Sep 16, 2017, 2:32 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Summary
This is a guide to gold upgrade vouchers which BA issues. In the wiki there are a number of frequently asked questions, and in the posts below there is a lot of detail and information on these vouchers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Gold Upgrade Voucher?
Gold Upgrade Vouchers are awarded when you reach certain Tier Point levels and allow you to an upgrade to the next travel class.
Q: How do I qualify for a Gold Upgrade Voucher?
You will be awarded a Gold Upgrade Voucher for Two (GUF2) when you reach 2,500 Tier Points. Two Gold Upgrade Vouchers for One (GUF1) are awarded when you reach 3,500 Tier Points. You have the option to choose another two GUF1s at 7,000, 8,000 and 9,000 Tier Points.
Q: When will I know I have a voucher?
The voucher will appear on your BAEC homepage when you hit the required Tier Points in the same place as any Amex 241s that you may have.
Q: How long is the voucher valid for?
The voucher is valid for 12 months must be redeemed within one year of its issue.
Q: Do I have to travel by the expiry date?
No. You must book your ticket by the expiry date so you can travel up to 355 days after.
Q: Can the voucher be extended?
If you do not redeem the voucher within twelve months you can request an extension. Extensions are usually granted for a further six months.
Q: Where can I use the voucher?
You can use the voucher for a one class upgrade on any BA published fare on flights operated by BA.
Q: Can I use the voucher for a one way ticket?
Yes. The voucher can be used for a one way booking. FT opinion may say that this is not a good use but your individual circumstances will influence this.
Q: Where can I upgrade to?
You can upgrade to the next cabin on any BA flight:
- Euro Traveller to Club Europe
- World Traveller to World Traveller Plus
- World Traveller Plus to Club World
- Club World to First (where fitted on the aircraft)
As the voucher will upgrade you to the next available cabin, an economy (Euro Traveller / World Traveller) booking would upgrade you to Club Europe (from ET) on the short haul flight and World Traveller Plus (from WT) on the long haul flight.
Q: I haven’t got a companion. Can I still use a GUF2?
Yes. You can use a GUF2 on your own for a single or return journey. GUF2 can be divided to two GUF1 meaning that if you want to use it as a solo traveller, ask first through customer service to divide it.
Q: Does the voucher have to be used in conjunction with a paid fare?
No. Gold Upgrade Vouchers can be used either with a paid fare or a journey booked with Avios.
Q: Can I use the Gold Upgrade voucher with an Amex 2-4-1 voucher?
Yes. You can combine a GUF with a companion voucher (also known as a 2-4-1). This is a great way to really get a really good value use for the voucher as you will save a very large amount of Avios.
Q: Can I use the Gold Upgrade voucher with a Lloyds voucher?
No. A Lloyds voucher cannot be combined with a Gold Upgrade voucher.
Q: Can I UuA a ticket and then use my GUF voucher?
No. Tickets can only be upgraded using the Gold Upgrade voucher or Avios, not both.
Q: Are bookings made with the Gold Upgrade voucher flexible?
Only if the underlying ticket is in a flexible bucket. For example a J ticket upgraded to First will be flexible according to the original ticket rules. The same applies to redemption tickets.
Q: Can I use the Gold Upgrade voucher on another oneworld airline?
Yes, currently only with AA when certain conditions of use are fulfilled.
Q: Is the voucher valid on franchise operated flights?
Yes. Gold Upgrade vouchers are available for British Airways and franchise operated flights only.
Q: Can I use the voucher on an itinerary that includes non-BA flights?
With a booking direct with BA this is fine. For a TA booking you can’t include non-BA flights. However, there are the occasional reports of a few slipping through where some Travel Agents have managed to apply a GUF to a booking which includes both BA and non-BA flights on BA codeshares.
Q: Can I upgrade an existing booking?
Yes. Please call the BA Service Centre to do this.
Q: Do I have to travel myself when I use the Gold Upgrade voucher like the Amex 2-4-1?
If you book with BA you can use the voucher for any other person or persons. However you must pay for the booking yourself either through your account on ba.com or through the Service Centre. If you book through a TA then the voucher owner must travel on the booking.
Q: If I cancel the booking will I get the Gold Upgrade voucher back?
If you cancel more than 24 hours before departure then the voucher will be reinstated to your account if the original validity has not expired. If you cancel within 24 hours then the voucher will not be available for further use. Any refund on the other part of the ticket will be subject to the original fare rules.
Q: Does there have to be Avios availability in the upgraded cabin to use the Gold Upgrade voucher?
No. There only needs to be discounted revenue fare availability in the cabin you are upgrading to (A for First, I for Club and T for WT+).
