Nov 17, 2019, 2:13 am
Last edit by: Prospero
Same Day Change (SDC) is known as Free Change on the Day (FCOD) within BA. It is available on Plus and CE revenue tickets, single and return, so long as they are not complicated. It is not available on Avios tickets, redemption tickets issued to other frequent flyer schemes, to open jaw tickets, on carriage (tickets with connections) or any other sort of complexity. Also previously changing a ticket with SDC (FCOD) may make it ineligible for SDC, for example if it now becomes open jaw.
You can change the ticket online, via the Contact Centre or at the airport, but see the thread for details and experiences. You can change only after local midnight - up to one hour before departure - for the leg concerned, and only on to another flight on the same route, you can't switch arrival or departure airport at all. If you want to switch a LHR-NCE to LGW-NCE you would have to pay the fare difference and change fee, though in that example it wouldn't necessarily be a huge cost. If there is bad weather or operational problems BA may allow SDC/FCOD anyway, and that does allow a change to airports.
You can change the ticket online, via the Contact Centre or at the airport, but see the thread for details and experiences. You can change only after local midnight - up to one hour before departure - for the leg concerned, and only on to another flight on the same route, you can't switch arrival or departure airport at all. If you want to switch a LHR-NCE to LGW-NCE you would have to pay the fare difference and change fee, though in that example it wouldn't necessarily be a huge cost. If there is bad weather or operational problems BA may allow SDC/FCOD anyway, and that does allow a change to airports.
FAQ: Same Day Changes (SDC) and Free Change on the Day (FCOD) on BA tickets
Aug 17, 2017, 6:06 am
#61
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
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Posts: 5,227
Thanks CWS, as always, really appreciate your assistance and happy for this to be merged. I was pretty sure I'd read through that thread but just wanted to check my understanding.
1) No service fee, there just needs to be one seat in the same cabin, even if it is Y (or J if in CE), and there's no fare difference involved. The ticket is revalidated but usually that takes a minute or two to do. You best do it via BA.com or the App, see below, but it can be done on the telephone or at the airport, just ensure you have a clear hour before both your new flight and your previous flight.
2) No, it's not interchangeable with other airports unless there are irrops and they lift that particular restriction. You can still pay for that, with the change fee and fare difference. If going from LHR to LGW then it may well be just the change fee.
3) If a corporate ticket, you best do it on BA.com and sign fully into BAEC. If a personal ticket, the App will be fine. The reason being that if you use the App, you are actually in a slightly different place than a full BA.com login, and on the "know your customer" principle, and the fact that a corporate ticket may not have been paid with a credit card, the App may request a credit card number to proceed.
4) No waitlisting is possible for this.
5) Yes, midnight for the departure airport. You sometimes have to wait a few minutes for BA's IT clock to catch up with the real time if they forgot to change the batteries recently. When you get a big "Consent" screen come up you know you're OK.
6) The main thread is here, with a lot more information:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...change-ba.html
I'll ask the Mods to consider moving this thread over, you ask some specific questions not in that thread.
2) No, it's not interchangeable with other airports unless there are irrops and they lift that particular restriction. You can still pay for that, with the change fee and fare difference. If going from LHR to LGW then it may well be just the change fee.
3) If a corporate ticket, you best do it on BA.com and sign fully into BAEC. If a personal ticket, the App will be fine. The reason being that if you use the App, you are actually in a slightly different place than a full BA.com login, and on the "know your customer" principle, and the fact that a corporate ticket may not have been paid with a credit card, the App may request a credit card number to proceed.
4) No waitlisting is possible for this.
5) Yes, midnight for the departure airport. You sometimes have to wait a few minutes for BA's IT clock to catch up with the real time if they forgot to change the batteries recently. When you get a big "Consent" screen come up you know you're OK.
6) The main thread is here, with a lot more information:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...change-ba.html
I'll ask the Mods to consider moving this thread over, you ask some specific questions not in that thread.
Aug 17, 2017, 6:25 am
#62
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Sorry one follow up - so it can be changed even if OLCI completed [and BP issued] - I'm reading the bit about refreshing the app? What if I've already bag dropped, can the change be done later (provided 1 hour before) and is the system clever enough to sort the bag barcode / biometrics and so on out?
Aug 17, 2017, 6:29 am
#63
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It can be done after OLCI, but you have to be offloaded before anything happens, and therefore it can't be done online, you have to call up or go to the airport. It doesn't take long to offload you. Personally I would defer OLCI if there was a chance that I'd avail of SDC (just then don't forget to check-in at all, as I nearly did once!). The bag is not usually easy to move (depends on the airport). Regardless of whether it is technically possible or not, I would say that once the bag is in the system you're not realistically able to change the booking. That really doesn't make sense anyway to my mind, since if you're at the airport you will know when the next available flight would be.
