Mar 19, 2020, 2:45 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Latest official update, posted by BA refund helper on 16 August (post no 579)
Historic wiki updates:
There seems to be some confusion over the ‘vouchers’ for future travel so here is some clarity in the hope it proves helpful to others.
The ‘voucher number’ will be the customer’s existing ticket number. The process is no different to putting a booking on hold for medical reasons and the existing booking will be reused for future travel, with the ticket reissued following payment of any difference in fare. This is why it takes so long to receive confirmation as someone has to manually go into each booking (as you’ll imagine there are a lot!), remove the live flights, hold in a ghost flight and send the confirmation email to the customer. It is not an eVoucher that you would enter into ba.com for a discount off a brand new booking and new travel arrangements should NOT be made in this way.
Similarly, customers should NOT cancel their own bookings at any point in the voucher process. This will invalidate any eligibility for the voucher and process a fare rules refund.
When ready to rebook (and once the lines are a lot quieter!) customers will need to call to be rebooked as there is no facility to do this online at all and anything done online in this manner will be at the customer’s own expense since you won't be able to deploy the eVoucher's funds. The voucher is valid for travel completed (both outbound and inbound) by 30th April 2021.
There is no telephone service charge for using the eVoucher, you have to call up, but you won't have to pay an extra fee to make the booking in this scenario.
Historic wiki updates:
There seems to be some confusion over the ‘vouchers’ for future travel so here is some clarity in the hope it proves helpful to others.
The ‘voucher number’ will be the customer’s existing ticket number. The process is no different to putting a booking on hold for medical reasons and the existing booking will be reused for future travel, with the ticket reissued following payment of any difference in fare. This is why it takes so long to receive confirmation as someone has to manually go into each booking (as you’ll imagine there are a lot!), remove the live flights, hold in a ghost flight and send the confirmation email to the customer. It is not an eVoucher that you would enter into ba.com for a discount off a brand new booking and new travel arrangements should NOT be made in this way.
Similarly, customers should NOT cancel their own bookings at any point in the voucher process. This will invalidate any eligibility for the voucher and process a fare rules refund.
When ready to rebook (and once the lines are a lot quieter!) customers will need to call to be rebooked as there is no facility to do this online at all and anything done online in this manner will be at the customer’s own expense since you won't be able to deploy the eVoucher's funds. The voucher is valid for travel completed (both outbound and inbound) by 30th April 2021.
There is no telephone service charge for using the eVoucher, you have to call up, but you won't have to pay an extra fee to make the booking in this scenario.
Rebooking with e-voucher
Apr 27, 2020, 4:57 pm
#256
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
The system was set up quickly out of desperation and with many of their back office staff unable to work. I’m sure they’d rather have done it differently if they could have. I understand (and it has been discussed on FT) that a project is underway now to ‘convert’ the vouchers to the usual EMD kind. When/if that happens, they will indeed be usable online in the ‘normal’ way. Few people (outside FT anyway) are ready to make new bookings just yet, so they have a bit of time to get it right.
Apr 28, 2020, 3:58 am
#258
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,853
On 28 April 2020 BA greatly expanded its Buy with Confidence and Standard Customer Guidelines, so old posts in this and other threads may now give inaccurate information. To help anyone understandably confused by the shifting sands, there is a brief summary in the main BA Covid-19 Rebooking thread, in the Wiki at the top.
Covid-19 BA Rebooking/Cancellation/Refund HELP & ADVICE *No Speculation etc*
Covid-19 BA Rebooking/Cancellation/Refund HELP & ADVICE *No Speculation etc*
Apr 28, 2020, 4:25 am
#259
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Brighton, UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 51
Apologies if this has already been answered in the thread but can you use a voucher for flights only orginating from CDG on a BA Holidays booking in Spring 2021 starting at LHR?
I have a CW from CDG to USA in June so keen to take advantage of the extended voucher dates. I appreciate I should wait as there's a high chance of cancellation and thus a refund but the LHR to PHL on 18/06 is still showing as scheduled and our return via JFK on 29/06 is BA114 which is one of the two flights still operating back to LHR. I'm happy to take the voucher and move it to the holiday balance but I wanted to check if anyone else has successfully managed it before I put in the request online.
I have a CW from CDG to USA in June so keen to take advantage of the extended voucher dates. I appreciate I should wait as there's a high chance of cancellation and thus a refund but the LHR to PHL on 18/06 is still showing as scheduled and our return via JFK on 29/06 is BA114 which is one of the two flights still operating back to LHR. I'm happy to take the voucher and move it to the holiday balance but I wanted to check if anyone else has successfully managed it before I put in the request online.
Apr 28, 2020, 5:23 am
#260
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,180
The system was set up quickly out of desperation and with many of their back office staff unable to work. I’m sure they’d rather have done it differently if they could have. I understand (and it has been discussed on FT) that a project is underway now to ‘convert’ the vouchers to the usual EMD kind. When/if that happens, they will indeed be usable online in the ‘normal’ way. Few people (outside FT anyway) are ready to make new bookings just yet, so they have a bit of time to get it right.
Apr 28, 2020, 5:50 am
#261
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,853
I believe that should be OK, I can't see how the CDG start point changes anything, so you retain the value (albeit presumably in Euros) for another trip from the UK or elsewhere, there needs to be a forex recalculation but agents can do that. As a general point I would advise waiting until close to departure to give yourself more flexibility.