It used to be the case that you had to book through a Travel Agent to achieve this, and that direct bookings with BA required Avios availability in the cabin you are upgrading to. With changes to GUF2 made in 2019, this is no longer the case.
Q: Can I book the outbound leg using an Amex 2-4-1 and GUF2 and then add the inbound when it becomes available?
Yes. This can be done in the same way as adding a return leg to a booking using the Amex 2-4-1 voucher.
Q: Can I use the Gold Upgrade voucher on flights that do not originate in the UK?
Yes. Flights do not have to originate in the UK. A GUF can be used on an ex-EU booking - there is no requirement to start and finish in the UK or your Executive Club resident country.
Q: Can I use two GUF1s to upgrade two classes?
No. Nice try
Q: Can the Gold Upgrade voucher be used by anyone in the Household Account?
Any Household Account Member who earns Gold Upgrade vouchers must redeem them personally. Gold Upgrade vouchers are not part of the Household Account pool and cannot be redeemed by another Member of the Household Account. Household Account Members who earn Gold Upgrade vouchers are subject to applicable Household Account redemption rules, whereby the Gold Upgrade vouchers can only be used for members within the Household Account. These upgrades cannot be allocated to Executive Club Members under age 18. An upgrade earned by a member under 18 is allocated to the Head of that Member's Household Account, but the head must be a gold card holder. If the head is not a gold the voucher is effectively lost since it can’t be allocated.
Q: Will I earn Tier Points and Avios with the Gold Upgrade voucher?
Yes. You should earn tier points and Avios in line with the original selling class of the booking and not based on the cabin you upgraded in to - although sometimes mistakes do seem to happen and you do end up earning based on the cabin you upgraded to. As a reward booking doesn’t earn any tier points or Avios you won’t earn anything from a reward booking to which you had applied a GUF.
Q: I have more than two people in my booking. Can I just upgrade two of them?
No. A GUF can’t be applied to a selection of passengers on a booking, and has to cover all of them - you can’t end up with a booking for four people where two are still in CW and the other two are upgraded to F. If necessary you can as BA to split the booking so that those not being upgraded are under one booking reference, and those being upgraded by the GUF are in a new separate booking reference.
Q: Does an infant use an available upgrade?
No. If an upgraded booking contains an infant travelling on an infant fare, the infant will be automatically upgraded with the adults. Child fares will be subject to the same rules as adults.
BA Gold Upgrade Voucher Discussion and Wiki Thread
Sep 21, 2021, 4:25 pm
#496
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA - GL, Disgruntled ex LH HON
Posts: 383
Ping me a note via PM of the flight where you are missing availability, at the very least I could be able to tell you if a TA can book it (At which point you can contact any TA of your choice, if it's available, doesn't have to be Propeller that I own)
Sep 21, 2021, 5:11 pm
#498
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA - GL, Disgruntled ex LH HON
Posts: 383
Great quetsion!
I was a Tel Aviv based HON between 2008-2012. Unfortunately, Lufthansa has taken the one-sided action in the middle of the membership year
to make major changes to the program, one of them being that there was no longer a space guarantee for D class, it was changed to only J. That
benefit was crucial for me on my weekly flight schedule and in my humble opinion, not the way a two way loyalty should work. I spend a long time
getting to the 600k for a set of benefits. Having those benefits unilaterally withdrawn a few months into the membership year, to me, was not acceptable.
(Of course, the situation became worse with TLV losing the daily 744 + A346 + LX 330 + OS 767 which made TLV very unattractive to me. (and by that time I moved into London).
Sorry for the long speech - but I hope it answers your question
I was a Tel Aviv based HON between 2008-2012. Unfortunately, Lufthansa has taken the one-sided action in the middle of the membership year
to make major changes to the program, one of them being that there was no longer a space guarantee for D class, it was changed to only J. That
benefit was crucial for me on my weekly flight schedule and in my humble opinion, not the way a two way loyalty should work. I spend a long time
getting to the 600k for a set of benefits. Having those benefits unilaterally withdrawn a few months into the membership year, to me, was not acceptable.
(Of course, the situation became worse with TLV losing the daily 744 + A346 + LX 330 + OS 767 which made TLV very unattractive to me. (and by that time I moved into London).
