Fly British Airways to London for Half the Fees Using This Trick

We all know to avoid flying British Airways to London. Although there’s good award availability and decent redemptions, the fees you’ll incur can jump up to nearly $1,000 one-way when flying business of first class.

But did you know there’s a way to make it affordable? We didn’t either — that is, until a lucky stumble led to flights over to London Heathrow (LHR) for half the cost. Here’s how we did it, plus whether it’s worth the effort.

Halve Your Fees When Flying British Airways

British Airways’ surcharges are no joke. Take a look at how much you’ll pay to fly from Miami (MIA) to London (LHR) in business class when redeeming your Alaska Airlines miles:

While 55,000 miles is actually pretty decent when it comes to award pricing, most of us are using miles to reduce our out-of-pocket costs — not pay $996 in cash on top of our miles. Yikes.

But what happens when you switch your flight to depart from Bermuda (BDA)? Weirdly, the cost is cut in half.

Not only that, you’ll save 10,000 miles for your troubles. The same is true of first class, though the award price goes up to 67,500 miles one-way:

Is It Worth It?

It can be a tough sell asking someone to add a connection to their trip, especially when they’re flying in a premium cabin. But let’s look at the details here, using a flight from Miami as an example.

First, British Airways flies its A380 on its direct routes from Miami to London. While the idea of getting to fly on a double-decker plane is cool, its premium cabins are very outdated.

Take, for example, the business-class cabin, which features seats that allow you to stare directly at your seatmate.

While there is a divider that can be raised, it must be down during takeoff and landing. At these times, there’s nothing separating you and your new best friend but a couple of inches of air. Ask us how we know.

In contrast, flights taking off from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA) feature British Airway’s new business class seats. These include doors with which to shut away the world.

If a much better flight experience and saving $500 in fees doesn’t entice you, how about finding out that it’s really cheap and easy to get to Bermuda?

Here’s an example of a nonstop flight from Miami to Bermuda using 7,500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles:

All told, that means you’ll end up spending 52,500 miles and $473 for your flight from Miami to London with a connection in Bermuda. Granted, one leg (under 3 hours) of it is in economy, but the long-haul leg is in British Airways’ new business class seat.

Compare this to the 55,000 miles and $996 you’ll pay to fly direct in a subpar cabin, and it quickly becomes enticing to make a stopover in Bermuda.

The best part is that you’ll find cheap flights to Bermuda from all over the U.S. Even New York offers good availability, with flights as low as 5,000 JetBlue TrueBlue points each (and it’s just a 2-hour flight).

Final Thoughts

Not everyone will want to fly to Bermuda to save a bunch of money. Those located in New York, for example, will be adding several hours to their commute by going the wrong direction to Bermuda before heading to London. That being said, this is an interesting trick to use and a new route to check in the event you can’t find other award space. Just don’t get lost in the triangle.