British Airways introduces ‘Hold Your Flight Price for 72 Hours’
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British Airways launched a new feature a couple of weeks ago – the ability to lock-in the price of a ticket for up to 72 hours.
Since this is a new feature (with nothing taken away in return!) and it will benefit some people, it has to been seen as a positive move. When you dig into the detail, though, it is not very exciting.
Full details can be found on ba.com here.
In summary:
You can hold your seats and the current price for 72 hours
There is a charge of £5 per person short-haul and £10 per person long-haul
You get the fee back if you confirm the booking, otherwise it is lost
You can use this on both British Airways and Iberia flights
So far, so good.
There are three snags:
It is only available on a limited list of destinations so far
It is not available within 21 days of departure
You cannot do it if you have an infant in your booking
The ’21 days’ rule is a key one. As we all know, flight prices ramp up sharply the nearer you get to the departure date.
If you are booking a flight four months in advance, you would be a little unlucky if the price went up overnight whilst you ‘had a think’. If you are booking a flight seven days in advance, you can be pretty certain that it will increase day to day.
It is also worth remembering that British Airways has a 24 hour cooling off period. If you have booked a flight and need to cancel within 24 hours, you can do so for a full refund. (I think this rule was forced on BA by the US authorities and it made sense to roll it out to all routes.)
If you need less than 24 hours to get all your friends or family to agree to travel, you might as well save yourself £5 each and just book the flights. If someone doesn’t want to go you can cancel under the cooling off period. The ‘hold your price’ feature only has any merit if you need between 25 and 72 hours to firm up your plans.
There is one occasion where this feature may come in handy and that is at the end of a British Airways sale. If I run an article saying “Last chance – today is the last day to book a flight in the current BA sale”, you could use this new service to buy yourself an extra three days grace to decide.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
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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.
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