Jan 1, 2021, 8:29 am
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
Jan 18, 2021, 2:32 pm
#376
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: 63,791
Black friday 20% discount nightmare, i had to cancel a booking with BA due to the recent lockdown. There wonderful website stated that i would get a voucher to the full value of my booking, when i paid online the total cost was £887 but i was charged £709 due to the 20% discount code however the full total at checkout was £887 and i thought i would get a voucher for this amount!
In another context I remember BA got into trouble for putting more money on to credit cards than was originally paid out (the difference originally being paid in Avios) such that BA had to revise their policies in this area. I think when the discount was offered it was fairly dicey as to whether travel would be allowed. There has been a recent change to policy noted above, so that if there is a change to entry requirements in your destination since booking you can move the flight instead, but that depends on your destination.
But if the flight is operating then your main remedy is an FTV for whatever you paid. There may be further deals when flying becomes easier.
Jan 18, 2021, 2:37 pm
#377
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,945
Black friday 20% discount nightmare, i had to cancel a booking with BA due to the recent lockdown. There wonderful website stated that i would get a voucher to the full value of my booking, when i paid online the total cost was £887 but i was charged £709 due to the 20% discount code however the full total at checkout was £887 and i thought i would get a voucher for this amount!
In the end had to request a voucher however the value is £709 and doesnt include the money taken off because of the discount code.
i have contacted customer relations and they are saying that i am only entitled to £709 as that is the total paid, i asked for a refund as there website didnt make it clear that they will only provide a partial value voucher instead of the advertised ‘full value voucher’ however they are refusing to refund and also refusing to give me a voucher for the full value - £887
Unluckily for me my son who was just under 2 is travelling and will be turning 2 so i have to book him his own seat and now a new tickets for all of us is costing close to £1100 however BA have no sympathy and seems the 20% promotion on Black Friday was pretty much a technical daylight scam
do you guys think i should continue to fight my corner with them as i think its completely unfair and should i contact my bank to try and get my money due to BA changing their goal posts to suit themselves when it comes to their ‘voucher for the full value of the ticket’ promise
many thanks in advance
In the end had to request a voucher however the value is £709 and doesnt include the money taken off because of the discount code.
i have contacted customer relations and they are saying that i am only entitled to £709 as that is the total paid, i asked for a refund as there website didnt make it clear that they will only provide a partial value voucher instead of the advertised ‘full value voucher’ however they are refusing to refund and also refusing to give me a voucher for the full value - £887
Unluckily for me my son who was just under 2 is travelling and will be turning 2 so i have to book him his own seat and now a new tickets for all of us is costing close to £1100 however BA have no sympathy and seems the 20% promotion on Black Friday was pretty much a technical daylight scam
do you guys think i should continue to fight my corner with them as i think its completely unfair and should i contact my bank to try and get my money due to BA changing their goal posts to suit themselves when it comes to their ‘voucher for the full value of the ticket’ promise
many thanks in advance
So this was the 20% off code that was available to all last November, I think there was a Daily Mail one and another generic one from memory. Here is the thread on FT where it was discussed Wed 25 Nov 2020 Daily Mail offer : 20% off all BA flights (excl. F)
If this had been a personal evoucher then there would be no question of that being refunded. However, as this was a generic discount code you are only going to get what you paid on the voucher, so the £709. You paid £709 and that's what you have preserved on the voucher. I suppose this is similar to a sale fare. If you managed to book in a sale for £709, but before the sale the flights were £887, you wouldn't expect to get a voucher for the presale value. you would expect to get a voucher for what you paid so the £709.
I am sorry you couldn't take your trip. Were your flights cancelled in the end? The general advice would be not to rush getting a voucher, instead to wait until close to the flights to decide whether to take a voucher. BA may cancel the flights at which point you could have had a full refund of what you paid, so the £709. The refund would never have been for the undiscounted amount. Also another option would be to rebook the flights to later this year up to November at no extra cost. There is more detail in the wiki of this thread, and in post 27 about your options.
Jan 18, 2021, 2:39 pm
#378
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Edinburgh
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 547
Out of interest was your voucher amount deducted from the booking value immediately? I got an email saying FTV values had been applied to a BAH but on MMB it doesn't show anything as being credited.
Jan 18, 2021, 2:42 pm
#379
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
Korea is not part of the SJB, so there’s no automatic right to rerouting on AY. That’s not to say they might not have a specific agreement to cover it though - I don’t know, but you can easily check on BATT.
