Calchas

Removed

onlysuites

So were you allowed the open Jaws in the end?

s1362083

Still being processed! Starting to wonder whether its worth the faff

onlysuites

Keep us posted. ^

lehovec

Any news? Did you manage to get it ticketed?

Woodbinerich

Resuscitating this, as just about to try something along these lines myself and wanted to see if it ever got ticketed?

Woodbinerich

So I started talking to the GGL line about booking one of these now. Original plan was 13 segment 43,000 miler, with three BA segments ( D class return to GRU and D class oneway to Moscow), rest on partners - mixture of TAM, JL, CX and MH).

After a good start (and then a long delay in ticketing), i seem to have hit a snag/unexpected issue (which can be dealt with but makes my GUF impossible to use on this booking). I can share the (yet to be ticketed) itinerary, but basically I was told that any BA legs:

1. Can be ticketed in the same PNR
2. But don't count towards the mileage bands and are priced (on top) at the standard BA rates.

The agent I am speaking to is fairly knowledgeable and I don't want to challenge too much/waste her or my time, but also don't want to give in on my original plan if this is not correct - noting this is a slightly complex area. BA seem willing to help with this overall ticket.

So the question is - does anyone have experience of redeeming one of these with BA legs as some sectors and those legs being included in the main redemption cost bands. Or is the consensus these redemptions must solely be on partner carriers.

BA6501

Um... nonsense. The entire thing is distance based, BA flights or not.

You can have as many airlines in the PNR (including BA) as you wish, but there can only be a maximum of 8 flights. Don't try to go over this to avoid a huge headache later on.

Woodbinerich

Helpful - thank you.

Just trying to get some datapoints here, as there are almost no rules published on this that I can find and you can be at risk of getting an agent who hasn't done this before, or will stand their ground on something even if it is wrong.

It didn't sound correct, but didn't want to push it further without tapping into the wisdom here.

Out of interest have you booked one of these. It's the first time I heard of the 8 flight concept. Is this sectors or flights (i.e. with a stopover). Is the issue one of booking and ticketing ("the huge headache") or later.

Thanks in advance.

BA6501

I have booked a couple, and they are a right pain to deal with (after finding an agent who can do it).

They have to be sent down to get manually ticketed, and at that point they double (triple) check everything again, which can take a day or two. Two of mine got caught at this stage, but I was not told until I called back to enquire.

Once I was called back a few days after ticketing as they had only quoted half the required Avios and it was basically a "debit the full amount or refund" choice.

If you go over 8 segments and by magic it passes through all the checks, then you will certainly not be able to make any changes later on. The 8 segment rule is in the BAEC terms & conditions under Spending Avios.

BA6501

Forgot to add - 8 segments refer to 8 flights. BA15 LHR-SIN-SYD is one, AA705 FRA-CLT-SFO is one, etc.

Woodbinerich

Thank for all of this information. It's extremely useful.
Now I just need to find someone at BA to help me with this!!!
Any other thoughts/tips welcome from others...

guv1976

I assume that you are referring to this language in the BAEC Terms & Conditions:

"Rewards are based on round trip travel between origin and destination using the most direct route possible. Rewards may be for more than one flight sector. On no more than one occasion per Reward may a flight sector commence at a different point from the end of the preceding flight sector. It is possible to combine flights on British Airways and Service Partner airlines to make a round trip journey of up to a maximum of 8 sectors."

I'm not saying that you are wrong, but a distance-based, multi-partner redemption does not necessarily have to be for roundtrip travel, and I'm pretty sure that it does not have to use "the most direct route possible," since the award price is determined by total distance. So it's not clear to me whether the quoted language is what actually applies to such redemptions.

Perhaps someone from BA who sees this thread could post the rules applicable to multi-partner redemptions -- if they are different.

HIDDY

I would have thought if this was such a great use of Avios it would have been very well publicised by now. The silence on here and elsewhere tends to tell me it's not.

guv1976

It can provide significant savings for long-distance Business Class travel, since the multiplier for Business Class on multi-partner redemptions is 2X, versus 3X for Business Class on conventional long-distance redemptions.