Avios flight ticket ‘taxes and surcharges’ increased for First Class redemptions out of the US

You may not know this, but taxes and charges on British Airways flights booked using Avios are substantially higher if you start your trip in the United States.

If you thought charges from the UK were high, you really haven’t seen anything.

British Airways has recently increased the surcharges on First Class flights out of the US.  To be honest, it is now getting silly.

As the screenshot below shows, a First Class redemption using Avios from New York JFK to London Heathrow now costs a ludicrous £1,395 in taxes and charges.  Per person.

See the screenshot below.

Doing the same trip in reverse, from the UK, ‘only’ costs £598 return.

I have absolutely no idea what the grounds are for charging US residents more than twice as much, but it makes no sense at all.   To be fair, this is good news for UK residents as it means US residents are unlikely to be taking all of the Avios seats.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

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

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

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:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios 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.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)