Page Contents<\/p>
- What Are Award Fees and Fuel Surcharges?<\/a><\/li>
- Airline Loyalty Programs That Don\u2019t Add Surcharges to Award Flights<\/a>
- Air Canada Aeroplan<\/a><\/li>
- Avianca LifeMiles<\/a><\/li>
- Allegiant Allways<\/a><\/li>
- Frontier Airlines Frontier Miles<\/a><\/li>
- JetBlue TrueBlue<\/a><\/li>
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards<\/a><\/li>
- United Airlines MileagePlus<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Airline Loyalty Programs That Sometimes Add Surcharges to Award Flights<\/a>
- Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards<\/a><\/li>
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)<\/a><\/li>
- American Airlines AAdvantage\u00ae<\/sup><\/a><\/li>
- British Airways Executive Club<\/a><\/li>
- Delta Air Lines SkyMiles<\/a><\/li>
- Flying Blue (Air France & KLM)<\/a><\/li>
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer<\/a><\/li>
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- How To Avoid Airline Fuel Surcharges<\/a><\/li>
- Bottom Line<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n
What Are Award Fees and Fuel Surcharges?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Some airlines charge fees when you use your miles to book award flights \u2014 often called fuel surcharges or “carrier-imposed” fees. These are different from ordinary or government-imposed taxes, which aren't optional. Instead, these are optional fees that are kept by the airline.<\/p>\n
If you look at the fare breakdown on your ticket confirmation, the shortcode for these fees is “YQ” or “YR.”<\/p>\n
For example, let's look at an example of an award fare for a flight from Phoenix (PHX) to Milan (MXP) for two, with transatlantic travel on British Airways in business class. This specific award was booked through American Airlines AAdvantage\u00ae<\/sup>.<\/p>\n
![\"American](\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\")
Credit: American Airlines<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n To summarize what you see above, you'd need to pay $758.20 per person out of pocket for that one-way business class ticket to Milan \u2014 on top of all the AAdvantage miles you'll shell out. That's far from a “free” flight!<\/p>\n
Of this $758.20 out-of-pocket cost, $700 is for “carrier-imposed fees.” To clarify, these aren't government taxes or fees; they're charges directly from the airlines. All award flights booked with all airline programs will have mandatory taxes and fees. These cover things like airport security fees \u2014 all of which are far more minimal than the carrier-imposed surcharges detailed above.<\/p>\n
Knowing which programs pass along these surcharges (and which don't) is the key to saving you and your family thousands on your next award trip.<\/p>\n
Airline Loyalty Programs That Don\u2019t Add Surcharges to Award Flights<\/span><\/h2>\n
If we had to guess, most award travelers would prefer to avoid steep carrier-imposed surcharges. So, which frequent flyer programs don't pass these fees on to customers? Let's take a look.<\/p>\n
Air Canada Aeroplan<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Air Canada Aeroplan<\/a> program ditched surcharges on award bookings in 2020. Now, you can book flights on 50 carriers with Aeroplan points<\/a> without paying carrier-imposed surcharges. Aeroplan is a great option for booking Star Alliance awards. Just note that you'll pay a CA$39 (~$28) partner booking fee per person on each award booking.<\/p>\n
If you want to build up your Aeroplan balance to book low-fee awards, the following currencies currently transfer to Aeroplan:<\/p>\n
From<\/div>To<\/div>Transfer Ratio<\/div>Min.Transfer<\/div>Average Time<\/div><\/div>Amex (Membership Rewards)<\/a>United States<\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>1,000:1,000<\/div>-<\/div>Immediate<\/div><\/div><\/div>Amex (Membership Rewards)<\/a>Canada<\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>1,000:1,000<\/div>-<\/div>Unknown<\/div><\/div><\/div>Capital One<\/a>United States<\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>100:100<\/div>1,000<\/div>Immediate<\/div><\/div><\/div>Chase (Ultimate Rewards)<\/a><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>1,000:1,20020% transfer bonus through April 30, 2026<\/a> (up to 30% for Aeroplan cardholders).<\/div><\/div>-<\/div>47 minutes<\/div><\/div><\/div>Marriott (Bonvoy)<\/a><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>3:1<\/div>3,000<\/div>4 days - 5 days<\/div><\/div><\/div>BarclaycardUnited States<\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>8,500:5,000<\/div>-<\/div>Unknown<\/div><\/div><\/div>Bilt Rewards<\/a><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>1,000:1,000<\/div>2,000<\/div>Unknown<\/div><\/div><\/div>Mesa Homeowners<\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Air Canada (Aeroplan)<\/div><\/div><\/div>Mesa ended all point transfers effective December 12, 2025<\/a>.<\/div><\/div>-<\/div>Unknown<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nAvianca LifeMiles<\/span><\/h3>\n
Avianca LifeMiles is one of my favorite programs, due to its sweet spots<\/a> and how easy it is to collect LifeMiles<\/a>. You can use the program to book incredibly cheap awards, especially on Lufthansa and other Star Alliance carriers whose own programs tack on carrier-imposed surcharges. That said, booking an Avianca award is fee-free, but partner redemptions incur a $25 per ticket charge.<\/p>\n
You can transfer the following points to Avianca LifeMiles to book awards:<\/p>\n
From<\/div>To<\/div>Transfer Ratio<\/div>Min.Transfer<\/div>Average Time<\/div><\/div>Amex (Membership Rewards)<\/a>United States<\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span><\/div><\/div>\u2794<\/span>Avianca (LifeMiles)<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div> - All Nippon Airways (ANA)<\/a><\/li>
- Avianca LifeMiles<\/a><\/li>
- Airline Loyalty Programs That Don\u2019t Add Surcharges to Award Flights<\/a>
![\"American](\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-12-at-9.45.29\u202fPM.png\")