Lower Taxes on UK Award Redemption

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On taxes and the beautiful UK - 🇬🇧 The UK is one of the most magical places in the world, and a country that you can keep going back to. Incredible landscapes and countryside, historical cities, and beautiful architecture. Miles & points are a great way to explore this country.

However, one thing that the #ccgeeks & the #milesfreaks cannot help but keep getting smacked on the face with is - fees. These charges on award tickets for a trip to the UK can potentially be as high as an economy revenue ticket. So, what can be done? Let's see. 👇

First, let's take care of the outbound leg - DEL - LHR. Below is a table with the miles requirement for both Y and J and the associated charges. For the sake of this thread, we will consider the transfer partners available on Axis, only & one additional program - LifeMiles. 👇

As can be seen, the charges on the DEL - LHR leg can be lowered by simply choosing the right FFP (Frequent Flyer Program). ✅

Now, what about the return leg - LHR - DEL? The same table is below. 👇 As is clear, there are no saviors on this leg. Thanks to the high APD (Air Passenger Duty) that is levied when flying out of the UK, especially LHR, the fees on this redemption is always on the higher side.

But what if instead of LHR, we fly out of some other airport in the UK? Say MAN or BHX? Since LHR has a higher APD than these airports, you will only marginally reduce the fees, should you use to take this route. Decent but not good enough. ❌

If you really want to save on the fees, here is a solution that is both feasible and doable. Instead of flying out of the UK, let's see what happens if we fly out DUB - Dublin. Voila! Much much better. 🎉 ❓ But why DUB?

👉 Firstly, no high APD on flights from DUB, as can be seen above. 👉 Second, you won't need a separate visa, you can get to Ireland with your UK Visa. 👉 Third, it is a short flight from London with plenty of LCCs operating on this route, just look at some of the fares below.

So yea, that UK trip is definitely doable with low taxes, surcharges, and associated fees by just being a little creative. 😀 The idea of this thread is to just give you an idea of how to move things around and get a favorable award redemption. This is no hard and fast rule.

So with all of this information, which do you think is the best FFP for a trip to the UK? Comment below with your thoughts. 👇 To make it easier, here is a link to a notion page with all these tables: cutt.ly/uk-award-taxes

One last thing - if this thread gets sufficient likes and retweets, I'll share something even more exciting later this week. 😉 Till then you can read my other threads here: typefully.com/thetrickytrade Wish you all a Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays.