Globaliser

No, sadly! It can only be used for another Avios booking, which (like Avios bookings in general) won't earn when you fly.

dcmike

Thank you again! Much appreciated Globaliser !

FAA1996

I'm a bit confused by the sticky on the thread, the dates seem to be out fo order, so maybe someone can help answer my questions:
I have what I assume is a discounted First ticket for travel over NYE which I no longer plan to take due to increased Covid-19 restrictions. FYI, itinerary is from US-LHR-LIS. How can I find out what my fare rules are? I would ideally like to get a refund, but understand my only choice may be a voucher. How soon do I need to cacel, should I wait until the last minute to see if there is a schedule change or cancelation? Not sure when I'll be able to use the voucher since I'm US based and a Europe vacation is looking less and less likely anytime soon. Thanks for any help.

Globaliser

You need your complete itinerary, the dates of travel, the base fare paid, the ticket issue date, the booking channel, and (if possible) the fare basis / bases. Then you use ExpertFlyer to pull up the fares for that ticket issue date, find the applicable fares and pull up the fare rules.To get a voucher, you need to request it before check-in closes for your flight, typically one hour before scheduled departure time. The usual advice is not to leave it quite so close if you can do it a bit earlier, but generally it should be OK if you ask two or three hours before departure time. If your ticket is a pure cash ticket, you may get an eVoucher, which is simply a monetary value voucher that doesn't have to be spent on yourself and can be used online; but you may get a Future Travel Voucher which can only be spent on the phone and is limited to a further ticket for you. I think that currently, vouchers are valid for any new itinerary on which all travel is completed by 30 September 2023.

koshka

My son’s had a non-COVID cold / temperature which may or may not clear before our flight in 48 hours time. There’s currently Avios availability for Xmas Eve. Is there a way of getting a FTV for the outbound flight but keeping the return on the 2nd January? I’m assuming that this would need to be done over the phone if it is an option. Thanks

KARFA

no you can’t do that. I think your only way to do this is to do a change on the phone. Is there still availability on the return flight?

koshka

Thanks. There is but at a price. My current thinking is cancel the whole thing for a voucher, book the one remaining Avios flight on the 24th and then a return a couple of days later in January when prices are less expensive. I can live with more vouchers if that goes wrong as well. Does that sound like a good plan B?

KARFA

I am not clear, I thought you were wanting to book a reward so how does the price change?

koshka

One way reward on the 24th instead of going on the 22nd. A one way cash single on the 2nd January is more expensive and both BA and SAS have better prices around the 4th-6th. The original return was booked months ago so prices are significantly higher.

KARFA

sorry, i am being very slow today.

you want to change the outbound from 22nd to 24th? and is this part of a return reward booking which returns on 4th or the 2nd?

lcylocal

Reading this all again I think the OP has a cash booking. But prices are now much higher. But they can see Avios availability for the new outbound.

koshka

No worries. I've gone from being someone who used to know this stuff well to not flying in nearly two years. I know I'm not explaining it well.

Current booking is a straightforward economy cash return ARN-LHR-ARN going on the 22nd and returning on the 2nd. Because my son is ill I'm not convinced that we'll be able to take the 07.05 flight on the 22nd. I was hoping to keep the original return leg to minimise the extra expense. I've looked at changing the flight dates/times for the first leg but the change in fare is quite high so I'm looking at alternative options. If cancelling the outbound flight isn't an option then I'm looking at cancelling the whole booking and going for two singles - probably Avios on the 24th and a cash flight coming back a little later in January.

The key question that I couldn't see an answer for on the BA site was whether I could cancel the first flight for a voucher and keep the return leg. It sounds like the answer is no so I'm looking at the cancel everything and rebook options.

FAA1996

Thank you for the information. I have access to expertflyer but have never done what you mentioned. I just tried it but the only information I have is what's in these screenshots. How do I get the fare basis/bases codes? What do I use as the fare base paid? And do I do it for the whole ticket or for each segment? I bought directly from ba.com by the way. Thanks!

Globaliser

ba.com receipts don't show the fare basis. If you go to Finnair and ask for an e-ticket receipt to be emailed to you, then that will show the fare basis.

In your case, the base fare is USD 2310.00. BA's surcharge was USD 1400.00 and other taxes, fees and charges were USD 187.87, giving the total paid of USD 3897.87.

What you need to do is to go to Fare Information on EF, put in your itinerary, travel dates and ticketing date, and limit the search to First cabin fares. Keep the Validate Dates checkbox ticked. You're then looking for a fare that is USD 2310.00, or a pair of fares that averages to USD 2310.00 (because your fare may be two different fares combined on a half-round-trip basis); for example, there may be a fare of USD 2260.00 and a fare of USD 2360.00 that have been combined to make your total fare of USD 2310.00, often because the travel dates fall into different seasons. The search is rather easier if you already know the fare basis codes.

Once you have identified the fare(s) that make up your ticket, you simply need to call up the fare rules using the icon on the right hand side of the respective line(s). Then you will have (probably) more information about the fare rules than you ever thought you needed to know. The box you're looking for is "Penalties".

KARFA

ah yes I see now. Yes you can’t just cancel the outbound for a cash booking. I think cancel for a voucher and booking one way rewards is your best option here.