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:
Paid Seating Refund:
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
Lloyds Upgrade Voucher Notes
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.
- Online forms (Post #435 - corporate-wage-slave) - manual process which may take many weeks
Paid Seating Refund:
- https://www.britishairways.com/trave...ing_claim_form (Post #765 - travelhappypair)
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.
- Use the Qantas website and look back to your original PNR. Step by step guide in post 954
Covid-19 BA Rebooking/Cancellation/Refund HELP & ADVICE *No Speculation etc*
#1321
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: North West UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3
Refund calculation help
I hope that someone here can help me with a refund question.
I have a BA Holiday booking (flights and car) booked on BA.com for travel next month. So far a deposit of £500 has been paid. This payment was made when the holiday was booked on 07/01/20. The balance (£4488) is due on 07/04/20.
Post #1245 indicated that refunds for self-cancellations may have a lesser value if booked before the Buying with Confidence Policy was introduced and that a voucher may be the way to go.
Can anyone advise what the refund position would be? Flight details are:
BA1389 MAN – LHR (selling class K) 26/05/20
BA0287 LHR – SFO (T) 26/05/20
BA0286 SFO – LHR (A) 13/06/20
BA1402 LHR – MAN (J) 14/06/20
The price includes paid seat selection on the outbound TATL flight.
As I doubt that this Holiday will happen, I am reluctant to pay the balance but at the moment none of the flights are showing as cancelled in MMB, in fact they are still being sold.
Thanks.
I have a BA Holiday booking (flights and car) booked on BA.com for travel next month. So far a deposit of £500 has been paid. This payment was made when the holiday was booked on 07/01/20. The balance (£4488) is due on 07/04/20.
Post #1245 indicated that refunds for self-cancellations may have a lesser value if booked before the Buying with Confidence Policy was introduced and that a voucher may be the way to go.
Can anyone advise what the refund position would be? Flight details are:
BA1389 MAN – LHR (selling class K) 26/05/20
BA0287 LHR – SFO (T) 26/05/20
BA0286 SFO – LHR (A) 13/06/20
BA1402 LHR – MAN (J) 14/06/20
The price includes paid seat selection on the outbound TATL flight.
As I doubt that this Holiday will happen, I am reluctant to pay the balance but at the moment none of the flights are showing as cancelled in MMB, in fact they are still being sold.
Thanks.
#1322
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA Blue, IC Spire Ambassador
Posts: 5,228
I have a question about a BA Holiday too. Booked as a gift for my brother & friend to go to Vegas in early May with hotel.
I don’t want a voucher, I either would like a cash refund (preference) or would happily rebook them to 2021 (well actually my preference would obviously for this not to be happening & travel as planned!) I can’t change the booking online. I find the FAQs unclear on position where you have a package element such as a hotel. Can I change both flight & hotel without penalty now, even though flight (ex Gatwick) is not yet cancelled?
Second question is that as a matter of law right now, with stay at home rules, it is unlawful to leave home without ‘reasonable excuse’. If the flight does operate and all they offer is a voucher or a more expensive holiday next year do we think an option would be to treat the contract as frustrated because one of the parties due to compulsion of law are unable to travel to the airport? I booked on a credit card so does any consumer protection legislation apply?
In other words - what’s the best way to try to get a full refund or if not a free change rather than a voucher which, as I expect, will not cover the cost - I expect holidays to be very expensive next year if we get there.
I don’t want a voucher, I either would like a cash refund (preference) or would happily rebook them to 2021 (well actually my preference would obviously for this not to be happening & travel as planned!) I can’t change the booking online. I find the FAQs unclear on position where you have a package element such as a hotel. Can I change both flight & hotel without penalty now, even though flight (ex Gatwick) is not yet cancelled?
Second question is that as a matter of law right now, with stay at home rules, it is unlawful to leave home without ‘reasonable excuse’. If the flight does operate and all they offer is a voucher or a more expensive holiday next year do we think an option would be to treat the contract as frustrated because one of the parties due to compulsion of law are unable to travel to the airport? I booked on a credit card so does any consumer protection legislation apply?
In other words - what’s the best way to try to get a full refund or if not a free change rather than a voucher which, as I expect, will not cover the cost - I expect holidays to be very expensive next year if we get there.
