(New York Times) — Travelers who signed up for a British Airways Visa card issued by JP Morgan Chase got a sweet deal in a recent promotion: 100,000 frequent flier miles after spending $2,000 with the card — theoretically, enough for two free round-trip tickets between New York and London. But those “free” tickets actually cost about $530 each, in addition to the 50,000 miles per ticket, because the airline passed along taxes, fees and a $350 fuel surcharge. Although many carriers charge passengers flying with award tickets some government taxes and fees, foreign airlines are increasingly adding fuel surcharges to the bill, a practice that has not caught on yet in the United States. “I suppose one way of looking at it is that’s good news for Americans,” said Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com. “Our hometown carriers thus far have been leery of going down that road, but that could certainly change.” Delta Airlines did experiment with a fuel surcharge on award tickets in 2007, but dropped the fee in 2008 when competitors did not follow suit and oil prices declined.
