How long does it take British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa to refund a cancelled flight?

How long does it take British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa to refund a cancelled flight?

Over the last few weeks I have had to cancel seven long-haul redemptions, racking up over £250 in cancellation fees.

Four were booked via British Airways with Avios, one with Virgin Flying Club miles and two with Lufthansa Miles & More miles.

British Airways did an excellent job processing all the refunds.  Not all of the flights could be automatically cancelled online, but however it was done I always had the money back on my credit card within three days.

Lufthansa is not as good.  One refund hit after around 9 days.  I am still waiting on the second, with tomorrow being Day 7 since I cancelled.  The cancellation system is also a little odd – you must call and you must pay the cancellation fee separately before they will process the refund.

Virgin Atlantic has been poor.  10 days after my cancellation, I haven’t seen my money yet.  I also had to call to cancel as it was a Delta flight (BA lets you cancel partner redemptions online).

In all seven cases, my miles were returned very quickly.  It’s ‘only’ the money – £300+ each time – that often drags on.  Well done to BA for getting this right.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)