BA American Express 2-4-1 Voucher Discussion
#646
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: London, England
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 57
There are so many false statements in this post, it is hard to know where to begin. Here is a brief start:
1. Yes, you CAN add the return flight to an existing booking. I (and others) have done it dozens of times, via phone.
2. Yes, you CAN merge bookings, as demonstrated by previous posts on this thread. I have done it, and several others have, as well.
3. Making a booking it and then cancelling it --- a strategy that is foolish, risky, and unnecessary.
The simple answer: Book the outbound voucher flight on-line, when the seats initially become available. When the inbound seats become available, call a service center to add the inbound flight to the outbound voucher booking. This may involve calling Japan. See this thread for more detailed discussion. Most importantly, ignore everything in the post quoted above. (Poster should seriously consider deleting it.)
1. Yes, you CAN add the return flight to an existing booking. I (and others) have done it dozens of times, via phone.
2. Yes, you CAN merge bookings, as demonstrated by previous posts on this thread. I have done it, and several others have, as well.
3. Making a booking it and then cancelling it --- a strategy that is foolish, risky, and unnecessary.
The simple answer: Book the outbound voucher flight on-line, when the seats initially become available. When the inbound seats become available, call a service center to add the inbound flight to the outbound voucher booking. This may involve calling Japan. See this thread for more detailed discussion. Most importantly, ignore everything in the post quoted above. (Poster should seriously consider deleting it.)
#647
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,412
Note the indent section in the Wiki of the main linked thread, dated 12 February 2018, approximately half way down, for an easy online solution, so long as you have plenty of Avios: you can now book the return online via a separate booking (which has some advantages as we know from elsewhere), initially at full rate. However you can then call up, have the voucher applied to this new booking, and receive the excess Avios back. For flights to USA we think this is expensive than a normal return, due to differential surcharges, but perhaps not for other areas, and indeed cheaper in some cases.
A lesser example would seem to be SYD, where the ex-Oz YQ is 184e/w, saving 52pp. Ex-NRT it's 71 YQ, saving 93pp.
You might even want to do this shorthaul: eg. coming back CE from TLL for €7 instead of 25. Beware of course the risk of double cancellation fees.
#648
Join Date: Oct 2015
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 8
Cancelling Card
Q: Does cancelling my BA American Express card mean I will lose the voucher? Does downgrading my BA American Express Premium Plus card to the Classic card mean I will lose my voucher?
A: No. Contrary to what American Express will tell you, you will keep the voucher if you cancel the card entirely, and similarly your voucher will retain its two year validity if you downgrade from the Premium Plus card to the Classic Card. Remember though that you will need to pay the taxes and fees on an American Express card, so it may be worth asking to downgrade the Premium Plus to the Classic card for this purpose if you dont hold another Amex.
A: No. Contrary to what American Express will tell you, you will keep the voucher if you cancel the card entirely, and similarly your voucher will retain its two year validity if you downgrade from the Premium Plus card to the Classic Card. Remember though that you will need to pay the taxes and fees on an American Express card, so it may be worth asking to downgrade the Premium Plus to the Classic card for this purpose if you dont hold another Amex.
Thanks
#649
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,709
No this wouldn't work. As soon as you merge it in to the existing LHR-HKG it will be repriced as a LHR-HKG-LHR booking with normal taxes/fees/charges. The no-YQ is only possible for exHKG bookings so would be ok if you did LHR-HKG and HKG-LHR as one ways, but obviously you can't do that with a 2-4-1.
#650
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,412
No this wouldn't work. As soon as you merge it in to the existing LHR-HKG it will be repriced as a LHR-HKG-LHR booking with normal taxes/fees/charges. The no-YQ is only possible for exHKG bookings so would be ok if you did LHR-HKG and HKG-LHR as one ways, but obviously you can't do that with a 2-4-1.
#651
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,709
EDIT: to add, by all means try it, but I would be very surprised if you have two separate one way bookings with separate PNRs with one 2-4-1 applied across both, that would seem to be against the terms of the voucher.
Last edited by KARFA; Mar 16, 2018 at 9:27 am
#652
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,412
It has to be put under the same booking ref for the 2-4-1 to apply across it though.
EDIT: to add, by all means try it, but I would be very surprised if you have two separate one way bookings with separate PNRs with one 2-4-1 applied across both, that would seem to be against the terms of the voucher.
EDIT: to add, by all means try it, but I would be very surprised if you have two separate one way bookings with separate PNRs with one 2-4-1 applied across both, that would seem to be against the terms of the voucher.
#653
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,709
However, if it is the case that TFC is not repriced than it really is a very poor option when doing a LON-US-LON booking with a 2-4-1 considering the very high TFC for exUS bookings.
Last edited by KARFA; Mar 16, 2018 at 9:49 am
#654
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Bournemouth, UK
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 630
Well I said I would be very surprised if by doing this you end up with two separately ticketed one way reward bookings with two separate PNRs and one 2-4-1 applied across them, and that no repricing of the TFC takes place. If you want to try it and report back that could be very useful.
#655
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,709
As noted perhaps it would be advantageous for TFC for LHR-HKG-LHR, but it definitely isn't for TFC for LHR-US-LHR.
#656
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Bournemouth, UK
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 630
I'd agree with that - but I expect this is probably to do with the number of phone calls at approaching midnight UTC as the seats get released, to add as a return sector to a pre-existing outbound ex-LHR. I expect that you'd have to have the outbound flight already for this to work?
#657
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,642
#658
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 158
Hi - does the above from the Wiki still hold true? I just tried to cancel my BA Premium Plus card and the agent was adamant that it would be useless - I couldn't find anything in the T&C's and I'm keen to avoid another annual fee, just to be able to use the voucher I've accrued.
Thanks
Thanks
#659
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 243
Just by way of update re booking with full Avios online at midnight and the calling in once the UK Centre is open. I did this today, booked 2 CW seats to Santiago (having booked the outbound last week) online at 2 minutes past midnight paying full Avios for two SCL>LHR in CW. I then rang in today (at 11.30am, not 6am) and within 5 minutes they had linked the voucher to the return booking and half the Avios used have already been refunded to my account.
Incredibly straightforward, the agent knew exactly what she was doing and all sorted in 5 minutes. Far easier than calling an overseas call centre in the early hours!
Incredibly straightforward, the agent knew exactly what she was doing and all sorted in 5 minutes. Far easier than calling an overseas call centre in the early hours!
#660
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,412
Just by way of update re booking with full Avios online at midnight and the calling in once the UK Centre is open. I did this today, booked 2 CW seats to Santiago (having booked the outbound last week) online at 2 minutes past midnight paying full Avios for two SCL>LHR in CW. I then rang in today (at 11.30am, not 6am) and within 5 minutes they had linked the voucher to the return booking and half the Avios used have already been refunded to my account.
Incredibly straightforward, the agent knew exactly what she was doing and all sorted in 5 minutes. Far easier than calling an overseas call centre in the early hours!
Incredibly straightforward, the agent knew exactly what she was doing and all sorted in 5 minutes. Far easier than calling an overseas call centre in the early hours!
Presumably you paid about 209pp for the return and that hasn't been adjusted? If so you paid the ex-SCL YQ of 187pp instead of the ex-LON 175, but not too important a hit.