How and why to do a back-to-back British Airways connection in Amsterdam

There are a number of good reasons NOT to start your long-haul premium cabin British Airways flight in the UK.

The first is Air Passenger Duty, levied by the UK Government.  This is now getting pretty steep – a business class flight to Thailand would cost £166 for example.

You can avoid this by flying outside the UK, flying back and then leaving the UK on your longhaul flight within 24 hours.  The longhaul flight must be on the same ticket as your Europe to UK flight.

If you live in the South East it is pretty easy – the day before your holiday, you quickly fly to somewhere in Europe or the Channel Islands, fly back, go home and then next day head off to Heathrow as normal.

For cash flights, the savings are even higher than for redemption flights.  On an Avios ticket, all you save is the Air Passenger Duty – and that is offset by the cost of the Europe flight.

Cash flights come with a double benefit, though.  British Airways prices flights which start in Europe far lower than those which start in the UK, because it needs to win over passengers from local carriers.

As an example:

Amsterdam – London – New York JFK (Club World, out 1 March, back 8 March) – €2,806 = £2,332

London – New York JFK (same long-haul flights) – £4,472

Whilst this is obviously an extreme example, it works on more mundane routings too.  It is especially interesting when BA has an ex-Europe sale.

Doing a back-to-back connection is not always straightforward, though.

You want to come back on the same plane you arrived on, to ensure you get back OK.  (The next flight could be cancelled, delayed etc.)

You need to use an airport where you are not forced into a lengthy customs and passport control check in order to get back to the plane.  If you arrive late, you could fail to get back to the boarding gate in time, especially if the airport stops you going through security if the plane is near its departure time.

You want to use an airport where you will NOT be bussed to and from the plane.  Adding in a bus increases the risk of not getting back on the plane, because the bus boarding area may be closed before you have a chance to get to it.

Amsterdam has a reputation for being a great airport for a back-to-back flight.  However, I had never done this myself at Schiphol.  As Amsterdam was available for £1 in the recent Reward Flight Saver sale, I booked myself a return flight, coming back on the same plane, to test it out.

It was astonishingly easy.  So easy, in fact, that it is almost too boring to write about!

You land at a D gate and you exit directly into the boarding area.  You simply walk off the plane, sit in the boarding area (there is a café whilst you wait) and then reboard.  100% trouble free.

The only thing to remember is to have your return boarding pass with you, as there are no boarding pass machines at the gate.  Even if they were, they would probably refuse to issue your boarding pass so close to departure.

The security gates are behind you.  There is therefore no reason to clear security again.

The only downside is that you cannot access the British Airways lounge.  It is quite a walk from the gate and would require you to reclear security.  That defeats the object of doing a risk-free turnaround.

Over at Flyertalk, they have put together a great list of major European airports and how easy it is to do a back-to-back flight through them.  Key factors include whether or not you need to clear passport control (‘No’ at Schiphol), whether you need to reclear security (‘No’ at Schiphol), whether you may be bussed to the plane (‘No’ at Schiphol) and whether you can easily access a lounge whilst you wait (‘No’ at Schiphol).

It is worth noting from the Flyertalk thread how good Amsterdam is.  At Brussels, for instance, it recommends you give yourself 30 minutes from leaving the plane to getting back to the boarding gate, which may be too tight.

If you do book a flight Amsterdam – London – XXXXXX – London – Amsterdam, here is one vital tip.  Book the last leg of your flight (London to Amsterdam) from Gatwick.

I am assuming that you will not want to take that last flight.  If you book it to depart from Gatwick, it is impossible for your luggage to be checked through and it must be returned to you at Heathrow – which is exactly what you want.

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 Mastercard

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.

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.