British Airways’ award flights are about to get a little more expensive.
The airline has confirmed that starting May 27, 2026, travelers redeeming Avios for Reward Flights will see higher taxes and fees on bookings — even though the number of Avios required won’t change.
Here’s what travelers should know before the changes take effect.
British Airways Award Flights Are About To Cost More
British Airways sent a notice to its Executive Club loyalty program members this week confirming that Reward Flight pricing is changing on May 27. While Avios redemption rates are staying the same for now, travelers will soon pay more out of pocket when booking award flights.
The airline shared a few updated examples for off-peak travel pricing for the taxes and fees:
- Round-trip Club World between London Heathrow (LHR) and New York (JFK): 176,000 Avios plus £499 (about $670)
- Round-trip economy between London Heathrow (LHR) and Cape Town (CPT): 66,000 Avios plus £190 (about $255)
- One-way Club Europe between London Heathrow (LHR) and Rome (FCO): 22,000 Avios plus £20 (about $27)
- One-way Euro Traveller between London Heathrow (LHR) and Amsterdam (AMS): 10,000 Avios plus £2.50 (about $3.35)
For example, a one-way Euro Traveller award flight between London Heathrow (LHR) and Rome (FCO) currently costs just £1.50 in taxes and fees — roughly $2 at today’s rates — though British Airways says that same booking will rise to around $3.35 starting May 27.
Sure, that doesn’t sound like a huge difference on short-haul European flights. However, on long-haul and premium-cabin redemptions, these higher surcharges can quickly add hundreds of dollars in additional out-of-pocket costs.
That’s also why many points and miles travelers have traditionally avoided using Avios for long-haul British Airways-operated flights in the first place. The real way to maximize value from British Airways Avios has usually been short-haul partner flights. On these, distance-based pricing requires very low mileage rates — not paying huge surcharges to fly British Airways business class across the Atlantic.
There will still be situations where booking with Avios makes sense, but now the higher fees will start to chip away at the value proposition a bit more. The good news is that Avios pricing itself won’t be increasing for now. That said, with BA continuing to devalue its program and make award travel costlier, these bookings start to look a lot less enticing overall.
Final Thoughts
British Airways isn’t raising the Avios cost of Reward Flights right now, but increasing the cash portion of these bookings still hurts the overall value of redemptions.
For travelers who regularly use Avios for short-haul partner flights or occasional premium cabin deals, this is another reminder to always look at the total out-of-pocket cost — not just the points price.