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BA American Express 2-4-1 Voucher Discussion

BA American Express 2-4-1 Voucher Discussion

Old Feb 10, 2020, 10:05 am
  #2026  
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Originally Posted by Steve in Olympia
And if you never book the inbound flight, does anyone know (or care)?
I have no idea, do you want to try?
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Old Feb 10, 2020, 10:45 am
  #2027  
 
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Originally Posted by KARFA
I have no idea, do you want to try?
Yes, I have done this.
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Old Feb 10, 2020, 10:54 am
  #2028  
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Originally Posted by Steve in Olympia
Yes, I have done this.
Good to hear. I guess the problem is that it probably is unlikely BA would spot it, there would be the small possibility they would.

I think the OP is trying to book one way in to the UK - I notice if I try and find availability on BA for a one way in to the UK using the voucher I get the following error message:

Sorry, your BA American Express Companion Voucher is available for travel from United Kingdom only. Please select a departure city/airport in United Kingdom.
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Old Feb 10, 2020, 11:03 am
  #2029  
 
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Originally Posted by KARFA
Good to hear. I guess the problem is that it probably is unlikely BA would spot it, there would be the small possibility they would.

I think the OP is trying to book one way in to the UK - I notice if I try and find availability on BA for a one way in to the UK using the voucher I get the following error message:
The OP's problem is that he/she wants to start the journey outside of the U.K., which is not permitted with the AmEx voucher. That is a completely separate issue from using the 2-4-1 voucher for a one-way trip, which is doable.
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Old Feb 10, 2020, 3:55 pm
  #2030  
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
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Thanks all, just spent 90 mins on the phone trying to get through to someone (as a lowly EC Blue) who took all of thirty seconds to confirm that UK issued Amex 241s cannot be used for anything other than a journey starting from the UK. And can confirm that one ways ex-UK are definitely doable, having done so myself in the past!
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Old Feb 11, 2020, 1:19 am
  #2031  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
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Originally Posted by Keystone
I think BA/Amex's policy has recently changed on this. I made an online outward 2-4-1 just before Christmas using Mrs K's voucher and with her as the lead traveller. The web site only offered me the option of using her Amex Card and I couldn't see how to change it to mine. When I rang (as her nominee) to make the inbound booking the agent specifically said the card must be the same name as the voucher. Does the Wiki need updating?
I don't think that is the case. We had a 241 trip planned and paid for but then changed it 6 months or so later when F became available. This ended up being a cancel and re-book, which I hadn't really thought through, as by then the card which earned the original voucher, and had paid the taxes, had been closed. It all worked - the taxes, points and voucher came back, we used it for the new booking and paid the new taxes with a new (Amex) card. The only hiccup was having to call amex to get the refund, which had been applied to a closed card, transferred across to an existing card.

I've just done a dummy 241 booking - the payment page defaults to my saved cards (strange, none of which is the 241 earning card - must fix that) and also gives the option to use a new card. So, I think the only stipulation is that you use an Amex to pay for 241 bookings.
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Old Feb 11, 2020, 6:29 am
  #2032  
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Originally Posted by KARFA
Really they can't be used one way other than if booking at the limits of availability and booking the outbound first and the inbound when that get's released. In any case they need to be an exUK return.
Our wikipost expressly says:-
Standard Voucher Terms and Conditions
  • ...
  • Valid towards return flights only, with the journey originating from and returning to your country of membership (with the exception of vouchers issued in the UK which may also be used for one-way travel)
  • ...
Although the T&C on ba.com haven't been updated, ISTR that using UK vouchers for one-way ex-UK trips was a specific change that was properly announced when it was introduced.
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Old Feb 11, 2020, 8:26 am
  #2033  
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Brighton UK
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Originally Posted by vintagepilot
I don't think that is the case. We had a 241 trip planned and paid for but then changed it 6 months or so later when F became available. This ended up being a cancel and re-book, which I hadn't really thought through, as by then the card which earned the original voucher, and had paid the taxes, had been closed. It all worked - the taxes, points and voucher came back, we used it for the new booking and paid the new taxes with a new (Amex) card. The only hiccup was having to call amex to get the refund, which had been applied to a closed card, transferred across to an existing card.

I've just done a dummy 241 booking - the payment page defaults to my saved cards (strange, none of which is the 241 earning card - must fix that) and also gives the option to use a new card. So, I think the only stipulation is that you use an Amex to pay for 241 bookings.
Agree. The rules might say somewhere that the card holder name must name that on the voucher but I've paid for Mrs Clam's booking and vice versa on Amex 2-4-1's I think as long as it's on an Amex then BA don't care even though it's probably written somewhere that they should. None have been cancelled by Amex yet ( fingers crossed!) and we've flown on one of them without issue doing it that way.
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Old Feb 13, 2020, 2:56 am
  #2034  
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: London, UK
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Originally Posted by wdcosta117
Feel like all i do is ask questions on here, so apologies.

