I am really confused by this. I booked a return business class ticket and decided to pay a part of it with Avios. During the booking process, I was a bit surprised that I had to fill in most of my personal information that is usually autocompleted, but didn't care much about it. After I paid the cash remainder with my credit card and the ticket was issued, I noticed that I wasn't actually logged in (hence having to complete all my personal info manually). So I logged in and noticed that my ticket was not in "my bookings" and no Avios were taken from my account. However, I can perfectly see and manage my reservation via MMB and got my e-ticket by email. My understanding is that I ended up buying the ticket as a "guest" but never realised until much later.

I had been looking for flights on BA's website earlier today and picked up where I left off, somewhere in the middle of a booking. My guess is that using that "stale" reservation page let me go on without ever detecting I was logged off and let me complete my purchase. In the end, I bought a ticket with an Avios discount but those Avios were never taken from my account because I wasn't actually logged in. This means I only paid like 40% (cash) of the full price and no Avios at all (!).

A few questions if this has happened to anyone before:

1. Will the Avios be taken from my account sometime in the future or can I assume they will never be taken? I read a story from someone who said their Avios were taken on the day of the flight in 2016... Is that something that happens today? I booked another ticket earlier today using Avios+money too and the Avios left my account immediately (I was definitely logged on).

2. There is nowhere in my e-ticket receipt (email or website) that states I paid part of it with Avios. Can BA come back to me later claiming back these Avios if there is nothing that says this in my receipt?

3. How would BA know what account to take the Avios from in the future if I completed the reservation as a guest? The name on the ticket could be someone else.

4. What will happen if I use up my Avios now and BA tries to take the Avios for the flight later in the future when my balance is insufficient?

5. Having reviewed the (poor) rate at which I used my Avios for this partial payment, I am a bit tempted to cancel my flight altogether, since I'm still within the 24-hour grace period. However, part of me thinks that if those Avios will never be taken from my account, then I would have got a great deal by sheer luck. What are the chances of this actually happening? Should I just cancel my flight and get a refund before the 24 hours if I feel I got a bad Avios deal and there's a very slim chance they won't deduct my Avios?

6. As I didn't have my BA Exec Club number with me when I booked, I didn't add it to my reservation. Now I'm thinking if adding my frequent flyer number would give them the link they need to know what account they could take the Avios from, although that might not necessarily be the buyer's account (i.e. I could buy a ticket for someone else that shouldn't take the hit). If I wanted to maximise the chances of not having the Avios taken, would it be wiser to claim mileage after my trip?

Sorry for the long post, but I'm really confused and would appreciate your advice. The idea of having bought a ticket for a fraction of its price is very appealing to be honest, but I wouldn't want to end up in trouble later.

Thanks!