---
title: "What is Carrier-imposed surcharge? | Benefit Systems"
description: "A carrier-imposed surcharge is a fee set by the airline itself and added to a ticket, payable in cash on award bookings on top of the miles."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Carrier-imposed surcharge?

A carrier-imposed surcharge is a fee set by the airline itself and added to a ticket, payable in cash on award bookings on top of the miles.

Also called: Fuel surcharge, YQ.

## How it works #

The surcharge is not a government levy but part of the airline’s own price, shown separately from the base fare. On award tickets it decides what a redemption really costs: the same route can be nearly free of cash through one programme and carry a substantial charge through a partner. That makes it part of every honest valuation of an award booking.

## Not to be confused with #

A carrier-imposed surcharge is not the same as taxes and airport charges: those are levied by governments and airports, while the surcharge is the airline’s own and set at will.

## In German #

The German term is Kerosinzuschlag. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/kerosinzuschlag)

## Related terms #

- [Award ticket](/en/glossary/award-ticket): An award ticket is a flight paid for with miles or points instead of cash; taxes, fees and surcharges almost always still have to be paid in money.
- [Partner award](/en/glossary/partner-award): A partner award is a redemption in which one programme’s miles pay for a flight operated by a different airline.
- [Cents per point](/en/glossary/cents-per-point): Cents per point is the measure of a redemption’s value: the cash price avoided, minus any co-payment, divided by the number of points spent.

## Articles that use this term #

- [Why the best redemptions are on partner airlines](/en/knowledge/partner-awards)
- [What does changing or cancelling an award ticket cost?](/en/knowledge/award-ticket-changes)
- [What is a point actually worth, and how do you work it out yourself?](/en/knowledge/point-value)
- [When do you get money back for a flight you didn’t take?](/en/knowledge/refunds-for-unused-flights)
- [Why one-way awards cost half, when one-way cash fares often don’t](/en/knowledge/one-way-awards)