Managed to book the 241 reward flight last night in CW to Male online

Now need to add the inbound flight T-355 by calling BA US or Japan office 12am here. However BA customer services mentioned that i can call a reward flight number thats associated to the voucher on the day as they are open till 1am. Looking for this number to no avail - though anyone else heard of this? Really dont want to take any risks on the inbound. Maybe best to stick to what people have advised on this topic and calling overseas BA customer services 10mins before midnight.
Hello All,



So as mentioned last week thought id provide you an update on the return redemption flight. Hopefully this helps someone as much as all the help I received from here.



Added the Vodafone international call bundle for 3 a month which gives you 100mins. (It auto renews every month so youll need to cancel it manually).

Called the US office at 11:40pm GMT the day before I needed to, to test the water. First point of contact is someone who direct your calls to the relevant team (this took a good 10mins). Kind of stumbled my words and was put through to new bookings. Once I got through - the kind customer service agent advised that I should ask for Avios and Miles Team (cant remember the exact name, though will edit the post once I remember) as they deal with these requests. All in all took around 15mins.



Next day waited again till 11:40pm this time it took me 5mins to get through to the first point of contact. Asked to speak to the Avios Team which took another 5mins. Went through security, the booking reference, and that was it. They knew exactly what I wanted and just confirmed it. The cringy part was keeping the lady on the phone for what seemed and eternity until it turned midnight. However she was lovely and was counting down the minutes with me with some brief chit chat in-between. 1minute to midnight she put me on hold and said she will come back once reserved. 5mins later she came back and pretended they went, before it set-in she said dont worry I have the tickets. Confirmed the price and Avios plus card paying with and was booked. She asked me to check my emails to make sure I have the confirmation and all details are correct.



So all in all went so smoothly and now have my 241 voucher booked to the Maldives in Club World both ways. May thanks to all that helped me, the wiki, and for others that had to read all my questions and bumping this topic to the first page for weeks.



Lastly BA Customer Services were absolutely brilliant. I did ask the agent while trying to kill time, what in her opinion was the hardest route to book on redemption as she just works on Avios bookings. Cape Town apparently.
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Old Feb 13, 2020, 6:15 am
  #2035  
 
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Originally Posted by wdcosta117
Hello All,



So as mentioned last week thought id provide you an update on the return redemption flight. Hopefully this helps someone as much as all the help I received from here.



Added the Vodafone international call bundle for 3 a month which gives you 100mins. (It auto renews every month so youll need to cancel it manually).

Called the US office at 11:40pm GMT the day before I needed to, to test the water. First point of contact is someone who direct your calls to the relevant team (this took a good 10mins). Kind of stumbled my words and was put through to new bookings. Once I got through - the kind customer service agent advised that I should ask for Avios and Miles Team (cant remember the exact name, though will edit the post once I remember) as they deal with these requests. All in all took around 15mins.



Next day waited again till 11:40pm this time it took me 5mins to get through to the first point of contact. Asked to speak to the Avios Team which took another 5mins. Went through security, the booking reference, and that was it. They knew exactly what I wanted and just confirmed it. The cringy part was keeping the lady on the phone for what seemed and eternity until it turned midnight. However she was lovely and was counting down the minutes with me with some brief chit chat in-between. 1minute to midnight she put me on hold and said she will come back once reserved. 5mins later she came back and pretended they went, before it set-in she said dont worry I have the tickets. Confirmed the price and Avios plus card paying with and was booked. She asked me to check my emails to make sure I have the confirmation and all details are correct.



So all in all went so smoothly and now have my 241 voucher booked to the Maldives in Club World both ways. May thanks to all that helped me, the wiki, and for others that had to read all my questions and bumping this topic to the first page for weeks.



Lastly BA Customer Services were absolutely brilliant. I did ask the agent while trying to kill time, what in her opinion was the hardest route to book on redemption as she just works on Avios bookings. Cape Town apparently.
Hi wdcosta117,

I was thinking about you this morning, hoping youd managed to bag your seats so it was lovely to read of your success and many congratulations.

Thanks also for reporting back on how it went too as others will find this useful.

Its all a bit scary when first starting out with these late night calls to grab the return seats but it becomes second nature after a few and of course, there should always be an element of flexibility, just in case. We were forced to stay an extra night when we were doing just this for our Maldives trip and couldnt quite get the dates we wanted but as you can imagine, we werent too upset! (I used to find I couldnt sleep for a couple of hours after a successful call as I was too excited!).

Now we have amassed quite a bank of Avios, we just book the returns online and claim the 50% back the next day - still a risk as others could be sweet talking the agents on the phone to block the seats the moment they become available as you did but weve done ok so far.

