BA American Express 2-4-1 Voucher Discussion
Jul 4, 2018, 7:12 pm
#781
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,824
I have been a lurker on this forum for a long time, and would like to thank everyone contributing to this forum - excellent source of information!
I am looking to book a flight from GOT to SYD using a combination of a 2-4-1 voucher (UK issued) and GGL redemption to open availability in F. Will it be possible to add the GOT-LHR flights under the same PNR, so that the GGL redemption would be applied to the whole itinerary, while the 2-4-1 is only applied to LHR-SYD flights?
That failing does anyone have any experience with regards to whether the check-in agents generally allow you to check your bags through in the event I have to book the GOT-LHR flights separately. Just wanted to understand what to expect in terms of the transfer experience at LHR, particularly as my partner is a non-EU passport holder (no UK visa).
I am looking to book a flight from GOT to SYD using a combination of a 2-4-1 voucher (UK issued) and GGL redemption to open availability in F. Will it be possible to add the GOT-LHR flights under the same PNR, so that the GGL redemption would be applied to the whole itinerary, while the 2-4-1 is only applied to LHR-SYD flights?
That failing does anyone have any experience with regards to whether the check-in agents generally allow you to check your bags through in the event I have to book the GOT-LHR flights separately. Just wanted to understand what to expect in terms of the transfer experience at LHR, particularly as my partner is a non-EU passport holder (no UK visa).
Your voucher can be applied only to an itinerary that originates in the U.K. Through-checking baggage for flights on different PNRs is contrary to BA current policy.
But welcome to flyertalk!!!!
Jul 9, 2018, 6:51 am
#782
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 2,447
Just realised that my companion voucher expires 6 months sooner than I thought. Darn. Sooo... has anyone ever managed to get it extended? I know the first t&c says "under no circumstances" that can happen so, yeh, guess I'm going to be using this for a random trip rather than the target trip...!
Jul 10, 2018, 1:15 am
#783
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 20
Hi
I would appreciate some help please.
I recently upgraded to Plus and triggered my voucher which is in my BA Exec Account now.
My £195 fee is due to be applied to my account on 27 July, the final day of this months statement.
My Balance is currently very small on the card so I can pay that online before the month end statement is produced,
I was credited a bonus 6000 Avios once I passed the £10,000 spend and these will be transferred to my BA Exec Account on 21 July.
My questions are
Can I close or downgrade the card once the 6000 Bonus Avios have been transferred out on 21 Jul and avoid the £195 altogether as that is before the 27 Jul statement is produced?
If I do this will the 6000 Bonus Avios be taken back?
Is it best to downgrade and then close or just close?
Is it best to do by phone or online chat?
Thank you in advance.
I would appreciate some help please.
I recently upgraded to Plus and triggered my voucher which is in my BA Exec Account now.
My £195 fee is due to be applied to my account on 27 July, the final day of this months statement.
My Balance is currently very small on the card so I can pay that online before the month end statement is produced,
I was credited a bonus 6000 Avios once I passed the £10,000 spend and these will be transferred to my BA Exec Account on 21 July.
My questions are
Can I close or downgrade the card once the 6000 Bonus Avios have been transferred out on 21 Jul and avoid the £195 altogether as that is before the 27 Jul statement is produced?
If I do this will the 6000 Bonus Avios be taken back?
Is it best to downgrade and then close or just close?
Is it best to do by phone or online chat?
Thank you in advance.
Last edited by dcr54321; Jul 10, 2018 at 1:34 am Reason: spelling
Jul 10, 2018, 7:24 am
#784
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,383
Just realised that my companion voucher expires 6 months sooner than I thought. Darn. Sooo... has anyone ever managed to get it extended? I know the first t&c says "under no circumstances" that can happen so, yeh, guess I'm going to be using this for a random trip rather than the target trip...!
Jul 10, 2018, 7:39 am
#785
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,383
Hi
I would appreciate some help please.
I recently upgraded to Plus and triggered my voucher which is in my BA Exec Account now.
My £195 fee is due to be applied to my account on 27 July, the final day of this months statement.
My Balance is currently very small on the card so I can pay that online before the month end statement is produced,
I was credited a bonus 6000 Avios once I passed the £10,000 spend and these will be transferred to my BA Exec Account on 21 July.
My questions are
Can I close or downgrade the card once the 6000 Bonus Avios have been transferred out on 21 Jul and avoid the £195 altogether as that is before the 27 Jul statement is produced?
If I do this will the 6000 Bonus Avios be taken back?
Is it best to downgrade and then close or just close?
Is it best to do by phone or online chat?
Thank you in advance.
I would appreciate some help please.
I recently upgraded to Plus and triggered my voucher which is in my BA Exec Account now.
My £195 fee is due to be applied to my account on 27 July, the final day of this months statement.
