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Covid-19 BA Rebooking/Cancellation/Refund HELP & ADVICE *No Speculation etc*

Old Mar 14, 2020, 4:58 pm
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Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
BA Covid-19 Rebooking / Cancellation / Refund Help & Advice

If your flight is cancelled by BA:
Commercial booking: Your options are: cash refund OR Future Travel Voucher (FTV) OR rebooking OR Avios credit
Redemption booking: Your options are: full refund of cash and Avios OR FTV OR rebooking.
BA Holidays booking: You should be given a refund pro-actively.

If your flight is cancelled by BA - any flight in the PNR - you can get a full refund so long as you booked directly with BA. You can only get a refund by telephoning BA. Refunds are taking between a few hours to a few weeks to be repaid, depending on the sort of booking made. If you don't wish to travel you can opt for an FTV or eVoucher valid for travel until 30 April 2022, though flights more than 355 days away are not currently bookable - flights are enabled at 355 days before departure. Vouchers such as 2-4-1 are also thereby extended. You can do this even if the flight is operating. The best advice we can give is to delay opting for an eVoucher options until the last moment, since if BA cancel your flight you have more options. BA have also adjusted the Standard Customer Guidelines so that if BA cancel the flight you can be rebooked to anytime in 12 months after you originally bought the ticket, so long as there is space in the cabin - there is no need to have a fare bucket available or Avios availability. If you choose the Avios credit you will get between 108 to 126 Avios per GBP of your fare. Note older posts in this thread may now be inaccuarate since the current policy has been amended several times.
===
If your flight is not cancelled but you don't wish to travel
Commercial booking: If you are eligible for Buy with Confidence, you can have an FTV valid until April 2022. Rebooking may lead to a fare recalculation but no change fee.
Redemption booking: Your can do the normal Avios refund, with the redeposit fee capped at GBP 35 per person. Alternatively for the same fee you can rebook to new dates subject to availability. Alternatively you can have an FTV.
BA Holidays booking: You may be get a refund proactively, otherwise you are looking at an FTV for at least the flight component of your trip, maybe for all components.

If all of the flights in your booking are still scheduled and you don't wish to travel then you best wait until a few days before departure in case there is a cancellation. As you can see above, a cancellation gives you better options. You are in scope with Buy with Confidence if you are flying between now and completing travel before 31 August 2021, also if you bought your ticket after 3 March and due to complete all flights before September 2021. The BA web page on this is:
ba.com/confidence
===
Below are some of the options / workarounds being suggested in order to obtain a refund as opposed to a Future Travel Voucher, but they probably no longer work:

Refund of Cancelled Flights:
  • Call BA (no longer a requirement to be travelling in the next 72 hours, you may need to make repeated calls to get through). Telephone numbers are in this thread, but you can also find them on BA.com at the bottom left of the website, under Help and Contacts.

Paid Seating Refund:
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
  • Full refund of Avios and money paid
  • A new voucher issued, which has validity for 6 months (from the date of issue, i.e. when you request the 'refund')

Lloyds Upgrade Voucher Notes
  • Flights can be used within 12 months, so it will be good for travel up until the end 6 months plus 12 months if you book just before the new expiry
  • It's been advised to take the voucher instead of rebooking as it gives me more flexibility.
  • The original expiry date of the voucher was irrelevant because the booking was cancelled.
  • You must book within 6 months of the voucher being issued and the ticket has 12 months validity so you can change flights after, provided the new flights are within the 12 month window.
  • You won't receive any email, only the refund and the miles.
How to find out the status of your voucher and the amount it contains Future Travel Vouchers versus eVouchers
  • See posts 3052 and 3151 to understand the difference. FTVs cannot be used online (and are not really vouchers), whereas eVouchers, issued for simple bookings, can be used online.
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Covid-19 BA Rebooking/Cancellation/Refund HELP & ADVICE *No Speculation etc*

Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:08 am
  #1126  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Devon, England
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 63
Originally Posted by Hawk777
Refund times

anyone with reward bookings the automatic system that the agents normally use to issue the cash and taxes part isn't working so they are having to queue all cash refunds to the manual team which is delaying refunds for reward bookings it isn't impacting commercial bookings
As I posted here on Wed 25th Mar, I had both a reward booking (Gold Priority) AND a cash booking and they both had to be queued for the manual team and according to the BBC news India is on a 21day lockdown, starting on the 25th March.
Would my cash one way booking (LHR-LYS) not count as a commercial booking?
It seems refund times are likely to be 3 weeks plus, or please correct me if I am unduly pessimistic.
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:12 am
  #1127  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Programs: Executive Club
Posts: 1,111
Originally Posted by Hawk777
Refund times

