A406toHeathrow

We are limited to that day and flying direct as I haven't got the Avios to spend on a connecting flight from LAX-LAS for example.

The earlier LAS flight has a couple of extra seats still being sold according to EF but obviously not reward seats.

How would it work if closer to the flight we got bumped off for whatever reason - do they still need to find award availability to rebook us into or do we become full commercial 'misplaced' pax in need of a home?

mikeyfly

Sorry, this is what I meant - on the (very unlikely) chance of this happening it's good to know your other options - which BA will book you on, no problem with Avios availability, this is not your concern!

Sprodo

Personally I would not worry about this. You only see the 'bad' on this forum and not the hundreds/thousands of people a day using 2-4-1 and redemption tickets who travel just fine. As others mentioned know your rights and know what options you may have available in case it does but I would not worry about it.

I had similar with a MIA redemption recently, looked very overbooked and was a full cabin but worked out fine despite me being convinced I would be offloaded....

mikeyfly

+1 Sprodo

I wasn't at all trying to scaremonger - just be aware like any traveller would be on any flight

Caciucco

Quick question - I know you have to depart from the for the voucher but what happens if you have just flown in from Europe and then you depart using the voucher (but not using RFS), can you claim back the taxes that you would incur from a UK departure?

thanks

KARFA

That would be two separate tickets. There was some discussion about claiming APD back from HMRC in those scenarios but I don't think it got anywhere.

The only ways to avoid paying APD on a 2-4-1 would be to depart from INV or JER. You can return to LON, no need for your return to go all the way back to INV/JER.

80knots

Hi all, great guide thankyou!

Specific question if I may...I have a Companion Voucher to use and would like to travel to Cape Town for a wedding mid November. I've been looking last couple of months and there are no available flights LHR-CPT direct but I can do LHR-JNB in CW return and it works out to 125,000 avios and just over a grand cash which is really good considering full fare is over £7k for two of us. I guess then I could book a loco connection to CPT for few hundred. (concerned this might go wrong!?)

Or...could I wait it out and see if LHR-CPT opens up?New to all this so appreciate any experienced views! Thanks

ScubaRoo

Get a friend to buy a fully flex first ticket and change their mind a day before? (Joking!)

Fingers crossed for you.

Screenshot how much a First ticket is selling for, in fact get BA to email you a quote.

If you are unlucky enough to get downgraded you have evidence of what they value the last F ticket to be.?

Have a read of stories on headforpoints.com and loyaltlobby.com for reference...

ttama

I used a companion voucher in 2015 for CW LHR-CPT return. Initially there were only flights to and from JNB so I booked those, and also booked cancellable flights on Comair between JNB and CPT. I was eventually able to change both the outbound and return flights to CPT flights as they opened up nearer the time. There was a fee to pay for changing, but because of lower fees for CPT and a favourable exchange rate for the Comair refunds I don't think I ended up paying much extra, if at all.

Our outbound flight to CPT was in Aug 2015, and the return in Sept. I can't remember how close to those dates the flights opened up, I'm afraid, but it is worth keeping an eye open every day.

Re-ticketing took a long time, but it all worked out fine in the end.

80knots

Thanks a lot for that. I think I'll do the same as you, book the LHR-JNB and connecting refundable Comair then see if direct CPT opens up! My only concern really is not making connecting flights that I've booked separately.

Globaliser

Welcome to FT, 80knots!If you have a few Avios left over, you could book yourselves on a separate award ticket on British Airways / Comair from JNB to CPT. This qualifies for Reward Flight Saver, although the cash element is slightly higher than on mainline BA. Doing this would have the advantage that if LHR-CPT availability appears, you can change to that, cancel the JNB-CPT award ticket, get the Avios back and most of the cash.

Alternatively, this far out you may find that the price for a cash ticket JNB-CPT is cheap enough that you can regard it as a throwaway in the event that LHR-CPT availability appears. At the moment, you can get a JNB-CPT one-way on BA for the equivalent of about £55, although the travel dates for that special O class fare end on 31 July 2017, and as with all special fares there's no knowing whether or when it will be re-filed or repeated for your travel dates. Nevertheless, barring something unusual it will be a little while yet before there starts to be pressure even on O class for November travel dates.

Funnily enough, our next trip to ZA will be to a wedding near Cape Town, and we will be flying BA mainline to/from JNB. However, because of baggage through-checking issues on separate tickets on the way back, we are choosing to do the domestics on SA.

ttama

I had the same concern. I allowed a decent amount of time for the connection, and I was told that Comair are very helpful, especially to business class passengers (I'm sure the other airlines are too, but I chose Comair because of their links to BA). And perhaps it's worth looking at what your travel insurance covers, for missed connections. But fingers crossed you get the direct flights.

Caciucco

Just to say thanks Karfa for your response upthread

ups

What does this condition mean exactly? In which scenario can the cardmember and companion travel separately?

Is it at all possible to have different dates for the inbound leg? So both cardmember and companion travel the outbound together but the cardmember returns a week or so after the companion's return.

Steve in Olympia

No, both parties must travel on the same itinerary, both outbound and inbound. However, the companion can skip the return flight and the voucher holder can still take that flight -----but the companion cannot take the return flight without the voucher holder