- Smart With Points - Boost Your Miles & Points
- Posts
- ✈️ How to Avoid UK Air Passenger Duty on Long-Haul Flights
✈️ How to Avoid UK Air Passenger Duty on Long-Haul Flights
Plus: The Best British Airways Shopping Portal Avios Offers
Sylvie Simpson
October 06, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
Hello, Adventurous Travellers, and Happy Sunday!
Did you know that if you book a reward flight that doesn’t start or end in the UK, you’ll avoid hefty air passenger duty fees? This little-known hack can save you a ton of money, especially on long-haul routes.
Let's get started:
✈️ Avoid Expensive Air Passenger Duty When You Fly Long-Haul: How to fly from outside the UK to save money.
🍀 Flying with Aer Lingus to North America: You can save money flying from Dublin or Shannon to the US or Canada.
🔆 Flying with Iberia: Fly from Madrid to save money on UK passenger duty.
British Airways Shopping Portal Deals: This week's best offers to collect Avios on your everyday spending.
✈️ Avoid Hefty Air Passenger Duty When You Fly Long-Haul
Using Avios points (or other airline miles) to get free flights is one of the best ways to travel for less. However, when booking flight redemptions, you will have to pay taxes and fees, most of which are due to fuel surcharges.
UK Air Passenger Duty
British Airways often charges sky-high air passenger duty surcharges when booking long-haul flights that start or end in the UK, making your "free" flight feel anything but free.
Air passenger duty is a government-imposed tax in the UK. It’s currently one of the highest in Europe.
Here are the current UK rates that you can’t avoid when booking flights to or from the UK:
Domestic | International Up to 2,000 Miles | International Flights 2,001 to 5,500 Miles | International Flights More than 5,500 Miles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Economy | £6.50 | £13 | £87 | £91 |
Business | £13 | £26 | £191 | £200 |
🏷️ Booking Separately to Avoid Long-Haul UK Air Passenger Duty
You can avoid these taxes by flying from or landing in an airport away from the UK. Ireland with Aer Lingus is a great example, especially if you're planning a trip to the US or Canada.
🍀 Example 1: Aer Lingus
Using Aer Lingus as an example, here's how to avoid hefty taxes and fees.
Book a separate flight from the UK to Dublin/Shannon with Avios (you will pay only short-haul fees).
Book the long-haul flight from Dublin/Shannon to North America using Avios in a separate reservation. This will avoid the UK Air Passenger Duty. You can book flights with Avios over the phone with British Airways and pay just £75 in taxes and fees for an economy long-haul flight.
Be cautious: if your first flight is delayed and you miss your transatlantic connection, Aer Lingus won’t protect you since the tickets are on separate reservations. Make sure to build in plenty of time between flights!
📊 Booking with Aer Lingus
Here’s how many Avios you’ll need to save to book a flight with Aer Lingus.
Distance | Economy Off-Peak | Economy Peak | Business Off Peak | Business Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1—650 miles | 4,000 | 4,500 | 7,750 | 9,000 |
651—1,150 miles | 6,500 | 7,500 | 12,750 | 15,000 |
1,151—2,000 miles | 8,500 | 10,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 |
2,001—3,000 miles | 10,000 | 12500 | 31,250 | 37,500 |
3,001—4,000 miles | 13,000 | 20,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 |
4,001—5,500 miles | 16,250 | 25,000 | 62,500 | 75,000 |
Remember that Aer Lingus is part of the oneworld alliance which means you can earn Avios, redeem your Avios and get perks if you hold status with any oneworld airline.
You can currently fly to the following cities with Aer Lingus from Ireland:
Boston
Chicago
Hartford
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
New York
Orlando
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Seattle
Toronto
Washington
Another Bonus: When flying with Aer Lingus, you can go through US immigration in Ireland, so you will save a long wait once you land in the US.
🔆 Example 2: Iberia
Like flying to Ireland on a short-haul flight to start your trip, you can book a short-haul flight to Madrid and begin your long-haul journey from Madrid. You can earn and redeem Avios with Iberia. You’ll have to transfer your Avios to Iberia to do this.
Your Iberia account will need to be three months old to transfer Avios.
Iberia is also a oneworld airline.
