When you book a flight with points or miles, you feel like you’re traveling for free—until you’re faced with fees tacked on to your award ticket. Sometimes these surcharges end up costing more than a ticket paid for with cash, essentially rendering the miles worthless.
Fuel surcharges (also known as carrier-imposed fees) are also included on regular tickets, but they are included in the total price and therefore do not cause price shock. Surcharges vary by airline and loyalty program, so before booking award travel, learn about these fees and look for ways to avoid them so you can actually fly for free.
Find out which airlines charge fuel surcharges on award tickets
Awareness is the first step to minimizing the shock of unexpected surcharges. According to The Points Guy, there are a handful of loyalty programs that add or pass on airline-imposed fees to the airlines. some Award tickets, including those booked on partner airlines:
-
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
-
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
-
ANA Mileage Club
-
American Airlines AAdvantage
-
British Airways Executive Club
-
Delta SkyMiles
-
Emirates Skywards
-
Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank
-
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
-
Virgin Atlantic Flight Club
Not all award flights on these programs have surcharges. For example, KrisFlyer tickets on Singapore Airlines itself are exempt, and American Airlines only charges airline fees on flights booked on British Airways and Iberia. (British Airways is a big offender when it comes to fuel surcharges.) Flights operated by Delta have hefty fees when booked through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, but are largely fee-free on Delta SkyMiles and Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
If you redeem awards on JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United, Air Canada or Avianca, you’re in luck: These airlines don’t charge fuel surcharges on tickets booked with points or miles, either on their own flights or those of partners. Of course, if you can book award flights on one of these airlines instead, you can save some money.
Stay flexible with your itinerary
If you’re willing to adjust the date, time, or even route for your trip, you may be able to minimize or completely avoid fuel surcharges on your award fare. Since some partner airlines in your rewards program may not pass the fees on to travelers, you may be able to find alternative options from or to nearby airports, with different connections, or at different departure and arrival times.
Note that some airports in some countries impose taxes on departing international passengers, which vary depending on flight length and fare class. In the UK, a particularly high tax – called Air Passenger Duty – is imposed on long-haul flights, so when returning to the US, you may want to look for award tickets originating from other parts of Europe (plus, many long-haul flights from London are operated by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, both of which have hefty surcharges).
Book with transferable points
If you have points or miles outside of a frequent flyer program, you may be able to transfer them to an airline that doesn’t charge fuel surcharges. Examples include American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards. Alternatively, you may find fee-free options for tickets booked directly through those programs’ travel portals.
Booking with a travel credit card
Some travel rewards cards offer benefits that can offset surcharges if you can’t avoid them with your chosen carrier and reward travel. These benefits range from a $300 annual travel credit with the Chase Sapphire Reserve and up to $600 in reimbursement for taxes and fees with the British Airways Visa Signature to mileage credit for travel expenses with Capital One Venture cards.
