BA raises the cash needed for Avios reward flights from 27 May - five days to book at current prices
- Sam
- 4 minutes ago
- 3 min read
British Airways is putting up the cash needed for Avios reward flights from 27 May 2026. The Avios required stay the same, as those already went up in December, but the cash element needed to pay the taxes and fees goes up.
I literally wrote yesterday that I didn't believe BA had another foot to shoot. They had in fact kept one spare.
Bookings made before 27 May hold the current price. From 27 May, you pay the new rate. So if you've got a trip in mind, you've got five days. I'm going to be booking for us.
What's changing to Avios flights
BA gave four examples (all off-peak):
Route | Cabin | Avios | Old cash | New cash | Change | % |
LHR-JFK return | Club World | 176,000 | £399 | £499 | +£100 | +25% |
LHR-Cape Town return | World Traveller | 66,000 | £170 | £190 | +£20 | +12% |
LHR-Rome return | Club Europe | 44,000 | £30 | £40 | +£10 | +33% |
LHR-Amsterdam return | Euro Traveller | 20,000 | £2 | £5 | +£3 | +150% |
In absolute terms, JFK Club World is the painful one with £100 more cash per return ticket. For a couple that's £200 on a single booking, on top of 352,000 Avios. Cape Town in World Traveller is up £20 a return. Smaller, but £20 is a 12% increase.
Short-haul percentages flatter the actual hit. Amsterdam from £2 to £5 return, Rome from £30 to £40 return. You won't notice it the same way as £100 on a New York booking. But the fact BA bothered to lift the £2 cash element to £5 is its own statement as they loved to advertise "Use X Avios + £1".
These are the four examples BA has published. World Traveller Plus, First, mid-haul routes... we don't know. Only on Wednesday will we know, when the new prices are baked into the system.
Following Virgin
Virgin Atlantic raised its reward flight taxes and fees a few weeks ago. BA following is not a coincidence.
BA hasn't said why they're raising prices, but jet fuel prices are up sharply since the Iran conflict pushed crude higher earlier in the year. The cash element of an Avios redemption is where fuel surcharges have always lived.
Airlines do not absorb fuel cost rises forever. Cash fares have already got more expensive, so it was only a matter of time before the price rises came to all of our reward flights.
What to do in the next five days
Long-haul: book before 27 May. The £100 per ticket on JFK is the example BA chose to publish. We don't yet know what's happening to World Traveller Plus, First, or routes to Asia, Africa, or Australia.
Companion Voucher: same, more so. As you pay the Avios for one person, but the taxes and fees for both people this is going to hurt. Book now if you can.
Short-haul: the savings are smaller if you're rushing to book. £10 on a return Rome trip, £3 on a return Amsterdam. All I'm saying is that I'd stop to pick up a tenner on the street.
Speculative bookings: if you've been thinking about a long-haul redemption at some point in the next year, this is a reasonable moment to lock today's price. You can adjust later if needed.
The full new price table publishes Wednesday. We'll come back to it then.
Sam
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