anyone with reward bookings the automatic system that the agents normally use to issue the cash and taxes part isn't working so they are having to queue all cash refunds to the manual team which is delaying refunds for reward bookings it isn't impacting commercial bookings
It does seem "strange" that the bit of IT which BA cannot get working is the bit that refunds cash back to customers. When I just made a booking, the bit where I paid was working fine, so giving money to BA works no problem, but BA giving money to me is a nightmare. Rapidly going off this airline.
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:15 am
  #1128  
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
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Originally Posted by JessicaB
It does seem "strange" that the bit of IT which BA cannot get working is the bit that refunds cash back to customers. When I just made a booking, the bit where I paid was working fine, so giving money to BA works no problem, but BA giving money to me is a nightmare. Rapidly going off this airline.
Normal cash fare refunds are working fine though - I have had several already within a week. I imagine the total cash value of those is multiples greater than the cash value of taxes/fees/refunds from rewards being cancelled. I think this is general flaky system issue rather than conspiracy.
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:15 am
  #1129  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Manchester
Programs: BAEC (Silver), Hilton HHonors (Gold)
Posts: 312
Originally Posted by KARFA
It has always been the case that some bookings will give you a cancellation quote (usually if they are simple and no changes have happend), and some like yours require manual calculation. It won't affect what you get back at all. If the flight is cancelled then just fill in the form and you will get a full refund in due course.
Thanks KARFA, the flight is not yet cancelled, it is due for May but falls in the window that BA have said you can make changes etc. I just want to cancel and obtain a refund. Are you suggesting I will still be able to get a FULL refund by going through the form without a cancellation quote?

NV
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:18 am
  #1130  
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Originally Posted by JessicaB
It does seem "strange" that the bit of IT which BA cannot get working is the bit that refunds cash back to customers. When I just made a booking, the bit where I paid was working fine, so giving money to BA works no problem, but BA giving money to me is a nightmare. Rapidly going off this airline.
it's working fine for commercial bookings and if it was a delebirrte thing both sides wouldn't work as commercial bookings as majority of the bookings
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:20 am
  #1131  
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Originally Posted by SkiSunday
As I posted here on Wed 25th Mar, I had both a reward booking (Gold Priority) AND a cash booking and they both had to be queued for the manual team and according to the BBC news India is on a 21day lockdown, starting on the 25th March.
Would my cash one way booking (LHR-LYS) not count as a commercial booking?
It seems refund times are likely to be 3 weeks plus, or please correct me if I am unduly pessimistic.
yes cash bookings are what we class as commercial if that's had to be sent to manual refunding then yep i think a 3 week wait is minimum id be anticaptating unfortunately
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:48 am
  #1132  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hertz Presidents Circle.
Posts: 1,443
Originally Posted by Hawk777
Finally after a couple of weeks we have had some clarification 're vouchers and use.


Q - Customer has called and the booking has been processed for voucher issue. Can they now get a refund?
A - No, once the itinerary has been cancelled through the voucher process, the customer is no longer eligible for a refund

Q - Customer has requested a voucher online. They have received notification that their original flights are cancelled, are they entitled to a refund
A - If the flights have not been cancelled through the voucher process and showing UN status in the PNR, the customer is eligible for a refund.
Q - Customer has applied for a voucher, their flights have been cancelled through the voucher process, can we reinstate their original flights
A - No, once the flights have been cancelled through the voucher process, any rebooking is subject to the voucher conditions

Q - Customer has applied for a voucher, their flights have not yet been cancelled, can they keep their original flights
A - Advise the customer we can attempt to stop the voucher process from canceling the flights but it cannot be guaranteed. Insert the following AP elements into the PNR


Q - Can the new booking be in a different name to that on the original ticket?
A - No, name changes are not allowed.

Q - Does both outbound and inbound travel need to be completed within the 12 month period from original date of travel?
A - Yes, travel is to be completed within 12 months from the original date of travel.

Q - If Avios have been used as part payment to reduce the commercial fare and a voucher is requested, will the Avios be refunded?
A - There will be no refund of Avios however the total value spent by the customer (part payment and part Avios) will be included in the voucher total.

Q - What happens if the new flight is cheaper than the value of the voucher?
A - Any difference between the new fare and the original fare paid will be issued on a standalone EMD-S (residual value for further transportation). GCC will need to issue this EMD and provide the number to the customer for future use.
Brilliant thanks.... I have one more though.... Can a voucher be used to pay for a POUG.... Haven't found an answer yet.
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:51 am
  #1133  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
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Originally Posted by tuonopepper
Brilliant thanks.... I have one more though.... Can a voucher be used to pay for a POUG.... Haven't found an answer yet.
No, unfortunately not.
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corporate-wage-slave is offline  
Old Mar 27, 2020, 8:52 am
  #1134  
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 158
I have a flight on the 1st of may to YYZ, and I have no intention to take that flight (as the world has most probably not returned to normal by then). I can get a voucher now but I'd like a refund so I wait and hope the flight gets cancelled. But what is the last moment I can request the voucher? Before OLCI? Before the flight is scheduled?
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 9:10 am
  #1135  
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Originally Posted by northernvilla
Thanks KARFA, the flight is not yet cancelled, it is due for May but falls in the window that BA have said you can make changes etc. I just want to cancel and obtain a refund. Are you suggesting I will still be able to get a FULL refund by going through the form without a cancellation quote?

