist and Soames body lotion, hand wash and soap. I splashed all of those products on when I showered in the morning, I smelt rather glorious when I left the room.

Gilchrist and Soames body wash, conditioner and shampoo

Gilchrist and Soames hand wash, body lotion and soap bar

Shower with hand spray

Basin and towels

Hotel facilities:

Interesting to see the top class fitness facilities available at this hotel. There is a comprehensive fitness center that is open 24 hours a day. It has weights, exercise bikes, treadmills, as well as sauna room and steam room. There is also a newly opened Peloton Bike and Studio for hitting your cycling goals. Then there is the indoor heated swimming pool available 24 hours a day too. The hotel seems proud of these facilities as it gives a prominent place to these details on their website.

Hotel take out dining:

I got back from downtown Toronto at around 9pm and so decided to order take out from &More by Sheraton, the lobby bar / food venue.

I heard the glorious chatter before I saw the bar. It was absolutely bustling at 9pm, I think mostly as a result of it being the closest hotel to the airport. There were people checking in, sitting at the bar, eating at the tables, just a nice and busy area.

I ordered sweet and sour wings and fries. There were many options on the menu but I was in the mood for a safe choice. To quote the hotel website it prides itself on “reflecting all of what Toronto has to offer, highlighting locally sourced ingredients from our new cuisine.” From what I could see the guests were throughly enjoying the “new elevated food and beverage philosophy”.

The order took about 15 minutes to prepare which gave me enough time to go upstairs, refill the ice bucket, pour a cola and get the room ready for dinner.  The food was really tasty, the wings that I did not finish that night became a breakfast snack before I left my room in the morning.

Conclusion:

The room itself was rather pleasant and large. Great bathroom amenities as well.

All in all this was a very pleasant stop on my trip. I don’t often stay at Sheraton when I use the Marriott brand but this hotel was a nice surprise and I will be on the lookout for more Sheratons in future.

This Sheraton Toronto airport hotel review ended up being a happy event.

Hotel Room featured image – thanks to Marriott.com

This is the first lounge in the Capital One lounge network, the next lounges will be opening at Denver and Washington DC airports.

https://capitalonetravel.com/lounges/partner-lounge-network/?utm_source=plnvxpdp

Card attributes:

The card has a $395 annual fee and includes a 10,000 mile annual bonus, a $300 annual travel credit, up to $100 towards TSA or Global Entry and other benefits. You also have access to the Priority Pass and Plaza Premium international network of lounges.

Airport access:

Terminal D is the mainly international terminal at Dallas/Fort Worth airport. The Capital One lounge near Gate D22 is directly opposite the down escalator from the Sky Link inter terminal train.

I am normally at the airport about 2 hours before take-off. My TSA-Pre clearance means that I am normally through security within 15 minutes and then I head straight to the lounge. If I am flying from a different terminal I hop on the Sky Link train and go to terminal D. I always set an alarm on my phone as a reminder to leave the lounge to take the train back to my gate in time for boarding.

Outside entrance to the lounges

Main entrance and the hosts

Entrance:

The signs outside say Capital One Lounge and American Flagship Lounge. You go through the entrance hall and take the elevator up to floor 5. On exiting the elevator the Capital One lounge is to the left and an AA lounge is to the right. You supply your Capital One Venture card and boarding pass to the lovely people at the desk, they will offer you a card with the wi-fi code on it and then you are in.

2 or 3 people tables

Counters for working on

Featured art work

Tarmac view:

My favorite aspect of this  lounge is the magnificent view over the runways to the west of the terminals.

View from inside the lounge

I have spent many hours sitting at the window with a cappuccino or 2 watching a myriad of planes taking off and landing. 

My 2 favorite drinks

The tea area

Bar area:

The bar at the opposite end of the lounge which has various recommended cocktails. On my latest visit I tried the Turtle Creek Spritz cocktail. It has rose wine, sparkling pink grapefruit as well as grapefruit liqueur. It was really tasty, fruity and refreshing. I have a mission to try all the cocktails on my next few trips.

Wine and spirit list

Cocktail and beer list

The bar

There are also regular drinks, non-alcoholic cocktails as well as local draft and craft beers. This bar interestingly enough is where you obtain the hot coffee drinks. I love the cappuccino. I often order 2 so I can mellow longer. Water, soda and tea is also available around the lounge.

The bar also specially recommends the Nickel City Frozen Irish Coffee. It has Irish whiskey, cold brew coffee and vanilla cream. Rather special!

