BHDBOY

Hi everyone,

Earlier this week my father and I were due to fly on a long haul 2-4-1 redemption which we had to cancel at (figuratively speaking) the last minute due to my grandfather (my father's dad) becoming very ill suddenly. The most important thing is he appears to be doing somewhat better now although remains in hospital.

I was able to cancel at T-25 hours, so although down-to-the-wire, we got the avios and most of the cash refunded and the 2-4-1 back. However the voucher is quite close to its expiry (< 4 weeks), it's unlikely we'll get to use it before it runs out, has anyone out there ever managed to get a 2-4-1 expiry extended in extenuating circumstances? Just wondering if there is any precedent out there before calling to ask.

LondonCanuck

The voucher is issued by AMEX, so you would likely be better off to call them. Even if I have never tried it, I doubt it, but it is definitely worth a try! Good luck, and sorry to hear about the family situation!

Edit: Another situation that comes to mind is to book a flight in the future using the 241, and then simply pay change fees to fine tune the dates closer to departure...

ThatT1Feeling

I've not heard of an AMEX 2-4-1 being extended. BA won't be able to help (they can help with GUF1s and GUF2s but not 2-4-1s). You'll definitely need to speak to Amex - and please do report back.. thanks

Beaulieu

Sadly the outbound must travel on or before the expiry on a 241 so unless it can be extended this will not work.

mikeyfly

Unfortunately, you have not taken the right route. BA are very good with re-scheduling flights due to bereavement / severe illness. They will often allow a re-book of 12 months in advance without charging, on receipt of the relevant proof (Dr's note etc) but by cancelling I think you've blown your chances of this

dsf

I'm precedent, albeit a decade ago.

In June 2007 I booked a 2-4-1 LHR-SYD for early April 2008, just before the voucher expired. At the end of 2007, my father became gravely ill. In January 2008, I contacted BAEC asking if there was a possibility of getting a date change beyond the voucher availability, as the likelihood was he would die around the time of the booking. After some back and forth regarding the voucher number, much to my surprise, I received this message:

I didn't speak to Amex at all (since I was requesting a change to a booking, not the already-spent voucher).

fdem

sadly BA have become a very different airline since 2007! In fact almost unrecognisable

pauldb

+1. I was going to suggest appealing to BA down this line. Worth a shot but you may indeed have lost the option.

mikeyfly

I have experience of this twice in the last year or so. On the compassionate side, they still remain customer friendly

BA6501

And this must be all outbound flights, so doing a quick MAN-LHR and keeping the longhaul for later in the year won't work.

jerry a. laska

Years ago BA would extend a companion voucher for compassionate reasons. I can't say I've seen any reports recently:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1592506-american-express-2-4-1-voucher-issue.html
BAEC - Thanks for your compassion
Expiring companion voucher

PETER01

Here is a thread which is also on topic. HeretoHelp made comments on this thread. OP, worth a call and see what happens?

241 extensions can happen...if you get the right person on the phone!

In extenuating circumstances, it can be done for all members regardless of status. With GGL there is no need for extenuating circumstances. For all other tier levels, documentation is required for audit purposes.

I believe at that point there was a lot of inflexibility with Companion vouchers. Over the past couple of years Amex have softened their stance on extending vouchers. I am an agent so I deal with these scenarios. Sorry that the agent couldn't offer much help then. I know how frustrating it is, not just from the customer's perspective but from an employee perspective as well

Cluster One

Had a 2-4-1 extended by 6 months last year due to my wife's serious medical issue. Very well handled by BA. Had to submit medical evidence, but it was extended within 48hrs of making the call.

'andad

Unfortunately I have had to try to extend a 241 twice in 5 years due to Mrs 'andad having big C that required further surgery twice just before travel and with the vouchers expiring soon thereafter. On both occasions the answer was that it absolutely cannot be done in any circumstances, the last occasion was 2 years ago so maybe the above case shows a softening by BA (really?) more recently. On both occasions I offered to send in proof of surgery required and "not allowed to travel for 6 weeks thereafter" from the surgeon, but it didn't even get that far. The first agent was extremely sympathetic so I believe she really couldn't extend the voucher, in fact gave a £200 MCO which she didn't have to do. Amex, who generally have excellent CR, said that once awarded the voucher belongs to BA, so no go there either.
I hope OP benefits if the rules are indeed now more flexible where proof of the sound reason for cancellation/extension is available.

BHDBOY

Thanks for your feedback everyone. We were offered a 6 month extension to validity which I’m happy with as it opens up some possibilities for summer 2018.

I hadn’t considered the rebooking option mentioned by others, largely because of the tight timescale when the situation unfolded and the fact I didn’t know when it might be suitable to rebook for. For information the query actually was dealt with by BAEC rather than Amex and was promptly replied to (within 24 hours).

Overall, I’m content with the outcome. I hope this is a useful data point for others for the future.