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British Airways adds £100 to the taxes and charges on business class Avios redemptions

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British Airways has introduced further stealth price increases to Avios redemptions as it raises the ‘taxes and fees’ element on Club World seats.

The price increase appears standard, with £100 added to all of the routes we looked at.

(Does this article sound familiar? It’s because we ran a virtually identical one on 13th February. These rises are on top of those rises.)

Let’s take a look.

British Airways increases Avios taxes and charges

With the help of some historical pricing data we sourced back in February from readers in the forums I’ve managed to put together a more comprehensive picture of what has happening over recent months.

The bad news is that the increased pricing seems to have occurred across BA’s network, and not just on transatlantic flights.

Whilst the February increases could be laid at the door of Heathrow’s increased charges and changes in Air Passenger Duty – and so British Airways was not pocketing the full amount – this is not the case here. It seems that BA has added substantial charges to cover the recent rises in fuel costs, even though around 60% of its fuel bill is hedged.

(I was with Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian yesterday and he told me that he doesn’t hedge fuel costs. Over the cycle, he wins, and his pockets are deep enough to see out the low points. Virgin Atlantic DOES hedge because it doesn’t have enough cash to get through the bad days.

British Airways proves Delta’s point. The airline lost over €1 billion due to fuel hedges over covid. It then decided to reduce the amount of hedging, just in time for kerosene to hit record levels.)

How have BA Avios redemption prices changed in 2022?

Here are the taxes and fees charged by British Airways for a number of key routes.

In each case I have used pricing data from across 2021 – dates vary depending on what reader data we could source – and compared it to prices that ba.com is charging now for business class flights.

IMPORTANT: The prices we quote below are NOT the price you get on the initial booking page of ba.com. These prices are usually always incorrect. We quote the price you see when you click through to the passenger details section, which is the price you actually pay.

Avios taxes and charges increase

Dubai

Dubai has increased by £165 since 2021.

Taxes and fees are now £707, up from £542 for an example we found in 2021.

£100 has been added this week.

Hong Kong

Flights to Hong Kong have increased by a similar amount. Taxes and charges are now £755, an increase of £162 on an example we found from last year.

£100 of this £162 has been added this week.

Hong Kong is an unusual case. Unless you are using a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher, it is cheaper to book two one-way tickets than a return due to the extremely low taxes charged on the return sector.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg is now £747 return in Club World.

When we looked at this route back in February, it hadn’t changed at all vs 2021.

£100 has been added this week.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles is now at £842 return.

This is £170 more than you would have paid back in 2021.

Maldives

The Maldives has also seen a £100 price increase since last month.

The current Business Class taxes and charges figure is £833, versus £616 in 2021.

New York

We often benchmark our pricing against New York given how hugely influential the route is for British Airways.

As of yesterday, you will pay £842. (Ignore the £990 you see on the initial pricing screen.)

This is up from £675 in mid 2021.

It is worth remembering that we have seen cash fares on TAP Portugal as low as £900 recently, albeit flying via Lisbon or Porto. Other airline schemes may also charge far less. Use Emirates Skywards miles to fly JetBlue to New York and you won’t pay ANY surcharges – just Air Passenger Duty and airport fees.

What about flights starting in Inverness or outside the UK?

Historically, one of the easiest ways to avoid the sky-high British Airways taxes and charges is to start your journey outside the UK.

This is partly because there is no Air Passenger Duty if you transit through the UK rather than starting your journey here. In addition, Inverness and Jersey – the latter technically not in the UK of course – also price cheaper because no APD is due there.

I did a dummy booking to New York, originating in Inverness and connecting in London, and the taxes and charges came to £675. This is substantially less than the £842 charged if you start your journey in London, although of course you need to factor in the cost of getting to Inverness.

One upside of Inverness and Jersey is that they can be booked with old style 2-4-1 Amex companion vouchers. If you have a ‘new’ 2-4-1 issued since September 2021 on the Premium Plus card, you can use this to start a redemption outside the UK in Dublin, Amsterdam etc.