Meal area:

Breakfast juices

Being there early in the morning I had a variety of breakfast items like sweet potato overnight oats, yoghurt parfait, french toast, croissants, etc to choose from. The oats were a first for me, rather yummy as was the yoghurt.

Sweet potato oats and yoghurt parfait

French toast

Devilled eggs and vegetable hummus

Elegant cutlery

By the time I left for my flight just after 10h30 they had started putting out lunch type items such as bourbon glazed meat balls, deviled eggs, hummus and vegetables and bbq brisket sliders, The meat balls and sliders have quite a Texas bent to them, flavorful with a bit of a kick.

The Capital One lounge concept is to provide you with a lot of smaller dishes to try rather than a buffet or other main type of meal.

Take out station:

Conversely I also look forward to leaving as I then get to choose from the delightful take out station with a variety of food and drinks specially packed for taking on the plane or for snacking on while waiting at the gate. 

Fridge of take out options

Rest rooms and showers:

The rest rooms are spacious and clean, really pleasant to use. They are bathroom size with a basin, shaving mirror and storage unit.

Facilities instructions

Basin and shaving / make up mirror

The commode

Shower suite:

I had a lovely warm shower on my latest visit. The room includes a toilet and is nicely fitted with a hairdryer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, and extra towels. There is a cupboard with hangars for your coat or other clothes, even hooks behind the door. 

Shower suite entrance

Basin with hair dryer

Soap, shampoo, conditioner

The shower head

Place to hang your jacket

The other head

Other facilities:

There are other facilities like a nursing room, cycling and yoga room, a relaxation room and a multi-faith prayer room. The prayer room includes washing facilities if that is what your religion requires. 

The exercise cycles have a video monitor for distraction while cycling but there is also a view of the tarmac and runway visible through the window that should also keep you happy.

Exercise bicycles in the fitness room

Multi-faith prayer room

Multi-faith room washing facilities available

Conclusion:

Capital One lounge entrance sign

Capital One has made a great decision to start with airport lounges. The concept is different to other lounges but all in all the Capital One Lounge is a great addition to the lounges available to travelers at Dallas/Forth Worth international airport..

It is my personal favorite and I stop there every time I fly out of DFW.

What’s the beauty in traveling on WestJet Economy Class?

Let us be honest, not a lot.

Nothing glamorous about flying on a WestJet flight

In the world of credit card rewards, there is a lot of content around aspirational awards that allow you to travel places that are reserved for the top 1% of our population. However, for many of us, traveling like that could take years of effort, and success is never guaranteed.

Realistically, if you want to travel during peak holiday season with your family, Economy Class redemptions might represent the best opportunity for redemptions.

Recently, I found myself in a similar predicament.

Trip Background

As I have written about in the past, there are three main travels that I focus on:

1. Solo trips around the world,
2. Regional trips with my parents,
3. Annual marquee vacation, for the entire family

I have access to travel agent rates, and stumbled upon an amazing discount for one of the most luxurious hotel brands across the world; Ritz Carlton Reserve. With a large travel agent discount, I also noticed that they were selling rooms during some peak travel dates, including around my father’s birthday.

For personal reasons, December 2023 will be an important occasion. I always planned on making it a celebration to be remembered, so I thought, let me make refundable reservations, and hope that we can make this trip a reality.

I started off with booking the Zadun, Ritz Carlton Reserve in Los Cabos on my desired dates.

Imagine having Bhature Choley at the Ritz Carlton Reserve

Booking Air Canada to Los Cabos

Once the hotel was booked, I noticed Air Canada was offering an award ticket in Economy, with a guaranteed upgrade to Business Class for two people for frequent flyers of Air Canada. I immediately booked that for the outbound.

For the third person, I booked a fully flexible Economy Class ticket, which would give us one of top priority for a potential upgrade on the day of departure. My total cost so far was 90,000 Aeroplan Points + $309 on flights. The cherry on top, two of us would be traveling in Business Class.

Booking WestJet to Vancouver

I was most troubled when booking the return flight. I took a peek on Google Flights for non-stop flights, and discovered the following price for three adults:

WestJet Pricing from Los Cabos to Vancouver

Honestly, as a working professional, no. At this pricing, the trip was not going to happen. Combine the cost of hotel, food and beverage, activities, no. Just, no.

I never cancelled any flight or hotel, I knew everything was fully refundable. The only cost was that I would not be able to use the 90,000 Aeroplan Points for another reservation. Instead, I decided to pray for a mistake to happen from now to December.

