Learn a Few Valuable Alaska Airlines Award Booking Tips Related to British Airways That Will Save You Hundreds!
January 2016
Living in Seattle, we are big fans of Alaska Airlines. Today we have a great trvlvip Tip for you related to avoiding extra fees when booking award travel with your hard-earned Alaska Airlines miles.
When using the Alaska Airlines website to search for award availability, you may notice that British Airways award flight options are plentiful on most European and other international routes connecting through London. While that is great, the fees for those flights unfortunately range from $300 to $500 per ticket due mostly to fuel surcharges! You may also notice it’s often challenging to find other partner airlines with award availability.
If you are considering using Alaska Mileage Plan miles to book an award flight on British Airways, we have a few suggestions that might save you hundreds of dollars:
Check the Alaska Airlines website every few days to see if other non-British Airways award options become available that will save you money – it’s well worth the few minutes it takes to do this
If you find a more competitive option at least 60 days before your flight, go ahead and cancel the British Airways flight and book the alternative money-saving flight you’ve found - Alaska Airlines allows you to change or cancel paid or award tickets for no change or cancel fees more than 60 days before your flight giving you no disincentive to book early and Alaska MVP Gold and Gold 75 members ALWAYS avoid change and cancel fees…loyalty pays!
If the new flight connects through a city you’d like to visit, call Alaska Airlines to inquire about adding in a free stopover; when flying with Alaska Airlines, or one of Alaska’s partner airlines, you can build in one en route stopover for both the outbound and return portions of your award travel on international itineraries
The Wrap-Up:
If British Airways is your only award flight option, it is certainly worth the few minutes it takes to check with Alaska Airlines a few times a week for the potential to save $300 to $500 in fees. And if you find another option with a connection, consider a free stopover!
If you save money on your award ticket or build in a free stopover to a fabulous city you would have otherwise missed, “stopover” and leave a nice note on Facebook and Twitter!
And we encourage you to sign up for complimentary email alerts so you never again miss an important trvlvip Perk or Tip about Alaska Airlines!