British Airways offering Avios as a refund option ?
May 20, 2020, 11:51 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2017
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British Airways offering Avios as a refund option ?
As reported in HFP:
"British Airways has added the option to take Avios rather than a cash refund or voucher if your flight is cancelled."
However, the HFP article says it is "assuming" the rates that are offered, which rather undermines the authoritativeness of the story.
Anyone here who can confirm, deny, or add substance to this?
https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/0...-cash-refunds/
"British Airways has added the option to take Avios rather than a cash refund or voucher if your flight is cancelled."
However, the HFP article says it is "assuming" the rates that are offered, which rather undermines the authoritativeness of the story.
Anyone here who can confirm, deny, or add substance to this?
https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/0...-cash-refunds/
May 21, 2020, 2:24 am
#4
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May 21, 2020, 3:02 am
#7
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May 21, 2020, 3:20 am
#8
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I've done some digging around, and yes it's definitely on offer. It's for commercial, i.e. cash revenue bookings only. Obviously it wouldn't make sense for redemptions, and I'm not sure about Part Pay but I suspect they cannot have this offer. The flight needs to be cancelled by BA, as an alternative to a cash refund, it's not open to those in BWC who would otherwise get a FTV if their flight is still showing as operating.
BA being BA, or rather BA being BAEC, had to make this quite complicated and there is a calculator that Contact Centre staff have to use, entering in the cash amount and waiting for what the computer says.
For lower value fares, say below £200, you are getting 108 Avios per Pound Sterling (GBP) of the fare you paid for the now cancelled service. For higher value transactions, say £1,000 it's 123 Avios per GBP. On an example £130 booking, you get 14,100 Avios. On £1,300 it would be 160,700 Avios. Avios take about a week to credit to your account (apparently). From that the way to work out the amount of Avios you would get is to go to the usual Buy Avios page, look down for the GBP value below your fare, work out the pence per Avios (typically 0.5 to 0.6p per Avios) and double it (so you're in the 1 to 1.2p area). Then multiply your fare in pence by that 1 to 1.2 factor.
https://www.britishairways.com/trave...rchaseType=Buy
Is this worth doing? Yes if you get a decent return on your Avios. I aim for 2p value per Avios, so that £130 / 14k Avios is worth around £260 to me. If you use Part Pay with Avios then don't do this, you're throwing money away, since Part Pay, outside any special offers, is usually around 0.7p per Avios, though there is usually an entry level amount of 1p per Avios. If you reduce your Avios on redemptions by increasing the cash amount then so long as you do the maths on the relevant implied exchange rate then yes, you too would benefit from this offer. It's also worth doing if you often find yourself topping up the amount of Avios you need for bookings since it's twice the straight cash amount, however there are frequently deals around where there are bonus Avios, or Amex led deals, or deals via Iberia (of various levels of complexity).
As with all of these remedies, whether cash, FTV, rebooking, make sure you make the right decision since you're only allowed one shot at this, you can't change your mind. And in that respect cash is the best option for those unsure, since obviously that has the flexibility that other forms of exchange won't have. Obviously you also need to be a BAEC member to take advantage of this.
BA being BA, or rather BA being BAEC, had to make this quite complicated and there is a calculator that Contact Centre staff have to use, entering in the cash amount and waiting for what the computer says.
For lower value fares, say below £200, you are getting 108 Avios per Pound Sterling (GBP) of the fare you paid for the now cancelled service. For higher value transactions, say £1,000 it's 123 Avios per GBP. On an example £130 booking, you get 14,100 Avios. On £1,300 it would be 160,700 Avios. Avios take about a week to credit to your account (apparently). From that the way to work out the amount of Avios you would get is to go to the usual Buy Avios page, look down for the GBP value below your fare, work out the pence per Avios (typically 0.5 to 0.6p per Avios) and double it (so you're in the 1 to 1.2p area). Then multiply your fare in pence by that 1 to 1.2 factor.
https://www.britishairways.com/trave...rchaseType=Buy
Is this worth doing? Yes if you get a decent return on your Avios. I aim for 2p value per Avios, so that £130 / 14k Avios is worth around £260 to me. If you use Part Pay with Avios then don't do this, you're throwing money away, since Part Pay, outside any special offers, is usually around 0.7p per Avios, though there is usually an entry level amount of 1p per Avios. If you reduce your Avios on redemptions by increasing the cash amount then so long as you do the maths on the relevant implied exchange rate then yes, you too would benefit from this offer. It's also worth doing if you often find yourself topping up the amount of Avios you need for bookings since it's twice the straight cash amount, however there are frequently deals around where there are bonus Avios, or Amex led deals, or deals via Iberia (of various levels of complexity).
As with all of these remedies, whether cash, FTV, rebooking, make sure you make the right decision since you're only allowed one shot at this, you can't change your mind. And in that respect cash is the best option for those unsure, since obviously that has the flexibility that other forms of exchange won't have. Obviously you also need to be a BAEC member to take advantage of this.
Last edited by corporate-wage-slave; May 21, 2020 at 3:29 am
May 22, 2020, 1:27 am
#11
Join Date: Jan 2020
Programs: British Airways
Posts: 55
This is very interesting. I'm not sure why they never added +10 or +15% onto vouchers for cancelled flights. I'd have taken vouchers over cash with some of my cancelled bookings.
How does this work out to offset cash bookings with avios? Does it make it more attractive than vouchers?
- C-W-S, thanks
If you use Part Pay with Avios then don't do this, you're throwing money away, since Part Pay, outside any special offers, is usually around 0.7p per Avios, though there is usually an entry level amount of 1p per Avios. If you reduce your Avios on redemptions by increasing the cash amount then so long as you do the maths on the relevant implied exchange rate then yes, you too would benefit from this offer.
May 22, 2020, 1:47 am
#12
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No, I don't believe this is possible, not least because it's only for cancelled flights where passengers have a legal right to a full refund - this deal keeps the cashflow internal to IAG. Those with FTV include those who were not entitled to a refund.
May 22, 2020, 2:14 am
#13
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 71
Is there any indication as to whether it might be possible to take a refund partly in cash and partly in Avios? I have an upcoming flight that I believe is likely to be cancelled - the total refund would be over £4,000 and although the avios offer is tempting I wouldn't want to spend that amount on "buying" avios. However if I could take £1 - 2,000 in Avios and the rest in cash I would be tempted.
May 22, 2020, 2:17 am
#14
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Is there any indication as to whether it might be possible to take a refund partly in cash and partly in Avios? I have an upcoming flight that I believe is likely to be cancelled - the total refund would be over £4,000 and although the avios offer is tempting I wouldn't want to spend that amount on "buying" avios. However if I could take £1 - 2,000 in Avios and the rest in cash I would be tempted.