How to fly to the USA using Avios with minimal taxes and charges

In May, I am heading off to New York to test-drive Upper Class on the Virgin Atlantic 787-9 Dreamliner.  It’s tough work but someone has to do it.

I wanted to find a cheap way to get home.  Virgin had no availability on my preferred date whilst British Airways wanted £306 of tax for the one-way Avios flight.  I didn’t like the sound of that.

Luckily, there are three ways of flying from the United States to Europe without incurring huge taxes and charges bills.

The one I have booked is airberlin.  I have used them before from New York and it is a perfectly fine experience with fully lie-flat beds.

The tax for a one-way flight from New York JFK to Dusseldorf is £3.  Yes, £3.  And, of course, 60,000 Avios points.

As well as Dusseldorf, airberlin also flies to Berlin (surprise!).  I booked a BA Reward Flight Saver redemption as a connection to get me back to London.

You can learn more about airberlin flights to the US in this ‘Avios Redemption University’ article.

There are two other ways to fly back cheaply across the Atlantic.

Aer Lingus is a great option, dropping you into Dublin or Shannon for an easy connection back to the UK.

By September 2016, Aer Lingus will be flying to New York, Washington, Orlando, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, Los Angeles and Hartford.

A new impressive business class seat is currently being rolled out.

The key thing to remember with Aer Lingus is that you cannot book on ba.com.  You need to ring BA and enquire about availability.  There is no online resource which accurately matches what BA can offer you – other airlines which offer Aer Lingus redemptions online, such as United, have access to a different range of seats.

And the tax?  For a return flight to the USA, you will pay around £75 in Business Class.  That is around £475 less than a British Airways redemption in Club World.

My ‘Avios Redemption University’ article on Aer Lingus is here.

Finally, we have Iberia.

Iberia is now offering fully flat business class seating on the majority of its aircraft.

Taxes are low.  A one-way flight from New York to Madrid will incur taxes of just £56 as long as you book on the Iberia website.  Book on ba.com and you will pay over £300 in tax.

You can find out more in my Iberia ‘Avios Redemption University’ article.  Because of a quirk in the Iberia Avios redemption table, New York redemptions can be exceptionally cheap in Avios terms – as low as just 34,000 Avios one-way in Business Class.

Had I been able to get availability – and I couldn’t – my one-way from New York would have been 34,000 Avios plus £56.  That is a better deal than 60,000 Avios plus £3 on airberlin, although the connection back to London is cheaper from Germany.

One thing to remember, however, is that there are no ‘off peak’ dates when booking a redemption on Aer Lingus or airberlin.   You may need to use more Avios than you would when using BA.

With Iberia, remember that Iberia has a totally different calendar of peak and off-peak dates!  68,000 Avios return is their off-peak return cost.  On some days, which BA treats as peak and Iberia treats as off-peak, the saving is 52,000 Avios compared to paying 120,000 with BA.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. 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

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) 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.