UC reward LHR / Hong Kong return
 

We were looking at booking 2 x return reward flights from LHR Hong Kong.
New off peak reward is 115,000 air miles each plus approx £600 cash each
( taxes and fees )

However what would happen if I book the Hong Kong to LHR as a one way reward
57,500 and approx 350HKD ( £35 ) taxes and fees

And later that evening I was to book LHR to Hong Kong separately showing as 57,500 plus £300 taxes and fees

Although mileage redemption is the same taxes and fees are considerably lower by approx £250 per person or £500 per couple.

Would this be allowed by airline or would it be an issue ie when we book the second sector it would flag as a return and extra fees will be added ?

I would be grateful for any advice

yes you can do this

no it won't be an issue.

The most likely problem you'll have is availability of the reward flights as that constantly changes.

Not an issue at all.

Even when I'm not specifically visiting Hong Kong I try to book a one-way home from there due to the lack of surcharges.

Great thanks very much for clarification. Much appreciated

I noticed the same in Economy (£281 for a return vs £181 + HK$330 for singles) and assumed this was probably an error. Sadly nowhere near enough miles to book a higher class.

I was planning on opening a second browser and going through the booking simultaneously, to avoid any issues with one leg becoming unavailable.

You're more likely to have IT issues from being logged in at two different places than to lose award space in the space of a couple of minutes.

Book the ex-HKG leg first. Even if a catastrophe happens and you need to cancel, you only lose the HK$330 (the cancellation fee is never higher than what you originally paid in taxes and surcharges).