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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.

British Airways Book With Confidence

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.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (857)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • John says:
    16 Mar16 March 06:56

    I made booking via Avios, Does the tax go back via your credit card?

    Or do you get the tax as an voucher?

  • Alan says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:53

    May well have been covered above, (apologies if it is) but I’ve now had an email from BA saying that even if you opted for the voucher you will now get a full refund. It was a holiday booking but not sure that makes a difference as the voucher offer covered both it and flights.

    Text says:

    ‘If you have already selected the option on ba.com to cancel your booking and receive a voucher for the same value, today’s email supercedes this. We realise a full refund offers you maximum flexibility now that we are unable to provide your holiday as planned. You do not need to contact us if you have already opted for a voucher as we will process a refund instead. We hope this reassures you of our continued commitment to put our customers at the heart of our business and that you will trust us with your future travel.’

    • Lady London says:
      16 Mar16 March 09:44

      Hum. In accordance with ATOL I believe. Where’s @RussellH when we need him to confirm? 🙂

    • Jill (Kinkell) says:
      16 Mar16 March 11:32

      Well, I hope I get this email too. Applied for voucher as have have hung on hoping BA would cancel . They may yet still do, but I’m approaching the cut off time., so just went ahead.

  • JamesR says:
    16 Mar16 March 10:20

    On regards to rebooking does anyone know if the voucher would be valid for oneworld partners too through the BA website?
    Got a direct open jaw back USA flights in April but when rescheduling for june July the price rises significantly. But AA depart and return with BA is about the same price as originally paid.

    • Lady London says:
      16 Mar16 March 11:07

      Unsure. You might find when you see it they could have snuck in a clause saying BA operated flights only. That could be contested

      What is sure though is that you will be able to use your voucher to pay BA only for a booking. Even if what you are paying BA for does turn out to have flights paid to BA that are run by, say, AA.

  • Vinz says:
    16 Mar16 March 10:27

    Hey Rob
    Just got an email from BA about a flight to TYO at the end of the month, which I could cancel and ask for a voucher instead. The problem is this flight was booked on Avios + companion voucher. Does it mean that I could cancel it at no cost (no £35 fee p/p) and get tax and avios back?
    Thank you

    • Rob says:
      16 Mar16 March 10:42

      Based on other people, no. Email may be an error.

    • Anna says:
      16 Mar16 March 10:42

      That seems to be the case but you may have to cancel by phone to get the £35 waived. I’ve got a similar message below!

  • Anna says:
    16 Mar16 March 10:38

    I’ve just seen a message from BA saying my flight to MIA at Easter is planned to operate normally but that I may wish to change my travel plans! They are asking me to call to change/refund but it’s still over 3 weeks away so I’m not keen on clogging up the lines just yet.

    • Anna says:
      16 Mar16 March 10:43

      The message is on my booking, not an email.

    • MattB says:
      16 Mar16 March 10:49

      I’ve had a similar email just now even though I had an email from BA holidays yesterday saying it’s cancelled!!

      • Anna says:
        16 Mar16 March 10:55

        Ha. I had an email last Thursday saying “Let the countdown to Miami begin!”. The next day Trump banned UK visitors.

    • Lady London says:
      16 Mar16 March 11:11

      Wait it out. They’re making a decision when they see which flights people don’t want to refund on.

      • Anna says:
        16 Mar16 March 11:16

        I think you are right LL. Otherwise no point in telling people their flights are still running when they know full well pax aren’t going to be getting a on them!

  • Tom says:
    16 Mar16 March 10:55

    I also received the ‘Voucher’ email but 12 months is not a long time in which to re-book. I’m going to hold on to see if my flight is cancelled (LHR-ORD on 25th). My hotel booking look unlikely to offer a refund unless the flight is cancelled. V.frustrating.

  • Anna says:
    16 Mar16 March 11:35

    Me asking a question now – if BA cancel our F award seats to MIA at Easter (I’m sitting tight at the moment), what are the chances they would move the booking to April next year, which realistically is going to be the earliest we can re-schedule the trip?

    • roberto says:
      16 Mar16 March 12:42

      April next year ? No chance.

    • vinz says:
      16 Mar16 March 12:53

      I don’t think you can book tickets more than 355 days in advance so you’ll have to wait until seats for your other dates are released… I have the same problem…

  • Danksy says:
    16 Mar16 March 11:38

    I’m supposed to be flying to Las Vegas on Sunday – with a cash ticket

    Currently shiowing the flight will fly as normal – I suspect they will be making a trade off between the risk of incurring EU261 compensation for cancelling the flights Vs running an empty plane there and back!

    Wondering how long I can bare to wait before accepting the 12mnth voucher – although clearly I will recourse to travel insurance if I can’t get the voucher. But TBH given the scale of the financial risk to BA I’m very wary of taking vouchers which cant be cashed!!

    • stevenhp1987 says:
      16 Mar16 March 12:04

      There will be no EU261 compensation. Extraordinary circumstances.

      If the flight is cancelled, which is extremely likely. You’ll get a refund.

    • John Graham says:
      16 Mar16 March 15:44

      The CAA has made pretty clear that they see the cancellations due to Coronavirus as fitting “exceptional circumstances”, but that you would still be free to try a claim. This means the voucher is a pretty good option, depending on insurance, if your confident you were going to spend the money with BA in the next year anyway.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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