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Earn 100,000 British Air miles w/new Chase CC

5th November
2009
written by scott

baThis is huge. Apply for the Chase VIsa Signature Card with British Airways and you earn 50,000 miles right away. Then, when you spend $2,000 in the first three months, you earn another 50,000 miles. That’s enough for two tickets from Alaska to London, Frankfurt or several other “Zone 1″ cities. That’s right: because of Alaska Airlines‘ partnership with British Airways, you can fly from Fairbanks, Barrow, Kodiak, Juneau or any other Alaska Air jet city to Seattle, then hook up with BA’s nonstop to Seattle.

Further, if you spend $30,000 in the course of a year, you receive a companion pass! The companion pass, though, is valid only on BA iron. That means you have to pay your way to Seattle, San Francisco, L.A. or another BA gateway to redeem, etc.

If you’re a mileage junkie, you might want to look into this one. Chris Guillebeau, one of my favorite Travel Hackers, already said he’s going to apply for the card. There are all sorts of other little goodies to make this a great card to cash in on some British Air tickets! Check it out!

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10 Comments

  1. Chris Kennedy
    06/11/2009

    Oh, Scott, I hate to burst your bubble on this one. I am a VERY experienced British Airways mileage collector–accrued hundreds of thousands before the program went bad and I had to rethink. And it did go bad–it is the worst FF program in the world. Those “free” tickets to Europe will cost you–no, I’m not kidding–somewhere north of $600 in “taxes and fees.” This is not like Alaska Airlines where you pay $10 for your mileage ticket, or Delta where you might pay $150 on an international mileage itinerary–these guys have a whole ‘nother defintion of “taxes and fees.” And that’s not the end of it. Both my children had BA FF tickets last summer, fees and all, and BOTH had their tickets rejected at checkin and had to purchase new tickets for cash on the spot. Yes, we got that refunded (mostly) but only after an AMAZING six-month goatroap with customer service. Oh, and did I mention earning miles on BA? Yeah, you can earn miles–25% of the miles you actually fly. Yup, one mile for every four you fly. I could go on …

  2. scott
    06/11/2009

    Thanks, Chris. There are indeed big fees on the tickets. I think , but not sure, they are in the neighborhood of $300USD IIRC. We’ll be watching this closely. s

  3. Jeff
    07/11/2009

    Scott, I am curious about the flight originating in ANC. When I checked their departure cities, they only listed Seattle. I know AKAir is a partner, but how do you book a ticket originating from ANC without doing it over the phone for the additional $20 fee?

  4. scott
    07/11/2009

    Hi Jeff–Good point. International travel (along with cruise travel) is one of the areas where a good agent comes in handy. For this issue, I consulted Penny Lampl at USTravel in Kodiak (907 486 3232). She’s one of my int’l travel “aces” and we worked this deal thoroughly before publication. In the end, you may have to call the rez center. In fact, Penny indicated they do not typically help with BA mileage reservations–because of the PIN requirement and personal info needed to complete the transaction. But she was quite familiar with the Alaska Air add-on to get to the BA gateway. We’re watching this promo closely. I applied for my card. Stay tuned. Same Bat time. Same Bat channel…for more details. HA

  5. AKMileageQueen
    07/11/2009

    Hi Scott,

    I will not be signing up for this promo anytime soon…Here’s why-

    I tried cashing in AK Air miles for a BA mileage award last spring and discovered why BA has so many frequent flier seats available on partner airlines…They still have a HEFTY fuel surcharge added to each and every ticket- regardless of whether it’s a paid ticket or a mileage award. I told AK Air that the $450+ ticket they quoted me with my miles was so high that I might as well pay for a coach seat and earn miles (Sidebar: AK Air was able to secure seats on KLM/Air France for a meager $120 in biz class, so my problem was solved).

    However, I continue to avoid BA, like the plague, because they are so desperately in-the-red that they continue to add the outrageous fuel surcharge when most other airlines have deleted it completely. And, their major hub, Heathrow Airport has some of the biggest airport fees in the world, just for landing and connecting through…

    Thanks for letting me give my two cents worth and keep the great tips and info coming….:o)~

  6. scott
    07/11/2009

    Thanks, AKMileageQueen, for the feedback. We’re watchign this deal closely–and let me clarify: I, too, have had problems redeeming AlaskaAir partner miles. I feel like the poor relation when I’m not flying on Alaska iron, etc. These miles are different: they are true British Air miles. But I know what you mean about the fees, etc. Like I said–we’re watching this one closely. s

  7. kirk
    08/11/2009

    Scott,
    Real familiar with BA’s fuel surcharges on “free tickets”…$500 to Europe, so you better be going B or F to make it worthwhile. Question’s….1) I can’t find this offer on eather BA or Chase’s Website. being suspicious I thought what a great way to get confidential info (identity theft) by making a seemingly extremely good offer…have you confirmed with BA or Chase that this is legit ? 2) can you use the 100k BA miles on just Alaska tickets ie for 4 coach saver tickets ? Thanks, k

  8. scott
    08/11/2009

    Ya–Kirk, thanks for your comments. This is legit IMHO–I applied and it recognized me from other Chase transactions. Fees are high for “free tickets”, I agree: $310-$410 per ticket from Alaska. The BA tickets are good on BA itineraries, using Alaska Air to get to closest gateway. In this case: SEA. As “regular” fares escalate, many travelers are becoming more adept at hacking the frequent flyer system. This is one device. Not the silver bullet–but it’s a start. I love Europe, even tho’ BA is not my “favourite” airline. HA.

  9. kirk
    08/11/2009

    Scott,
    Does using 50k BA miles to London (coach) also include the AS ANC-SEA flight ? or do you have to buy that segment ?
    Can you use your BA miles for tickets on Alaska ? at the same levels Alaska “charges” ?
    assume you would have to book thru BA, do they have the equivalent of the “partner desk” ?Thanks

  10. scott
    08/11/2009

    The 50K award does indeed include the connecting Alaska Air flight from ANC, FAI, JNU….wherever. I do not believe you can use BA miles for Alaska AIr.

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