Q. I see that British Airways and Chase Visa Card are again offering 100,000 bonus miles for signing up for the credit card. In the past, however, I've found that it's hard to "spend" miles on British Airways for the dates I want to travel. Also, when I am able to get seats, the taxes are quite high, so the ticket isn't really free. The annual fee is $95, so is it worth signing up or should I pass on this offer?

A. I recently attempted to spend miles on a summer trip to Europe on British Airways using my miles, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the dates I wanted were readily available. Although I've never done this, you can also spend miles earned on BA with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and many other airlines in the OneWorld alliance. If you charge a certain amount on this BA/Chase card, you can also get a free companion frequent flyer ticket on British Airways (you spend miles for one ticket, and just pay the taxes on the other). I agree that the taxes are rather onerous, but some other OneWorld airlines have lower taxes, and the taxes do vary depending on the route (they seem especially high for travel to and from the United Kingdom). So yes, I'd grab the card while this deal is still on offer (currently, there is no advertised end date). You can do some serious traveling with 100,000 miles!