British Airways Avios award linking question

T

Tyler2

Level 2 Member
Can BA link two separate awards, after the fact, in order to protect me from a misconnection, even if the two awards have different ticket and confirmation numbers? The carriers are both OW if that matters.

I am flying MSN-ORD-TXL next September. I used BA Avios to book MSN-ORD on AA as one award (4.5k), and separately booked the transatlantic portion ORD-TXL on Air Berlin (25k). Saves me 500 miles versus AA, ha! I couldn't get the website to suggest this combination of flights, whereas it showed fine on an AA award search, and I didn't want to call into BA if I could avoid the fee.

I called in after booking the separate and an agent told me that he was able to "link" the two reservations and explained that I would be protected and Air Berlin would accommodate me if the connecting flight was delayed (it is a tight connection, on purpose). He also stated there was no way for me to see this online (sure enough, I can't). Now, we all know that the word of one CSR will not save me should an issue arise.

Has anyone else had experience with this. I think that an answer to this would be quite useful to others that may add to trips that they have already booked with Avios while traveling etc. I understand that in my specific case, I can just cancel the awards and rebook over the phone under one ticket and reservation number, but the question is do I have to?

I have also held an earlier MSN-ORD flight that gives a 4 hour layover in O'Hare, the one that I "linked" only gives me a one hour connection at O'Hare. I was, and still am debating about which flight to take. Yes I understand that that is a tight connection, maybe insane due to having a security and terminal change at ORD? If I misconnect, honestly I wouldn't really mind since I have friends in Chicago that I could visit, and if I were able to avoid a long wait in O'Hare all the better.
 
italdesign

italdesign

Level 2 Member
I don't know the answer (I'm curious too), but in case you don't get an exact answer, I would go for the longer layover due to the likelihood that BA would cancel your TATL flight as a no-show in the case of IRROP from your first flight, and the fact that ORD is famous for delays in general (Sep is probably not too bad, but I'm no expert). And if you have access to Admirals Club, it's a good one by domestic standards.
 
Matt

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
The booking issue you had with this is due to the Avios two carrier chart. You are flying AA/AB which prompts a new price scale.

Miles in your journey Avios Additional charges
0–1,500 30,000 Up to $ 477.33 taxes, fees and carrier charges
1,501–4,000 35,000 Up to $ 996.80 taxes, fees and carrier charges
4,001–9,000 60,000 Up to $ 957.60 taxes, fees and carrier charges
9,001–10,000 70,000 Up to $ 819.94 taxes, fees and carrier charges
10,001–14,000 90,000 Up to $ 1,655.26 taxes, fees and carrier charges
14,001–20,000 100,000 Up to $ 1,106.04 taxes, fees and carrier charges
20,001–25,000 120,000 Up to $ 1,112.05 taxes, fees and carrier charges
25,001–35,000 140,000 Up to $ 934.81 taxes, fees and carrier charges
35,001–50,000 Sorry, no pricing information is currently available.

By booking distinct awards you can sometimes find a value opportunity.

pfdlt said:
Oneworld rules protect onward Oneworld connections.

Here is AA's verbage on the matter:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/agency/Booking_Ticketing/Reaccom/oneworld_tkt_policy.jsp

That being said, a short connection to an international flight means much greater headaches and fewer options if it goes sideways. The inverse is usually not so bad.
Click to expand...
Agreed with this. As you are flying on OneWorld for both flights you will have protection through that transition in ORD.
 
T

Tyler2

Level 2 Member
Thanks Matt and pfdlt. The feedback is greatly appreciated.

Takeaways:
1. It is possible to protect your one-world flight when beginning on AA.
2. When booking feeder flights on a One-world redemption, it might make sense to first take what is available, book segments separately, then continually check back for a better flight. Since AA protects your connection, you have a lot of flexibility for booking close-in award space that will create a better overall ticket. Also, the ~$5 in taxes surrendered for the change is minimal cost to improve a ticket.
3. A multi-carrier total-distance based award chart for BA exists.

I did not realize that a multi-carrier distance based chart for BA even existed, nor that it is a total distance chart instead of the segment by segment that is much talked about. In my case, a flight of 4,521 miles, would actually cost more to have a single booking either as one-way or return. I'll keep an eye on that for future use where it might provide some value.

I have two segments feeding into ORD reserved, now knowing that I'm protected, it all comes down to how much risk I am willing to accept. As of now, my only choices are a 4 hour connection or one hour connection. Additionally, I will be taking along my 5 year old son (who has travelled extensively with us, having only one child along will actually be quite relaxing). A 55 minute connection from domestic to international is pretty ridiculous, but so is keeping my son entertained at ORD for 4 hours. My current plan is to keep watching the schedule to see if space opens up on a MSN-ORD flight that allows for a happy medium of connection time.

Anyone have tips for how to get free economy seat selection on Air Berlin awards? I tried accessing the reservation through various One-World carriers websites and assigning there, but the seat choices didn't stick. I'll be researching this more prior to the trip and report back on what I find.
 
Last edited:
italdesign

italdesign

Level 2 Member
It would be nice if you can have the separate oneworld tickets linked in the system, such that you get automatically re-accommodated in an IRROP. Anyone know if that is possible? Otherwise you would only be re-accommodated after the fact since they have no record of your onward ticket.

I had this done on the Star Alliance side a few times at airport check in (separate UA and EVA tix). One time the agent screwed up and cancelled my next TPAC leg, which I found out at the check in counter for that leg! Scary stuff.
 
T

Tyler2

Level 2 Member
Just completed this trip.

There was a schedule change which moved the flight with a tight connection forward so there was the perfect amount of time at ORD. It paid off the hold on to the two connecting flight options and then cancel the one I decided not to use a week out.

Choosing seats on Air Berlin in economy is a non-event. Just check in at 24 hours out and have your pick, paying for seats is really not necessary.

If you can get a southwest companion pass> Alaska status match> air Berlin status match to work then you'd get free seat choice in economy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top