Jan 18, 2021, 2:42 pm
#380
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver (for now)
Posts: 1,000
Basically i paid £709 but thought i would get a travel voucher back for the full amount (with the original discount) as obviously future booking i would have to stump up the extra 20% myself as i think thats not fair in my opinion.
The refund i asked was for £709 and not £887 lol but they are saying as the flight wasnt cancelled they cannot offer a refund
The refund i asked was for £709 and not £887 lol but they are saying as the flight wasnt cancelled they cannot offer a refund
Jan 18, 2021, 2:46 pm
#381
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,945
I have a LHR-ICN//HND-LHR journey booked for July/August this year. The outbound has been cancelled, the inbound annoyingly switched from A35K to B789, so Club Suite has gone.
With regards the outbound, couple of questions:
- am I right in thinking I'm in no rush to rebook the leg, and that until I do, the whole ticket is now fully refundable for cash?
- is ICN covered under the Siberia Business Agreement, and if so, does that mean I can rebook onto AY via HEL? (I've already looked at the QR via DOH option means I would lose circa half a day of holiday, with CX via HKG not much better)
- I assume I get no 'relief' for the plane change and therefore seat type change on the return? (Annoying, only because I chose direct from HND for the Club Suite rather than a better timed night flight via HKG)
Thanks in advance.
With regards the outbound, couple of questions:
- am I right in thinking I'm in no rush to rebook the leg, and that until I do, the whole ticket is now fully refundable for cash?
- is ICN covered under the Siberia Business Agreement, and if so, does that mean I can rebook onto AY via HEL? (I've already looked at the QR via DOH option means I would lose circa half a day of holiday, with CX via HKG not much better)
- I assume I get no 'relief' for the plane change and therefore seat type change on the return? (Annoying, only because I chose direct from HND for the Club Suite rather than a better timed night flight via HKG)
Thanks in advance.
[EDIT - sorry I see you mention that wouldn’t be the best option. Unfortunately it is what’s being offered for ICN. Also yes, nothing as a result of the aircraft/seat change I am afraid - although it may well change several times more between now and summer anyway.]
Last edited by KARFA; Jan 18, 2021 at 2:55 pm
Jan 18, 2021, 2:53 pm
#382
Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 3
I wouldnt be making a profit, im the one who now has to stump up £300-400 additional to rebook the same flights. Anyways i will remember this in future and choose another airline! Looks like theyve not heard of goodwill and dont care if their terms and conditions werent adjusted to mention discount codes which lets them make the rules up to suit them.
Jan 18, 2021, 3:33 pm
#383
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
Black friday 20% discount nightmare, i had to cancel a booking with BA due to the recent lockdown. There wonderful website stated that i would get a voucher to the full value of my booking, when i paid online the total cost was £887 but i was charged £709 due to the 20% discount code however the full total at checkout was £887 and i thought i would get a voucher for this amount!
In the end had to request a voucher however the value is £709 and doesnt include the money taken off because of the discount code.
i have contacted customer relations and they are saying that i am only entitled to £709 as that is the total paid, i asked for a refund as there website didnt make it clear that they will only provide a partial value voucher instead of the advertised ‘full value voucher’ however they are refusing to refund and also refusing to give me a voucher for the full value - £887
Unluckily for me my son who was just under 2 is travelling and will be turning 2 so i have to book him his own seat and now a new tickets for all of us is costing close to £1100 however BA have no sympathy and seems the 20% promotion on Black Friday was pretty much a technical daylight scam
do you guys think i should continue to fight my corner with them as i think its completely unfair and should i contact my bank to try and get my money due to BA changing their goal posts to suit themselves when it comes to their ‘voucher for the full value of the ticket’ promise
many thanks in advance
In the end had to request a voucher however the value is £709 and doesnt include the money taken off because of the discount code.
i have contacted customer relations and they are saying that i am only entitled to £709 as that is the total paid, i asked for a refund as there website didnt make it clear that they will only provide a partial value voucher instead of the advertised ‘full value voucher’ however they are refusing to refund and also refusing to give me a voucher for the full value - £887
Unluckily for me my son who was just under 2 is travelling and will be turning 2 so i have to book him his own seat and now a new tickets for all of us is costing close to £1100 however BA have no sympathy and seems the 20% promotion on Black Friday was pretty much a technical daylight scam
do you guys think i should continue to fight my corner with them as i think its completely unfair and should i contact my bank to try and get my money due to BA changing their goal posts to suit themselves when it comes to their ‘voucher for the full value of the ticket’ promise
many thanks in advance
Move on
Jan 18, 2021, 3:33 pm
#384
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
So a £900 credit for cancelling a £700 flight would be you making a profit.
