British Airways updates its guidelines on getting Avios and tier points for strike-affected flights

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Yesterday we ran an article explaining how British Airways was planning to deal with the issue of awarding Avios and tier points for flights impacted by strike action.

It seems that British Airways was not planning to give Avios or tier points to anyone who had their flight changed or cancelled during the strike. If you had read the original version of the strike FAQ, it did actually say this but only by implication. This is also what the call centre had started to tell HfP readers who called to request their missing points and what BA had confirmed to me when I made an official enquiry.

Their position changed on Thursday, which by coincidence was after I gave BA advance notice that we were planning to address this. Their revised feedback led to my article yesterday.

The official guidance on ba.com was updated yesterday evening. This reflects what British Airways told me on Thursday would be the new policy and which we summarised in Friday’s piece.

The BA strike page now says in the FAQ section:

“If your flight was cancelled as a result of the industrial action, and you were rebooked onto an alternative service operated by British Airways or a oneworld partner airline, you will automatically be credited with the applicable Avios and Tier Points once you have flown the rebooked flight.

If your flight was cancelled as a result of the industrial action, and you were rebooked by British Airways onto an alternative service operated by a non-partner airline, we will award you the Avios and Tier Points for your original cancelled British Airways flight. Please raise a claim online by logging into your Executive Club account and click the option “claim missing Avios on BA” and submit your original British Airways flight details.

In all other cases where you believe you would have upgraded or retained your Tier status had your flight not been affected by the industrial action, please contact your local Executive Club Service Centre who will review cases on an individual basis.”

There is actually one element here which goes beyond what we wrote yesterday. Whilst British Airways is still refusing to credit Avios or tier points to anyone who chose to take a refund and arranged their own alternative transportation, these people can contact BA at year end for a manual review if their tier points show that they would otherwise have gained or retained status.

If you have travel planned over the next strike, on 27th September, you will have been contacted by now if your flight is cancelled. BA CityFlyer has added extra capacity from London City Airport to Munich, Berlin and Amsterdam so customers on those routes should still be able to choose a BA option.

Having read the document that BALPA sent out to its members yesterday, I do not see any sign of compromise. If anything, some of the alleged actions taken by the airline appear to have inflamed passions even further.

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

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Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Richard says:

14 Sep14 September 14:30

Had a nightmare 24 hours – my BAEC year end is 8 sept and I’m 35 TP short of retaining silver, so I booked LCY-MAN on BA7310. That can heavily delayed until this morning after sitting on the plane last night and hitting the LCY curfew – then exactly the same thing happened today, and we were on plane at 1pm when the Saturday curfew came down! Now on a train as just need to get home – believe I should get a refund and compensation as it was a late arriving plane yesterday and a booking mess today then led to manual pre flight checks. From above I take it I’m not going to get TPs automatically, but could call and see if they make a manual exception?
- Anna says:
  
  14 Sep14 September 14:43
  
  I’m currently chasing my OH’s tier points from a cancelled MAN – LHR last month. The cancelled flight doesn’t show on line and emails seem to be mostly ignored at the moment so I’ve written to BA. Fortunately the rest of the itinerary just squeezed him to Bronze otherwise I would be fuming!
- Shoestring says:
  
  14 Sep14 September 17:08
  
  Sounds like you are due 2x compo, as it was 2 different flights cancelled. Make your first online claim for flight #1, wait a few days then make your second claim for flight #2. ie don’t roll them into one claim.
  - Richard says:
    
    14 Sep14 September 18:44
    
    Hmm – could try, but all the BA boards and app were showing the original was delayed until the necmxt day, albeit I believe it was originally cancelled and whilst we were awaiting news on Friday evening it was reinstated for the Saturday.
    - Lady London says:
      
      14 Sep14 September 20:21
      
      Did it have the same flight number both days? Even if it did I’ve got a vague feeling moving to same flight number but on a different day counts as a cancellation.
      - Shoestring says:
        
        14 Sep14 September 20:30
        
        I think it might unfortunately have been the same plane/ flight – BA7310 is an 8pm flight so they feasibly could argue the ‘delayed but same flight’ logic if they tried to get it off the ground again at 1pm Saturday
        
        still good for 1x cancellation compo – and I’d be asking for a bit more in points given all the faffing around for 18hrs
- Lady London says:
  
  14 Sep14 September 20:19
  
  Sounds like compo for cancellation or at least massive delay is.due unless they can come up with exempt reason. Make sure you get the official reason both flights were delayed.
  