Using Delta SkyMiles on WestJet – My First Search

I always knew of the Delta – WestJet trick, but my first search was not very positive.

I saw a fare of around 22,000 Delta SkyMiles for a one-way ticket:

WestJet through Delta

I have two sources of Delta SkyMiles:

1. My brother, many years ago, had 31,000 orphaned Delta SkyMiles, or,
2. I could transfer from American Express Membership Reward Points, either USA or Canada

I needed 66,000 Delta SkyMiles, and I only had enough for one person.

The other two people were problematic, I could either:

1. Transfer 35,000 extra miles from my brother’s American Express Account, or,
2. Transfer 58,700 American Express Membership Reward Points from Canada that would convert to 44,000 Delta SkyMiles for the other two tickets.

Honestly, neither option was attractive. I did not want to lock up so many of my points for a “maybe reservation” and went against it.

Background Reading about Delta

As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time reading news about different ways the travel world is changing around credit card rewards. Back in late last year, I was reading this article: Delta Air Lines: Looks like yet another SkyMiles devaluation.

The crux of the issue was, where there is a Delta option and a partner option, Delta will price the ticket at the same price as the partner airline. Typically, flying on partner airlines was significantly cheaper than flying Delta themselves. This was an important loophole for booking flights using Delta miles.

I remember thinking, okay, not ideal, but good to know that the partner loophole is no longer valid.

For many people, this was heralded as a massive devaluation of Delta SkyMiles. I did not heed any thought to this news and thought, it is okay, I will use my Delta SkyMiles for WestJet flights within Canada. This loophole was still available through Delta SkyMiles.

This news was a significant contributing factor to my next email I got in my inbox.

Email Alert for a Price Sale

I got an email from Thrifty Traveler, indicating that Delta was having a fare sale to Los Cabos, including during peak travel season.

Immediately, my mind got curious. Delta SkyMiles is known to align their award pricing with the cost of a revenue ticket, around 1c per mile. With Delta having a sale on cash tickets, that would also mean a sale on award tickets.

I took a quick peek and stumbled across this pricing (I took this screenshot after booking two adults):

Delta Pricing From Los Cabos to Vancouver

If you notice the first two options were a Delta flight. But the third option was a WestJet flight, which ironically, was priced the exact same as the Delta SkyMiles option.

That massive devaluation people were concerned about? Turns out, represents a huge opportunity for families to travel together in Economy Class!

Booking WestJet for two people

Hold on a moment while I do a happy dance.

The rooms at Zadun, a Ritz Carlton Reserve property

15,000 SkyMiles each, for one person on the return flight. Happily, my brother had over 30,000 Delta SkyMiles, so I would only need to transfer approximately 15,000 Delta SkyMiles to make the redemption possible.

Right away, without thinking of it, I booked my parents on the return flight. The beauty of Delta SkyMiles award tickets is that they are fully refundable, if you do not book the Basic fare class. It was important for my parents to be home the most efficient way possible.

While I did see four seats available, I also was not certain if those four seats would be available for long, especially since, my brother was sleeping in India.

I also needed another 14,000 Delta SkyMiles before I could book myself onto a flight.

Waiting for my brother to wake up

I immediately sent the following message to my brother:

Luckily for me, he woke up before the third seat could disappear.

He woke up, and he immediately transferred the miles from his American Express to Delta SkyMiles.

Was I a big fan of this transfer? Probably not. There are many better ways of using your American Express Membership Reward Points than to use them to fly WestJet. But I also value time spent with family, and nothing is more important to me then coming home on the same flight, regardless of airline and class of service. Even more important, this route would be the fastest way home, as it was the only non-stop flight between Los Cabos and Vancouver for that day.

Booking the third person

Error Occurred. I tried again, maybe I typed my credit card wrong. Error occurred.

Uh oh.

When I see this message, I immediately think to a phenomena called phantom award space. That is, award space that appears on the website, but does not actually appear when you try and book it. Not particularly a wide-spread issue, but an issue none the less.

So, I thought okay, I am happy my parents are on the non-stop flight, let me book myself on the Delta flight in Economy and pray.

Error occurred.

To be honest, this third error was a relief. I now felt this was a website issue. Delta should not ever error out when selling a seat on their own flight.

I called up Delta, and told the staff to book me onto the Delta flight instead (absolutely convinced the third seat was a phantom seat). And while the call center representative was booking, I instead suggested, how about we try the non-stop first.

It worked. She got the ticket issued immediately on the non-stop flight on WestJet.

