You can now refund British Airways flights to China or Hong Kong due to coronavirus

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If you had been due to travel to China or Hong Kong over the next few weeks but had been concerned about Coronavirus, British Airways is now allowing you to request a refund.

The guidelines are simple and straightforward.

If you are due to fly on British Airways to China or Hong Kong before 23rd February then you can request a full refund.

If you booked via British Airways you can contact the airline directly. If you booked via a travel agent, you will have to discuss it with them as British Airways cannot deal with you.

The only grey area would be if you had any onward connections on the same ticket which were not operated by British Airways.

Even if you are still willing to travel, this may be an opportunity to refund your existing ticket and rebook at a cheaper rate. However, any fresh booking is likely to put your travel insurance at risk as this would be seen as a known issue at the time of booking.

You can find out more about the British Airways refund policy on ba.com here. Any policy updates, including refund extensions beyond 23rd February, are likely to go onto the same page.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

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 BA Amex American Express card

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 BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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

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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:

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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

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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.)

Category

British Airways and Avios

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

harry hv says:

28 Jan28 January 00:21

Slightly OT – where is the new IHG Pointsbreaks list? Will all the 5000 point hotels be in Wuhan?
- Lady London says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 12:03
  
  It would actually keep our interest more if points breaks was a semi-permanent promotion that changed its list of featured hotels, say, once per month.
  
  Perhaps the current delay is for the addition of a few more China/Hong Kong hotels?
Dave K says:

28 Jan28 January 04:01

What’s QR’s rebooking policy for mainland China and Hong Kong?
- Ilou says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 04:20
  
  I have a flight with QR to HK and was told that I will need to pay to change my booking..no waiver so far
  
  How likely is this to change over coming days ?
Tazzy says:

28 Jan28 January 05:44

So we are due to travel to HK on 9/3 and return from Bangkok on 25/3. Have booked domestic flights and various hotels paid for. Last Monday i cancelled my platinum business Amex and took out a new travel insurance for this trip. Our flights are using a 2-4-1.

If FCO advice changes to not recommend travel to HK will insurance cover this trip? I’m getting rather worried.

It’s a particularly important trip to us as we are in process of adopting from Thailand and we are going out to visit the adoption agency. We can reschedule if required but would rather not.
- John says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 05:54
  
  Ask your insurance.
Russ says:

28 Jan28 January 05:52

NOW – China Eastern and Cathay can’t circle indefinitely Gatwick!
Ian Booth says:

28 Jan28 January 06:07

Please be accurate with your journalism
Thus affects flights TO and FROM not just to
Some people, myself included are currently in China

“ we are offering any customers due to fly to or from China including Hong Kong until 23 February the option to refund or rebook. ”
- Shoestring says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 06:24
  
  I’d stay off the bat soup for now 🙂
  - Rob says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 08:26
    
    I can tell you exactly how many daily page views we get from China, out of 50-60k, and the fingers and toes in the office can usually cover it. (I’ve never seen Sinead or Rhys toes but I assume they have a full set 🙂 )
    - Lady London says:
      
      28 Jan28 January 09:54
      
      Some of those might be using a VPN though? so you might not be seeing them as in China…
      - Lady London says:
        
        28 Jan28 January 09:54
        
        OK that makes 8 rather than 6 views from China then 🙂
Ashic Mahtab says:

28 Jan28 January 07:31

We’ve got a flight to Shanghai on April 3. I’m guessing the 23 Feb deadline will be extended.
ee says:

28 Jan28 January 10:33

We flew back from Shanghai a couple of days ago. If possible I would advise people to cancel their trips and rearrange once this has passed. Even if you don’t catch the virus most major attractions closed their doors at the end of last week to avoid large gatherings of people. The other risk is that if you contract the virus and have symptoms you are likely to be quarantined by the Chinese authorities for a potentially extended period. I wouldn’t risk travel right now.
Jenny Cheung says:

28 Jan28 January 11:50

Very disappointed that BA have put out a misleading statement during the deadly situation of Coronavirus in China! Contrary to what their website says, BA are charging a cancellation fee and so are only offering a partial refund for flights to China and Hong Kong!
- Rhys says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 11:53
  
  The refund is currently only available for flights up to 23rd February. If your flight is after that date you will still incur a cancellation fee, although BA are likely to roll over the full refund option if the situation continues in China.
  - Jenny Cheung says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 16:06
    
    My flight to Hong Kong departs before 23rd February and they still want to charge cancellation fees, so your statement is not correct.
    - Shoestring says:
      
      28 Jan28 January 16:22
      
      so quote their own rules at them:
      [China – Coronavirus
      Answer Id 7982 Updated 28/01/2020 09.45 AM (UK time)
      Summary
      We fully understand that you may want to change your travel plans as a result of the recent coronavirus outbreak in China, and so whilst we await further advice from the Government and health organisations, we are offering any customers due to fly to or from China including Hong Kong until 23 February the option to refund or rebook.
      
      More information
      Can I rebook my flight?
      
      If you are flying between 26 January – 23 February 2020 you can rebook on to another flight operated by British Airways to the same destination.
      
      This must be in the same cabin class as the original flight or a lower cabin if available. This also includes any connecting flights that are operated by British Airways.
      
      To make this change please contact us. If you made this booking via a travel agent, please contact them to rebook your flight.
      
      Can I get a refund?
      
      If you are flying between 26 January – 23 February 2020, you can request a refund. This also includes any redemption bookings.
      
      To make this change please contact us. If you made this booking via a travel agent, please contact them to refund your flight.]
    - Rhys says:
      
      28 Jan28 January 16:31
      
      Did you book it via a travel agent?
    - TomB says:
      
      30 Jan30 January 08:12
      
      I would call British Airways (0344 493 0787 option 3, followed by option 3). They just gave me a full refund on our flights to HK on 7th February, but also gave options to rebook or take a flight to another destination.