Hawes7701

I have flights to Corfu coming up in the next week and my “special, limited time offer” to upgrade the outbound is £79pp and the return is £99pp.

not interested in either of those as it’s not worth that much to me.

my problem/question is with regard to the inbound. The actual fare difference is around £30pp but the call centre is insisting I pay £15pp offline fee as it can be done online. I have tried explaining that I don’t fancy my special Online price as it’s over three times the actual cost but am told it’s either that or pay the service fee.

seems a bit off to me but before I HUCA I just wanted to see if there is another way around this? When I go to change flight online, I’m only given other options in euro traveller..., am I missing something?

Thanks all.

corporate-wage-slave

Does getting an FTV and rebooking work? The other option would be perhaps to do this after flying the outbound (the POUG may vanish then too), or even at LHR. There is an offline fee there too, but they tend not to charge it if you are polite and charming.

The Geek

Dunno if you'll get away with it on this one as they may have put a note on the booking, but worth a shot anyway.

Tell them you tried to upgrade online but received the message "Sorry it is not possible to change this booking on ba.com. Please contact your local British Airways office to change this booking"

They are aware of how pants their IT is, so may waive the change fee.

The Geek

Now why didn't I think of that.

Hawes7701

thanks C-W-S. unfortunately the cancel for FTV isn’t going to work (unless I can cancel only the inbound?) as the outbound has gone up substantially since purchase which would render the upgrade saving useless.

It is what it is. Was just surprised they weren’t going to waive the fee given that I am unable to do what I want online.

Hawes7701

may be worth giving a go. I think I have one more waiting on hold in me.

given the current CE offering I really aren’t that fussed if I can’t do it. Just not prepared to pay the service fee out of principle. BA want money and then want to charge me for giving it to them.

corporate-wage-slave

In which case have another look at this after travelling the outbound since normally historical rather than current fares apply. You can't cancel the inbound alone. That said, while £45 is more than £30, it is still a better deal than £99.

corporate-wage-slave

That may not work: BA staff have access to some sort of front-end emulator on your account, plus they can see what things you have tried out recently in your account. If they see the POUG, you should see the POUG, and vice versa.

Hawes7701

absolutely. £45 is still a good deal but Begrudge the fee - (there are 4 of us). Think I will wait and see what price comes up after outbound. Interesting that they use historical pricing too.

wilsnunn

I have recently done fare upgrades on flights where there was a POUG showing, both times I specifically mentioned that I wanted a fare upgrade as the POUG was more than the fare difference. Both times the (lovely) agents have been willing to assist and have done it for me without any issues or any service fees.

Hawes7701

thank you and really useful to know. Will try today.

Joshm300

I accept the change fee is annoying, but £45 isn’t a bad price for what might be a three hour flight. The food and drink offering is sub par at the moment, but the extra space, not having to sit at the back and wait for everyone to board and less mask wearing is worth it for £45 in my opinion. I’m amazed no one else on this forum has pointed out that it’s an 80tp route as well, so you’re getting 60/70 extra TPS.

Hawes7701

I phoned this morning and got the fee waived as he agreed what I was trying to do wasn’t doable online.

total cost of £32pp. Bargain.

thanks all for help. Interestingly the outbound club Europe has dropped from £245 last night, to £103 today. Think my outbound was originally £45 so will keep and eye on this and see if it goes lower.

krispy84

As an additional data point. I upgraded an LHR-PRG return over the phone yesterday. £45 return per person, which was the difference between what I’d paid for ET and the current CE fare. No offline fee mentioned at any point.