Another quirk with the ‘£1 taxes’ Avios flight redemptions trial

We have covered the current trial of ‘£1 taxes’ short-haul Avios redemptions extensively.  There have been a few teething problems but the system is now working as it should.

A reader has picked up another quirk, however

If you book a short-haul Avios redemption using a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher, it prices under the ‘old’ system.  You cannot choose how much or how little you pay in taxes in charges.  You must pay £35 return in Euro Traveller and £50 return in Club Europe.

It gets more complex.

A reader booked two one-way short-haul flights using a 2-4-1 voucher, at 355 days before departure.  The plan was to add the return later when it became available.

A week later, they booked the return flights online – choosing the ‘middle’ pricing option of £17.50 one way in taxes and charges – and later called British Airways to merge these flights onto the existing 2-4-1 ticket.  The Avios for one of the return tickets would be refunded.

This is a proven technique which many people use.  However, it no longer works on short haul.  Even if you pick the ‘£17.50 taxes’ option when booking online, your ticket cannot be married to an existing 2-4-1 booking.   You must ring the BA call centre and get them to book the return for you, adding it to your existing ticket.

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.)