British Airways giving up to 40% off award flights, but jacking up taxes/fees too

British Airways has unexpectedly launched an award sale and it’s surprisingly good – in theory.

Through July 23, you can save up to 40% off award flights to/from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City. With very few blackout dates through early February 2026, this would normally be worth considering if you’re planning a trip across the pond in the next seven months. However, British Airways has greatly increased taxes and fees for travel between the US and UK – seemingly only during the promotion dates – which actually makes this a worse deal. This award sale will therefore be better for someone looking to fly between the UK and Europe rather than for crossing the Atlantic.

The Deal

• Save up to 40% off award flights on British Airways to/from the following airports:
  • London Heathrow
  • London Gatwick
  • London City
• Direct link to offer.

Key Terms

• Savings apply to new bookings made with British Airways on flights operated by British Airways between July 16 2025 and 23:59 BST July 23 2025, for travel between August 1 2025 and December 18 2025, January 5 2026 and February 11 2026.
• This offer applies to both peak and off-peak Avios Reward Flights in World Traveller, Euro Traveller (Economy) and Club Europe (business) from London Heathrow Airport, London City Airport or London Gatwick Airport.
• This offer is available to any member of The British Airways Club when logged into their account and with a sufficient Avios balance.
• The required amount of Avios for Reward Flights will be reduced by up to 40%. Only the Avios amount will be discounted by up to 40%. The discount set out is available on direct one-way and return British Airways operated flights. Example Avios rates shown are for a return journey on off-peak dates. The relevant savings will appear after you have chosen your flights and will be relative to your Avios balance.

Quick Thoughts

Award sales from British Airways don’t come along very often, so being able to save up to 40% on the Avios requirement is a nice surprise. Be aware that it is an “up to” 40% discount though, so the discount you see might be less than that.

What’s not as pleasant is that British Airways seems to have increased the taxes and fees that are payable on these, for travel between the UK to US at least. I’ve been looking at flights from the UK to the US for this fall to position myself in the US for the start of the 100K Vacay challenge. Flights from London to New York JFK had been pricing out at 25,000 Avios + $100 in taxes and fees in economy.

I’d procrastinated on booking my flight, so I was therefore pleased when this award sale was announced as I figured I’d be able to save on my flight back. It would indeed be possible to reduce the number of Avios from 25,000 to 19,000 which is a 24% discount. However, the taxes and fees being charged are now showing at $250 rather than only $100. That means I’d be saving 6,000 Avios, but paying $150 more in taxes and fees which is a poor tradeoff. It’s also shady behavior by British Airways.

It’s not only flights from the UK to the US that are affected; US to UK flights are encountering the same shadiness. Pricing in March from JFK to London is 25,000 Avios + $83:

Compare that to travel during the promo dates. Once again, it requires 19,000 Avios in economy, but taxes and fees have been increased to $233 – another increase of $150.

That’s not always the case though. For example, a flight from London to Madrid in March 2026 (i.e. outside of the promo dates) would cost 11,750 Avios + a whopping $1.

If you travel during the promo dates though, the Avios requirement is slashed to 7,050 which is a full 40% discount, with taxes and fees remaining at $1.

Business class tickets for travel within Europe are eligible, but you can only get a discount on economy award flights if traveling from London to countries outside of Europe. This is therefore a decent award sale for travel from the UK around Europe, just not so much for travel to/from the US.

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