Thanks again for feeding back on your experience and your success - I wish you a wonderful trip and many more successes with this fantastic opportunity for long haul travel in comfort that has presented itself to us.
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Last edited by PlaneSpeaking; Feb 13, 2020 at 6:24 am
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Old Feb 13, 2020, 7:07 am
  #2036  
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Originally Posted by wdcosta117
Hello All,

<huge snip>
Lastly – BA Customer Services were absolutely brilliant. I did ask the agent while trying to kill time, what in her opinion was the hardest route to book on redemption as she just works on Avios bookings. Cape Town apparently.
Well done, and glad your efforts were rewarded!

You last paragraph I find quite interesting. We’ve done CPT on a 2-4-1 in Club World in 2016, 2017 and 2018 - and got the round trips booked at the same time without burning any midnight oil! OK, the first one was easy as it was the launch of the LGW-CPT route. I screwed up for 2019 by forgetting to try to book until far too late, and ended up paying QR.

For 2020 we’re going again on a 2-4-1, but this time I wasn’t able to book the round trip at the outset ... so grabbed a suitable available outbound over the phone and waited! Tracking https://rewardflightfinder.com over the next couple of weeks created a certain tension, as returns showed up ... and then disappeared. Eventually, one morning at around 0900, 2 return seats were showing on a suitable date, giving us just over 2 weeks down there. Quick call to the BA Gold line, return added, Avios adjusted and there in MMB is our e-ticket. No midnight phone calls, no lost sleep ... just flexibility and patience. That resulted in the outbound from LHR (747 - yay!) and return to LGW (777 - boo!)... and with the JER-LGW legs bolted on.

Perhaps we’ve just been extraordinarily lucky? These trips have been late-Nov and Dec, which is certainly ZA Summer!
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Last edited by T8191; Feb 13, 2020 at 12:01 pm
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Old Feb 15, 2020, 8:06 am
  #2037  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 63
Hi looking for advice on using my 2-4-1, trying to get to Vancouver. There’s currently some availability to SEA but not YVR around the time we want to travel. I’m thinking about booking the SEA flights and then keeping an eye to see if YVR availability shows up and changing if it does show up.

I read somewhere that changing North American flights wasn’t a great idea for some fee related reason but can’t seem to re-find that info.

My understanding is if availability to YVR came up after I book the SEA flights I’d pay a small change fee and otherwise it’s relatively simple. Is that true? Any downsides to booking SEA I’m not considering (onward travel to Vancouver notwithstanding)?

Thanks in advance
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Old Feb 15, 2020, 9:28 am
  #2038  
 
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Originally Posted by bestcoastflyer
Hi looking for advice on using my 2-4-1, trying to get to Vancouver. Theres currently some availability to SEA but not YVR around the time we want to travel. Im thinking about booking the SEA flights and then keeping an eye to see if YVR availability shows up and changing if it does show up.

I read somewhere that changing North American flights wasnt a great idea for some fee related reason but cant seem to re-find that info.

My understanding is if availability to YVR came up after I book the SEA flights Id pay a small change fee and otherwise its relatively simple. Is that true? Any downsides to booking SEA Im not considering (onward travel to Vancouver notwithstanding)?

Thanks in advance
I see no reason why you can't do that. They're in the same zone so i believe you'll just have the 35pp fee to pay if YVR comes up.
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Old Feb 15, 2020, 9:39 am
  #2039  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
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I have a complex question regarding adding an open jaw return...

I managed to nab a one-way flight LON-SYD with 2-4-1 earlier this year as I will be moving there for a while (F will give us 6x32kg bags - perfect!) ... however looking ahead for booking future trips back to the UK, it seems that business class tickets are much cheaper ex-EU than ex-AUS (is this true?) ... so now i'm thinking I should try to tack on a return trip to my original Avios flight and continue to book ex-EU flights to AUS with 6 month+ gaps between outbound and return legs.

- Is there a max time limit on Avios bookings between the outbound and return flight? (eg outbound in March, back in December?)
- Can i tack on a return trip to my original booking anytime upto a few days before the outbound flight?
- Could I tack on an open jaw return (returning from SIN/HKG/KUL etc) if i struggle with availability all the way from SYD?
- Can the call centre do all this without putting my outbound flight at risk? (eg do they have to release inventory and rebook)

Big thanks in advance
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Old Feb 15, 2020, 10:10 am
  #2040  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
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Originally Posted by bestcoastflyer
Hi looking for advice on using my 2-4-1, trying to get to Vancouver. Theres currently some availability to SEA but not YVR around the time we want to travel. Im thinking about booking the SEA flights and then keeping an eye to see if YVR availability shows up and changing if it does show up.

I read somewhere that changing North American flights wasnt a great idea for some fee related reason but cant seem to re-find that info.

My understanding is if availability to YVR came up after I book the SEA flights Id pay a small change fee and otherwise its relatively simple. Is that true? Any downsides to booking SEA Im not considering (onward travel to Vancouver notwithstanding)?

Thanks in advance
I've done exactly that in the past. I booked a return to SEA and then YVR availability came up nearer to the travel date. It was easy to change.

There are various transport options between the two cities, either airport to airport or city to city.
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