Return vs 2x one way avios bookings
Apr 15, 2019, 9:32 am
#1
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Return vs 2x one way avios bookings
Just booked a gold priority award LHR-IBZ-LHR and wanted to book as 2 one-ways. But was told it made no difference. I was under the impression that cancelling the inbound after taking the first leg was impossible on a return avios ticket. Agent said no problem if it was more then 24 hours before.
I also thought that sometimes the tax worked out a little cheaper, agent said no.
Can anyone shed some light on this? I’m fairly sure I almost lost 60k avios cancelling an inbound flight from LAS previously, had to beg them to reinstate the ticket when I realised I wasn’t getting the avios back!
She said it might only be on avios plus cash bookings that it was impossible to change?
I also thought that sometimes the tax worked out a little cheaper, agent said no.
Can anyone shed some light on this? I’m fairly sure I almost lost 60k avios cancelling an inbound flight from LAS previously, had to beg them to reinstate the ticket when I realised I wasn’t getting the avios back!
She said it might only be on avios plus cash bookings that it was impossible to change?
Apr 15, 2019, 9:40 am
#2
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Location: Shanghai
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Always split into oneways whenever the total price is the same. For example, sometimes you might want to keep your return, but cancel your outbound. This is not easy if the outbound and return are on the same ticket.
Apr 15, 2019, 10:00 am
#3
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The agent is talking rubbish. The GPR element only changes avios cost so no impact on the taxes/fees/charges cost.
Short haul e.g. LHR-IBZ-LHR
- return in Y - £35 (RFS)
- one way LHR-IBZ Y - £17.50 (RFS)
- one way IBZ-LHR Y - £8.14
- saving booking as two one ways - £9.36
Long haul can differ but it may go either way, for example one ways when doing UK->US is really not a good idea, but excellent if doing UK->HK.
Long haul e.g. LHR-JFK-LHR
- return in J - £667.52
- one way LHR-JFK J - £445.62
- one way JFK-LHR J - £444.80
- saving booking as a return - £222.90
Long haul e.g. LHR-HKG-LHR
- return in J - £581.72
- one way LHR-HKG J - £382.12
- one way JFK-HKG J - £34.10
- saving booking as two one ways - £165.50
I would say in general booking short haul flights as two one ways can be cheaper as taxes/fees/charges inbound back to the UK can be cheaper than the RFS fee of £17.50/£25. For long haul it really depends so it is worth checking by doing some dummy bookings.
Last edited by KARFA; Apr 15, 2019 at 10:11 am
Apr 15, 2019, 10:21 am
#4
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Yeah totally my fault, but I did ask about 8 times if she was sure about this and kept getting yes as a response. It was a choice of really insisting and looking like an idiot or just rolling with it. I booked something else recently online as two one ways and was pretty sure (and surprised) that it cost the same as a return, so thought something might have changed.
can anyone shed light on the cancellation of the inbound leg after taking the outbound? That’s the big one for me...
can anyone shed light on the cancellation of the inbound leg after taking the outbound? That’s the big one for me...
Apr 15, 2019, 11:28 am
#5
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Yeah totally my fault, but I did ask about 8 times if she was sure about this and kept getting yes as a response. It was a choice of really insisting and looking like an idiot or just rolling with it. I booked something else recently online as two one ways and was pretty sure (and surprised) that it cost the same as a return, so thought something might have changed.
can anyone shed light on the cancellation of the inbound leg after taking the outbound? That’s the big one for me...
can anyone shed light on the cancellation of the inbound leg after taking the outbound? That’s the big one for me...
The other thing to besr bear in mind is thst in the event of a schedule change or cancellation for example BA will rebook your cancelled sector on a cash fare class if necessary free of charge, Any changes to the UNRELATED other one way journey will be subject to an amendment fee and Avios redemption availability, if you need to make a booking to both sectors before and have two one way journeys you will have two fees to pay.
Apr 15, 2019, 12:10 pm
#6
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Ok thanks, exactly what I thought! So I was right about the tax difference, and the changing of tickets, I think both things is enough to warrant me calling in and getting it done right.
Apr 15, 2019, 4:03 pm
#7
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I think booking singles makes a lot of sense and can be cheaper or the same fare, and adds flexibility. However if you end up cancelling the whole trip you could end up with a double fee for rebanking the Avios.
Apr 15, 2019, 4:29 pm
#8
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You can't cancel the return, but you can change the return so long as you are more than 24 hours from the booked return. The terms and conditions say otherwise, but in reality you can do this for the usual amendment fee.
I think booking singles makes a lot of sense and can be cheaper or the same fare, and adds flexibility. However if you end up cancelling the whole trip you could end up with a double fee for rebanking the Avios.
I think booking singles makes a lot of sense and can be cheaper or the same fare, and adds flexibility. However if you end up cancelling the whole trip you could end up with a double fee for rebanking the Avios.