Inverness Airport

What conclusions can we draw from the data?

Having looked at a range of routes from BA’s long haul network there are some clear patterns emerging:

  • British Airways appears to have added £100 return to Business Class long-haul Avios redemptions overnight
  • This is on top of rises in February, which disproportionately hit flights to the US

Does Nectar make more sense until fuel surcharges drop?

Are reward flights still good value? That depends on how you value your Avios. If you earn most of your Avios from business travel then you earn them at no cost to you. Of course, you still have the opportunity to cash out for 0.8p per point via Nectar so you need to be aware of the value you get.

The Nectar maths now begins to look more compelling if you don’t have an American Express 2-4-1 voucher.

New York on a peak date is 120,000 Avios plus £842 of taxes and charges.

Because those 120,000 Avios have an alternative value of £960 at Argos, Sainsburys etc, your flight is actually ‘costing’ you (£960 + £842) £1,802.

You can buy a cash ticket for FAR less than this, probably with a hotel thrown in. British Airways launched a BA Holidays sale yesterday with Club World flights to New York and four nights in a hotel from £1,599 per person. You won’t be struggling for availability either …..

Avios flights are flexible, of course. This has been less important during covid due to BA’s ‘Book With Confidence’ guarantee but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that pulled soon. Don’t underestimate the value of flexibility.

And, of course, you can still use your Avios for low-tax redemptions from Spain with Iberia or long haul with Aer Lingus.

Heading to Asia? Once the Qatar Airways / Avios partnership launches, you will be able to fly with Qatar Airways with no surcharges at all, just taxes and airport fees.

By increasing the taxes and charges on redemption flights BA makes redeeming your Avios on partner airlines more attractive, which tend to charge less. You can now book Avios redemptions on 25 global airlines including Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways and more. You can find out more about redeeming on partner airlines and the Avios partner reward chart here.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (272)

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

  • Crafty says:
    16 Mar16 March 05:57

    This is pretty despicable, I’m surprised a mainstream consumer affairs journalist hasn’t called BA out on this more stringently in the past.

    • Jeff77 says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:07

      What is despicable about a company increasing their prices? It happens all the time. There are other airlines available. Or in this case the cash alternative of nectar.

      • BuildBackBetter says:
        16 Mar16 March 07:17

        Some people don’t understand the basics of demand and supply.

      • LS says:
        16 Mar16 March 07:34

        Because it is a stealth devaluation of the ‘currency’ we are collecting, and not due to mandatory taxes, but due to a desire from BA to make more tax. It is the stealth-ness that is jarring. Increase the avios cost, don’t hide behind other charges. They have turned it in to a £ co-pay, but don’t have the guts to call it as such.

    • Paul says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:56

      There are one or two more pressing issues in the world and this a great time to bury bad news.

      • Charles Martel says:
        16 Mar16 March 11:58

        Newspapers can cover more than one or two stories, this isn’t front page in a mainstream publication but definitely worthy of coverage in the travel or “money” sections.

  • Andrew J says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:01

    One word – Nectar. Forget all this silliness and book cash tickets where you’ll earn Avios back to redeem as Nectar. The days of chasing reward flights and 2for1 Amex vouchers are over.

    • Jeff77 says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:09

      Yes. Avios may well be good for skiing trips (I have not interest in skiing) but the 2 for 1 is now a waste of time. Nectar here I come!

    • CarpalTravel says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:13

      Indeed, I hardly ever need the flexibility of being able to cancel so that is of limited value to me. It is a mistake by BA as if I am going to start paying full price for my tickets (which this brings me close to doing), then I will use VAA as they cover the routes I frequent AND they don’t charge me for my choice of seat.

      It is all too easy to forget that earning avios isn’t free. This cost must also be factored into redemptions too.

      I haven’t looked but I am guessing VAA have copied BA here with their “me too” pricing strategy.

    • Paul says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:31

      I’m feeling the same way…. nectar for me now.

