Strategic Uses for British Airways 40% Economy Award Discount from London

British Airways is offering 40% off economy awards originating in London (although it apparently works from other cities in the UK as well) booked by November 2 for travel through March 20 to a variety of destinations.

Since you still pay full taxes, including exorbitant fuel surcharges, this isn’t as great a deal as it might seem. You’ll often pay a substantial portion of what an economy ticket would cost without the availability of a paid ticket and without earning miles.

However this can be valuable especially for:

  • On peak dates when tickets are expensive but award availability still exists
  • Last minute travel

Normally economy awards despite the high fees can be a reasonable deal for one way tickets, and if you want a cancellable ticket — lock in travel as an option but plans could still cancel. This promotion excludes both options.

Reader Jeff W. suggests that since the UK-originating sale is meant for UK residents it may not work without a UK registered address on your account.

Here are the eligible destinations:

Terms and conditions:

The required amount of Avios will be reduced by 40% on the selected destinations as stated. The full airline taxes, fees and carrier charges will apply per person, which as of 29 September 2015 are approximately as follows in our economy, World Traveller cabin, for a return journey:

British Airways flights from London Heathrow to Moscow £70, Tel Aviv £167, Cairo £171, Beirut £172, Amman £194, Kuwait £282, Bahrain £284, Doha £286, Jeddah and Riyadh £287, Muscat £289, Abu Dhabi and Dubai £291, Mumbai £293, Luanda £297, Montreal £300, Nairobi and Toronto £302, Montreal and Hyderabad £303, Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai £311, Chennai, Baku, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur £312, Delhi £315, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York JFK, New York Newark, Philadelphia, Washington Baltimore, Washington Dulles, Bangalore, Seoul and Singapore £317, Abuja and Lagos £322, Vancouver £325, Cape Town and Johannesburg £329, Calgary £330, Tokyo Haneda and Tokyo Narita £336, Accra £342, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle £343, Mexico £344.

British Airways flights from London Gatwick to Barbados £268, Tobago £274, Orlando £288, Bermuda and Antigua £296, St Kitts £303, Las Vegas £314, Providenciales £318, Punta Cana £327.

All prices are correct as of 29 September 2015 but are subject to change. Discounts are available on British Airways operated flights to the destinations stated in World Traveller cabin only. Changes and cancellations are not permitted. All flights are subject to Avios Terms and Conditions and British Airways conditions of carriage. Flights are strictly subject to availability which may be very limited or not available on some routes and will not be available at all on some dates. This offer is available on both peak and off-peak Avios prices and cannot be combined with any other offer. All prices are quoted in GBP.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. FWIW, if you depart from Jersey, you can skip out on some of the tax. That $333 drops to $248 (Jersey). Neither this or Belfast ($313) seem sufficient to me, but the 13k avios price stayed the same when I priced it (even with the stop).

  2. Of that $248, the breakdown includes $89 in YQ, but STILL prices $111.55 in Government fees. This would seem to be the APD, but that’s not supposed to be assessed out of Jersey or N. Ireland. It’s also NOT present on an ITA Matrix Revenue fare. Is BA just pocketing this?

  3. Iberia prices out of Jersey as 17k avios + $183 (i.e., does not improperly assess the APD). Iberia DOES assess it on flights from BHD (Belfast), which is incorrect AFAIK.

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