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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
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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 3, 2020, 7:08 am
  #1306  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,074
Data point - got through to UK gold line just now with only 2 minutes on hold for an Avios booking later this month - well outside of 72 hours but I wanted to cancel now so I can rebook for later in the year while there is still award availability. The chap was very pleasant and very helpful.
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 7:14 am
  #1307  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Scotland
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 443
Yesterday I cancelled my flights to IAH in May, requested voucher ( I had my reasons ) and today I have the voucher.
Very impressed with the quick service
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 8:14 am
  #1308  
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Join Date: Mar 2010
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Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
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For those who are content to have a 12-month validity voucher against potential future travel, I’m quite sure BA and their systems will be only too pleased to kick the passenger’s problem into the long grass for now.

Personally, until I have ANY confidence that we will be able to go where we wish in April 2021 onward, assuming destination country/hotel/facilities are functioning as before, a speculative voucher is the last thing I need. Cash back, please, BA ... I will reappraise the situation later in the year. Then, and only then, will we be in a position to decide where we might go ... and indeed with which airline!!
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 8:22 am
  #1309  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Posts: 63,821
Originally Posted by turncol
All on a single booking paid for with Cash+Avios, I also paid for seat bookings on all legs. The flights were booked in December 2019

Currently it appears that BA are only offering the vouchers for flights before the 31st of May, do I currently have any options? Should I wait to see if BA extends the voucher dates?
Originally Posted by stefan_nl
I think waiting is the best strategy at this moment.
Yes I agree that waiting is the best option at the moment. When we move towards the end of this month then BA will have to make some decisions about the Buying with Confidence policy, and there isn't much you can do in the mean time, realistically. I guess, on the 10% chance that somehow we emerge from the crisis by then, there is an option as to whether you would go ahead with a visit to Canada organising your own holiday?
corporate-wage-slave is online now  
Old Apr 3, 2020, 11:16 am
  #1310  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,973
Does anyone know what happens if BA cancels my booking, but I am unable to get in contact with them for a refund before the schedule travel date (do not want the voucher)? I have been trying to contact them for the past week with little success so just trying to figure out the worst case scenario.
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 11:32 am
  #1311  
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NYC, FLL
Programs: UA PP 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy LTTE, BA Gold
Posts: 6,324
<edited old info>

I just submitted a refund online for a non-cancelled flight in June. Got my money back in 3 days (minus a cancellation fee, in my case).
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 11:34 am
  #1312  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,973
Originally Posted by seanp7
Did you try the Javascript workaround from this thread?

I just did the Javascript refund for a non-cancelled flight in June. Got my money back in 3 days (minus a cancellation fee, in my case).
Yeah flight was cancelled so it didn't work. However, instead of trying to call the 18777677970 number I just tried dialing the regular US number and hit make a new booking. Took a long time on hold (hence why I posted as I had another call so was going to need to hang up in 30 mins more) but finally got through and agent was super nice and helped with cancellations.
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 11:35 am
  #1313  
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NYC, FLL
Programs: UA PP 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy LTTE, BA Gold
Posts: 6,324
Originally Posted by olouie
Yeah flight was cancelled so it didn't work.
Yes, apologies, I edited my post just before your post as I didn't see the 29 MAR wiki update. Glad you got it sorted out.
seanp7 is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2020, 12:19 pm
  #1314  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 235
Still waiting for my voucher 2 weeks later, is this normal?
seantheman is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2020, 12:21 pm
  #1315  
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: 63,821
Originally Posted by olouie
Does anyone know what happens if BA cancels my booking, but I am unable to get in contact with them for a refund before the schedule travel date (do not want the voucher)? I have been trying to contact them for the past week with little success so just trying to figure out the worst case scenario.
Going back to the original question, if BA cancel the first leg on the PNR then there is no rush. You won't get the money until you do call in, but you have about a year to do so easily, and 4 to 6 years in law to get your refund. After a year the PNR is likely to vanish from the BA system, it can be dug out again but it's more hassle.
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 12:22 pm
  #1316  
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: 63,821
Originally Posted by seantheman
Still waiting for my voucher 2 weeks later, is this normal?
Yes, there are other examples in this thread and on related threads. Next week, when Contact Centres should be quiet on the whole, by all means ring up to enquire, or use Twitter DM.
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corporate-wage-slave is online now  
Old Apr 3, 2020, 2:48 pm
  #1317  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,973
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
Going back to the original question, if BA cancel the first leg on the PNR then there is no rush. You won't get the money until you do call in, but you have about a year to do so easily, and 4 to 6 years in law to get your refund. After a year the PNR is likely to vanish from the BA system, it can be dug out again but it's more hassle.
Thank you! Thats very useful information. I have a bunch of upcoming flights that are slowly but surely getting cancelled as time go on. So its nice to know that I dont have to rush to get the refund.
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 3:19 pm
  #1318  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: UK
Programs: Baec
Posts: 191
I made a booking for a couple of friends that has been cancelled. Can I use the BAEC Gold line to deal with this as I'm a member but the people on the tickets are not?
thinkingallowed is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2020, 3:24 pm
  #1319  
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: 63,821
Originally Posted by thinkingallowed
I made a booking for a couple of friends that has been cancelled. Can I use the BAEC Gold line to deal with this as I'm a member but the people on the tickets are not?
Yes, but I don't think it's making a difference since it's a single queue at the moment, no matter where you enter the system, excepting those who can use Didsbury. They presumably will revert back to the different queues once India is back online but there is no immediate sign of that.
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corporate-wage-slave is online now  
Old Apr 4, 2020, 3:10 am
  #1320  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 778
Originally Posted by olouie
Does anyone know what happens if BA cancels my booking, but I am unable to get in contact with them for a refund before the schedule travel date (do not want the voucher)? I have been trying to contact them for the past week with little success so just trying to figure out the worst case scenario.
Send them a message via Twitter they are normally very helpful, there might be a short delay, but they will do their utmost to help you.
CharlotteC is offline  


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