How To Book Open Jaw Flights With Avios

A question that frequently pops up is whether is it possible to book open jaw flights with Avios. The good news is that it is possible, but a little more complicated than making a normal Avios booking. In this post, we are going to take a look at how you can do it and the rules regarding booking open jaw flights with Avios.

What is an Open Jaw flight?

An open jaw flight is one where your return flight starts from a different destination than where you landed with your outbound ticket. This doesn’t mean a different airport in the same city but rather a completely different city. For example, flying to New York from London but a few weeks later returning from Las Vegas.

Why not book two one-way Avios tickets?

The main reason you might not want to book your trip as two one-way Avios tickets rather than an Open Jaw ticket is because BA charges higher ‘taxes + fees’ on tickets in some countries outside the UK, in particular the US. Because of this, you may find the ‘taxes & fees’ to be more expensive on two one-way tickets and preference booking an Open Jaw flight.

What are the rules regarding booking Open Jaw flights with Avios?

There is one key rule you must follow to book an Open Jaw Avios flight. The distance between your arrival and departure airports must be less than the distance of either of your flights. For example, you couldn’t fly London – Paris and then fly back Copenhagen – London as the distance between Paris – Copenhagen is greater than the distance on either flight.

One quirk that is worth mentioning is that once booked you cannot amend an open jaw booking if it means a change to the Avios required, e.g. if you move into a different Avios pricing zone. In this instance, the whole ticket must be cancelled and rebooked, with the risk that you cannot rebook the leg you want to keep.

How do I book an Open Jaw flight with Avios?

Whilst you can book open jaw flights with cash online (using the ‘multi-city’ tool.) If you want to book an Open Jaw flight with Avios it requires you to ring BA. You can view the different numbers on BA’s website here – https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/help-and-contacts/contact-us

Can I use a BA 2-4-1 voucher for an Open Jaw flight?

Yes, you can. The normal 2-4-1 voucher rules apply when booking.

Can I use a Barclaycard Avios upgrade voucher for an Open Jaw flight?

Yes, you can. The normal Avios upgrade voucher rules apply when booking.

Conclusion

Whilst booking an open jaw flight should be a relatively simple process some BA agents don’t seem to understand how the system works. If you come across an agent like this we’d suggest asking for a supervisor or hanging up and redialing.