BA Increases ‘Taxes & Fees’ On Long-Haul Business Class Avios Redemptions

Without advance warning, British Airways has further increased the already high ‘taxes & fees’ on long-haul Business Class Avios redemptions. This varies depending on the route but on average we’d say there has been a 15% increase with some routes seeing a bigger increase than others.

On what Business Class Avios Redemptions have ‘taxes & fees’ risen on?

It seems the majority of routes have seen an increase varying between 10 – 20%. You can check this by searching for your date/route on the BA website – https://www.britishairways.com/

Maldives

We booked this last year for £616 ‘taxes & fees’ per person. The new total is a huge £728, over £110 increase per person (approx 18%!)

New York

Last year this priced up at £675 ‘taxes & fees’ per person. The new total is a massive £788, over £110 increase per person again! (approx 15%)

Dubai

Last year this priced up at £542 ‘taxes & fees’ per person. The new total is £605, over £60 increase per person. (approx 11%)

Is there a way to avoid the increased ‘taxes & fees’ on Business Class Avios Redemptions?

One of the easiest ways to avoid paying higher ‘taxes and fees is to start your journey outside of the UK. This is partly due to there being no Air Passenger Duty due if you’re transiting through the UK rather than starting your journey here. If you want to stay in the UK Inverness is worth considering as a start point due to it being exempt from Air Passenger Duty.

For example an off-peak Business Class Avios return flight to New York from Inverness will cost you 100000 Avios + £621.58. Compare this to a return flight from London which will cost you 100000 Avios + £788.90. Whilst an £190ish saving per person might seem tempting don’t forget you’d need to get to from/Iverness and of course account for the time/cost.

If you are willing to travel a little further afield to Madrid you can get an off-peak Business Class Avios return to New York for 68,000 Avios + £203.80. That’s a huge 32,000 Avios and almost £600 saving compared to BA’s new ‘taxes & fees.’ The only shame is that you can’t use a 2-4-1 voucher on anything but BA. The crazy thing is though, the maths still works in favour of Iberia even when you include the 2-4-1 voucher! The below is the cost for 2 people to fly Business Class on the same dates to New York…

BA

100,000 Avios + £1,580 + 2-4-1 voucher

Iberia

136,000 + £408 with Iberia

The ‘taxes & fees’ are over £1,100 cheaper! 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 £740 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 to fly with Iberia from Madrid than from London, even with a 2-4-1 voucher! And this is without considering the £250 annual fee for the BA Premium Plus card (which you need to get a 2-4-1 voucher that can be used in business class at 10k spend.)

You can view some of the other ways to avoid paying higher ‘taxes and fees’ here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/3-great-ways-to-avoid-avios-fees/

Are collecting Avios still worth it?

We still think collecting Avios and redeeming in Europe is a great deal with economy ‘taxes & fees’ capped at £35 return and business £50 return. You can view the routes and Avios cost here. BUT It is getting more difficult to see the value of redeeming Avios for long-haul business class routes without a 2-4-1 voucher.

If you factor in that you can now convert Avios into Nectar points the 100,000 Avios in our earlier example = £800 worth of Nectar Points. If you add that to the taxes and fees you are basically paying £1600 per ticket to New York. Currently if you are willing to pop over to Paris you can get Business Class return flights to New York for £1,200 on the same dates as the Avios ticket we priced up. Even if £1,200 seems out of your reach simply spend the £800 worth of Nectar points in Sainsburys, put the amount you spend in a saving account. Then the £1,200 fare is basically the same as an Avios fare + £400. Plus you will get the benefits of a cash fare e.g. points earning, tier points etc and you’ll get to experience better business class seats/food!

Yes, they aren’t directly comparable (Avios tickets having the flexability to be cancelled upto 24 hours before flying) and if you flying ex-eu you’d need to account for time/money but we know what option we’d choose, particuarly as COVID’s grip over the world loosens…

Conclusion

What do you think about the latest changes to the ‘taxes & fees’ on Avios redemptions with BA? Are you tempted to ‘cash out’ your Avios for Nectar points and stick to sale or ex-eu fares on other Airlines?