The APD charges aren't large enough to make me want to avoid them however some taxes/charges on awards are but there has to be for a reason for doing it besides saving money.
Flying to the UK from EZE via MAD actually makes the journey more enjoyable. It shortens the long haul sector into a more manageable length plus offers a daylight flight back which is the biggest bonus for me. Madrid is a nice city to stopover and when using Avios transferred into IB you save hundreds of pounds on the taxes....far more than the cost of a hotel for a night or two.
I really don't fancy doing all that hopping off then getting back on the same plane to end up back where I started malarkey. The wife wouldn't be too pleased with it either. However, if the savings were enough +£1000 I'd be tempted.
Just to add I take advantage of BA's RFS awards for the MAD -UK flights.
Last edited by HIDDY; May 26, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Reason: Clarification.