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There are few things more annoying in the travel world than giving up some of your hard-earned miles and points only to find out that you ALSO have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in airline fuel surcharges. Ostensibly, these fuel surcharges were implemented several years ago to help combat the rising cost of fuel. But when fuel prices went back down, “fuel” surcharges remained in place. When paying cash for a ticket, these fuel surcharges are included in the cost of your ticket; you probably don't even notice them. But when redeeming miles for an award flight, in many cases you also have to pay these fuel surcharges.
While some airlines don't levy fuel surcharges, British Airways is known for charging pretty hefty fuel surcharges. But if you have the British Airways Visa Signature® Card (Rates & Fees), you can get up to $200 in rebates (per booking) to cover award taxes and fees, available up to three times a year. That's a potential savings of $600 every year. Let's look at how this benefit works.
- Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
- Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL.
- Earn 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
- 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.
- Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you'll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad.
- Simply tap to pay with your contactless British Airways Visa Signature Card. Just look for the contactless symbol at checkout. It's fast, easy and secure!
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 3X Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL
- 2X Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations
- 1X Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
How To Save Up to $600 Annually With British Airways
With this benefit, you can claim up to $200 (awarded in the form of a statement credit) for a transatlantic flight. The amount of the rebate depends on the class of service you book for your award ticket:
- Get a $100 credit for economy (World Traveler).
- Get a $100 credit for premium economy (World Traveler Plus).
- Get a $200 credit for business class (Club World).
- Get a $200 credit for first class.
You can claim a credit on three bookings per year, worth up to $600 in statement credits. This applies as long as you use your British Airways Visa Card card to pay the taxes, fees, and surcharges on your award booking. Note that these amounts are per booking, not per passenger. For example, you will only receive a $100 credit for an economy flight under this benefit, even if there are two or more passengers on the reservation.
Why This Benefit Is a Huge Win
British Airways Executive Club can be an incredibly useful loyalty program, thanks to the unique way it prices award tickets. Instead of paying a flat rate from the U.S. to Europe, the Avios points required for an award will be based on the distance you fly. Sometimes, that means you'll pay far fewer Avios when taking shorter flights.
The problem when it comes to British Airways award tickets is that the program imposes huge out-of-pocket costs when you redeem Avios. Most of those fees can be blamed on a single factor: the dreaded fuel surcharge. On flights operated by British Airways, you have to pay this “fuel” surcharge, even when you’re redeeming points for your flight. Until now, our advice to maximize value with Avios points has been to avoid British Airways flights like the plague. Why? When you fly with partner airlines like Iberia or American Airlines, you won't pay these huge fuel surcharges, even when making redemptions through British Airways' reward program.
But this benefit means that Chase is sharing a significant part of the cost to book British Airways award flights when you pay the taxes and fees with your British Airways Visa Card.
The Fine Print
The only awards that qualify for this deal are British Airways flights departing from the U.S. and crossing the Atlantic. It's fine if other flights on your itinerary are with partner airlines, so long as the U.S. to Europe transatlantic flight is with British Airways. For example, you could connect from your hometown to New York on American Airlines and connect from England to Spain on Iberia while using this benefit, so long as the flight from New York to London is operated by BA. Additionally, the award travel must be booked from the primary cardmember's Executive Club account.
You must cover the taxes, fees, and surcharges of the flight with your British Airways Visa Card to get the rewards. Chase reserves the right to reverse the credit if the flight is canceled. Otherwise, the reward should show up in your account within 45 days as a statement credit.
Related: How To Search and Book British Airways Avios Award Flights
Our Take
Transatlantic British Airways awards have some pretty steep surcharges. One-way business- and first-class redemptions can come with taxes and fees well above $500. Economy and premium-economy flights are a bit more reasonable, but one-way award fees can easily exceed $200, depending on the flight.
Based on the language in the terms and conditions, it seems reasonable to assume that you will still get a credit (but only one credit) if you book a round-trip award ticket that also includes a return westbound flight from Europe to the U.S. It's also good news that you can include partners for the non-transatlantic segments of the trip. That means you could include a flight on American Airlines if you don't live in a U.S. city served by BA, and you can continue on from London to another European destination with a partner like Iberia without affecting your eligibility for the credit.
However, you won't get a credit for a one-way trip booked from London to the U.S., and it isn't clear whether you'll get a credit for a round trip that originates in the U.K. (In other words, if your first transatlantic flight is westbound, does flying back from the U.S. to the U.K. still trigger the credit if that flight is operated by British Airways?) We'll continue to update this post as we learn more.
Regardless, this benefit has a huge impact on the value of the British Airways Visa Card. If you can use the credit on a single economy flight, you've covered the card's annual fee of $95.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: British Airways Visa Signature® Card (Rates & Fees)
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