Greg66

This has an air of "old man shouts at clouds" but treat it as a cathartic exercise.

I had an alert from Reward Flight finder this morning which I wanted to do something about. And that's the cue for the shouting.

I can't amend a booking via the phone app. Ok. Ring. Oops, that is the silver club number from days gone by. A mere five clicks on BA.com to find the right number and I'm through to the muzak, and on hold after various sub-menu options have been navigated. On hold for quite some time. Head to a PC. First one: attempt to login in throws me to "Are you attempting to login to On Business?" or similar. No, but I try again. Then the dreaded 403 access not permitted comes up in a selection of languages. Sigh.

Grab a different computer the house, and I can get in. But by Exec Club profile has no flights associated with it. Odd. Enter the booking reference and up it comes. Odder. Now though - I think - I'm in business. I hunt down the leg I want to change ... and I can't.

The award seats are there in inventory, but not showing up as a change option in modifying the booking. I suspect because I have an inbound leg into LGW and want to change it to an inbound leg into LHR, and the modify my booking engine will only allow a change that maintains the original destination airport.

Never mind though. I'm still on hold. Oh. I'm *still* on hold. Being told by a male voice that ba.com is the solution to all my travel requirements 24 hours a day...

Quite tiresome.

corporate-wage-slave

Indeed. However the good news is that there are some internet bulletin board forums open to frequent and indeed infrequent travellers, and they would probably inform you that online upgrades with Avios rarely works, particularly on the more complicated or amended bookings, so you are best to call up. Or book the new booking online. assuming both legs work, and then cancel the old booking in that order. The onbusiness is a cookie thing, so an Incognito screen may well work.

ttama

I hope it helped I feel your pain.

Good luck sorting it all out

Greg66

Thanks CWS. I got it sorted in the end so all�s well that ends well.

I�ve been here (FT) a while now so know most of what you suggest. My mild whine was more about BA�s somewhat cranky website and crankier call centre. It shouldn�t take a call at all, and it certainly shouldn�t take close to an hour on a Saturday morning to have someone pick the phone up; somewhat alarming then to have to hear the otherwise helpful lady spend the first five minute tell me she was logging her last call because �it was dropped�.

Unfortunately I could not make a new booking to grab the new inbound flights as there was no outbound award availability. I suppose I could have tried to grab the inbounds online as one ways and then tried to marry them up with my original booking, but the original used a 241 and I wasn�t confident it could all be sorted out had I tried that. Plus it would have meant phone time again.

My mood wasn�t helped, I must admit, by this being the second time RFF had thrown up inbound award availability. The first time the flights went whilst I was on hold to BA�s call centre (around the 40 minute mark, IIRC). Much grumpiness and swearing followed.

It all could be so much better�

wanderingjock

Sancerre?

Greg66

As a postscript�

at the end of the call I was told the back office would process my payment and then I�d get an email confirming the flight change.

The avios have gone from my account in a complicated series of transactions, but no payment taken. And no confirmation of any flight changes � and the reward seats are naturally no longer available.

It�s not that I�m nervous that the transaction has stalled. Much.