What the hecks going on with Taxes & Fees?
#16
#17
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: BA GGL, LH FTL
Posts: 3,577
They are really going for it. I'm tracking taxes and fees on https://speedbird.online/fares_taxes.php
Random example: LHR-JFK-LHR in J
YQ April 2021: £400
YQ Feb 2022: £500
YQ today: £700
Somewhat beating the rate of inflation... Looks like I need to update that data...
Random example: LHR-JFK-LHR in J
YQ April 2021: £400
YQ Feb 2022: £500
YQ today: £700
Somewhat beating the rate of inflation... Looks like I need to update that data...
#18
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,325
hi
Just out of interest I priced a lhr to jfk Club or first flight to New York or washington at the end of april
yq alone is £700
total fees are now £992
From edi the fees are now £1000
Looks like a significant increase in the last few days as last time I checked fees were only c£730 iirc
regards
tbs
Ps dubai is still reasonable at only gbp 606 for taxes and fees
The surcharge does seem to have gone up very quickly and by some of the largest amounts in one go in memory
Just out of interest I priced a lhr to jfk Club or first flight to New York or washington at the end of april
yq alone is £700
total fees are now £992
From edi the fees are now £1000
Looks like a significant increase in the last few days as last time I checked fees were only c£730 iirc
regards
tbs
Ps dubai is still reasonable at only gbp 606 for taxes and fees
The surcharge does seem to have gone up very quickly and by some of the largest amounts in one go in memory
A grand cash and earn a fist full of Avios and TPs or £900 “taxes” and 100k Avios for a redemption.
#20
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYZ
Programs: BA Gold/Marriott Gold/HH Diamond/IC Plat Amba
Posts: 5,988
Been this high for about a year ex-NA for J rewards and upgrades from WT+. I don't even want to look what they are now ex-NA. I'm just burning my Avios these days on reducing the cash component of fares.
#21
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 113
Absolutely ridiculous price increases imo and completely unjustified given the price of oil at the moment is unstable, having gone up and now down a decent bit again and there is no way of knowing what the trend will be.
I just found TAP flights from LON - NYC in September for £1,100. At this point, what is the point in having Avios at all if you’re only saving £200 using a boatload of Avios?
Transferring to Nectar at least I wouldn’t have to pay for my shopping for more than 6 months.
I’m seriously considering dumping my BA credit card and just getting a standard Amex where I can transfer to a better partner.
I just found TAP flights from LON - NYC in September for £1,100. At this point, what is the point in having Avios at all if you’re only saving £200 using a boatload of Avios?
Transferring to Nectar at least I wouldn’t have to pay for my shopping for more than 6 months.
I’m seriously considering dumping my BA credit card and just getting a standard Amex where I can transfer to a better partner.
#22
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, ZSL Silver
Posts: 2,549
What’s the deal with UUA? I have two potential scenarios; a) availability comes up for the return sector (outbound already in J) before travel, and b) an Avios seat turns up after the outbound has been flown.
I’m assuming for a) it will just be the extra YQ for that sector and the outbound won’t be repriced at the higher YQ? For b) would they give historical YQ (it was £400 return at time of booking) or does that just apply to the base fare?
I’m assuming for a) it will just be the extra YQ for that sector and the outbound won’t be repriced at the higher YQ? For b) would they give historical YQ (it was £400 return at time of booking) or does that just apply to the base fare?
#23
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,013
The Avios collection game is finished for me. Game over with this latest increase but in any case I stopped the BA premium card at the beginning of Covid and can't envisage a scenario when I'd renew. Just can't justify chasing Avios when the taxes are so high. I'll pay for leisure CE/CW as and when it merits.
#24
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 215
What’s the deal with UUA? I have two potential scenarios; a) availability comes up for the return sector (outbound already in J) before travel, and b) an Avios seat turns up after the outbound has been flown.
I’m assuming for a) it will just be the extra YQ for that sector and the outbound won’t be repriced at the higher YQ? For b) would they give historical YQ (it was £400 return at time of booking) or does that just apply to the base fare?
I’m assuming for a) it will just be the extra YQ for that sector and the outbound won’t be repriced at the higher YQ? For b) would they give historical YQ (it was £400 return at time of booking) or does that just apply to the base fare?
#25
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Paris
Programs: AA LT Plat (4m+), AF Plat, A3 Gold, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat/Ambassador
Posts: 2,645
Just out of curiosity, is this also the case if you search on Iberia.com?
The YQ tend to be lower there.
I ticketed three MAD-JFK tickets in J with Avios transferred to IB because the YQ was literally HALF...
Checking the same dates on Iberia.com the YQ has not increased whereas on BA.com it has. That said I just looked at my flights, so not entirely scientific.
The YQ tend to be lower there.
I ticketed three MAD-JFK tickets in J with Avios transferred to IB because the YQ was literally HALF...
Checking the same dates on Iberia.com the YQ has not increased whereas on BA.com it has. That said I just looked at my flights, so not entirely scientific.
#26
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,872
Interestingly just pricing up a cash booking for LHR-JFK return in J the TFC figure is shown as £992.16 with a YQ of £700, this is also the same for a F cash ticket with the same level of YQ.
When pricing up a reward in J the initial estimate at the bottom of the flight selection screen is £990.16, but when clicking through the TFC figure is £842.16 which has a YQ of £550. Has it just not been updated yet for some reward bookings? Usually TFC should be the same for a reward and equivalent cash booking.
When pricing up a reward in J the initial estimate at the bottom of the flight selection screen is £990.16, but when clicking through the TFC figure is £842.16 which has a YQ of £550. Has it just not been updated yet for some reward bookings? Usually TFC should be the same for a reward and equivalent cash booking.
#27
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,546
What’s the deal with UUA? I have two potential scenarios; a) availability comes up for the return sector (outbound already in J) before travel, and b) an Avios seat turns up after the outbound has been flown.
I’m assuming for a) it will just be the extra YQ for that sector and the outbound won’t be repriced at the higher YQ? For b) would they give historical YQ (it was £400 return at time of booking) or does that just apply to the base fare?
I’m assuming for a) it will just be the extra YQ for that sector and the outbound won’t be repriced at the higher YQ? For b) would they give historical YQ (it was £400 return at time of booking) or does that just apply to the base fare?
#28
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, ZSL Silver
Posts: 2,549
They’d reprice the entire journey, even though it’s an underlying cash fare? The ticket has AA connections, too.
#29
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,059
You’re right, it absolutely should be. I wonder if in their haste to hike prices they missed something. Remember that YQ is actually designed to gouge corporate customers, it’s just there are some (convenient) rules that mean it has to apply equally across the board, so collecting on redemptions is an added bonus for them. I’d expect it to even out pretty quickly over the coming days.