Death, taxes, and airline program devaluations – those are the only three certainties in life. The latest – or soon to be latest – victim? The British Airways Club.
The U.K.-carrier sent an email to Club members on Friday morning, informing them that reward flight prices will increase on May 27, 2026. Critically, this price hike will affect only the cash element of reward tickets (taxes and fees) – not the number of Avios needed for a redemption.
This is just the latest example of carriers raising fees under the cover of higher fuel costs. Air France/KLM Flying Blue led the charge, raising surcharges to as high as $700 for a business class flight across the Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic soon followed suit, hiking fees to nearly $1,000 for its own business class flights home from England.
In the other direction, a pair of Japanese airlines – JAL Mileage Bank and ANA Mileage Club – raised fuel surcharges in recent weeks after Cathay Pacific instituted not one, but two fee hikes of its own in just the last couple of months.
British Airways is already notorious for high taxes and fees, so while we don't yet know how bad the damage will be, this could make the program all but irrelevant for long-haul hops across the pond. If there's any saving grace, it's that British Airways had the decency to alert members to this change in advance, giving travelers a short window to book flights at the current price.
But even now, using Avios still doesn't come cheap. Depending on the route, British Airways charges anywhere from 88,000 to 110,000 Avios for its own transatlantic business class flights … and $400 to $500 in taxes and fees.
Take this business class flight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to London (LHR) for example. You'll already have to pay 99,000 Avios and $409 in taxes and fees. If that goes up to $500 or $600 next week, using Avios to book is an even harder sell.
The damage isn't quite as bad in the back of the plane, where a premium economy seat costs 66,000 Avios and $200 (or so) in taxes and fees. Could booking this flight still make sense with an extra $100 or so (just speculating) in taxes and fees? Maybe, but it starts to look like a pretty costly proposition.
Meanwhile, an economy class redemption from London to Chicago on British Airways will set you back 33,000 Avios and $120 in fees. We know the cash cost is going up there, too. Exactly how bad it will be is anyone's guess.
It's unclear whether this change will affect awards booked on partner carriers such as American Airlines. Using Avios to book transatlantic flights on AA isn't a terrible deal – just 68,500 each way in business class – until you see the cash component: $1,400-plus in taxes and fees. Considering that it isn't the most competitive amount of points and it's among the highest cash surcharges, this is already a pretty brutal option for most.
Before and after this change, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines remain the best options for booking British Airways flights to the U.K. For example, with JAL Mileage Bank, you could book this one-way business class flight from Boston (BOS) to London for just 42,000 miles and $219 in taxes and fees. Now that you can transfer points from Bilt, Capital One (at a sub-par ratio), and Rove directly to JAL, it's a much more realistic option.
So what can (and should) you do about it? Travelers planning trips later this year may want to consider locking in flights sooner rather than later. Booking flights with flexible change policies can give you the best of both worlds: locking in today’s prices while keeping the option to adjust your plans later if cheaper fares appear.
Whether it's a cash fare or an award ticket, price drops are still in the cards, so wait for an alert from Thrifty Traveler Premium or set a Google Flights price alert for a sign that prices have decreased.
Bottom Line
British Airways just sent out a notice that award fees are going up starting next week, May 27, 2026. We don't know exactly how bad the damage will be, but considering BA already tacks on some pretty egregious surcharges when using Avios, it won't be pretty.
The good news for anyone sitting on a stash of Avios is that the airline gave travelers a limited window to book now at the current, lower prices. Get to it!