Apr 29, 2020, 8:14 pm
#263
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 47
update, Flyingwelshie, i received a reply to the e.mail I sent BA last week about not hearing anything from them since the email stating I would get it in seven days. So, they gave me the voucher number, extended it until April 30th, 2022 and told me I needed to rebook by phone. 😊
Apr 30, 2020, 1:09 am
#264
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 302
This may be useful for anybody rebooking who has Avios on vouchers. We had two bookings we had to cancel at <24hrs and so go FTA with Avios and the GBP value attached.
Went through rebooking yesterday using them over the phone. We had 2x FTAs. The first had three of us and the second only two of us. The new booking agentw for the three of us.
The agent was able to use both FTAs. The Avios between them was more than the total now required and a refund of the Avios difference was added to my BAEC balance - I was expecting another voucher for it.
Leftover monetary value has been added to a new voucher.
The issue we had was proportioning Avios between the individuals and new tickets as not everyone was in both original bookings.
Very happy how this was handled and thought I'd share as I've seen less examples of the Avios FTA redemptions. Surprised to have direct Avios refund.
Went through rebooking yesterday using them over the phone. We had 2x FTAs. The first had three of us and the second only two of us. The new booking agentw for the three of us.
The agent was able to use both FTAs. The Avios between them was more than the total now required and a refund of the Avios difference was added to my BAEC balance - I was expecting another voucher for it.
Leftover monetary value has been added to a new voucher.
The issue we had was proportioning Avios between the individuals and new tickets as not everyone was in both original bookings.
Very happy how this was handled and thought I'd share as I've seen less examples of the Avios FTA redemptions. Surprised to have direct Avios refund.
Apr 30, 2020, 3:20 am
#265
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,709
This may be useful for anybody rebooking who has Avios on vouchers. We had two bookings we had to cancel at <24hrs and so go FTA with Avios and the GBP value attached.
Went through rebooking yesterday using them over the phone. We had 2x FTAs. The first had three of us and the second only two of us. The new booking agentw for the three of us.
The agent was able to use both FTAs. The Avios between them was more than the total now required and a refund of the Avios difference was added to my BAEC balance - I was expecting another voucher for it.
Leftover monetary value has been added to a new voucher.
The issue we had was proportioning Avios between the individuals and new tickets as not everyone was in both original bookings.
Very happy how this was handled and thought I'd share as I've seen less examples of the Avios FTA redemptions. Surprised to have direct Avios refund.
Went through rebooking yesterday using them over the phone. We had 2x FTAs. The first had three of us and the second only two of us. The new booking agentw for the three of us.
The agent was able to use both FTAs. The Avios between them was more than the total now required and a refund of the Avios difference was added to my BAEC balance - I was expecting another voucher for it.
Leftover monetary value has been added to a new voucher.
The issue we had was proportioning Avios between the individuals and new tickets as not everyone was in both original bookings.
Very happy how this was handled and thought I'd share as I've seen less examples of the Avios FTA redemptions. Surprised to have direct Avios refund.
Apr 30, 2020, 3:29 am
#266
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,238
The system was set up quickly out of desperation and with many of their back office staff unable to work. I’m sure they’d rather have done it differently if they could have. I understand (and it has been discussed on FT) that a project is underway now to ‘convert’ the vouchers to the usual EMD kind. When/if that happens, they will indeed be usable online in the ‘normal’ way. Few people (outside FT anyway) are ready to make new bookings just yet, so they have a bit of time to get it right.
Ryanair set up a voucher system done 100% on-line for cancelled flights, usable on-line, with no issues. Cancelling, obtaining a voucher and rebooking for another flight took about 30 minutes of my time and approximately 2 weeks' wait. In BA's case it took me at least 12 phone calls to do exactly the same and yet the flights aren't visible on MMB. As the last person whom I called said, "it's a fault on their part and somebody will fix it before I fly".
All this whilst BA holidays cancelled and refunded a booking (for a car, standalone) just by sending me an SMS!
Apr 30, 2020, 8:23 am
#267
Join Date: Nov 2011
Programs: BA Gold Hilton Diamond
Posts: 289
update, Flyingwelshie, i received a reply to the e.mail I sent BA last week about not hearing anything from them since the email stating I would get it in seven days. So, they gave me the voucher number, extended it until April 30th, 2022 and told me I needed to rebook by phone. 😊
Apr 30, 2020, 8:25 am
#268
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,991
no email. there is the contact form on ba.com but i would generally suggest calling rather than using that. EDIT: and there is twitter as well of course.
Apr 30, 2020, 8:45 am
#269
Join Date: Nov 2011
Programs: BA Gold Hilton Diamond
Posts: 289
Sorry, I could not understand that message. Your query has now been passed to an agent who will respond to you as soon as possible. Please confirm your full name, booking reference, email and full billing address.
Apr 30, 2020, 8:51 am
#270
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,991
Just tried Twitter and requesting the following - does this seem legit?
Sorry, I could not understand that message. Your query has now been passed to an agent who will respond to you as soon as possible. Please confirm your full name, booking reference, email and full billing address.
Sorry, I could not understand that message. Your query has now been passed to an agent who will respond to you as soon as possible. Please confirm your full name, booking reference, email and full billing address.
are you just chasing a voucher? if so have you used the qantas method linked to at the bottom of the wiki in this thread? Covid-19 BA Rebooking/Cancellation/Refund HELP & ADVICE *No Speculation etc*