My Balance is currently very small on the card so I can pay that online before the month end statement is produced,
I was credited a bonus 6000 Avios once I passed the £10,000 spend and these will be transferred to my BA Exec Account on 21 July.
My questions are
Can I close or downgrade the card once the 6000 Bonus Avios have been transferred out on 21 Jul and avoid the £195 altogether as that is before the 27 Jul statement is produced?
If I do this will the 6000 Bonus Avios be taken back?
Is it best to downgrade and then close or just close?
Is it best to do by phone or online chat?
Thank you in advance.
2- No the 6000 Avios will not be taken back.
3- Bear in mind that you will need some kind of Amex card to make a booking using the 2-4-1 voucher. Amex will tell you it has to be the same card that earned the voucher, but this is not what happens in practice. Also Amex will tell you that your 2-4-1 voucher will be cancelled if you cancel the Amex card that earned it. This appears to have never happened, but if they suddenly started enforcing this, you would have no recourse. For these reasons, some people are happier downgrading rather than completely cancelling. If you intend to completely close the account anyway, I can't see any benefit of downgrading first.
4- Either phone or chat works.
Hope that helps.
Jul 12, 2018, 5:45 am
#787
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 8
I'm looking for some destination inspiration to use up a 2-4-1 and a Lloyds upgrade. Our son has decided he'd like to join us for our winter snowboard break but unfortunately that ties us to the holidays and limited redemption availability. We're looking at Colorado but it's unlikely we'll be able to get out directly due to limited availability so we thinking new year in a city and either road trip (weather dependent) or internal flight for a week of snow and return from there.
We'd be leaving the UK around 26th Dec and returning around the 7th Jan. Sadly i'm not avois rich so any internals would be cash bookings. We're not tied to Colorado specifically - I'd read conditions were decent in Jan but i'm no expert on early January USA options. We've recently been in Banff, Whistler and Tahoe so were looking for somewhere new to try out. Tied to BA metal due to the vouchers. Any snowheads able to offer any alternatives ? thanks
We'd be leaving the UK around 26th Dec and returning around the 7th Jan. Sadly i'm not avois rich so any internals would be cash bookings. We're not tied to Colorado specifically - I'd read conditions were decent in Jan but i'm no expert on early January USA options. We've recently been in Banff, Whistler and Tahoe so were looking for somewhere new to try out. Tied to BA metal due to the vouchers. Any snowheads able to offer any alternatives ? thanks
Jul 12, 2018, 6:32 am
#788
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
Programs: BA GGL - maybe only briefly!
Posts: 1,378
There is still availability in most classes to and from Denver. Depending on the number of Avios you have, I guess you could book 2 returns with the 241 and one return using the lloyds upgrade voucher. I have only ever used the Lloyds voucher via the avios.com website, so how you would combine the tickets into one booking I don't know.
Have you seen baredemptionfinder.com? This link should show PE availability to Denver.
There is also good availability to New York - so maybe New Year there? You can do 'open jaw' 241' trips where you go out to one place and back from another - ie out to NYC then home from DEN. If you book the NYC-DEN leg on American Airlines (part of OneWorld) you can get some of your avios back by crediting them to your BA.
I'm no expert but I had my first ever skiing experience in Breckenridge over Christmas and New Year some years back, so I can vouch for the fact that it has snow at that time of year - unless global warming has put paid to all that.
Have you seen baredemptionfinder.com? This link should show PE availability to Denver.
There is also good availability to New York - so maybe New Year there? You can do 'open jaw' 241' trips where you go out to one place and back from another - ie out to NYC then home from DEN. If you book the NYC-DEN leg on American Airlines (part of OneWorld) you can get some of your avios back by crediting them to your BA.
I'm no expert but I had my first ever skiing experience in Breckenridge over Christmas and New Year some years back, so I can vouch for the fact that it has snow at that time of year - unless global warming has put paid to all that.
Last edited by vintagepilot; Jul 12, 2018 at 6:52 am
Jul 12, 2018, 7:35 am
#789
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,413
If you dates are tight (after Christmas) and you want business class it'll be a bit harder but ORD has availability 26/12 and 6/1; it's a bit closer to the Rockies but still has the East Coast avios requirement.
(Depending on your son's age have you noted that the schools go back very early in January next year.)
(Depending on your son's age have you noted that the schools go back very early in January next year.)
Jul 12, 2018, 9:17 am
#790
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 87
First ever, outbound 2 4 1 booking made yesterday the return flight is not yet on sale. There are some really helpful posts but I have a few questions about my trip, if someone can help me to better understand how best to proceed.
1) we cannot book the return flight for another 8days - since the outbound flight was booked the 2-4-1 voucher is no longer showing online. Do I need to ring BA to book the return flight or can the return flight still be booked on line onc on sale.
