On American Airlines awards, if a trip was on British Airways, their monetary surcharges were such that it wasn't worth taking them as "free" trips. Boston-Rome in Economy was around $600 on an Economy round-trip award. The bulk of this was what BA chose to charge even on awards, rather than taxes. Now they have reduced them: I'm finding $275 on this trip, versus $74 all on American flights, where they charge only taxes and government fees. The news may not be so good on Business Class awards: see https://viewfromthewing.boardingare...l-surcharges-coach-awards-can-now-make-sense/