Is booking two single Avios redeptions the same number of points as a return?

[sonicoid]

I have an outbound booked on avios and can’t get through to BA to book the return leg. If I book online as two singles will it cost me more avios? The cash component is 50p either way.

[Rhys]

Yes, there is no difference, although they will be treated as individual bookings so if eg. BA cancels the outbound you would have to cancel the return off your own back (and pay the associated change fee).

By the way, the £1 redemption offer is not the most cost effective – unless you are Avios rich: https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/07/13/avios-1-taxes-more-points/

• This reply was modified 54 years, 11 months ago by .

[NorthernLass]

As Rhys says, for RFS it doesn’t make an awful lot of difference whether you book a return or 2 singles, in fact the latter option can give you more flexibility if you decide to you want to change or cancel one leg.

[Rob]

It can work both ways.

If you’re not using Reward Flight Saver (eg long haul premium cabins) then you may end up paying more taxes with 2 x one-way tickets. Except on routes where you pay less, eg HK, Japan, Rio.

If you are paying full taxes, cancellation fees are higher on 2 x one-ways since you pay £35 per booking. That said, if you book the 50p version it makes no difference as you only lose the 50p and are not asked for more.

One extra quirk:

Once you’ve flown the outbound, you cannot refund the inbound. You can change the date but you can’t cancel it. If you’d booked 2 x one-ways this is not an issue as you just cancel the return.

When is this an issue? If, for example, you have miles in multiple programmes and BA availability is tight. Let’s say you’re in Dubai and want to stay longer. BA has no availability but Emirates does and you have Emirates miles. If you’d booked 2 x one-ways, you could cancel the BA return ticket before rebooking on Emirates. If you had a BA return ticket, you’d lose the return if you didn’t take it (and there were no alternative dates open) and rebooked on Emirates.

[keeven]

For long haul, the taxes for two single ways are higher than a return booking. I tried this on Dubai route before.

[tiriavpo]

keeven wrote:

For long haul, the taxes for two single ways are higher than a return booking. I tried this on Dubai route before.

Not necessarily – depends on destination, and the departure and related taxes from that end. 2 singles works out much more expensive out and back to the USA than a return, but can be cheaper to the far east. 2 singles was cheaper to/from Japan than a return.

[Rob]

Japan is like Hong Kong and Brazil – there are legal restrictions on the surcharges that can be added on trip starting from the country, hence 2 x one-ways will be cheaper.

Business Class from Sao Paulo to Madrid, one way, has £18 taxes and charges on the Iberia flight, I priced it up the other way.

[Lady London]

RFS one ways can be cheaper in Europe as well.

But as Rob points out you had better know why you’d want to split it as you lose rights, such as being able to refund or rebook the whole thing to any date of your choice if a flight on your booking is cancelled, and you’d have to pay any canx charges for each booking if it was you cancelling.