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 (September 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 26th September 2024, sign up for FREE Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and you will receive a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Avios. This is double the usual bonus! You only need to spend £1,000 within 90 days. Our full review is here. Click here to apply.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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