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
#451
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Edinburgh
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 547
If it is a voluntary cancellation then you need to call to do it.
Nothing has changed regarding voluntary cancellation costs for rewards, so the cancellation is subject to a £35 per person cancellation fee. This is deducted from the taxes/fees/charges you paid. However, if the cash you paid was less than £35 you just lose the cash you paid, you are not asked to cure the difference.
If you went for a FTV then the avios and cash is kept on the FTV for you to use up to April 2022. The advantage of this route is there are no fees deducted.
Nothing has changed regarding voluntary cancellation costs for rewards, so the cancellation is subject to a £35 per person cancellation fee. This is deducted from the taxes/fees/charges you paid. However, if the cash you paid was less than £35 you just lose the cash you paid, you are not asked to cure the difference.
If you went for a FTV then the avios and cash is kept on the FTV for you to use up to April 2022. The advantage of this route is there are no fees deducted.
#452
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
Not worth its own separate thread, and admittedly off-topic for this thread, but thought it should be noted that Heathrow had a snow event today and seemed to managed to keep the show on the road for the traffic that was using the airport. A few delays here and there but those didn't seem to be specifically snow related.
A change from the preemptive cancellations of various domestic and regional flights due to snow.
A change from the preemptive cancellations of various domestic and regional flights due to snow.
#453
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold
Posts: 398
Am I right in thinking that if you use an FTV (all cash no avios) for a new booking and you don't use the entire value of the FTV you get the balance back by way of an e-voucher rather than FTV. If so then if you had say a £5k FTV voucher split circa £1000 per person on a 5 person booking - can you just make a new say £40 booking for each person and get £960 back on an evoucher which is then much easier to use and doesn't have to be used by that specific person?
#454
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: 63,830
That is my understanding, or rather that it is more likely you will get an eVoucher unless it's a very small amount (£20 or thereabouts) in which case it's just a cash refund. However anything in this space is not guaranteed, many FTers have complex bookings, and it would not surprise me if the residual was a new FTV. So I wouldn't personally advocate that course of action. It's better still not to make bookings that end up in this logic.
#455
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold
Posts: 398
That is my understanding, or rather that it is more likely you will get an eVoucher unless it's a very small amount (£20 or thereabouts) in which case it's just a cash refund. However anything in this space is not guaranteed, many FTers have complex bookings, and it would not surprise me if the residual was a new FTV. So I wouldn't personally advocate that course of action. It's better still not to make bookings that end up in this logic.
#456
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 99
Quick question about the 1 year from ticketing date policy. If BA were to cancel my reward flight and they were happy to move it up to a year from ticketing date. Do both legs need to be completed before 1 year anniversary date or can you move the outbound to the 1 year ticket anniversary and then have the return flight after that?
#457
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: 63,830
Quick question about the 1 year from ticketing date policy. If BA were to cancel my reward flight and they were happy to move it up to a year from ticketing date. Do both legs need to be completed before 1 year anniversary date or can you move the outbound to the 1 year ticket anniversary and then have the return flight after that?
#458
Is it not technically always one year from last flown segment? eg it could be more than 2 years if segments 1+2 had a stopover and you call to change after having flown segment 2?
#459
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
That is my understanding, or rather that it is more likely you will get an eVoucher unless it's a very small amount (£20 or thereabouts) in which case it's just a cash refund. However anything in this space is not guaranteed, many FTers have complex bookings, and it would not surprise me if the residual was a new FTV. So I wouldn't personally advocate that course of action. It's better still not to make bookings that end up in this logic.
#460
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,262
Am I right in thinking that if you use an FTV (all cash no avios) for a new booking and you don't use the entire value of the FTV you get the balance back by way of an e-voucher rather than FTV. If so then if you had say a £5k FTV voucher split circa £1000 per person on a 5 person booking - can you just make a new say £40 booking for each person and get £960 back on an evoucher which is then much easier to use and doesn't have to be used by that specific person?
#461
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold
Posts: 398
That's exactly what I am trying to do but getting it back in cash is not straightforward is it unless I am missing something - I have to use it for a booking that is subsequently cancelled.
#462
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 45
I booked an Avios half price redemption in the 50% sale last year, using an Amex companion voucher for flights in Feb which have been cancelled. I asked BA to change the dates to April, I can see there's availability in the cabins (CW out, F return) but they're saying with Avios flights, they can only rebook a few days either side of my original booking - pretty useless/pointless in the current situation! I asked the agent I was dealing with - this was via Twitter - to double check, they're still saying I can either take a FTV and try and rebook, but would need Avois availability, or a full refund. At this stage, I think I'm going to go for a full refund anyway, but this seems to contradict all of the info on this thread so far and I wondered if anyone could tell me if I'm getting the right info from BA? Thanks!
#463
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: 63,830
Other people have reported this too, namely only being offered the standard Customer Guidelines, which gives a -3 days to +14 days rebook peiod, There is a separate Principal Guidelines which gives the 1 years wriggle room, and it clearly states that Avios redemptions are included. Many agents know this, some don't. So you best call again and if you get the same reaction, ask them why the Principal Guidelines can't be used. In some cases MMB will allow the rebooking (if your booking was in the self serve channel to begin with) without issue. But a refund - in the current climate - is probably the best way to go, unless you enjoy micro-managing maybe bookings.
#465
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,977
And just to add, this policy has been in place since about last July. There have been a few versions since the, and a copy of the current version can be found here https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32976446-post346.html