Here’s how many Avios you’ll need to save to book a flight with Iberia:
Distance | Blue Clas | Economy Class | Premium Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
10-650 miles | 5,000 | 7,500 | 10,000 | |
651 – 1,150 miles | 8,250 | 12,500 | 16,500 | |
1,151 – 2,000 miles | 11,000 | 16,500 | 22,000 | |
2,001 – 3,000 miles | 12,500 | 18,750 | 31,250 | |
3,001 – 4,000 miles | 20,000 | 28,000 | 35,000 | 50,000 |
4,001 – 5,500 miles | 25,000 | 35,000 | 43,750 | 62,500 |
5,501 – 6,500 miles | 30,000 | 42,000 | 52,500 | 75,000 |
6,501 – 7,000 miles | 35,000 | 49,000 | 61,250 | 87,500 |
7,001+ miles | 50,000 | 70,000 | 87,500 | 125,000 |
NOTE: Madrid to London and vice versa has a higher charge of 7,000 Avios in Blue Class, 11,250 in Economy and 15,000 in Business.
From Madrid, Iberia fly to 130 destinations across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America and Latin America.
💳 Other Ways to Save on Air Passenger Duty
The best way to save is by booking a short-haul flight as a redemption or cash flight and then booking your long-haul flight as a redemption.
There are plenty of other ways you can save:
You can use any of British Airways' partner airlines to book an Avios flight that does not start or end in the UK. For example, you can fly from London to Helsinki cheaply and then book a redemption flight using Avios with Finnair from Helsinki to Bangkok.
You can use Avios for domestic flights in the country you’re travelling to. This is particularly useful in the US and Japan.
If you fly with a US airline like American Airlines to London, you can avoid air passenger duty. You can then use one of these hacks, like flying with Iberia when you fly from London.
Let us know in the Facebook group if you have any other hacks!
Would you book flights starting outside the UK to avoid paying higher Air Passenger Duty fees? |
💰 British Airways Shopping Portal Deals
The BA shopping portal is one of my favourite ways to collect Avios. Booking.com usually earns me the most Avios. Here are the top offers this week:
Harrods: 13 Avios / £1 (was 5 Avios / £1)
Ray-Ban UK: 13 Avios / £1 (was 8 Avios / £1)
Selfridges: 12 Avios / £1 (was 6 Avios / £1)
Harvey Nichols: 12 Avios / £1 (was 6 Avios / £1)
Myprotein.com UK: 12 Avios / £1 (was 8 Avios / £1)
very.co.uk: 12 Avios / £1 (was 7 Avios / £1)
Viator UK: 10 Avios / £1 (was 4 Avios / £1)
Sephora UK: 10 Avios / £1 (was 8 Avios / £1)
Hotels.com UK: 8 Avios / £1 (was 5 Avios / £1)
Debenhams: 8 Avios / £1 (was 3 Avios / £1)
adidas UK: 8 Avios / £1 (was 6 Avios / £1)
Accor: Up to 8 Avios / £1 (previous rate not listed)
Space NK UK: 9 Avios / £1 (was 7 Avios / £1)
LOOKFANTASTIC: 9 Avios / £1 (was 5 Avios / £1)
Deliveroo UK: 7 Avios / £1 (was 5 Avios / £1)
Cult Beauty: 7 Avios / £1 (was 5 Avios / £1)
Booking.com UK: 6 Avios / £1 (was 4 Avios / £1)
Toolstation: 6 Avios / £1 (was 4 Avios / £1)
Nespresso Coffee: 6 Avios / £1 (previous rate not listed)
Apple Store Online UK: 5 Avios / £1 (was 3 Avios / £1)
Nike UK: 5 Avios / £1 (was 4 Avios / £1)
Boots.com: 4 Avios / £1 (was 2 Avios / £1)
B&Q: 4 Avios / £1 (was 2 Avios / £1)
TK Maxx: 4 Avios / £1 (was 2 Avios / £1)
Marks & Spencer: 4 Avios / £1 (was 2 Avios / £1)
Confused.com Car Insurance: 3,500 Avios (was 2,500 Avios)
Confused.com Home Insurance: 3,600 Avios (was 2,500 Avios)
Uswitch Car Insurance: 3,500 Avios (was 2,500 Avios)
Go.Compare Car Insurance: 3,000 Avios (was 2,000 Avios)
Sainsbury’s Grocery: Up to 1,200 Avios (was up to 900 Avios)
Final Words
That’s all for this week! We hope these tips help you maximise your travel rewards and have better experiences.
Safe travels, and always aim for the upgrade!
Want to continue the conversation? Come and join our free Facebook group.
Bye for now!
Reply