How to pay 70% fewer Award Taxes on British Airways U.S. to London Flights?

British Airways offers some of the best business class & first class suites paired with great onboard service. British Airways consistently releases business & first-class award seats for the entire year ahead of time, which makes planning the trip easier.

British Airways is known for charging notoriously high award booking taxes for US to London-bound flights.

Are the Taxes Different for Outbound vs Inbound flights from the US to London?

Taxes are highest on British Airways outbound award flights from the U.S. to the U.K. (see the example image below).

Taxes are still high (a bit less than above) on British Airways inbound award flights from the U.K. to the U.S. (see the example image below).

Is there a way to save on Taxes with Partner Award Booking on Outbound flights?

The best way to avoid the high British Avios booking taxes is to book the same flight with Asia Miles, which charges ~70% fewer taxes.

Are there similar tax benefits when booking a First Class Flight with Asia Miles?

Asia Miles award taxes are identical for both business and first-class British Airways cabins (economy class costs a little less HKD 1609 = $200 USD).

Asia Miles British Airways tax savings may not apply to all US cities

Flights from JFK, Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta to LHR can be booked for 61K miles and HKD 1845 in taxes, but flights from DFW will get HKD 3068 in taxes;

Are there similar tax benefits when booking a connecting outbound BA flight via London?

The tax benefit no longer applies to connecting outbound flights from the US to other countries in transit via London (see the image below).

Can I save a similar amount of taxes by booking with either American or Alaska miles?

Award booking the same British Airways flight with American Airlines miles costs a little less in taxes ($729) but using Alaska miles costs more in taxes ($887).

Can I use Asia Miles to book an inbound London to US flight with similar tax savings?

It’s important to note that the Asia Miles savings on taxes work best only on outbound flights from the U.S. to London.

For inbound flights (e.g., LHR to JFK), British Avios booking taxes are ~$620 and Asia Miles taxes are ~$500 (see the image below). Booking with Asia Miles still saves you ~$120 USD.

Are there other ways to book British Airways flights with Avios and still pay fewer taxes?

As you can see from the example above, taxes are ~$626 from all cities in the UK (e.g., London, Manchester, Edinburgh) to US inbound British Airways flights. These taxes can be 35-60% less if you are just transiting via London (e.g., flying British Airways from NON-UK European cities to Chicago via London).

This booking method is useful if you are visiting other European countries and want to use Avios to book an inbound connecting flight to the US (lowest for Dublin to the US via London). The tax benefits vary based on the origin/distance from each city in Europe (see the examples below).

Dublin to the US via London

Brussels to the US via London

Oslo to the US via London

Zurich to US via London

Frankfurt to the US via London

Paris to the US via London

Rome to the US via London

Summary

British Airways has excellent award space for business and first-class seats and offers a wonderful way to travel from the US to London (stingy with seat selection fees in business class). The only way to pay significantly less tax (~$200) on outbound flights is by booking with Asia Miles, which remains unchanged despite the pandemic’s effect on fuel taxes. For Avios redemptions on US inbound BA connecting flights, the tax reductions are significant for flights leaving from Dublin.