Booking Business Class to Germany for 40,000 British Airways Miles Each Way
I am in the process of booking my next year’s summer vacation… and I’ll be visiting Germany. Right now, the plan is to start in Dusseldorf, check out Heidelberg on the way to Munich and eventually fly out of Berlin. Because my dates are very non-flexible and I always fly during high travel periods, I got my miles together and already booked my seats for July 2015. I went for the most convenient, cost-effective flights.
I chose to fly air berlin with each business class ticket costing me 80,000 British Airways Executive Club Avios + $102 round-trip. This is because I was able to book the following flights for 40,000 miles each way:
- New York to Dusseldorf
- Berlin to New York
Air berlin’s business class may not measure up in service and luxury to some of the bigger luxury carriers, but it does have a completely flat bed and that’s all I need to get some rest and align myself with the European timezone.
British Airways is a member of oneworld and that means we can fly on air berlin, US Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus or Finn Air to Europe. The unfortunate thing is that British Airways will charge fuel surcharges on US Airways, American Airlines and British Airways. But it doesn’t charge fuel surcharges on air berlin, on which award availability is quite good – at least if you book far in advance.
Advantages of Using British Airways Avios
Why did I choose to use British Airways Avios for my flights? Two main reasons.
Air Berlin is a member of oneworld and its flights can be booked with miles from British Airways, US Airways and American Airlines. While US Airways and American Airlines will charge a flat 50,000 miles each way from the US to Europe in business class, British Airways will charge based on distance. Your flight is priced by adding up the charge for each segment depending on distance according to the following chart:
This is definitely an advantage for cities closer to Europe, but a disadvantage for those further from Europe.
- A non-stop flight from New York to Berlin will cost 40,000 miles each way (10,000 miles less than other programs).
- A non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Berlin will cost 59,000 miles each way (9,000 miles more than other programs).
Secondly, British Airways opens up booking earlier than US Airways and American Airlines airlines does. With British Airways miles, you can book air berlin seats 355 days out and only 330-331 days out with the other two programs. This means you can often snag award seats before they open up on other oneworld partner sites like American Airlines and US Airways. This is particularly useful when you’re traveling during times that are in high demand like I do. Sundays in summer, holiday weekends.
How to Search and Book Awards
Both the American Airlines website and the British Airways website will show air berlin availability right online and you can book it online too. To search and book, I first need to sign up for a British Airways Executive Club Avios account.
On the next page, once I type in my dates, I get to see the award availability:
When I select these flights, I can see the business class price is 40,000 British Airways Avios each way:
There are no departure taxes departing from the US, but departure taxes departing from Germany end up about $100.
What About Other Cities?
Air berlin has a full network of flights all over Germany, but most of these don’t have non-stop flights from the US. Since British Airways charges for each segment separately, you’ll have to pay extra if you want to connect. The good news is that it may cost a relatively small amount of miles and there are many places you can get to for just another 4,500 miles in economy:
- Dusseldorf to Munich is 4,500 miles each way in economy.
- Dusseldorf to Oslo is 4,500 miles each way.
- Berlin to Tel Avis is 10,000 miles each way.
Of course, the best deal is going to be for non-stop flights from the East Coast, but it may still be a decent deal even when you do have to connect.
The one issue I’ve found is that the British Airways website is not very good at finding flights with connections on air berlin. For example, if you search NYC-Munich, you may come up with nothing. However, if you search separately for NYC-Dusseldorf and Dusseldorf-Munich, you’ll see availability on both. In that case, you would either have to book the legs online separately or call British Airways customer service to book on a single itinerary.
Anyone else already booking next year summer travel?
More posts you may like on using British Airways miles:
- How to Visit the Caribbean from 4,500 British Airways Avios Each Way!
- The Trick to Create American Airlines Off-Peak Award Pricing to the Middle East And Save 30,000 Miles
- How to Redeem British Airways Miles on American Airlines Flights
- West Coast to Hawaii for 12,500 British Airways Avios Each Way!
I am flying Air Berlin next April from Chicago to Berlin, and then Berlin to Rome. I’ve never flown them before! I’m glad to hear they have completely flat beds, but what about the service? I know you says it’s not comparable to others… but is it going to be horrible compared to British Airways? I just got done flying 1st class with them (first time flying 1st class overseas ever) and it was pretty much unlimited food, drinks, etc. I would open a menu and they were there to give me whatever I needed! Is Air Berlin basically going to be a meal, some drinks, and then that’s it? Thanks for any input!
Here’s a detailed review by One Mile at a Time: http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/05/26/airberlin-business-class-a330-miami-to-dusseldorf/.
I am asleep most of the time so, as long as I have a flat bed and some water, they can probably starve us and I won’t even notice. On my Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt this year, I was just out the whole time :)
That’s an awesome deal! My friends here who have flown transatlantic business class in both Air Berlin and Lufthansa actually prefer Air Berlin (better service, younger FAs, less attitude.) I look forward reading your trip report.
