Used BA miles for hotels

A few years ago I got the British Airways Chase Visa card, since I had been promised 100,000 bonus miles and was told that it would charge no foreign transaction fees. I quickly racked up 150,000 miles and a companion voucher for British Airways. However, this turned out to be worthless.

First, I never found seats available for the times that I wanted to travel. 

Second, when I went to book a flight with the miles, British Air would add a huge fuel surcharge, so my ticket would end up costing as much as half the price of the same coach seat purchased for cash. The miles really paid for only half the price of the ticket. This varies dramatically from the service fees charged by other airlines.

I canceled the card and was going to let the miles expire, but then I got a brilliant idea and checked for lodging in Bogotá, Colombia, and Winnipeg, Canada. I used the miles to book rooms that would have cost me $1,400 if I had paid cash, and I wasn’t charged any tax or service fee in either location. Clearly, British Airways miles are much better when applied to hotel rooms.

Currently, I have a BankAmericard Visa Travel Rewards card. It doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees or an annual fee, and the points never expire. I get 1½ points for every dollar in purchases, and each point is worth one cent toward any flight or hotel room purchased with this card. 

ELSTON HILL

Burien, WA