BA Increases ‘Taxes & Fees’ On Avios Seats AGAIN

It was only last month when we reported that BA had increased ‘taxes & fees’ on long-haul Business Class redemptions. Fast forward just ONE month and BA have increased the ‘taxes & fees’ on Avios seats yet AGAIN! With some ‘taxes & fees’ almost reaching the cost of an ex-EU flight to certain destinations does it make sense to still collect Avios?

How much more expensive are Avios seats now?

You can check the increase by searching for your date/route on the BA website – https://www.britishairways.com/ – we are going to cover the 3 locations we mentioned last month here.

Maldives

We booked this last year for £616 ‘taxes & fees’ per person. Last month this rose to £728, over £110 increase per person (approx 18%!) The figure now stands at a staggering £833! (35% increase in a year)

New York

Last year this was priced at £675 ‘taxes & fees’ per person. Last month this rose to £788, over £110 increase per person again! (approx 15%) The figure now stands at £837. (24% increase in a year)

Dubai

Last year this was priced at £542 ‘taxes & fees’ per person. Last month this rose to £605, over £60 increase per person. (approx 11%) The figure now stands at £707. (30% increase in a year)

Is there a better option?

With the increasing ‘taxes & fees,’ you might be wondering if there is a better option or way to spend your Avios. You have three real options if you don’t want to pay BA’s ‘taxes & fees’…

The solo traveller

Cash-out to Nectar at 0.8p per Avios. 100,000 would see you ‘net’ £800 to spend in Sainsbury’s, eBay & Argos etc. Use the cash saving to pay for seats, at the moment in BA’s sale you can get Business Class seats from £1465 return. If you include 4 nights in a 4* hotel from £1599 pp. If you add the £800 worth of Nectar points to the £833 ‘taxes & fees’ it equals £1633. That means you’d be better off taking either of the above options rather than booking an Avios seat. Plus you get the benefit of earning Avios & tier points on your flight. Yes, Avios tickets have flexibility which is great, but how often have you needed it? Do the maths and work out if this option makes more sense for you.

Solo or no 2-4-1 voucher

If you don’t have any 2-4-1 vouchers to use you might consider using your Avios on one of BA’s many partners. Of particular interest may be low ‘taxes & fees’ flights with Iberia from Madrid or with Aer Lingus from Dublin. In fact, travelling to New York with Iberia from Madrid is so much cheaper you’d be better off doing it even with a 2-4-1 voucher. With Iberia a return from Madrid is 136,000 + £408 for two people, compare that to 100,000, £1674 & a 2-4-1 voucher from London with BA. If you value an Avios point at 1p (how to value yours?) The 36,000 Avios are worth £360, take that away from the difference in ‘taxes & fees’ still leaves you £906 AND a 2-4-1 voucher better off! Yes, you still need to get to Madrid and consider time/money but it is so much cheaper.

2-4-1 voucher

Have a 2-4-1 voucher you want to use? New 2-4-1 vouchers no longer have the requirement that flights have to start in the UK (they still need to be on BA metal however.) This is great because this means it opens up the ability to use your voucher on ex-EU flights. That is flights that start outside the UK and avoid some of the excessive charges that make up the ‘taxes & fees’ on your ticket. We wrote an article on how to use your 2-4-1 voucher starting outside the UK here – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/how-to-use-your-ba-amex-2-4-1-starting-outside-the-uk/ – currently the ‘taxes & fees’ haven’t increased again either (yet!) For example, the ‘taxes & fees’ on a 2-4-1 to New York from London would cost you £1674 + 100,000 Avios off-peak, compare that to £567.30 + 117,000 Avios from Dublin. 17,000 Avios more but over £1100 cash saving! Obviously, this doesn’t factor in time/money to get to Dublin but you should have some spare change from that huge saving!

You can view some more ideas of how to avoid Avios ‘taxes & fees’ here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/3-great-ways-to-avoid-avios-fees/

Of course, you could also decide to cut your losses and cash out to Nectar with no intention to book any flights or play the waiting game to see if the ‘taxes & fees’ get decreased when things become more ‘normal.’

Conclusion

What do you think about the second increase in as many months to the cost of Avios seats? Are you tempted to cash out via Nectar or do you still see the value in collecting Avios?