NV
No you won't be able to get a full refund unless the flight is cancelled or you have a refundable booking. Your only option is to get the voucher atm and you would use the future voucher application form for that.

I would suggest you wait though as so many flight will be cancelled for May it's likely your booking will be affected. Once you do have a flight cancelled at that stage you would be entitled to a full refund rather than just the voucher.
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 9:12 am
  #1136  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
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Originally Posted by stefan_nl
I have a flight on the 1st of may to YYZ, and I have no intention to take that flight (as the world has most probably not returned to normal by then). I can get a voucher now but I'd like a refund so I wait and hope the flight gets cancelled. But what is the last moment I can request the voucher? Before OLCI? Before the flight is scheduled?
Formally it is anytime before the flight closes up, so the same as No-Show avoidance. That's typically 20 minutes to departure, on SOP, usually 10 minutes or so at LHR and the Airport Formerly Known As LCY, 15 minutes at LGW (and probably 30 minutes in LIS....) but things are running a bit differently. So I've said 90 minutes in previous messages upthread. In reality, and in the absence of last minute old school technical problems, BA will cancel services before the day of departure.
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 9:15 am
  #1137  
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Originally Posted by GetawayGertie
Thank you Karfa, that's clear. I just wondered if there were any benefits in taking the voucher instead (unlikely, I suspect!). Just need to get through on the phone now.
Yes, it's not an unreasonable question. I know some airlines are trying to tempt you down the voucher route by offering an additional 10-20% value compared to the cash refund. BA hasn't done that so your voucher value would be no more than the full refund anyway.

Last edited by KARFA; Mar 27, 2020 at 9:45 am
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 11:11 am
  #1138  
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 72
Originally Posted by Hawk777
just wait and try again phone should be cutting off what number are you calling?
I am getting the same issues. Called 020 3250 0145 which is number in cancellation email. If you select option 1 for "ticket refund" it just plays message about exceptional circumstances, waiting 14 days and then the call cuts. If you don't select option 1 call continues and then you get pre-recorded message "taking more calls than usual, can't put you through to the team, try later" and call cuts off.

Tried calling Bronze line. This has pre-recorded message call 020 3250 0145!

Tried website and forces voucher which I don't want! Javascript option not now working as cash booking.

This is a cash booking 3,500 C class fare which was refundable for a small fee in any case! In view of current economic uncertainty across the country I need these funds back for better use! How do I get my 3,500 back?

Tempted to give it one more try tomorrow morning and if not charge back on credit card (BA Amex so should be easy to charge back). Am I being unreasonable here?
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 11:23 am
  #1139  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Vale of Glamorgan
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,963
Originally Posted by BGI Runner
This is a cash booking 3,500 C class fare which was refundable for a small fee in any case! In view of current economic uncertainty across the country I need these funds back for better use! How do I get my 3,500 back?

Tempted to give it one more try tomorrow morning and if not charge back on credit card (BA Amex so should be easy to charge back). Am I being unreasonable here?
You're not being unreasonable at all. There has been a report in another thread this afternoon that a chargeback was successful.
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Old Mar 27, 2020, 11:55 am
  #1140  
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Originally Posted by BGI Runner
I am getting the same issues. Called 020 3250 0145 which is number in cancellation email. If you select option 1 for "ticket refund" it just plays message about exceptional circumstances, waiting 14 days and then the call cuts. If you don't select option 1 call continues and then you get pre-recorded message "taking more calls than usual, can't put you through to the team, try later" and call cuts off.

Tried calling Bronze line. This has pre-recorded message call 020 3250 0145!

Tried website and forces voucher which I don't want! Javascript option not now working as cash booking.

This is a cash booking 3,500 C class fare which was refundable for a small fee in any case! In view of current economic uncertainty across the country I need these funds back for better use! How do I get my 3,500 back?

Tempted to give it one more try tomorrow morning and if not charge back on credit card (BA Amex so should be easy to charge back). Am I being unreasonable here?
just tried the numbers and are working call 0800 123 111 that us working too but only dealing with travel inside of 72 hours at the moment so if you are out of that range might not be dealt with
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