prevented from making a stopover greater than 72 hours on 241 booking
Oct 23, 2025 | 6:34 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 140
prevented from making a stopover greater than 72 hours on 241 booking
I am assuming this is just a case of HUCA, but I was trying to book the return leg SYD-SIN-LHR on a GUF2'd 241 avios redemption and am planning on staying in SIN for a a month but the person on the first line says that I can only stopover for 72 hours on the return journey.
Is this some new rule, as I have heard of others who have done the same thing I want to do on the return from OZ?
Is this some new rule, as I have heard of others who have done the same thing I want to do on the return from OZ?
Oct 23, 2025 | 7:02 am
#2
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, LH SEN, HH Gold, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat Amb
Posts: 5,607
Nonsense. Note that on the stopover leg you will be booking 2 flights, SYD-SIN and SIN-LHR which will cost slightly more than the straight SYD-LHR booking, but you absolutely can do it. I did it once on the outbound and stopped for 5 days.
Experienced BA agents are being successively replaced by newer inexperienced ones.
Experienced BA agents are being successively replaced by newer inexperienced ones.
Last edited by Tafflyer; Oct 23, 2025 at 9:56 am Reason: typo
Oct 23, 2025 | 9:28 am
#5
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, LH SEN, HH Gold, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat Amb
Posts: 5,607
I have just made a booking FAO-LGW/LHR-JFK/JFK-SFO/SFO-LHR-FAO for cash and GUF2. Includes a 5 day stopover at JFK. All BA codes, partly AA metal. No problem booking it at all, once I had found A class availability.
Oct 23, 2025 | 12:44 pm
#6
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Nowhere - Tax Free Nomad
Programs: BA GfL, UA Gold, EK Silver, Hilton LT Diamond, Marriott LT Titanium, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,385
I have had all manner of BS excuses on RTW and 241 bookings. The key always is to ask them to show you where EXACTLY in the fare rules does it state what ever they want to try and convince you of.
I've had the same 72 hour rule thrust upon me and they tried to tell me it was an unpublished rule which is just laughable. Perhaps mention "unfair contract law" etc etc In my case they relented otherwise it would be a free for all.
As far as I am concerned if it is not in the fare rules or the T and C's then it is not valid - so just ask them to prove it
I've had the same 72 hour rule thrust upon me and they tried to tell me it was an unpublished rule which is just laughable. Perhaps mention "unfair contract law" etc etc In my case they relented otherwise it would be a free for all.
As far as I am concerned if it is not in the fare rules or the T and C's then it is not valid - so just ask them to prove it
Oct 23, 2025 | 1:44 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2025
Posts: 3
This is correct. Non-BA carriers mean you cant have an open jaw at origin, and you cant have a stop over more than 72hours anywhere other than your destination (determined by IATA journey selection regs).
It was something that was overlooked for a long time, especially with Covid. But then Avios Group
got sick of passengers taking the piss with it, so have told BA to enforce the rules.
you will need to buy separate tickets, as you have two destinations
It was something that was overlooked for a long time, especially with Covid. But then Avios Group
got sick of passengers taking the piss with it, so have told BA to enforce the rules.
you will need to buy separate tickets, as you have two destinations
I am assuming this is just a case of HUCA, but I was trying to book the return leg SYD-SIN-LHR on a GUF2'd 241 avios redemption and am planning on staying in SIN for a a month but the person on the first line says that I can only stopover for 72 hours on the return journey.
Is this some new rule, as I have heard of others who have done the same thing I want to do on the return from OZ?
Is this some new rule, as I have heard of others who have done the same thing I want to do on the return from OZ?
Oct 23, 2025 | 1:47 pm
#8
Join Date: Oct 2025
Posts: 3
the info was correct. If you did it once recently, it was actually an agent who was either inexperienced, unknowledgable, or dodgy.
Nonsense. Note that on the stopover leg you will be booking 2 flights, SYD-SIN and SIN-LHR which will cost slightly more than the straight SYD-LHR booking, but you absolutely can do it. I did it once on the outbound and stopped for 5 days.
Experienced BA agents are being successively replaced by newer inexperienced ones.
Experienced BA agents are being successively replaced by newer inexperienced ones.
Oct 23, 2025 | 1:49 pm
#9
Join Date: Oct 2025
Posts: 3
It is in the Ts&Cs. The rules are that a redemption booking is a there and back journey via most direct route.
I have had all manner of BS excuses on RTW and 241 bookings. The key always is to ask them to show you where EXACTLY in the fare rules does it state what ever they want to try and convince you of.
I've had the same 72 hour rule thrust upon me and they tried to tell me it was an unpublished rule which is just laughable. Perhaps mention "unfair contract law" etc etc In my case they relented otherwise it would be a free for all.
As far as I am concerned if it is not in the fare rules or the T and C's then it is not valid - so just ask them to prove it
I've had the same 72 hour rule thrust upon me and they tried to tell me it was an unpublished rule which is just laughable. Perhaps mention "unfair contract law" etc etc In my case they relented otherwise it would be a free for all.
As far as I am concerned if it is not in the fare rules or the T and C's then it is not valid - so just ask them to prove it
Oct 23, 2025 | 2:25 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Juneau, Alaska.
Programs: AS 75K;BA Silver;AA G;HH Dia;HY Glob
Posts: 16,671
For the previous discussion on time limits on stopovers with GUFs that KARFA was remembering, see the discussion in the GUF thread starting with this post:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37048259-post1613.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37048259-post1613.html
Oct 23, 2025 | 4:47 pm
#11
Join Date: May 2014
Programs: BA GGL, Gold for Life
Posts: 702
So a break in journey is not allowed on a redemption booking? I don't accept that at all. When making an avios booking online for LHR-SYD or vv you are actually asked whether or not you want to break your journey.
Oct 23, 2025 | 5:29 pm
#12
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, LH SEN, HH Gold, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat Amb
Posts: 5,607
It was a very experienced agent and not a mistake. Bear in mind I GUFd a revenue booking and not a reward booking. Since the ticket including stopover was clearly able to be purchased then they would look silly telling me its against IATA rules. The problem I had was finding an AA flight available in A class under the new POS rules.
Oct 23, 2025 | 11:42 pm
#13
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 9,938
So if this 72h 'rule' does exist it certainly doesn't apply to online bookings, at least not yet. Of course it's just a shame that anything more complicated than a simple one-way or return has to be done over the phone so you are at the mercy of whatever the agent and/or their computer says on the day.
Oct 24, 2025 | 8:22 am
#14
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: JAX
Programs: Ex-BA/AA/CP/LY staff, BA Blue, IHG Diamond, Marriott Silver, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 3,755
This is correct. Non-BA carriers mean you cant have an open jaw at origin, and you cant have a stop over more than 72hours anywhere other than your destination (determined by IATA journey selection regs).
you will need to buy separate tickets, as you have two destinations
you will need to buy separate tickets, as you have two destinations
Where in the BAC T&Cs is this supposed 72hr stopover limit?