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More British Airways fuel surcharge shenanigans

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As the oil price drops back below $100 a barrel, you may well begin to wonder when British Airways will be reducing the fuel surcharges which (together with Air Passenger Duty) add such a whack to the cost of your ‘free’ Avios flight.

Whilst pondering this, you may also wish to think about this interesting paradox:

  • Reward flight in Club World from London to San Francisco:  taxes £561
  • 2 one-way reward flights in Club World to/from LHR and SFO:  taxes £366 + £288 = £654
  • Reward flight in Club World from SFO to LHR:  taxes £748

Quietly, British Airways has added a massive premium to passengers looking to travel FROM the US to the UK.  This is, remember, an identical trip to the first one, just done in the reverse order, yet it attracts £187 of additional fuel surcharges per person!

There are potential reasons for this.  One reason may be to deter American Airlines frequent fliers from redeeming their miles on BA flights instead of AA ones, but as there are no fuel surcharges at all for AA members on AA redemptions, I think the existing taxes number (of which about £400 is fuel surcharges) is enough to put them off. 

Another reason may be that US airlines generally make a surcharge or co-pay for using miles to upgrade to business class, and BA is adding a random figure to its own redemptions because US fliers are used to such payments – although the BA payment is made by everyone, whether on a full redemption or upgrading from World Traveller Plus.

All very interesting, and certainly worth noting if you were tempted to book your redemptions as 2 x one-ways on separate ticket numbers rather than as a return.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

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