I should probably be going to flyertalk or something but figure I’ll start here.
Doing a week in Venice mid October. Flying out of DSM(which for logistics purposes really means ORD).
I can use Chase points, looks like 100k gets me a good flight on Lufthansa.
But I can use AA miles and 115k gets me business class on British Airways. Seems like a no brainer to just go with AA miles but thought I would ask if I’m missing any angles.
Look at carrier imposed surcharges, and then decide. The BA flights come with whopping surcharges, as do the Lufthansa on points.
You don’t say whether Lufthansa is coach or business class, nor whether you are transferring the points to a Star Alliance carrier or just redeeming UR points for credit card statement credits.
While Iberia (also available for the same AA miles) has fuel surcharges, I think they are lower than BA. AA doesn’t have any if flying their own metal. I’m flying IB mostly TATL these days.
Ouch, yeah $1200 in surcharges on AA. Basically they both meter out at $3200 total so no real difference. The return flights suuuuck. But at least UR has the option of VCE-ORD direct.