2) if F class avois seats for the outbound and/or return flight were to open up at some later point and I have sufficient miles available, is it possible to attempt to change/amend the existing booking to upgrade or would I need to cancel then rebook, once the voucher is reapplied.
3) There are a few flights to MIA if F seats opened on an alternative flight/same day, can I amend / change without needing to rebook too. Or, is that impossible?
Thank you.
1) we cannot book the return flight for another 8days - since the outbound flight was booked the 2-4-1 voucher is no longer showing online. Do I need to ring BA to book the return flight or can the return flight still be booked on line onc on sale.
2) if F class avois seats for the outbound and/or return flight were to open up at some later point and I have sufficient miles available, is it possible to attempt to change/amend the existing booking to upgrade or would I need to cancel then rebook, once the voucher is reapplied.
3) There are a few flights to MIA if F seats opened on an alternative flight/same day, can I amend / change without needing to rebook too. Or, is that impossible?
Thank you.
Jul 12, 2018, 9:21 am
#791
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, ITA Club Executive, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,598
First ever, outbound 2 4 1 booking made yesterday the return flight is not yet on sale. There are some really helpful posts but I have a few questions about my trip, if someone can help me to better understand how best to proceed.
1) we cannot book the return flight for another 8days - since the outbound flight was booked the 2-4-1 voucher is no longer showing online. Do I need to ring BA to book the return flight or can the return flight still be booked on line onc on sale.
2) if F class avois seats for the outbound and/or return flight were to open up at some later point and I have sufficient miles available, is it possible to attempt to change/amend the existing booking to upgrade or would I need to cancel then rebook, once the voucher is reapplied.
3) There are a few flights to MIA if F seats opened on an alternative flight/same day, can I amend / change without needing to rebook too. Or, is that impossible?
Thank you.
1) we cannot book the return flight for another 8days - since the outbound flight was booked the 2-4-1 voucher is no longer showing online. Do I need to ring BA to book the return flight or can the return flight still be booked on line onc on sale.
2) if F class avois seats for the outbound and/or return flight were to open up at some later point and I have sufficient miles available, is it possible to attempt to change/amend the existing booking to upgrade or would I need to cancel then rebook, once the voucher is reapplied.
3) There are a few flights to MIA if F seats opened on an alternative flight/same day, can I amend / change without needing to rebook too. Or, is that impossible?
Thank you.
1) You can ring BA at midnight GMT (1 am BST) or, if you have enough Avios, you can book online at the Avios full price and call in the morning to have the 2-4-1 applied to the inbound. The latter method is not recommended for the US due to the higher amount of taxes that you'd end up paying. So, I'd recommend you call instead.
2) Yes, you can change it over the phone at the cost of £35 per person, plus/minus any difference in Avios or tax.
3) Yes. Same as above.
Jul 12, 2018, 9:27 am
#792
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 87
I believe that most, if not all, these questions are answered in the wiki of this thread.
1) You can ring BA at midnight GMT (1 am BST) or, if you have enough Avios, you can book online at the Avios full price and call in the morning to have the 2-4-1 applied to the inbound. The latter method is not recommended for the US due to the higher amount of taxes that you'd end up paying. So, I'd recommend you call instead.
2) Yes, you can change it over the phone at the cost of £35 per person, plus/minus any difference in Avios or tax.
3) Yes. Same as above.
1) You can ring BA at midnight GMT (1 am BST) or, if you have enough Avios, you can book online at the Avios full price and call in the morning to have the 2-4-1 applied to the inbound. The latter method is not recommended for the US due to the higher amount of taxes that you'd end up paying. So, I'd recommend you call instead.
2) Yes, you can change it over the phone at the cost of £35 per person, plus/minus any difference in Avios or tax.
3) Yes. Same as above.
Jul 12, 2018, 9:27 am
#793
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 8
Thanks folks. I think Denver availability has just reappeared as I got an alert from baredemptionfinder.com this afternoon so if I can co-ordinate the bookings tonight then hopefully that's the flights sorted. Both NY and ORD are decent shouts but both cities we've visited - not to say I wouldn't go back but it's always nice to go somewhere different. The lad is at university so we're not tied to an early return thankfully, just the expense of taking him with us 
Jul 13, 2018, 2:50 am
#794
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Nottingham
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 1,311
Whoops. Didn't realise you also had to fly outbound before the expiry date of the voucher... Expires Nov-18. Haven't needed it (because my redemptions have been for one person), but now want it for a flight in Aug-19. Oh well... Word of warning for those who, like me, have missed that vital bit of info!
Jul 13, 2018, 12:54 pm
#795
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Aberdeenshire
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 153
Looking to book flights to china using a 2 for 1 voucher
Can we leave from Inverness and return to Aberdeen?
Can we leave from Inverness and return to Aberdeen?
