Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Cheaper Avios redemptions as Air Passenger Duty cut in budget

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

From a miles and points perspective, the key point in the UK Budget Statement yesterday was not the cut in Bingo Duty to 10%, nor the freezing of cider duty, but a cut in the rate of Air Passenger Duty to certain long-haul destinations.

Except for one flight from Belfast, the current rates of Air Passenger Duty are as follows:

0 – 2,000 miles:   Economy £13, Other £26

2,000 – 4,000 miles:  Economy £67, Other £134

4,000 – 6,000 miles:  Economy £83, Other £166

6,001 miles:  Economy £94, Other £188

The distances are NOT based on your flight but the distance from London to the capital city of the country you are visiting.  The exact band for each country can be found in Appendix 1 here.

In the changes announced yesterday, the two highest bands will be abolished from 1st April 2015.   Based on the current figures, which will be adjusted for inflation before April 2015, APD on Economy tickets to anywhere over roughly 8 hours flying time will fall by up to £27 and by up to £54 in Business.

The numbers are still crazy, of course.  A family of four flying in Economy will still face a tax bill of £268.  Any reduction is better than nothing, though.

The Chancellor also announced an increase in the Regional Air Connectivity Fund, which either a) wastes your money by paying airlines to operate uneconomic routes or b) encourages airlines to launch new routes at a time of economic hardship, depending on your political leaning.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 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 – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 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

10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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

Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer 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.

Comments (24)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Anon says:

    Welcome news for Virgin+ BA, from April 2015 allows them to increase the inappropriately named “fuel surcharges” on Bus. Class redemptions without increasing the total price.

    • craig says:

      Totally agree, I checked out the flights I normally get to Brazil in economy, and of the £388 in ‘charges’ only £85 was APD and £20 similar charges from the Brazilian Govt, rest was fuel and other surcharges levied by BA. Don’t see the justification for these and think BA will simply not pass on savings to the consumer.

      • callum says:

        It makes no difference for cash bookings and if they couldn’t charge a carrier fee for avios bookings they’d just make it up elsewhere.

  • Gordon says:

    As the one flight from Belfast already shows, airlines will simply increase their prices and profits

  • Paul says:

    Good news but the cynic in me thinks that the inequities fuel surcharge, now called something else by BA will simply rise. Even if it does not, it means that the fees charged by airlines remain ludicrously high (more than double any APD) if APD is damaging Their own fees must be similarly so.

  • Neil says:

    It’s just like fuel duty – no chancellor can ever win here because if he/she dropped the price of petrol in my car the petrol companies would just retain the difference. The airlines are no less cynical.

    • Rob says:

      You should take a look at the margins of petrol retailers, most don’t make any money. That’s why so many have closed in recent years.

  • John says:

    Well approximately and on average, 60% of VAT is borne by the supplier, when supply and demand are both elastic. APD is not exactly the same, but this would mean that flights to HKG in Y could potentially become cheaper by about £5 to £10, by which I mean YQ will rise by £5 to £10 less than it otherwise would :p

  • Erico1875 says:

    So he knocks £55 off a long haul business class flight. Champagne just got cheaper.
    Absolutely NADA for the masses whose only pleasure is a week, flying Ryanair to the Costas

    • andystock says:

      Iam sure in markets were there is competition such as the far east this will help.

      Love the Ryanair comment!

  • pazza2000 says:

    Never have really understood APD; the ‘capital’ rule puts the Caribbean in Band C and Hawaii, almost 3 times the distance away, in the lesser Band B. By that logic, scrapping band C (& D) makes sense.

  • James67 says:

    The Gulf carriers may reflect in real lower fares but whether that has a knock-on effect on the likes of BA remains to be seen. Positioning flights from Europe will remain nore economically viable despite the change

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.