As first reported by Loyalty Lobby, British Airways Executive Club has quietly increased the cash component required on many short-haul and long-haul Reward Flight Saver redemptions.
With this latest no-notice change to the program, you’ll now have to pay more taxes and fees than previously required.
British Airways Increases Cash Fees on Reward Flight Saver Bookings
British Airways has made yet another quiet change to Avios redemptions made through Executive Club.
This time, the cash component of many Reward Flight Saver bookings for British Airways flights has been affected, and unfortunately, it has been increased by £12–12.50 or $25 (USD/CAD) per person, per direction.
As a reminder, Reward Flight Saver redemptions offer a fixed-price in points and fees for select flights with British Airways.
When they were introduced, Reward Flight Saver bookings offered Executive Club members the option to spend more in Avios and less in cash for various redemptions with British Airways.
Outside of Reward Flight Saver redemptions, using Avios to fly with British Airways requires a hefty amount of taxes, fees, and carrier-imposed surcharges, sometimes totalling over $1,000 per direction in business class.
Previously, you’d pay 160,000 Avios and $700 (USD) for a round-trip booking between New York and London with British Airways, as shown in the below chart.
Going forward, you’ll pay the same amount in Avios, but the taxes and fees for a round-trip Reward Flight Saver booking have been boosted to $750 (USD), adding an extra $25 (USD) per direction.
It appears that the cost increase is the same in Canadian dollars, too, since a round-trip off-peak Reward Flight Saver booking from Toronto to London in business class has the same cost as the New York example above.
The cash component has increased uniformly by £12 for Club Europe bookings and £12.50 for World Traveller Plus (long-haul premium economy) and Club World (long-haul business class) bookings with British Airways, which corresponds to an increase of $25 (USD or CAD).
As it stands, Reward Flight Saver bookings in economy don’t appear to be affected.
Another Quiet Devaluation to Avios Redemptions
It’s worth noting that this is the latest in a series of quiet changes to the program, which doesn’t instill a lot of confidence about keeping your Avios balance topped up.
For example, in the last year, redemptions with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines were increased without notice by as much as 94%.
With those redemptions, you can still get the previous pricing by simply converting your British Airways Avios into Qatar Airways Avios, but that same arbitrage isn’t available for Reward Flight Saver bookings.
Previously, the lowest amount of taxes and fees you’d pay on a short-haul Reward Flight Saver booking in economy or business class was $1 (USD or CAD), or £0.50.
In addition to getting lounge access, priority airport services, and a slightly better seat on your flight, one of the reasons to book short-haul Reward Flight Saver flights was to essentially sidestep the cancellation fee for your flight if your plans changed.
Typically, British Airways Executive Club charges a fee of $55 (USD) or $58 (CAD) if you cancel a flight, which is simply withheld from your refund. If the total amount of taxes and fees was less than $55 (USD) or $58 (CAD), you’d just lose out on any refund at all.
With Reward Flight Saver bookings, you’d only lose out on $1 if you cancelled your flight, which was excellent. While you can still do this with intra-european Reward Flight Saver bookings in economy, you’ll now be out of pocket $25 per direction with Club Europe bookings with these latest changes.
Perhaps what’s even more concerning about this change is the frequency with which British Airways is making sudden changes to Avios redemptions without notifying its members.
For what it’s worth, the UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) increased in April 2024, and it’s set to increase again in 2025, which could be one of the motivations behind this change.
Conclusion
British Airways Executive Club has increased the cost of the cash component of many Reward Flight Saver bookings. Going forward, you’ll have to pay an extra £12–12.50 or $25 (USD/CAD) per direction for Club Europe, World Traveller Plus, and Club World Reward Flight Saver redemptions.
These latest changes came without any warning or notice, and come soon after the program quietly increased award prices for American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and LATAM redemptions.
Given the number of changes in the recent past, it’s worth considering redeeming any Avios in your account for British Airways flights, or converting them to different “flavours” of Avios to book other sweet spots within the Avios ecosystem.
