British Airways will refund ALL flights to 31st May for a voucher – but should you say no?

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Finally ….. British Airways has seen the light and is now allowing you to cancel ALL flights up to 31st May, in return for a travel voucher.

However …. I am not convinced you should accept.

Let me explain.

Here is the British Airways ‘Book With Confidence’ website.

British Airways BA 777X 777 9X

These are the new rules:

If you are travelling between 14th March and 31st May, you can refund your flight for a British Airways e-voucher irrespective of when you booked. No refunds are on offer for flights beyond 31st May.

If you are travelling between 1st June and 31st December 2020, you can refund your flight for a British Airways e-voucher if you booked between 3rd March and 31st May

The voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of your original flight

The voucher can be used on any route, not necessarily the one you originally booked

This applies to both British Airways marketed flights and BA Holidays bookings, although Comair and SUN-AIR are exempt

You cannot claim if you have already started your journey

Flight cancellations can be made until the close of check-in, whilst BA Holidays bookings must be cancelled within 48 hours of departure

Anyone who has already cancelled their booking and lost money cannot retrospectively request a voucher

You can also change your flight dates without any change fees, although you have to pay the fare difference.

The small print on how the voucher works is on the ‘Book With Confidence’ website.

But … but … but … perhaps you should wait?

I know this sounds contrarian. Many of you have been on tenterhooks waiting for a decision like this to allow you to cancel your trip.

And yet ….

The EU has agreed the terms of a deal to allow airlines to cancel flights without losing their slots.

Next week, British Airways is likely cut anything from 25% to 100% of its scheduled flights – probably around 50% given what Lufthansa is doing. If your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to a full refund IN CASH. No messing around with e-vouchers.

By taking the refund now, you are also giving up your right to potential EC261 compensation if you were due to travel within 14 days of the cancellation being made.

Unless you are travelling in the next 4-5 days, you might want to think about waiting in case you end up missing out on a full cash refund.

Of course, there is also a risk that British Airways withdraws this offer and you can no longer refund your ticket at all.

It’s up to you.

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

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.)

Category

British Airways and Avios

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

Clive says:

14 Mar14 March 12:19

I must say that out of all the hotel chains Accord policy on Covid 19 is by far the worst.
- James H says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 14:47
  
  Thanks Clive
Linda Chamberlain says:

14 Mar14 March 12:27

I contacted BA to ask if possible to extend Amex 241 voucher, which is due to expire 27th March. I was asked to email details & have now received a response from BA saying ‘No extension granted’ 🙁 Are others receiving a different answer?
- Secret Squirrel says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 12:42
  
  Linda:
  This response is different to others, contact them again & state you’ve received different than others.
  Maybe some kind people on here may be able to help with proof of difference.
  - Linda Chamberlain says:
    
    14 Mar14 March 15:36
    
    Thank you SSquirrel,
- xcalx says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:21
  
  Was it applied to a booking
  - Linda Chamberlain says:
    
    14 Mar14 March 15:37
    
    No
- Lady London says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:29
  
  Just asking for a data point had you actually booked anything with the voucher?
- AJA says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:35
  
  Linda are you trying to get an extension to a 2-4-1 voucher that (a) you’ve already used or is it (b) a voucher that you haven’t used? If its (a) then call again. If it’s (b) then you’re out of luck as you haven’t used it and would ordinarily and realistically lose it if you don’t use it by the end of the month.
  
  The anecdotal evidence is only 2-4-1 vouchers actually used for existing bookings are getting extensions.
  
  A possible solution is to use it to book a flight anywhere that you can get availability for with a departure date before the end of the month in the hope that the flight is cancelled but bear in mind that
  
  the T&Cs specifically state “you must book and fly the outbound leg before the expiry date”
  
  so you would have to actually fly if the flight wasn’t cancelled. Your return leg(s) can take place after the voucher’s expiry date passes.
  - Linda Chamberlain says:
    
    14 Mar14 March 15:46
    
    Thank you AJA, I hadn’t booked any seats (because of CV at possible destinations) at the time of contacting them 8-9 days ago. I appreciate you taking the time to suggest a possible solution, thank you.
Marie M says:

14 Mar14 March 12:48

Can someone clarify please. Ive filled out the form for a voucher for a flight tomorrow. Do i also have to cancel the flight via app?
On the app its showing a rebate of only taxes

Many thanks
Rob says:

14 Mar14 March 12:53

They are being by 6 months on request, it seems – but don’t be an idiot and call now to request it, because the call centre have better things to do.
Tyna says:

14 Mar14 March 13:09

OT IAG directors buy on coronavirus crash: https://www.ft.com/content/740f8e18-d1b6-4fb2-97db-79a529d2200d#comments-anchor
- Shoestring says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:13
  
  google [A pair of International Consolidated Airlines Group executives appear confident that the airline group will overcome the chaos wrought by coronavirus and have bought shares, which have plunged more than a third this year.]
  - Rob says:
    
    14 Mar14 March 15:48
    
    …. and are both already sitting on six-figure losses!
    - Lady London says:
      
      14 Mar14 March 19:29
      
      for now
- Lady London says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:30
  
  *stuck behind paywall
Tanya says:

14 Mar14 March 13:13

I am currently in South Africa (arrived 11/3/20 on a very empty Jo’berg flight). The flight itself was very upsetting as we do this route every March and it is always full. Limited drinks were offered in CW and food selections limited. It felt very surreal. We are due to return home on 27/3/20. Part of me is considering calling BA to come home sooner, although I am unsure if that is me over-reacting or if now is the time to leave. We travelled on a 2-4-1 ticket and avois. Does anyone see any potential issues? Thanks so much.
- marcw says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:27
  
  Call embassy in SA for advice.
- Lady London says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:32
  
  I’d stay in South Africa and build up my resistance and then look a couple of days ahead of my return to see if anythings changed if you have the BA flight to bring you back.
  - Tanya Wade says:
    
    14 Mar14 March 13:39
    
    Thank you!
MaryR says:

14 Mar14 March 13:13

I have an Avios flight waw-doh-nagpur (India) for Sat 21st with QR which is eligible for cancellation with BA. I have just been told that the actual flights are now cancelled. Does this mean that it comes within scope of EU261? Thanks very much
- Shoestring says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:19
  
  doubt it – extraordinary circs as Warsaw Airport is closing tonight with Poland effectively sealing its borders for a couple of weeks from Sunday
  - Lady London says:
    
    14 Mar14 March 13:36
    
    If you’re stuck in Poland though I’m thinking duty of care part of EU262 hould apply. Forget compensation part of eu261, people, for now.
- marcw says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:21
  
  Poland has suspended all international inbound traffic. No compo. Call and ask whether they can reroute you. But be careful, you will only be able to enter India if you hold an Indian passport.
Nige22 says:

14 Mar14 March 13:31

Am I right in thinking that the online request for voucher also works for ‘avios plus money’ fares – to receive the full cash value rather than losing £35 each if using the usual cancellation button??
- MaryR says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:43
  
  I’m not sure, I read somewhere else that you have to phone for Avios bookings to be sorted out
- Shoestring says:
  
  14 Mar14 March 13:57
  
  that must be correct – you’d get the Avios & Money back 100%
  
  whereas I just checked cancellation options online and for my (old, pre-50p) booking, it would still charge me £17.50 each (one way)
  - Shoestring says:
    
    14 Mar14 March 13:58
    
    in the form of a voucher, though – I guess you get the Money element back as a voucher and the Avios refunded to a/c