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
#3016
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 138
I have a connecting itinerary where some legs on both the outbound and inbound are cancelled.
I'd like to fly the outbound but not the inbound, but usually one-way fares are prohibitively expensive.
In this case do BA allow a refund of the fare for the inbound without recalculation as a one-way?
I'd like to fly the outbound but not the inbound, but usually one-way fares are prohibitively expensive.
In this case do BA allow a refund of the fare for the inbound without recalculation as a one-way?
#3017
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: LAX, SNA, LGB
Posts: 452
I had the first flight of my itinerary of a cash booking cancelled and did not accept the rebooking. The date of the rebooking has passed. I went to inquire about rebooking today but was told that I was a no-show and they said refunding was the only option. Refunding was not automatically done and was only done after I inquired about rebooking.
#3018
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
Have the dates of the (non-cancelled) subsequent flight(s) in the booking also already passed?
#3020
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,709
With even one flight number changed, the Manage My Booking option should bring up a "Sorry your flight was cancelled, we've rebooked you" screen, which should let you change dates for both outbound and inbound. You should be able to play with it and see what it allows, without finalizing it or accepting the currently booked flights (preserving your options). This is the case for one of my trips for February; I can change the dates on both outbound and inbound up until the first week of December. I've tested it just to see, without finalizing it.
Can I change my booking?
Please contact us to change your trip or if we can help with your booking.
The next item it then gives is:
Cancellation options
Looks like I'll have to call and play agent roulette.
#3021
formerly JackDann
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Northern Ireland
Posts: 1,658
I would call BAH as soon as you can (the hard bit will be getting through to them on the phone!) I found them pretty flexible a couple of times last year when I needed to make changes which weren't necessarily strictly within their T&Cs. Appreciate you'd rather change the destination than get a refund, but my reading of the following link is that you could get a refund if the foreign country are denying entry:
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...oucher-request
"I’m travelling within the next 28 days and have been impacted by one of the following that cannot be avoided through testing or vaccination:
Restrictions that prevent entry to the country or mandatory quarantine have been applied at my destination"
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...oucher-request
"I’m travelling within the next 28 days and have been impacted by one of the following that cannot be avoided through testing or vaccination:
Restrictions that prevent entry to the country or mandatory quarantine have been applied at my destination"
Asked if I could re-route to HKT and they allowed me free of charge. Now flying on QR’s new 787-9. Thanks for help people and great customer service from BAH team.
#3022
Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 300
We have a BAH booking originally 20-23 Jan to NYC. The daytime inbound flight on 23/1 was cancelled and because of testing requirements at the time we were rebooked onto the night flight on 22/1 so that we could isolate until negative tests back. The flight originally offered to us in place of the cancelled flight was an overnight on the 23/1.
We still have the hotel until 23/1.
Now that inbound testing has relaxed we would like to see if we can move the now already changed flight back to an overnight on the 23/1 (i.e. the originally offered replacement flight). Will they let us do this?
We still have the hotel until 23/1.
Now that inbound testing has relaxed we would like to see if we can move the now already changed flight back to an overnight on the 23/1 (i.e. the originally offered replacement flight). Will they let us do this?
#3023
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: OW
Posts: 226
Used in Nov 21, two separate e-vouchers with combined value 13 GBP higher than new "plain vanilla GBP" booking but cannot locate the new e-voucher in Inbox - anyone know another way to retrieve the 125-number for the residual 13 GBP e-voucher without calling BA?
I thought this may be a case where the residual amount is de minimis so refunded to original payment method but (1) have checked relevant payment card and cannot locate any refund and (2) just made a completely separate new booking was was emailed a residual voucher for 50 pence...
Thanks in advance!
I thought this may be a case where the residual amount is de minimis so refunded to original payment method but (1) have checked relevant payment card and cannot locate any refund and (2) just made a completely separate new booking was was emailed a residual voucher for 50 pence...
Thanks in advance!
#3024
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,968
i have had refunds as evouchers for less than that so i am not sure there is a refund for lower amounts.
Just try searching for the standard paragraph in the new evoucher email:
EDIT: done some searching and looks like my record lowest was £1.08
Just try searching for the standard paragraph in the new evoucher email:
Thank you for making a booking with us. As you did not spend the total value of your original eVoucher, we have emailed you another eVoucher for the change due. We have used the name of one of the passengers in the booking you made with British Airways, although it may not be your name. An eVoucher is transferable and the name is verified against the eVoucher number.
Last edited by KARFA; Jan 5, 2022 at 1:32 pm
#3025
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: near Heathrow
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL (OWE), SA LifePlat (*G), BD Gold to the end, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,911
#3026
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: AA EXP, DL Plat, VX Gold, VS Gold, HHonors Gold; SPG Gold; Marriott Gold
Posts: 238
Thanks for the advice! FWIW it took two calls to BA to resolve - the first made all the changes and also allowed me to switch LAX on one segment to SFO (quoting 350 miles instead of 300 miles as the rule), but was unable to finalize the booking needing 'supervisor' to override it for some reason, but she did hold the new flights. Second call agent was able see the new flights and was able to delete cancelled flight and push through to ticketing and questioned why first agent couldn't complete the rebooking due to cancelled flights..... Only after second agent intervention could I access the revised itinerary in MMB and get past the 'your flights have been cancelled' screen.
#3027
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posts: 2,290
There is a separate and longstanding provision for those unable to fly and can document this, essentially a free transfer to a date after you become fit to fly again, but unless MMB gives this to you anyway then you would have to talk to the contact centre about it, and that's not easy to do.
#3028
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 41
Award on Partner OW airline
Hi There
does anyone know where I can find the rules on cancellation/deferring a JL flight booked with Avios?
cant get into Japan (booked a year ago) so need to cancel it and push back a year
does anyone know where I can find the rules on cancellation/deferring a JL flight booked with Avios?
cant get into Japan (booked a year ago) so need to cancel it and push back a year
#3029
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,968
the alternative is request a future travel voucher online. nothing is refunded and the cash and avios is held on the FTV for use towards a new booking for travel completed by the end of sept 2023. you can check availability online but you will need to call to book.
#3030
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
Is this still the case? We’re supposed to be flying tomorrow but my daughter (passenger) tested positive this week. I was able to get through to the call center (after being disconnected eight times…), but they just offered me an eye watering fare difference to fly next week…