      • meta says:
        16 Mar16 March 06:49

        Please all of you convert all your Avios to Nectar and make it easier for us who know how to still play the game…

        • Andrew J says:
          16 Mar16 March 06:53

          What game? The game is over I’m afraid.

        • Rich says:
          16 Mar16 March 07:01

          You can only mean the game for redeeming and that game is becoming less appealing, but I am intrigued by your comment.

          In what way you do you think your game playing for redemptions is more superior, please share an example meta.

          • meta says:
            16 Mar16 March 07:04

            I have given plenty examples in comments and on the forum. Others have shared too. I am definitely not paying anywhere near those surcharges outlined above.

        • Mikeact says:
          16 Mar16 March 08:53

          Definitely +1 !

    • Rich says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:57

      Good point and a relevant addition to Rob’s point about the New York flight and hotel price v an Avios booking, the nectar conversion post travel from the Avios earned for the trip could be factored into the quoted £1599 meaning a £151 refund via nectar for a gold card holder. So the price comparison is £1448?

    • James says:
      16 Mar16 March 07:10

      I mean are they really ‘over’? I’ve just signed up to the BA premium, is it really a waste of time so I should be cancelling? Yes a New York return in peak is laughable with 120k avios and £840 taxes vs a cash price but surely on select long haul routes where business seats are genuinely £2.5k or so plus return, there’s a big saving to be made with 2-1? (ie Mauritius, Maldives, Asian routes)?

      • Jeff77 says:
        16 Mar16 March 09:13

        How easy is it to actually find availability? Is there much for this year?

        • Rob says:
          16 Mar16 March 10:02

          The only easier answer at the moment is to wait for BA to add new routes / new frequencies and then jump in and nab the seats. That’s why I have 4 Club World to Mauritius over May half term.

    • Mick S says:
      16 Mar16 March 11:00

      not sure if this adds up though if using upgrade vouchers though? still makes financial sense to grab a reward seat and upgrade if you can though – i think?

  • VK says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:07

    I have become disinterested in hotel loyalty with random redemption rises at last min. Also complex charts for perks. Now BA is doing this. Not like taxes were cheap in the first place. I think I’m going to just fly what I want with cash and collect miles and points as a side effect. If anything is usable, I will use it. Otherwise I will just buy whatever is the more cost effective option. I was trying to be loyal to BA over the last few years pre pandemic. Before that I used to avoid it. With the new seats etc I thought things are looking better and then this covid thing literally screwed everything up. Now here we are back to penny pinching. Even VS service standards have dropped lately. Such a shame. I have small kids so it’s a pain to start from the continent but given the amount of money charged with taxes etc I will plan long stops and small holidays around my intl trips to make ex EU flights easier from here on. I will be able to try various airlines, get small breaks as well which we would do anyway. If I stop all my miles and points planning I can instead spend that time booking 2 or 3 sandwiched cash fares in such a way that I get a few long haul and short haul trips on the cheap. I’m going to look into this in a few weeks time. I have had enough with this BA. Will cancel that premium amex card as well. Just can’t be bothered anymore. BA is back to ‘not worth wasting my time’ category again

  • Andrew J says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:21

    Can’t see many people keeping the BAPP now – this will hit Amex too.

    • CarpalTravel says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:30

      Absolutely, player 2 has already cancelled hers whilst citing the BA tax. I will be doing the same in a few days time, and I have had mine for about 10years.

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      16 Mar16 March 07:19

      And Barclays doing it’s best to avoid issuing more cards.

    • Spurs drive me mad says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:05

      After this year I’m not keeping mine I can’t justify the fee. I’ve got 4 241 voucher nearly million miles plenty of time but can’t go anywhere until the old dog goes and he’s looking pretty good for an old boy.

      • Mike says:
        16 Mar16 March 10:53

        Yup ditto my father is 93 and still hanging on in there (just) but with a smile in his face. I cant really commit to going anywhere whilst I look after him

        • Spurs drive me mad says:
          16 Mar16 March 11:03

          Mike I spent last 20 years taking care of my Mum, she died a year ago I inherited the dog. No way am I putting him in kennels he’s got separation issues if I go for a shower let alone dump the poor old boy with strangers that would be cruel.