As far as travels for next summer, I haven’t booked any yet but planning to redeem AAdvantage miles to go to Asia. I’m planning to travel in late July so I’m waiting to book the award ticket later this month.
Thanks for the tips. I flew Lufthansa this year to Frankfurt (again, didn’t notice service as I was out), but nice to hear the service is good.
Just booked Miami to Stockholm with a return from Copenhagen next July business class on Air Berlin using Avios. 118,000 Avios + $55. It’s more miles, but it’s better than the hefty BA or Iberia fuel surcharges. (it was a great us of my 100,000 Amex Platinum MR offer) Thanks for the great info!
That’s exactly what I am doing too… using the big Amex offer for the flights :)
Is it true that a call to BA, if needed, takes an hour or more? Is there a best time to call.
It can take a while, but it doesn’t bother me. I usually put my phone on speaker nearby and will blog or something until I am off hold.
If you’d like any suggestions for travels within Germany, I’d be more than happy to give advice/ ideas, as I’ve visited many areas and I live there currently.
Thank you! I haven’t laid out the full itinerary, but definitely have my work cut out for me to work in all the Schlosser! :)
Sounds like it’ll be an amazing trip! I had a layover in Frankfurt and I’d love to go back and explore other parts of Germany one day. I can’t wait to read the rest of your Germany vacation booking process and what hotels you decided on.
Hi Inna, I posted this on other thread but haven’t get a reply so I appreciate it if you could please shed a light on this:
I live in SF and SFO is my local airport, me and my fiancee will marry soon and planning our honeymoon to Grand Cayman and this is our first time to travel using points and miles so we are anxious! I have some questions:
1. What is the best way to fly to Grand Cayman using points and miles? I currently have enough Southwest RR points w/ companion pass, can I use companion pass for flight from SFO to Grand Cayman?
2. I also have US Airways miles, can I use the $99 companion pass for flight from SFO to Grand Cayman?
3. You mentioned that you used SPG Points to stay at The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa (12,000 Starwood points a night in low season and 16,000 in high season). Did you get a free night on your 2nd night (SPG offer a free night for a certain period of stay if I am not mistaken).
Thanks again for the great post!
1. Southwest doesn’t fly to GCM. You can use your companion pass anywhere they fly, but at this point they only offer service to Cancun and Cabo from SFO. You could put together a trip to any of their other int’l destinations but it would require multiple tickets.
2. No, no int’l or Hawaii travel on US pass.
SF-GCM will run 17,500 miles each way on UA, AA or US flights, I’d just go for whoever has the best schedule in each direction.
Thanks Kenny! so what is the best option to travel to GCM from SFO, even by multiple legs? Is it doable with SW airline?
Like Inna said, Southwest to FLL, leave yourself a long layover (day or overnight in Florida?) then take the $5 train ride to MIA and 4500 Avios each way to GCM.
Thank you Kenny! btw your reply lead me to your blog and I became a fan too now :)
Hi. I try to get to all the comments, but get overwhelmed at times :) Unfortunately, Southwest does not fly to Grand Cayman. One thing you can try to do is actually use your Southwest Pass to get to somewhere like Miami and then see if you can find award availability on American Airlines. If so, then you can fly for an additional 4,500 British Airways miles each way from Miami: http://milesprof.wpengine.com/2014/06/02/caribbean-british-airways-avios-4500/ (a post explaining how). This could be one of the better options as finding availability all the way from San Francisco is sometimes difficult due to relatively few flights compared to the big hubs. But most programs will charge 17,500 miles each way if you do.
The US Airways companion pass cannot be used to fly to the Caribbean, unfortunately.
Starwood does not offer a second night free, but it does offer a fifth night free. So it’s 48,000 points for five nights or 64,000 points for five nights depending on whether the time you go is considered peak or off peak. It’s Club Carlson with its Radisson Blu properties that offers a second night free, but they don’t have properties in Grand Cayman.
Thank you so much Inna~ this really helpful !
By the way, if I want to use BA Avios from Miami to GCM, do I have to find the availability of BA award seat by using AA website? or I can use BA website for that ? And the award seat booking can be done online and no need to call, right? Thanks again.
We just returned from Germany yesterday and absolutely loved visiting the castles. Make sure to make a reservation in advance as you avoid the long lines. We thought the Hohenschwangau castle was prettier inside than Neuschwantstein. We rented a car in Freiburg and ended up in Munich… the freedom of driving was so enjoyable (rather than relying on trains) and it was very easy to drive in the countryside.
Thanks for the tips! I will be booking most of the castles through organized tours with the transportation so they’ll be making the line arrangements. Even though it’s a year away, I am still very excited!