#1323
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
Because you are within 3 days of paying the original date on the final settlement, I would ring up today / tomorrow and select specifically BA Holidays on the telephone options, and check what I believe to be the case: namely that you can now make final payment 3 weeks before departure. This buys more time, a lot of people are getting proactive cancellations from BAH anyway. It would be good if you could report back here too, so others can be helped.
#1324
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
The short answer is to hold on until nearer departure time. Inclusive package bookings have a lot of legal protections, so if the trip is non viable then BAH will (and has) offered proactive cancellations with a full refund. Further examples of this can be found upthread.
#1325
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA Blue, IC Spire Ambassador
Posts: 5,228
The short answer is to hold on until nearer departure time. Inclusive package bookings have a lot of legal protections, so if the trip is non viable then BAH will (and has) offered proactive cancellations with a full refund. Further examples of this can be found upthread.
#1326
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 245
Apologies if been asked before. If I take the voucher from BA, it must be used within 12 months from date of the original departure flight. Does the 12 months mean the outbound journey must be taken from then? Or the entire trip? Thanks!
#1328
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 5,398
Further data point : got through just now (Saturday 1430 BST) after 20 mins hold. Chap that answered was extremely pleasant but wouldn't touch the 4 Avios bookings I've had cancelled in May as they were >72hrs from now. I pointed out that if this policy is being strictly enforced then I would have to call 4 separate times in May rather than once... the irony wasn't lost on him.
All four bookings redirect to a new style 'disruption' page rather than the full MMB (this seems new in the last few days) with no options but the voucher and the JS workaround doesn't help.
Does anyone have a data point of successfully using the manual data entry cancel/refund forms linked to by CWS in the wiki (which are also being redirected to the voucher form but turning of JS still allows you to access them)? For clarity I am not talking about anything connected to MMB but the manual forms that can be filled out.
thanks
All four bookings redirect to a new style 'disruption' page rather than the full MMB (this seems new in the last few days) with no options but the voucher and the JS workaround doesn't help.
Does anyone have a data point of successfully using the manual data entry cancel/refund forms linked to by CWS in the wiki (which are also being redirected to the voucher form but turning of JS still allows you to access them)? For clarity I am not talking about anything connected to MMB but the manual forms that can be filled out.
thanks
#1329
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: North West UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3
Refund calculation help
Because you are within 3 days of paying the original date on the final settlement, I would ring up today / tomorrow and select specifically BA Holidays on the telephone options, and check what I believe to be the case: namely that you can now make final payment 3 weeks before departure. This buys more time, a lot of people are getting proactive cancellations from BAH anyway. It would be good if you could report back here too, so others can be helped.
Hope this helps others who have received final balance reminder e-mails for holidays.
#1330
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: South East, UK
Programs: BA Gold / GfL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,432
Just wanted to flag this experience in case anyone else has had problems getting Avios and vouchers returned after doing an online cancellation.
#1331
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 94
I have a ticket starting travel 30 May 2020 and returning home 18 June 2020. I have postponed trip to same dates in 2021, but have't applied for the voucher yet (waiting to see if it will be cancelled. (Houston-London-Nairobi-London-Phoenix). And waiting to call BA closed to the travel dates.
Are you saying my voucher won't be any good for the ENTIRE 2021 dates?? Where did you get your information? If so, I am devastated.
Are you saying my voucher won't be any good for the ENTIRE 2021 dates?? Where did you get your information? If so, I am devastated.
#1332
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
Are you saying my voucher won't be any good for the ENTIRE 2021 dates?? Where did you get your information? If so, I am devastated.
#1334
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EP, MUCCI, Proudly BA Blue,.
Posts: 887
I don't think there has been an official statement on that, however some anecdotes which have suggested a 6 month extension have been offered. Any more recent anecdotes are welcome here, there was one anecdote which suggested that BA are not extending 2-4-1 vouchers, so it's not totally clear.
I was given a 6 month extension on my unused 2-4-1 voucher just a couple of weeks ago. I have an upcoming trip to Europe in early June (that I'm holding on till the last minute with fading hope!) so it will be interesting to see if A) I get that reinstated when I cancel the flight and B) whether it will also get a 6 m month extension.
#1335
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
A challenge indeed ... which also requires certain African countries to re-open their borders! Our South Africa trip in December depends as much on ZA Government as BA! Good luck.