When is business class not business class

andycris3107

When I spoke yesterday with CS they said that business class baggage is separated from normal baggage and that it should definitely come off first. She did however say that while it may come off first from the plane it is entirely down to the baggage team at the destination to ensure it's first off the belt.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2848676/Video-reveals-baggage-handlers-throwing-musicians-instruments-conveyor-belt-marked-fragile.html

In terms of air miles there are so many stories out there about how they are now so reduced in value, difficult to use, restricted, or subject to heavy fees, that they are almost worthless.

richardw

Avios are interchangeable between BA, avios.com and Iberia, so join all three and keep all accounts active, as availability to redeem does vary, and also maintain reward saver status. If you have tier points with BA, maintain that status with BA.

Mands

Doshwaster wrote: »

I don't know if that's true but my personal experience of standing around a baggage carousels (surely the most boring part of travelling - there has to be a better way), is that it makes no difference at all whether my case has a priority tag or not.

It's a shame really as just about everything all of the other benefits of the BAEC usually work really well, though there are still some annoying inconsistencies now and then.

It's a regular gripe on FlyerTalk, I think. BTW, was is you who was in Cyprus over New Year or am I mis-remembering? If not, how was it?

sinizterguy wrote: »

They definitely do not appear to be processed at Heathrow, but seem to do just fine in Sri Lanka.

All our baggage was piled up neatly before we even got to the luggage belt - And we had masses.

Not had the pleasure of Sri Lanka yet but it's lovely to hear that it works as one might expect in some airports.

Mands

Mands

andycris3107 wrote: »

In terms of air miles there are so many stories out there about how they are now so reduced in value, difficult to use, restricted, or subject to heavy fees, that they are almost worthless.

There are lots of stories out that along those lines. There are also lots of stories about people who have booked fantastic redemption flights to superb locations or UUA to a much nicer cabin than they might have flown in otherwise.

At the risk of repeating myself: my next redemption flight would have cost £5k pp to buy as a revenue ticket; instead I paid with Avios + taxes.

They may be worthless to some people but not to all of us.

Mands

Doshwaster

Mands wrote: »

It's a regular gripe on FlyerTalk, I think. BTW, was is you who was in Cyprus over New Year or am I mis-remembering? If not, how was it?

Yes, it was me. It was OK. Weather was a bit mixed (but better than here) and Larnaca itself was fairly quiet but it was nice to get away from home and go somewhere new. If I was to go back I'd choose a busier and warmer time of year - though I was advised to avoid the peak of the summer as it gets far too hot.

Bringing this back to topic, I did fly on BA and used my Avios to upgrade to Club on both legs. For a 4-5 hour flight it was certainly worth it.

jpsartre

andycris3107 wrote: »

In terms of air miles there are so many stories out there about how they are now so reduced in value, difficult to use, restricted, or subject to heavy fees, that they are almost worthless.

There are certainly circumstances where Avios can be either difficult to use or of little value but saying they are worthless as a blanket statement would be absolutely untrue. Lots of people are able to make excellent use of Avios.

Doshwaster

jpsartre wrote: »

There are certainly circumstances where Avios can be either difficult to use or of little value but saying they are worthless as a blanket statement would be absolutely untrue. Lots of people are able to make excellent use of Avios.

Indeed. It's all about how you use them. In recent years have done Bangkok and Hong Kong in business class for around £1000 each by booking premium economy in a sale then using Avios to upgrade to a flat bed.

When you use them for upgrades you get a lot of them back in tier and cabin bonuses so the net cost is less.

SW17

Doshwaster wrote: »

Indeed. It's all about how you use them. In recent years have done Bangkok and Hong Kong in business class for around £1000 each by booking premium economy in a sale then using Avios to upgrade to a flat bed.

When you use them for upgrades you get a lot of them back in tier and cabin bonuses so the net cost is less.

Agree, premium economy to business upgrades are one the best value uses of Avios there is, where availability exists. I've also found short haul availability for redemption tickets not too bad, but maybe the OP's challenges with Barcelona come from relatively short lead booking times to a popular leisure destination, especially if at weekends.

On the priority baggage point, in my experience (relatively limited as I usually travel with hand luggage, including long haul), it works more often than not long haul (especially outbound from UK), but complete lottery on short haul.

andycris3107

I was checking back at how many reward flights I booked last year and out of a total of 65 flights only 3 were reward flights. In each case the reason was the same - last minute booking (less than 2 weeks notice) where normal prices were excessive (£300+) yet some last minute reward seats had become available. In these instances it was definitely worth it.

On another note what is considered the most efficient method of collecting Avios? I tend to earn more on my Avios credit card than on actual flights!

jpsartre

andycris3107 wrote: »

On another note what is considered the most efficient method of collecting Avios? I tend to earn more on my Avios credit card than on actual flights!

Same here, plus I earn a decent amount on various Tesco offers and through Topcashback.