Originally Posted by
Pawel Siewko
I thought that we were protected free rebooking because of delayed flight ...yes but only if you paid for ticket don't use avios....
Actually, even this assumption is incorrect. Having paid cash for your tickets does not necessarily get you any more protection. You could have paid cash for these tickets and found yourself in exactly the same position.
The only way of guaranteeing protection is to make sure that the flights are on one ticket. If that would mean paying a higher fare, or giving up the chance to use Avios, then you have to make a decision about what you value more.