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

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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*

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Old Apr 2, 2020, 4:22 am
  #1276  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,709
Originally Posted by wilsnunn
When I called from my Three mobile I got cut off in the middle of a recorded message, when I called from Skype (free to the UK gold number) I got through instantly.
Thanks for the tip, Three for me too. Tried calling from Skype but it just rings out and doesn't even answer.... Edit: needed to add a 0 in front of the 800, let's see if this works, got through the menus OK without being cut off so that's progress. Thanks wilsnunn!
flashware is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 5:08 am
  #1277  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,553
Originally Posted by Hawk777
More cancellations due out this afternoon so for those still not cancelled I wouldn't be doing anything yet
How do we know? For what date range?
Dan1113 is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 5:10 am
  #1278  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 37
Originally Posted by wilsnunn
When I called from my Three mobile I got cut off in the middle of a recorded message, when I called from Skype (free to the UK gold number) I got through instantly.
Excellent tip - same experience for me. Mobile phone cut off when calling the gold line number. Skype connected very quickly and got a full refund with no questions.
wilsnunn likes this.
hectorb is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 5:15 am
  #1279  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,709
All sorted on all bookings I had in April, she offered to look at the rest without me asking. Avios returned immediately for those that were redemptions, cash refund will take 2 weeks. All good.

One trip that I had cancelled under the book with confidence guarantee and requested the eVoucher online (submitted 2.5 weeks), she said there was no record of it even being submitted. Doh. Anyway, she processed it there and then which included the POUG I did so all sorted on that one.

Couldn't sort out an OnBusiness redemption that I had so I'll have to call the OnBusiness team. That's all sorted, 7 days to refund to OnBusiness points, which will also have their expiry extended by 12 months as they did expire on 31/12/2019.

Another booking I had with a Lloyds Upgrade Voucher used, they're not able to access the system so have to call Avios for that one 0344 493 3349. Avios will take 7 days to refund, cash refund will take up to 4 weeks to process.

I hope the data points are useful!

Last edited by flashware; Apr 2, 2020 at 5:40 am
flashware is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 5:16 am
  #1280  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,074
Originally Posted by Dan1113
How do we know? For what date range?
Had a flight for 30 Apr that was cancelled today.
YYCCL3 is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 5:18 am
  #1281  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Madrid
Programs: BA GfL
Posts: 157
We had an all-cash booking for the 5th April (in fact we had already been rebooked from cancelled flights on the 4th).

I used the refund page on the BA site on 24th March and got the final screen confirming my refund request and that I'd receive an email confirmation.

To date (2nd April) I haven't received any email confirmation.

I called BA today (UK number) and got through to a very helpful agent pretty much immediately. She confirmed that the flights had been cancelled but there was NO flag on the booking to say that a refund was in process. She said she will request this manually and it could take up to 14 days.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you request a refund (or a voucher?) and you don't get a confirmation email, you may need to follow up.
Lost-in-Space is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 5:43 am
  #1282  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,709
Just to add also, I got straight through to the OnBusiness team, straight through to Avios.com and 3 minute wait on the Gold line. Called from my mobile for OB & Avios, called from Skype for Gold line.
flashware is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 6:03 am
  #1283  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 474
I gave up calling and went for an AmEx chargeback. Will post results when I get some.
T8191 and SkiSunday like this.
ShortDog is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 6:36 am
  #1284  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 629
Originally Posted by Dan1113
How do we know? For what date range?
for April and May long and short haul some cancellations also being worked on for June
Hawk777 is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 7:01 am
  #1285  
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: BER
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,843
Originally Posted by Hawk777
for April and May long and short haul some cancellations also being worked on for June
are the changes already implemented?
Nephoi is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 7:19 am
  #1286  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, Accor Live Limitless Gold, Hilton Honours Gold, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 1,807
Originally Posted by Nephoi
are the changes already implemented?
They have certainly started, I received a cancellation for a family member’s flight towards the end of April a few hours ago.
wilsnunn is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 7:32 am
  #1287  
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Programs: British Airways
Posts: 55
If you request a voucher do you receive a confirmation e-mail that the form was submitted? I saw the on screen message that we have your request and it'll be done in 7 days... But no e-mail confirmation?

With the cash refund I received a confirmation e-mail. Just checking this is the correct user experience so I'm not sat on my hands waiting for nothing. Don't see it in the wiki
CharlesWindsorClive1964 is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 7:40 am
  #1288  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,928
Originally Posted by CharlesWindsorClive1964
If you request a voucher do you receive a confirmation e-mail that the form was submitted? I saw the on screen message that we have your request and it'll be done in 7 days... But no e-mail confirmation?

With the cash refund I received a confirmation e-mail. Just checking this is the correct user experience so I'm not sat on my hands waiting for nothing. Don't see it in the wiki
No, there is no email confirmation. Quite surprising, really.
Tobias-UK is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 8:03 am
  #1289  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Vale of Glamorgan
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,992
Originally Posted by Tobias-UK
No, there is no email confirmation. Quite surprising, really.
British Airways' website has the following "assurance":
You won’t receive a confirmation message but please be assured that we will have your application and will be processing it.
which is nonsense, because without a confirmation email you cannot be certain that the application has been received.
Misco60 is offline  
Old Apr 2, 2020, 8:06 am
  #1290  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 629
Originally Posted by Misco60
British Airways' website has the following "assurance":which is nonsense, because without a confirmation email you cannot be certain that the application has been received.
just take a screenshot as advised to since page 1 of when applying for it
Hawk777 is offline  


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