Aug 17, 2017, 6:34 am
#65
Join Date: Oct 2006
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It can be done after OLCI, but you have to be offloaded before anything happens, and therefore it can't be done online, you have to call up or go to the airport. It doesn't take long to offload you. Personally I would defer OLCI if there was a chance that I'd avail of SDC (just then don't forget to check-in at all, as I nearly did once!). The bag is not usually easy to move (depends on the airport). Regardless of whether it is technically possible or not, I would say that once the bag is in the system you're not realistically able to change the booking. That really doesn't make sense anyway to my mind, since if you're at the airport you will know when the next available flight would be.
Thanks again CWS.
Aug 17, 2017, 6:37 am
#67
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Aug 17, 2017, 6:41 am
#68
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
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Well i'm possibly the world's biggest cynic and my bag would probably end up at baggage claim in Heathrow rather than at my destination (hopefully they wouldn't treat it as Rush baggage in any circumstances, as that would be wrong especially in current climate). This is definitely a great benefit for CE though and agree easiest is just not to OLCI.
Feb 21, 2018, 12:54 pm
#70
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That unfortunately makes it inflexible, and unchangeable within 24 hours. I believe you can ask BAEC to cancel the UuA, to revert you back to the original fare (and thus enables SDC again), but if done in the final 24 hours you get nothing back. Basically best to regard UuA as taking away SDC.
Feb 23, 2018, 3:13 am
#72
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1) No service fee, there just needs to be one seat in the same cabin, even if it is Y (or J if in CE), and there's no fare difference involved. The ticket is revalidated but usually that takes a minute or two to do. You best do it via BA.com or the App, see below, but it can be done on the telephone or at the airport, just ensure you have a clear hour before both your new flight and your previous flight.
....
3) If a corporate ticket, you best do it on BA.com and sign fully into BAEC. If a personal ticket, the App will be fine. The reason being that if you use the App, you are actually in a slightly different place than a full BA.com login, and on the "know your customer" principle, and the fact that a corporate ticket may not have been paid with a credit card, the App may request a credit card number to proceed.
...
5) Yes, midnight for the departure airport. You sometimes have to wait a few minutes for BA's IT clock to catch up with the real time if they forgot to change the batteries recently. When you get a big "Consent" screen come up you know you're OK.
....
3) If a corporate ticket, you best do it on BA.com and sign fully into BAEC. If a personal ticket, the App will be fine. The reason being that if you use the App, you are actually in a slightly different place than a full BA.com login, and on the "know your customer" principle, and the fact that a corporate ticket may not have been paid with a credit card, the App may request a credit card number to proceed.
...
5) Yes, midnight for the departure airport. You sometimes have to wait a few minutes for BA's IT clock to catch up with the real time if they forgot to change the batteries recently. When you get a big "Consent" screen come up you know you're OK.
3. It was booked through a corporate travel agent, so when I tried to make the change on the app, it asked for the credit card number (which I don't know) so I couldn't proceed. I didn't try the full ba.com - would it have been possible there?
When my corp travel agent opened and I called them, it took 3 minutes and was a totally free change.
5. You're right you have to make the change on the day of departure only. Yesterday evening it would have cost Ł278
Feb 23, 2018, 3:19 am
#73
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Yes, it should have worked via BA.com for the reasons you quoted from my original post: if fully logged in first, the "know your customer" aspect is lined up at that point and you shouldn't be asked that question. There is a work around on the App which does work for me, which is to look for an Avios redemption (random location) and the App will ask for your BAEC login details. If you then quickly move to the SDC operation, without closing down the App, the Know Your Customer piece will be fulfilled and you may not get the credit card number
Mar 7, 2018, 10:56 am
#74
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 681
Slightly off topic, but hoping for some clarity. I know this SDC policy applies to CE bookings. Just want to confirm — It does NOT apply to CE flights which connect/same ticket to a long haul flight (restricted FC fare OTP-LHR- ORD)?
Issue is a relatively tight morning connection @LHR. Ideally would take the flight the night before — just two flights a day. Absent SDC, I guess I’d be stuck with a change fee/fare? Or does BA grant some flexibility for those booked in F (CE from OTP)? Appreciate any advice!
Issue is a relatively tight morning connection @LHR. Ideally would take the flight the night before — just two flights a day. Absent SDC, I guess I’d be stuck with a change fee/fare? Or does BA grant some flexibility for those booked in F (CE from OTP)? Appreciate any advice!
Mar 7, 2018, 11:05 am
#75
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 96
The flight needs to be on the same day as the one you are currently booked on, so your plan of "taking the flight the previous evening" would not work despite that flight being less than 24 hours before your original flight. The problem simply is that you can only change your flight (for free) at midnight of the day of your original flight - otherwise will incur change fees.
Hope that helps
Hope that helps