British Airways reward flights carry enormous surcharges. This guide shows UK travellers how to use Iberia, Aer Lingus and other partners to slash the cash cost of Avios redemptions — sometimes by hundreds of pounds.
If you have ever been shocked by the “taxes and fees” line on a BA Avios booking, you are not alone. The good news is that you can often fly the same route in the same cabin for a fraction of the cash cost — by booking through a partner airline and, in many cases, departing from a different city. This guide walks through every option, starting with the most popular: Iberia.
What you’ll learn:
You have found the perfect reward seat, the Avios are ready to go — and then you see the “taxes, fees and carrier charges” line. On a return Club World booking from London, British Airways can ask for £400 to £500 or more on top of your Avios. A large slice of that is BA’s own carrier-imposed surcharge, a legacy of what used to be called the fuel surcharge. On 27 May 2026 BA increased these surcharges again, making the cash portion of long-haul premium awards heavier than ever.
On top of that, every passenger departing the UK on a long-haul flight pays Air Passenger Duty (APD). From 1 April 2026 the rates are £102 per person in economy and £244 in premium cabins (business and first) for Band B destinations (up to 5,500 miles), rising to £106 and £253 for Band C (over 5,500 miles). APD applies on reward flights exactly as it does on paid tickets.
The good news: you do not have to accept these costs. Because Avios transfers freely between British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus at a 1:1 ratio, you can book the same type of flight for a fraction of the cash by choosing a different operating airline and sometimes a different departure city.
Iberia does not levy the same aggressive carrier-imposed surcharges as British Airways. A business-class reward from Madrid to the US can cost a fraction of the fees you would pay on a BA metal flight from London. And because both airlines use Avios, the points cost is broadly comparable — often identical on routes that fall in the same distance band.
Combine that with the fact that a cheap positioning flight from the UK to Madrid (Ryanair and Vueling both serve this route heavily) lets you start your long-haul journey from Spain, and you sidestep both the BA surcharge and the punishing UK Air Passenger Duty in one move. For a couple flying Club World return, that can represent a saving of well over £500 compared with the same trip on BA from Heathrow.
| Route (return, business class) | BA from London | Iberia from Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| To New York | ~£499 in taxes & fees | ~£150–£200 in taxes & fees |
| To Buenos Aires | ~£550+ in taxes & fees | ~£170–£230 in taxes & fees |
| To Bogotá | ~£480+ in taxes & fees | ~£140–£190 in taxes & fees |
Figures are indicative and based on September 2026 searches. Actual amounts fluctuate with route, date and currency. Always confirm the cash total at the point of booking.
Create an Iberia Plus account
If you do not already have one, sign up at iberia.com. The account must be at least 90 days old before you can transfer Avios into it, so set one up now even if you are not ready to book yet.
Transfer your Avios
Move Avios from your BA Executive Club account (or Aer Lingus AerClub) into Iberia Plus via the "Combine my Avios" feature on avios.com. Transfers are 1:1 and usually instant, though they can occasionally take 24 hours. Make sure your name and details match exactly across both accounts.
Search for availability
Search on iberia.com using your Iberia Plus login and select "Use Avios". You can also search on ba.com which often shows Iberia-operated flights — but compare the cash fees on both sites, as BA sometimes adds higher charges for partner bookings.
Book the flight
If not using a BA companion voucher, book directly on iberia.com for the lowest fees. If you are using a companion voucher, you must book on ba.com — the voucher is valid on Iberia-operated flights booked through BA.
Add a positioning flight
Book a separate cheap flight from the UK to Madrid (or whichever Iberia hub you are departing from). This is not part of your Avios booking — it is a standalone cash ticket, usually under £50 on a low-cost carrier.
The 90-day trap. The most common mistake is forgetting to open the Iberia Plus account early enough. If your account is under 90 days old when you try to transfer Avios, the system will block the move. Create the account today — it costs nothing.
The BA Amex companion voucher works on Iberia-operated flights when booked through ba.com, halving the Avios cost on top of the lower surcharges. It is the single best way to fly Iberia business class for less.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Full disclosure.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Full disclosure.
Aer Lingus operates a growing transatlantic network from Dublin and Shannon, and its reward flights come with considerably lower surcharges than BA. Departing from Ireland also means no UK Air Passenger Duty. For UK-based travellers, a Ryanair or Aer Lingus hop to Dublin, followed by an Avios business-class reward across the Atlantic, is a tried-and-tested formula.
Avios transfer 1:1 into AerClub (Aer Lingus’s loyalty programme) just as they do into Iberia Plus, and there is no 90-day waiting period — transfers are available immediately. Off-peak business class from Dublin to the US East Coast starts at 50,000 Avios each way; West Coast at 62,500 Avios.
Extend beyond Dublin for just 4,000 Avios
Aer Lingus allows you to add a connecting European flight to your transatlantic reward for a small Avios supplement, effectively making Dublin a gateway to the rest of Europe on your return.
Iberia and Aer Lingus are the headline acts, but they are not the only way to dodge surcharges. Several oneworld partners carry minimal fees when booked with Avios:
| Airline | Best for | Typical fees |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | US domestic flights | Minimal — often just $5.60 per sector in security fees |
| Qatar Airways | Middle East, Asia, Australasia | Moderate — much lower than BA on comparable routes |
| Japan Airlines (JAL) | Japan domestic & intra-Asia | Very low taxes on Japanese domestic sectors |
| Cathay Pacific | Asia & long-haul from Hong Kong | Moderate — significantly less than BA long-haul |
| Alaska Airlines | US West Coast domestic | Minimal — similar to American Airlines |
Some countries (including Japan, Australia and Brazil) restrict or prohibit fuel surcharges on flights departing their territory, so bookings originating from those regions often carry especially low fees regardless of the airline.
British Airways does offer a partial answer to its own surcharge problem. The Reward Flight Saver (RFS) option lets you pay more Avios in exchange for a capped, predictable cash fee. On short-haul European flights the cash portion can drop to as low as £1, making RFS superb value within Europe.
On long-haul routes, RFS still trades Avios for a lower cash bill, but the trade-off is steeper — you are paying significantly more Avios to reduce the cash outlay. Whether that is a good deal depends on how you value your Avios. RFS is available in economy, premium economy and business class but not First Class, and requires you to have earned at least one Avios in the past 12 months.
RFS only applies to BA-operated flights. It does not cover partner airlines or franchise services, and every segment of your booking must be eligible. If one leg is not, RFS pricing disappears for the whole journey.
A companion voucher halves the Avios cost of a reward flight. Stack that on top of Iberia's low surcharges and you have the cheapest way to fly business class on points from the UK.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Full disclosure.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Full disclosure.
A “positioning flight” is a separate, cheap ticket you buy to get yourself to the departure city of your Avios reward. It is not part of the reward booking — just a standalone fare on a low-cost carrier. The saving on surcharges and APD almost always dwarfs the cost of the positioning leg.
Build in a buffer. Book your positioning flight to arrive the day before your long-haul reward departs. If the positioning flight is delayed or cancelled, your Avios ticket is a separate booking and the airline has no obligation to wait for you.
The AviosArcana Editorial Team
We decode the British Airways loyalty programme in plain English, cross-checking every figure against BA’s published rules. We only recommend products we would use ourselves — and we tell you plainly when a redemption or card is not worth it.