Good tax savings on long-haul Avios 241 redemptions if you start in Dublin

As we covered recently, the taxes and charges added to many premium cabin Avios redemptions have shot up in recent weeks. Given that BA is still running a sub-standard service in Club World due to lack of crew (meals are still served in one go on one tray with small portions, for example) it’s not ideal.

Interestingly, the new higher taxes and charges (eg £842 return to New York in Club World) do not seem to apply if you start your trip in Dublin.

If you fancy a trip to Ireland on the way, there are good savings to be made. Remember that new-style British Airways American Express Premium Plus vouchers can start outside the UK, so Dublin to London to New York is acceptable.

Here are a couple of examples WITHOUT using a 241 voucher. This is London to New York on a peak date:

You pay 120,000 Avios and £842 of taxes. In reality the taxes number moves by a couple of pounds when you continue to payment, but its a nominal difference.

Let’s look at the same flight but with connections to / from Dublin:

There are two options here of interest:

• For those who are Avios rich and cash poor, you are offered the chance to use 152,500 Avios and pay £288 of taxes and charges. This is attractive – you are saving £554 but spending an extra 32,500 Avios. Of course, you need to get to Dublin to start your trip which won’t be free.

• The directly comparable option is 139,000 Avios plus £576. I say ‘directly comparable’ because this is what you would expect to pay, eg 120,000 Avios for the long-haul flight and 19,000 Avios for the connection. Here, you are saving £266 by using an extra 19,000 Avios – but you also need to get to Dublin.

What happens if you add a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher?

Let’s look at what happens when you use a new-style 2-4-1 companion voucher. The answer is – ‘something weird’.

For two people, you are offered the following pricing with no alternatives:

versus

Something is wrong here – but it’s wrong in your favour.

The first screenshot makes sense. You are paying 120,000 Avios for two people (due to the 2-4-1 voucher) with double the usual level of taxes, so £1,684 for two.

However, the second screenshot makes no sense. You are paying 139,500 Avios for two people (due to the 2-4-1 voucher) but just £576 of taxes, ie 2 x £288. However, if you look at the screenshot above from Dublin, £288 is the level of taxes when you use 152,500 Avios.

How and why it prices like this doesn’t really matter though.

What DOES matter is that you can save £1,108 on this trip in return for spending an extra 19,000 Avios and flying to Dublin to start.

Can you avoid starting in Dublin?

No. Your entire ticket will be cancelled if you fail to show up in Dublin for the first leg.

However, if you are travelling with just hand baggage, you could hop out in London on the way back and miss your final flight.

The impact on other routes isn’t always as large as this especially if you are not flying to North America, but it is definitely worth pricing up your options out of Dublin – and indeed other starting points such as Amsterdam to see what is available.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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.

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