RESULT: Booking Premium Economy And Flying Business For Half The Miles And Same Money…

As they say, the devil is in the details, and many of the very best travel deals pass us by-for failing to see the details. We recently highlighted British Airways Premium Economy deals between Europe and San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many readers passed up the deal for a variety of reasons, failing to consider just how good it could be…

Using Avios (Miles), British Airways Charges 125,000 Miles + $724  Round Trip Per Person Between Europe and Los Angeles…

To be clear, you do not earn Avios (miles) or tier points on these bookings. You’ll pay 125,000 miles per person for business class round trip, as well as $724 per person in surcharges. Countless people use their miles for this exact opportunity every year.

But We Are Flying Business Class For $724 and 60,000 Miles Per Person Instead…

If you have multiple trips to Europe planned, and can use miles to get there, or are already in Europe, British Airways $708-$724 Premium Economy deals from Oslo to Los Angeles or San Francisco via London are incredible. That’s because you can upgrade to Club World (business) for just 60,000 miles per person round trip, with only roughly $4-$20 in additional taxes for the change. You end up on the same London to San Francisco or Los Angeles flight, you just pay half the miles. To recap: 60,000 miles round trip, with the same surcharges versus 125,000 miles round trip = winning.

And Upgrading Was Surprisingly Easy…

We have an extremely handy guide for upgrading British Airways flights, and it came in handy. Basically, you just need to search, as if you’re using miles only on the British Airway website. If there are seats using miles available in Club World (business), you can upgrade. It counts the same. There were plenty of open dates around our travel, so we hopped on a lovely A380 immediately after booking.

Oh, And We’ll Earn Status Points And Miles Too…

Notice how we mentioned that you won’t earn miles or tier points with British Airways when making Avios (miles) only bookings? Yeah, not cool. Booking these Premium Economy “paid flight” deals and then upgrading with miles however will net at least 200 tier points for loyalty status, and at least 10,000 miles. Even more if you have status.