Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
01 - 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 2023 (now extended from April 2022 including existing FTVs), 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. If you us,ed an FTV to pay for this now cancelled service then you can have a refund back to the FTV's original booking.
Online forms: manual process which may take many weeks
link to webform to claim a refund (UK) or link to webform to claim a refund (US)
Paid Seating Refund:
link to webform to claim a refund (UK)
02 - If your flight is not cancelled but you no longer wish to travel
Commercial booking: If you are eligible for Buy with Confidence, you can have an FTV valid until 31 August 2022 (this has been extended several times). Rebooking may lead to a fare recalculation but no change fee. Travel must be fully completed by this date.
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 30 April 2022, 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: https://ba.com/confidence
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
A full refund of Avios and money paid plus 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
03 - How to find out the status of your voucher and the amount it contains
Use the Qantas website and look back to your original PNR. Step by step guide by corporate-wage-slave
04 - Future Travel Vouchers versus eVouchers
FTVs cannot be used online (and are not really vouchers), whereas eVouchers, issued for simple bookings, can be used online.
BA are now issuing eVouchers directly in simple cases, and also proactively replacing existing FTVs with new eVouchers. These are usable online. Complex cases still get FTVs, which require a phone call to book. In both cases, you need to apply online through the Cancellation Options in MMB, and both will generate an email typically within a few minutes. This is how to tell the difference
1) eVouchers will get an email entitled "Your British Airways eVoucher"
This will then have a line like this and the online ability is mentioned in the email text:
Your eVoucher details
125-1234567890 / GBP48.87 / WAGE-SLAVE /
2) FTVs will get an email entitled "Your British Airways Future Travel Voucher"
The relevant line then shows:
Voucher code(s)
125-1234567890
It doesn't take much, by FT standards, to turn a booking too complicated for the automated eVoucher. POUGs, flight changes, TCP, seat payment, pay payment with Avios, UuA. 48 and 72 hour Hold bookings all stop it. But if you made a simple single or return booking, point to point, on BA.com and didn't change it, then you should get an eVoucher.
If you obtain an FTV, deploy it on a new booking which BA then cancels, then you can get a refund of the cash from the first booking that led to the FTV. Or an Avios refund without redeposit fees if it was a redemption.
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 2023 (now extended from April 2022 including existing FTVs), 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. If you us,ed an FTV to pay for this now cancelled service then you can have a refund back to the FTV's original booking.
Online forms: manual process which may take many weeks
link to webform to claim a refund (UK) or link to webform to claim a refund (US)
Paid Seating Refund:
link to webform to claim a refund (UK)
02 - If your flight is not cancelled but you no longer wish to travel
Commercial booking: If you are eligible for Buy with Confidence, you can have an FTV valid until 31 August 2022 (this has been extended several times). Rebooking may lead to a fare recalculation but no change fee. Travel must be fully completed by this date.
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 30 April 2022, 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: https://ba.com/confidence
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
A full refund of Avios and money paid plus 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.
03 - How to find out the status of your voucher and the amount it contains
Use the Qantas website and look back to your original PNR. Step by step guide by corporate-wage-slave
04 - Future Travel Vouchers versus eVouchers
FTVs cannot be used online (and are not really vouchers), whereas eVouchers, issued for simple bookings, can be used online.
BA are now issuing eVouchers directly in simple cases, and also proactively replacing existing FTVs with new eVouchers. These are usable online. Complex cases still get FTVs, which require a phone call to book. In both cases, you need to apply online through the Cancellation Options in MMB, and both will generate an email typically within a few minutes. This is how to tell the difference
1) eVouchers will get an email entitled "Your British Airways eVoucher"
This will then have a line like this and the online ability is mentioned in the email text:
Your eVoucher details
125-1234567890 / GBP48.87 / WAGE-SLAVE /
2) FTVs will get an email entitled "Your British Airways Future Travel Voucher"
The relevant line then shows:
Voucher code(s)
125-1234567890
It doesn't take much, by FT standards, to turn a booking too complicated for the automated eVoucher. POUGs, flight changes, TCP, seat payment, pay payment with Avios, UuA. 48 and 72 hour Hold bookings all stop it. But if you made a simple single or return booking, point to point, on BA.com and didn't change it, then you should get an eVoucher.
If you obtain an FTV, deploy it on a new booking which BA then cancels, then you can get a refund of the cash from the first booking that led to the FTV. Or an Avios refund without redeposit fees if it was a redemption.
BA Covid-19 Flight cancellations, rebooking, and refunds | Help and advice thread
#197
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
It really depends on the specifics of your own booking, there isn’t a fixed answer. If it’s a simple booking (note - BA’s/Amadeus’s definition, not yours), arranged before 6pm UK time, it’ll be processed the same day and back to you within however long it takes your card company to handle it. If it’s a complex booking that requires manual handling, it’ll go into a queue for processing. Mostly these are sorted within a fortnight, but there are some that take a bit longer.
#198
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: 63,809
#199
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 690
Thank you. I booked an Avios redemption flight this morning and totally forgot I had an eVoucher I need to use. Was trying to figure out if I should cancel it within the 24-hour cooling-off period (and then try again using the eVoucher) but sounds like it won't work anyway.
#200
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 52
3b1) Unless it says differently on the ticket, in these conditions of carriage, or in any tariffs which apply, a ticket is valid for travel for:
- one year from the date it is issued or
- one year from the date you first travelled using the ticket, as long as your first flight took place within a year of the ticket being issued.
