Tokyo has lower taxes when Avios flight tickets are booked as 2 x one-ways
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Many Head for Points readers will know that not all Governments take the same happy view on airline surcharges that you get in the UK. Hong Kong and Brazil are two countries which are well known for having restrictions in place on what airlines can add to the base cost of a flight.
What I didn’t realise until this week is that Japan also imposes a cap.
A quick recap on Hong Kong
I’ll quickly recap the Hong Kong situation for anyone not familiar with it. Airlines are not allowed to levy surcharges on flights FROM Hong Kong when the journey originates there. This means that if you buy a return flight to Hong Kong starting in the UK, you WILL pay surcharges on both legs. If book your trip as two one-way flights, the return leg should be free of surcharges.
Here are some example using Avios redemptions booked at ba.com or avios.com:
Return business class flight to Hong Kong on Avios has taxes of £563
One-way business business class flight to Hong Kong on Avios has taxes of £365
One-way business class flight FROM Hong Kong on Avios has taxes of £33
Anyone with a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher is getting a raw deal because those tickets must booked out of the UK. You are being forced to overpay £165 per person in tax compared to booking each leg separately.
Let’s look at Tokyo
Until a reader pointed it out, I didn’t realise that Tokyo was in a similar position. Here is the cost of a business class Avios redemption to Tokyo:
Return business class flight to Tokyo on Avios has taxes of £548
One-way business business class flight to Tokyo on Avios has taxes of £365
One-way business class flight FROM Tokyo on Avios has taxes of £114
This means that, if you are not using a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher, you can save £69 per person by booking an Avios redemption on BA to Japan as 2 x one-way tickets.
PS. As usual, ba.com shows the incorrect taxes figure when you initially price up a flight online. You only see the correct number when you click through to the final payment page. This applies to many Avios flight quotes, not just Hong Kong and Tokyo.
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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.
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