British Airways changes its ‘Book with Confidence’ policy (again)

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

British Airways has once again changed its ‘Book with Confidence’ policy.

All deadline dates have now been removed. It seems that BA has decided that the August 2021 deadline was putting people off from booking for later in the year or for Christmas.

Full details are on ba.com here.

What has changed if you booked before coronavirus?

If you booked before 3rd March 2020, you can request a Future Travel Voucher as long as your outbound flight is due to be taken by 28th February 2021. You can also change the date of your trip, subject to the payment of any fare difference.

The previous deadline was January. People who booked ski holidays for February half-term are now covered.

What is the position for all other travellers?

The current policy waives the change fee for new bookings made from 3rd March 2020 for travel at any date in the future.

You can change the date, the destination, or both. You will have to pay any difference in fare, however.

Alternatively, you can exchange the value of your ticket for a Future Travel Voucher valid until 30th April 2022. You can do this at any time and for any reason.

Remember that, for bookings made purely with cash and with no Avios element, these vouchers now come as an eVoucher and can be used online without having to call British Airways.

There was previously a ‘travel by’ deadline of 31st August 2021, beyond which BA was not willing to guarantee the ability to change your flights or take a voucher.

British Airways book with confidence extended

Remember that British Airways is legally required to offer a full cash refund if it cancels flights. Before requesting a refund via a travel voucher, you may prefer to wait to see if your flight is cancelled, allowing you to ask for cash.

Will the Future Travel Voucher deadline be extended?

This is the next question that British Airways will need to grapple with. When it started giving out vouchers, putting a ‘travel by’ deadline of 30th April 2022 seemed generous.

Even if you believe that travel restrictions from the UK will be lifted in a few months, it is unlikely that many of BA’s top long-haul destinations will be welcoming tourists for some time to come.

Full details of the ‘Book with Confidence’ guarantee are on ba.com here.

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.

Lisa says:

26 Jan26 January 14:59

Slightly off topic I know, but has anyone heard about an extension on the Lloyds Avios vouchers? Mine is about to expire (again)
- Nori says:
  
  27 Jan27 January 00:48
  
  31 March 2021 to my knowledge. You need to purchase your Avios ticket by then. But you can travel anytime as long as Avios seats are available and you’ve purchased the ticket by the above deadline.
PJ says:

26 Jan26 January 23:56

Beware – I cancelled two flights with. the GGL line expecting to receive FTVs. I got a cash refund onto my Credit Card instead – which due to the fare rules was a fraction of what I had paid. When I challenged the mistake – I was told by BA that the tickets were cancelled and nothing more they could do. Total inflexibility – even when it was their error and really quite blunt emails also. I used to rack up 5,000+ TPs per year pre-COVID. Loyalty seemingly counts for little now.
Pam Stephenson says:

27 Jan27 January 13:33

B.a.cancelled my feb 6 flight and acknowledged my cash refund application 9 Jan. Any idea how long it will take?
- Rob says:
  
  27 Jan27 January 14:55
  
  If your booking had never been amended / upgraded / changed, it should have been a ‘clean’ cancellation with the money returned 3-4 days later. BA is very good at the moment. Anything more complex (eg you changed it, your booking was part cash and part Avios etc) has to be done manually and could be a while.
Tania says:

27 Jan27 January 19:20

Hi , new to this, sorry similar query as Jennifer.
Got a July 2021 business Denver booking Amex 2:1 which originally was extended by BA from Feb 2021 expiry to Aug 2021. Am I right if I cancel , and ask for a FTV it will be valid to use up to Apr 2022. The Avios won’t be returned nor the taxes paid as will all form part of the voucher?
Will I still be charged £35 each?
But how does the FTV show in your Exec Club account showing as a previous 2:1 status. Don’t want them to mess up the 2:1 offer.
Or do I wait for them to cancel as not sure USA will be open to us then, but will BA then extend the original Aug 2021 expiry to April 2022 automatically? Thank you
- Rob says:
  
  27 Jan27 January 19:38
  
  No fees. You don’t see anything on your account.
  
  The only way to get the extension to 4/22 for your voucher is to take the FTV so from that point of view there is little point waiting to take the voucher unless you believe BA will extend your 241 (which it might).
Mark Abernethy says:

28 Jan28 January 15:04

Hi, I’ve searched hard for an answer but can’t find one . I have 5 seats on a flight to Orlando in March that’s just been cancelled by BA. I used two Amex vouchers and booked in the half price sale. In the email I got from BA and on the website it says I can change the date to whenever I like at no extra cost but when I try to change for any date in July/August on the website under Manage my booking (next school holiday), it says no flights available . Any ideas? I wondered if its because they were half price avios seats and they are trying to restrict the validity of them to end June which I believe was the allowed booking period at the time. Thanks
JP says:

6 Feb6 February 23:18

If I opt for the FTV to extend my companion voucher to April 2023 (will probably travel in April 2022 instead of this year, as BA just cancelled my Avios booking) can I add a newly acquired companion voucher to the FTV to effectively have 2 vouchers on the booking and therefore halve the number of miles required?
- Rob says:
  
  7 Feb7 February 11:07
  
  No
  - JP says:
    
    7 Feb7 February 14:10
    
    Thanks Rob. That is a shame! So Avios can be added to top up the number of Avios used for the new booking, but no further companion vouchers, it seems. Now need to get 90,000 more Avios by Easter!
Zayn says:

12 Feb12 February 11:40

Does anyone know if i cancel BA Amex Premium Plus card i can still keep the voucher or it has to be used before i cancel the card ?
J says:

15 Feb15 February 08:36

Good morning,
I want to fly to san Francisco in may this year (2021).I’m looking to fly with BA. If I book my flight now and then in may there is a lockdown and the flight is cancelled, BA say they will houner a voucher at the price of my booking and it would be valid until April 2023. Can anyone confirm that please? I’m seeing conflicting information about it. Thank you
- Rob says:
  
  15 Feb15 February 09:36
  
  That’s not how it works.
  
  If you choose not to go, then yes – you get a voucher, valid to 30/4/23, for what you paid. However, that voucher does NOT guarantee you the right to rebook at the same price. It is simply a BA gift voucher for £xxx.