- extend the validity period of the ticket or
- give you a voluntary fare refund.
Is this correct or do they have a get-out somewhere?
#201
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 762
BA's General Conditions of Carriage, https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...ns-of-carriage, in Section 3 Tickets say
3b1) Unless it says differently on the ticket, in these conditions of carriage, or in any tariffs which apply, a ticket is valid for travel for:
Is this correct or do they have a get-out somewhere?
3b1) Unless it says differently on the ticket, in these conditions of carriage, or in any tariffs which apply, a ticket is valid for travel for:
- one year from the date it is issued or
- one year from the date you first travelled using the ticket, as long as your first flight took place within a year of the ticket being issued.
- extend the validity period of the ticket or
- give you a voluntary fare refund.
Is this correct or do they have a get-out somewhere?
Last edited by jameslon; Jan 11, 2021 at 11:19 am
#202
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,440
I just wanted to double check something here.
Currently, if I book flights for March in the sale (at a good price) and they get cancelled, I can rebook within the ticket validity for free. So a real win.
However, am I right in saying that this isn’t the case for BA Holidays. If they cancel my holiday and I want to change dates, I would have to pay any difference in price.
If so, surely it’s best just to book flight only?
Currently, if I book flights for March in the sale (at a good price) and they get cancelled, I can rebook within the ticket validity for free. So a real win.
However, am I right in saying that this isn’t the case for BA Holidays. If they cancel my holiday and I want to change dates, I would have to pay any difference in price.
If so, surely it’s best just to book flight only?
#203
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
I just wanted to double check something here.
Currently, if I book flights for March in the sale (at a good price) and they get cancelled, I can rebook within the ticket validity for free. So a real win.
However, am I right in saying that this isn’t the case for BA Holidays. If they cancel my holiday and I want to change dates, I would have to pay any difference in price.
If so, surely it’s best just to book flight only?
Currently, if I book flights for March in the sale (at a good price) and they get cancelled, I can rebook within the ticket validity for free. So a real win.
However, am I right in saying that this isn’t the case for BA Holidays. If they cancel my holiday and I want to change dates, I would have to pay any difference in price.
If so, surely it’s best just to book flight only?
I have a BAH booking to London ( booked in December with the GBP179 r/t CE deal ) in May and I don't want to lose that fare if border restrictions occur and the trip gets cancelled.
#204
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: BER
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,843
im sorry but i hope it hasnt been asked/answered before.
has anyone a link to the customer guidelines that were updated?
"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." from the wiki...
this policy seems kinda unknown to the german callcenter and i dont want to deal/struggle with the GB callcenter
has anyone a link to the customer guidelines that were updated?
"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." from the wiki...
this policy seems kinda unknown to the german callcenter and i dont want to deal/struggle with the GB callcenter
#205
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,967
im sorry but i hope it hasnt been asked/answered before.
has anyone a link to the customer guidelines that were updated?
"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." from the wiki...
this policy seems kinda unknown to the german callcenter and i dont want to deal/struggle with the GB callcenter
has anyone a link to the customer guidelines that were updated?
"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." from the wiki...
this policy seems kinda unknown to the german callcenter and i dont want to deal/struggle with the GB callcenter
I have just checked again and update 9 is still current. It is under COVID-19 - Principal Customer Guidelines.
#206
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: BER
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,843
There is a screenshot here https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32809399-post18.html
I have just checked again and update 9 is still current. It is under COVID-19 - Principal Customer Guidelines.
I have just checked again and update 9 is still current. It is under COVID-19 - Principal Customer Guidelines.
#207
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,967
#208
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: BER
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,843
It is on the BA travel trade site here https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...covid-policies under the Principle Guidelines tab
Last edited by Nephoi; Jan 12, 2021 at 11:26 am
#209
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Italy
Programs: Accor Gold, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond , Amex Platinum
Posts: 1,484
I booked by avios points a Qatar Airways flight (232.000 avios + 526,72 taxes)
I have cancelled on line this trip (no options were given) but I received automatically 2 vouchers without any detail (avios and money amounts) instead a full Avios points and taxes refund, as clearly written on t&c of my ticket
I phoned the BA CC in Italy and I have been told that I can’t have my Avios points and taxes back but I will have to use those vouchers for new reservations, instead Avios
do someone know if this is normal ?
many thanks
I have cancelled on line this trip (no options were given) but I received automatically 2 vouchers without any detail (avios and money amounts) instead a full Avios points and taxes refund, as clearly written on t&c of my ticket
I phoned the BA CC in Italy and I have been told that I can’t have my Avios points and taxes back but I will have to use those vouchers for new reservations, instead Avios
do someone know if this is normal ?
many thanks
#210
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
I booked by avios points a Qatar Airways flight (232.000 avios + 526,72€ taxes)
I have cancelled on line this trip (no options were given) but I received automatically 2 vouchers without any detail (avios and money amounts) instead a full Avios points and taxes refund, as clearly written on t&c of my ticket
I phoned the BA CC in Italy and I have been told that I can’t have my Avios points and taxes back but I will have to use those vouchers for new reservations, instead Avios
do someone know if this is normal ?
many thanks
I have cancelled on line this trip (no options were given) but I received automatically 2 vouchers without any detail (avios and money amounts) instead a full Avios points and taxes refund, as clearly written on t&c of my ticket
I phoned the BA CC in Italy and I have been told that I can’t have my Avios points and taxes back but I will have to use those vouchers for new reservations, instead Avios
do someone know if this is normal ?
many thanks