Sorry for the long speech - but I hope it answers your question
Sep 22, 2021, 5:46 am
#499
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,968
I've followed the guide and done a dummy booking to check that I class is available (which it is) trying to use a guf2 to upgrade from wtp to J (as business prices are very high at the moment). This is a simple point to point LHR-LAS return but BA shows no availability (despite showing I class in the dummy booking). I'm not sure if I've done anything wrong or if it's BA's IT. I've tried the gold line 4 times and never got to an agent, so I too will wait. Karfa if there is anything else I should do please let me know, it is nice to be booking flights again! thank you
Sep 22, 2021, 9:01 am
#500
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Worcester, GB
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Gold, IHG Diamond
Posts: 157
Hi Karfa, thank you for replying. As my Expert Flyer sub had expired I did a dummy CW J booking and in the flight details it showed I class, I did that as I understood I needed that to be able to upgrade to upgrade the WTP fare. its been so long since I've used a guf!
Sep 26, 2021, 12:17 pm
#501
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Worcester, GB
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Gold, IHG Diamond
Posts: 157
Hi Karfa, thank you for replying. As my Expert Flyer sub had expired I did a dummy CW J booking and in the flight details it showed I class, I did that as I understood I needed that to be able to upgrade to upgrade the WTP fare. its been so long since I've used a guf!
Oct 18, 2021, 4:42 pm
#502
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,228
That explains why I, too, was drawing a blank when trying to use the "Gold upgrade and Cash" option on BA to redeem a GUF2. I could see "I" class inventory available on EF (for both USA and UK POS) but BA was returning nothing. Talk about making something harder than it needs to be.
Oct 30, 2021, 10:26 am
#503
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Gibraltar
Programs: BA Gold, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 174
[QUOTE=BertieBadger;31612003]If you mean that the return seats have not been released yet, because they are more than 355 days away, then the Wiki/FAQ would seem to confirm that as yes. Although it mentions 2-4-1 the principle is surely the same.
Haven't been able to find another comment other than the above on adding returns to a GUF booking. I've been told by the call centre that you cannot add return legs to GUF bookings, even if the returns are 355+ days out and so not available yet. it's a 'one shot deal', unlike 241s, and you need all the flights available before you can book. HUACA? I obviously don't want to be caught out on this!
Haven't been able to find another comment other than the above on adding returns to a GUF booking. I've been told by the call centre that you cannot add return legs to GUF bookings, even if the returns are 355+ days out and so not available yet. it's a 'one shot deal', unlike 241s, and you need all the flights available before you can book. HUACA? I obviously don't want to be caught out on this!
Dec 25, 2021, 2:06 pm
#504
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 963
Tried to book a flight online using my GUFs with AA connections in the US. I knew these would remain in Y. Got an error saying I couldn’t do this due to other airline flights. Assume if book and then call in I can upgrade the BA flights?
Dec 25, 2021, 2:37 pm
#505
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
Programs: BA GGL - maybe only briefly!
Posts: 1,378
Yes, provided the appropriate upgrade class is available - so its worth checking class availability first. Or call to make the booking in the first place and they can make sure you have upgradable BA flights.
Dec 28, 2021, 11:58 am
#506
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold
Posts: 70
Hi All - quick question about availability. Am trying to use the GUF on some flights LHR - SYD in October 2022 (I know I am mad). I want to book WT+ and upgrade to CW. There seems to be no I class at all all month to SYD or SIN.
As a GGL could I use one of my space release jokers to release some I or U class on this route? Or any other tips for how I could go about doing this. Or let me know that I have no chance ...!
Thanks all
As a GGL could I use one of my space release jokers to release some I or U class on this route? Or any other tips for how I could go about doing this. Or let me know that I have no chance ...!
Thanks all
Dec 28, 2021, 12:02 pm
#507
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,250
Hi All - quick question about availability. Am trying to use the GUF on some flights LHR - SYD in October 2022 (I know I am mad). I want to book WT+ and upgrade to CW. There seems to be no I class at all all month to SYD or SIN.
As a GGL could I use one of my space release jokers to release some I or U class on this route? Or any other tips for how I could go about doing this. Or let me know that I have no chance ...!
Thanks all
As a GGL could I use one of my space release jokers to release some I or U class on this route? Or any other tips for how I could go about doing this. Or let me know that I have no chance ...!
Thanks all
Dec 28, 2021, 12:32 pm
#508
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 222
Hi All - quick question about availability. Am trying to use the GUF on some flights LHR - SYD in October 2022 (I know I am mad). I want to book WT+ and upgrade to CW. There seems to be no I class at all all month to SYD or SIN.
As a GGL could I use one of my space release jokers to release some I or U class on this route? Or any other tips for how I could go about doing this. Or let me know that I have no chance ...!
Thanks all
As a GGL could I use one of my space release jokers to release some I or U class on this route? Or any other tips for how I could go about doing this. Or let me know that I have no chance ...!
Thanks all
Dec 28, 2021, 12:57 pm
#510
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,968