Total Paid: US$200 + 45,000 Delta SkyMiles.

Conclusion

For 45,000 Delta SkyMiles + US$200 for the three of us, we were now flying the return flight, non-stop from Los Cabos to Vancouver.

My total out of pocket cost was about $600 round trip, + 135,000 miles. But for flights, that was charging us over $4,000 for a one way ticket, these savings were incredible to me.

Delta truly allowed me to enable my family to take a trip during peak travel season, when I least expected to find any deal at all.

This is the view I’ll be cherishing, while I think back to a month-long period, where I was almost certain, this trip was never going to happen.

I cannot wait to celebrate December 2023 at one of the most gorgeous resorts in Los Cabos

Frequent flyers in Ireland have been impatiently waiting for the airline to rejoin the alliance in some capacity, yet there has been no movement in this area. Perhaps we will see something happening soon, but perhaps not.

Best Place To Credit Aer Lingus Flights

You might think the British Airways Executive Club is the best place to credit Aer Lingus flights. After all, the two airlines are owned by the same company and they have a close relationship spanning many years. Sadly, this is not the case.

Economy class earning is very poor, with only L, S, R, W, Y, M and N being eligible. Now lets compare that with another oneworld carrier, Alaska Airlines. Members of their Mileage Plan programme earn points on virtually every Aer Lingus fare.

I was quite frankly gobsmacked when I came across this table. There is a whole range of fare buckets earning points that are not included for members of the British Airways programme.

Overall Thoughts

Having had a look around, Alaska Airlines and British Airways are the only two oneworld alliance airlines where flying Aer Lingus allows you to earn points. None of the others seem to have an agreement with the Irish airline.

Since Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan offers far more opportunities for earning, you might want to credit your points there. That is perhaps not great for people in Europe, but those people really should just credit the flights to the AerClub.

Full participation of the Dublin based airline in the oneworld transatlantic joint venture is coming soon. Perhaps at that point we will see an increased range of earning opportunities on the airlines involved.

What do you think of the fact the best place to credit is Alaska Airlines and not British Airways? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Mark Bess on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.

For the uninitiated, Avios are the points you use to book reward flights in the programme. Since BA is a member of the oneworld alliance, you can also use Avios to book tickets with partner airlines. Now the scene has been set, let’s have a look at what I found.

An Avios Disparity

Usually a flight on British Airways would be better value for redeeming points than a flight on a partner. Not so when you are wanting to fly from Amman to London Heathrow.

Each flight on offer departs in a similar window during the day. In business class, the BA flight costs 80,000 Avios and €90.00, while the Royal Jordanian flight is 38,750 Avios and €126.54.

Yes, you pay €36.54 extra by taking the Royal Jordanian flight, but you save 41,250 Avios. Since many people value the points at 1c per point, you can see that the points saving is “€412.50” for an extra €36.54 cash outlay on the ticket.

Not to nitpick, though I’m going to, the RJ flight is also 10 minutes faster overall. Sure, no big deal in the grand scheme of things. But that’s not all.

On Board Product

Royal Jordanian use the widebody Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on the route, whereas BA use an Airbus A320. You can see the RJ seatmap here and the British Airways one right here. Excerpts are below.

The Amman based airline also offers a far, far superior on board product. Not only do they have lie-flat seating, but their meal service is something that has to be seen to be believed. Cabin crew wheel out a cart and plate your food in front of you, so you can literally pick whatever you fancy.

I loved the whole trolley experience when I flew RJ back in 2008. Contrast that with British Airways, who are flying a European configured Airbus A320 on the route. This has the same business class with the middle seat free that you get on one and two hour hops around the continent.

Now don’t get me wrong, I rather enjoying flying BA and do it often. Service is always great, food quality is also very good and I can deal with the seating on a short flight. But seriously, looking at the above, what would you choose? And that’s before the other elephant in the room, full inflight entertainment with personal screens on RJ and nothing on BA!

Overall Thoughts

That disparity between Royal Jordanian and British Airways on the Amman to London Heathrow route is pretty amusing. I don’t see how BA can get away with charging a substantial amount of extra Avios and offer a staggeringly inferior product to RJ.

Any Executive Club member should really be choosing to fly the Jordanian airline on this route. You will get a much better business class experience from end to end and more importantly, you’ll pay a lot less to do it.

What do you think about the difference here, where you get more for less on RJ and less for more on BA? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Jan Severijns on Airteamimages via Key.aero.
Royal Jordanian seat and service via Sam Chui.
BA meal via johnaalex on FlyerTalk.