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

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

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.

Shoestring says:

18 Mar18 March 15:49

OK sorry if already posted

so I got the cancelled flight email from BA, as I guessed pressing the cancel & refund button leads to the voucher

but the T&Cs obviously allow for a full refund in whatever form you paid, BA just say you have to call for this, I’ll wait a few days then make a call

We apologise for the cancellation of your flight(s).

You may rebook the cancelled flight(s) and other flights in your booking free of charge, subject to availability.
You may obtain a full refund by cancelling your entire booking.
***To re-book or refund please call us.***
To re-book the cancelled flight(s) to an alternative destination please contact your original booking agent. This may require additional payment.
- Shoestring says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 15:55
  
  anyway, what happens with cancelled flights when you simply do nothing about getting a refund/ re-ticketing/ voucher?
  
  do you automatically get a refund?
  - stevenhp1987 says:
    
    18 Mar18 March 16:03
    
    Perhaps normally you would.
    
    But in these times I imagine BA will want to hold onto the cash as long as possible.
    
    Out of interest how far in advance was the cancellation Harry? My Easter flights are “still on”…
    - Shoestring says:
      
      18 Mar18 March 16:06
      
      28th outward flight
    - Anna says:
      
      18 Mar18 March 16:54
      
      BA are only creating more work for themselves in the long term as thousands of disgruntled pax clog their phone lines wanting refunds.
    - n_g says:
      
      18 Mar18 March 17:11
      
      My Easter flights to Ireland are now cancelled so curious as to what happens if I simply do nothing. One flights is cash the other avios.
  - Nige67 says:
    
    18 Mar18 March 16:26
    
    “what happens with cancelled flights when you simply do nothing”
    
    Rob, do you know the answer to this? It seems pretty key.
    - Rob says:
      
      18 Mar18 March 21:33
      
      Your legal right to a cash refund does not go away.
babyg says:

18 Mar18 March 16:00

Just had a message (email and txt) saying one of my flights was cancelled, as others have pointed out the CANCEL/REFUND button takes you to a VOUCHER page – this is no way to get a refund online anymore, leaving you no option but to ring BA to get a real cash refund. I guess they are trying to stop money flowing out in these difficult times.
- Shoestring says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 16:06
  
  yep but what happens if you do nothing? ie don’t ring for refund/ re-ticketing or press button for voucher?
  
  they can’t just keep your money
  - babyg says:
    
    18 Mar18 March 16:48
    
    im too scared to do nothing… but id assume at some point in the future when the world has returned to normal they would refund you…. but its probably best to ring up and request the refund once cancelled.
  - meta says:
    
    18 Mar18 March 18:54
    
    You can go to small claims or initiate S75 claim if they don’t refund.
    
    Btw, I think I didn’t mention, but they told me on the phone it now takes 10 working days when I cancelled via You First.
    - meta says:
      
      18 Mar18 March 19:56
      
      Actually if you have a cancellation email and they don’t refund within say 10 days, I’d be tempted to start dispute with Amex.
Bob says:

18 Mar18 March 16:18

I’ve rung BA countless times wanting to cancel my Avios booking all it does is tell you to go to the website etc and then cut itself off I don’t have any confidence in getting in touch before my flight on the 25th to Barbados also I don’t want an e-voucher but there seems to be no way to get round that and cancel the booking.
- Anna says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 16:55
  
  Lady London had some good advice a few posts back about logging your efforts to contact BA for future reference.
- Lady London says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 17:14
  
  Apart from keeping evidence of your many attempts to contact BA and failing and how long you were on the phone trying, if I was really desperate I would do the following:
  
  Send a registered letter to British Airways registered address (Google it) with your booking details advising that you want your flight(s) refunded in full. Ideally to arrive before the flight.
  
  Can anyone knowledgeable in law confirm does “the postal rule” still apply, i.e. in the UK does a letter sent by registered post still legally count as received on the day it’s sent? If not then just sending it recorded delivery or signed-for would be as effective but might not have useful “the postal rule” feature.
  
  That way you’ve informed them in an extremely reliable way even if they are not picking up the phone or if you are getting lack of appropriate response from the BA outsourced call centre.
  
  Keep track and ensure you request proof of receipt from the Post Office soon after it should get there. Despite what the Post Office says this proof may not be able to be found later. So get it while it’s fresh.
  
  You can do same with courier companies like ups, DHL, ups but it costs.maybe parcelhero or parcelstogo might send a “light” “parcel” cheaper than the above.
KINGB says:

18 Mar18 March 16:40

OT: A domestic flight of mines got cancelled and now am wondering if this is under EU261 cause its within the 14 days period? Cheers!
- babyg says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 16:46
  
  wow, you really want to claim EU261? you’ve probably stocked piled pasta and toilet paper too…
  - Joe says:
    
    18 Mar18 March 17:23
    
    Seeing a lot of the kulak spirit in the comments on here over the last few days.
- Lady London says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 17:18
  
  As you will see on replies in quite a few places on here yes you get duty of care (is only reimbursement of out of pocket costs and no more) if you need it but no compensation
  
  Anyone looking for a short cut should perhaps use the MSE site which has excellent explanations for those who are struggling to check through the volume of help here.
willow bell says:

18 Mar18 March 16:47

I think BA is really sly. I’m going to Lebanon on March 30th and the airport is closed until March 29th, though this might be extended. Lebanon allowed its people to return home before locking down, so I believe the airport will remained shut. But if it opens on March 30th and I go, there is no guarantee I’ll be allowed entry, when I arrive in Beirut, so If I don’t accept my voucher, I’m stuck. Airways should cancel the flight but is gonna hold out til the last second. If I was guaranteed to be let into Lebanon, I’d go there, but this might be irresponsible to everyone.
I think the fuss over this flu virus will diminsh after the new tax year but can’t be sure.
Anyway good luck to all in the coming weeks.
Leslie-Ann Reed says:

18 Mar18 March 16:53

My easyjet flight for tomorrow 19 March has been cancelled by the airline. They state “We are very sorry your flight has been cancelled. Please choose a free flight change to another flight, or a full refund of the cost of your flight and any directly related un-flown sectors within the same booking.” This was cancelled within 14 days of the departure date, will there be any compensation under the EU 261 rule?
- Jeff says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 16:55
  
  No
- Anna says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 16:56
  
  Be thankful EasyJet seem to be willing to give you a refund!
- babyg says:
  
  18 Mar18 March 17:14
  
  EU261 really? what is wrong with people? you can probably sneak into funerals to get free food too..
  - KINGB says:
    
    18 Mar18 March 19:06
    
    whats your problem with asking EU261, you lost money on your flights boo?
    - babyg says:
      
      18 Mar18 March 20:19
      
      No I’m fine,thanks for asking, its just a shame that their are people who will seek to profit from situations like this.
    - Jeff says:
      
      18 Mar18 March 23:17
      
      Zero chance of getting compo
  - Spaghetti Town says:
    
    18 Mar18 March 23:47
    
    If everyone had EU compo there wouldn’t be a BA or easyjet left to claim from.
Mark says:

18 Mar18 March 17:02

Just had cancellation email for flights to Nice in early April, and agree the BA website is incredibly sneaky as you click on the cancel and refund flight button and it takes you to the travel voucher application form…thankfully spotted before clicking submit! Will join the telephone queue at some point to get a proper refund instead.
Anna says:

18 Mar18 March 19:04

Schools closing from Friday.