  • Alex W says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:24

    This really does kill off the 241 and therefore the BAPP Amex. I might try to use my last 241 for short haul but otherwise I’ll have to aim to use my Avios for upgrades.

  • Jon says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:31

    I am struggling to see how Nectar is an alternative unless you already shop at Sainsburys. The spending list I just looked at has nothing that interests me; certainly not shopping at our truly horrid local Sainsburys. I think this all makes Avios less appealing in general.

    • lumma says:
      16 Mar16 March 06:42

      Argos is competitive on large electronics if you don’t want groceries. As is the non-grocery section in big Sainsbury’s stores

      Can buy pretty much anything on eBay too

    • Rich says:
      16 Mar16 March 07:03

      Do you not buy petrol or diesel? I guess electric cars are kicking in though.

      • meta says:
        16 Mar16 March 07:11

        Unless you have a big family or live outside London, you really don’t need a car…

        • Thywillbedone says:
          16 Mar16 March 07:20

          +1. Owned something quick in London for a couple of years and now thankfully car-free. When you read that average traffic speeds in London are around 10mph, you struggle to believe it until you are sitting in a jam ready to burst a blood vessel …

          • John says:
            16 Mar16 March 08:47

            Don’t drive in inner London then.

            SW Zone 3 to my parents’ house in NW Z5 is 40 minutes by car and 90 minutes by walk, bus, tube, tube, tube, stairs and walk, and I can’t carry 30kg of stuff on the tube.

          • Thywillbedone says:
            16 Mar16 March 09:19

            Inner London is a pretty big address. But thanks for your single data point!

        • Peter K says:
          16 Mar16 March 07:20

          So most of the UK population then….

        • Rich says:
          16 Mar16 March 09:02

          Over 50 million of us live outside London meta and believe me, most of us need a car!

          • meta says:
            16 Mar16 March 09:37

            Yes, I understand this and I would need one too. I also think that if you live outside London, Nectar might be an attractive option. However, for others game is certainly not over.

        • Londonsteve says:
          16 Mar16 March 19:39

          @ meta why do you write this in response to the legitimate suggestion that Avios can be (quite literally) burned for petrol and diesel? A heck of a lot of readers live outside of London and a heck of a lot of London-based readers still need a car. It comes across as the pompous observation of a singleton living in zone 1 with a Boris Bike pass.

      • masaccio says:
        16 Mar16 March 07:23

        I drive 4,000 miles a year and even my v8 isn’t going to use up that many Nectar points. I just did a hotel search in St Lucia and there was one (crap) hotel for 80,000 Nectar points per night

        • Freddy says:
          16 Mar16 March 07:51

          Shop on Sainsbury’s online or spend the points at eBay

          • meta says:
            16 Mar16 March 08:59

            I tried shopping on Sainsbury’s online for nearly three months and every time they failed to deliver at least half of the items. Their food is tasteless as well and the range of items is poor.

    • JDB says:
      16 Mar16 March 10:00

      For us, Nectar is about as attractive as roubles. Fares will be going up across the board, it just looks like a big % when you just look at the taxes/surcharges. Also, if you look at the elements of taxes/fees in foreign jurisdictions that make up the totals, these are creeping up as well.

  • Ed says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:37

    Worth organising a protest transfer? I imagine if all HfP readers transferred to nectar at once then the liability to BA may make them take notice

    • Charles Martel says:
      16 Mar16 March 12:00

      I’ll be transferring as much to Nectar as possible. The risks of a exchange rate deval are too high at this point.

  • lumma says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:39

    Once the taxes on your “free” flight become double the cost of an economy ticket, there’s no point any more.

    Luckily there’s still good value in last minute short haul trips, although with current low cost carrier fares even that’s debatable (Ryanair to Budapest was £7.99 just a couple of days in advance this weekend, nice 11.30am departure too).

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