  Original routing credit is in BAs ts and cs and there isn’t any wording separating treatment if Avios and tier points so I assume you can ask for both to be credited as if you flew on the original booked date.
  
  Sounds like BA responsible for overnight hotel and meal expenses under duty of care part of eu261too.
  
  What a miserable experience.
  - Richard says:
    
    14 Sep14 September 20:28
    
    Thanks – yes utterly miserable!
    
    Yes both flight numbers were the same – BA7310. BA paid for hotel and food vouchers at hotel, and taxi there – one less thing to claim!
    - Shoestring says:
      
      14 Sep14 September 20:34
      
      what was the face value of the food vouchers?
      - Richard says:
        
        14 Sep14 September 21:55
        
        In the hotel, £20. I forgot to ask for some in the airport…
      - Shoestring says:
        
        14 Sep14 September 22:03
        
        just for future reference, there’s nothing stopping you spending whatever is reasonable on duty of care meals, eg £25 per head for lunch & dinner is fine by BA and they have paid out more in the past in places where £25 doesn’t go very far – obvs with receipts & a ready rationale if over £25
- Lady London says:
  
  15 Sep15 September 10:20
  
  PS defo ask for ‘original routing crédit’ – it’s in the ts and cs. I.e.tier points and Avios. Call thé Exec Club first as i think you might avoid BA’s Indian call centre and their idiotic intransigeance (IME) that way.
  - Richard says:
    
    15 Sep15 September 12:18
    
    Thanks – even though I abandoned and have requested a refund?
    - Lady London says:
      
      15 Sep15 September 12:51
      
      Yes. You were forced to. Anyone would say that after a delay of the length of the ultimate delay after it failed to take off on the second day, you were effectively forced to.
      
      Would have been better if you’d asked BA to reroute you though. Most likely they’d have wanted you to go to LHR for a late flight if there was one on a Saturday.
      
      If the tier points are thé most important to you get them while watching here for how policy and crediting them develops. Have you managed to accurately record the official reasons for both delays? Did BA make themselves contactable and offer a further reroute or were you forced to decide to take the train before this could be achieved?
      
      I suppose the thing to do is to take a refund if it’s worth more than the compo for late or cancel and refuse a refund if the compo is worth more?
      - Richard says:
        
        15 Sep15 September 20:19
        
        Many thanks for the responses.
        Tried BA Exec Club today and believe I got through to India 3 times. All said given I hadn’t flown I could get TPs. Told me to try customer relations tomorrow when open (assume UK centre?)
        Said there was typically 2 exemptions – two weeks extension and 20 TP – given I need 35 they werent willing to help me retain silver. Will try again tomorrow!
TripRep says:

14 Sep14 September 16:56

BA refuses to book repax on VS…

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-airways-ba-strike-pilots-union-heathrow-airport-gatwick-balpa-flights-cancelled-hotel-a9104146.html
- Anna says:
  
  15 Sep15 September 18:03
  
  The CAA should be able to impose sanctions on an airline with such a horrendous record of trying to avoid its legal obligations.
Sam says:

20 Sep20 September 11:29

Has anyone been successful in claiming missing Tier Points and Avios? My situation is I was re-routed onto Air France. All stayed on the same booking code and ticket number was 125-. Trying to claim for Original Credit – it doesn’t accept the 125- ticket number (only says it was the return leg) and I can’t claim ‘partner’ airlines because Air France isn’t a partner airline.

I tried submitting through an online form and just nothing.

Slightly irritating! How did you all manage it?
Ioannis says:

21 Sep21 September 17:42

Is this quote available anywhere on the BA website, please? I was just on the phone with BA and they asked about that, the agent had never heard of headforpoints.com unfortunately.
- Shoestring says:
  
  21 Sep21 September 18:11
  
  no & can’t see it cached anywhere
  
  take some screenshots of the quotation – from HfP and a couple of other sites reproduced it in full if you google it
  
  then make a written request for your original routing credit, template is here
  https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1768202-original-routing-credit-beginner-s-guide.html
  
  but first just HUACA, maybe more than once
  - Ioannis says:
    
    23 Sep23 September 12:16
    
    Thanks, Shoestring. I’ve now contacted them via the website, too. Let’s see 🙂