Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: IAD/DCA, USA (MD Suburbs)
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, HH Diamond, Fairmont RIP, Hertz Plat, BA Gold
Posts: 1,622
Delay in Ticketing while Processing GUF2; BA refuses old fare
Hope the wise people here on Flyertalk have some sage advice. I was trying to redeem my first GUF2 last week and thought everything was all set when I saw my booking online. I selected my seats (1A&B on the 747!) I made reservations for hotels and friends booked flights to join us on holiday. However this morning I receive a call from the Travel Agent that BA is now refusing to ticket the reservation because the fare expired while they were going through the process of getting my GUF2 redeemed.
I have been watching the J fares on this route for quite some time and over the past couple of years, there have been fare sales for around $2,000 for business class (GUF to FIRST). I finally received my Google fare alert that the price dropped to about $2,300 on the route so I contacted the Travel Agency and booked the flights (there was not Z available for both transatlantic flights so had to use a TA). I received a call this morning that there was a delay in ticketing and now the fare has doubled to $4,000. (route is IAD-BLQ in October)
So, now my GUF2 is gone out of my account and I don't know what my options are. The Travel Agency tried to find alternative routes but nothing coming up. I can book WTP and upgrade to CLUB, but the fare ends up being higher that the CLUB fare I got last week (after taxes, etc). Finding good ex-USA fares is tough and if this is what I have to look forward to, then using GUFs from the US is going to be near impossible unless I find a route that has a couple Z class awards and I can book immediately online.