You won't be rebooking "the same flights". The fact that you'll be paying more for travel on different dates is also exactly the same as on any other airline. That includes the fact that one passenger has gone up one age bracket.
Jan 18, 2021, 4:33 pm
#385
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, CX Gold (OW Sapphire), Hilton Gold, SPG Gold, Accor Platinum
Posts: 1,476
You can rebook on QR for ICN. This is for any travel dates up to 31 October 2021, and new travel dates up to the same. QR isn't available if this is a reward booking though.
[EDIT - sorry I see you mention that wouldn’t be the best option. Unfortunately it is what’s being offered for ICN. Also yes, nothing as a result of the aircraft/seat change I am afraid - although it may well change several times more between now and summer anyway.]
[EDIT - sorry I see you mention that wouldn’t be the best option. Unfortunately it is what’s being offered for ICN. Also yes, nothing as a result of the aircraft/seat change I am afraid - although it may well change several times more between now and summer anyway.]
Hi,
Indeed, there is no rush here. The booking is currently fully refundable, and gives you a lot of flexibility and time to evaluate the situation regarding entry restrictions. Wait and see, especially for this summer.
I'm not sure about the Siberian joint business agreement but someone else might be able to answer that.
And for your 3rd point, you're right, there is no relief for a change between CS and the older Club seat. It will be Club seat roulette for a while, and it could very well change back until your flight dates.
Indeed, there is no rush here. The booking is currently fully refundable, and gives you a lot of flexibility and time to evaluate the situation regarding entry restrictions. Wait and see, especially for this summer.
I'm not sure about the Siberian joint business agreement but someone else might be able to answer that.
And for your 3rd point, you're right, there is no relief for a change between CS and the older Club seat. It will be Club seat roulette for a while, and it could very well change back until your flight dates.
Jan 19, 2021, 3:24 am
#386
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
I wouldnt be making a profit, im the one who now has to stump up £300-400 additional to rebook the same flights. Anyways i will remember this in future and choose another airline! Looks like theyve not heard of goodwill and dont care if their terms and conditions werent adjusted to mention discount codes which lets them make the rules up to suit them.
Jan 19, 2021, 5:02 am
#387
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Berkshire
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold, GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Accor Plat, Pucci Fan Club
Posts: 1,779
Apologies of this has already been answered elsewhere but I couldn’t find it with a quick search.
I have flights booked to Dubai for our family holiday for four passengers. If I ask BA to cancel the booking will I be given one FTV which I can use for a future booking for just my wife and I? Or will the FTV(s) be split across each passenger and thus can only be redeemed when those passengers are flying? I paid for the original booking myself. My daughters will no longer live at home (Uni and gap year) so it’s unlikely to have a booking with all of us together within the next year.
I have flights booked to Dubai for our family holiday for four passengers. If I ask BA to cancel the booking will I be given one FTV which I can use for a future booking for just my wife and I? Or will the FTV(s) be split across each passenger and thus can only be redeemed when those passengers are flying? I paid for the original booking myself. My daughters will no longer live at home (Uni and gap year) so it’s unlikely to have a booking with all of us together within the next year.
Jan 19, 2021, 5:08 am
#388
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
I have flights booked to Dubai for our family holiday for four passengers. If I ask BA to cancel the booking will I be given one FTV which I can use for a future booking for just my wife and I? Or will the FTV(s) be split across each passenger and thus can only be redeemed when those passengers are flying? I paid for the original booking myself. My daughters will no longer live at home (Uni and gap year) so it’s unlikely to have a booking with all of us together within the next year.
Jan 19, 2021, 5:16 am
#389
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Berkshire
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold, GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Accor Plat, Pucci Fan Club
Posts: 1,779
Thanks Confus. It is a flight only booking made up of cash, previous FTV and a GUF! But my understanding from a previous conversation with BA is that the complexity of how the flights were funded shouldn’t matter now as the booking (and thus any FTV) has a deemed value?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Jan 19, 2021, 6:15 am
#390
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 142