Priority Pass and British Airways Flight Pass join the coronavirus ‘no refunds, no extensions’ list
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We have given a lot of coverage on Head for Points recently to airlines and hotel companies who are doing their best to avoid paying refunds.
We aren’t seeing much love from service providers either.
A steady trickle of complaints about airport lounge club Priority Pass and coronavirus refunds has been landing in my inbox.
One reader, who has been a very happy Priority Pass customer, had – mistakenly, he admits – set up his Priority Pass account to auto renew. His new subscription was taken on schedule, with no attempt to either reduce the fee or extend his membership period for the fact that he won’t be able to use his card for a number of months.
After numerous discussions with the company yielded no deal, he ended up cancelling his card. He received a refund of the fee that had just been taken, given that the new membership year had not yet kicked in.
In the face of this – and similar feedback from others – I strongly suggest turning off auto-renew in your Priority Pass account. Obviously this only applies if you pay directly for a Priority Pass and not get it free from American Express Platinum.
Letting your membership lapse may be the best way of getting the company to offer you an equitable deal going forward. If you are currently part-way through your subscription, there seems little hope at the moment of getting a free membership extension.
EDIT: A couple of days after we published this article, Priority Pass announced a three month extension for all cardholders.
OptionTown isn’t being very helpful either
We have covered the British Airways Flight Pass on a few occasions.
A British Airways Flight Pass can be an excellent deal. It is effectively a carnet, allowing you to prepay for a number of short-haul flights on either a particular route or to a particular country. Once you have bought your Flight Pass, you are guaranteed a seat when you want one as long as tickets are still being sold for cash.
Flight Pass is run by a company called OptionTown on behalf of British Airways.
According to reader feedback, OptionTown is not offering refunds on unused Flight Pass tickets. This is – to be fair – in their terms and conditions, but clearly it is against the spirit of the scheme when British Airways is not flying to the destination covered by the pass.
If you have any personal feedback from talking to Priority Pass or OptionTown in recent days, please let me know.
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
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year 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.
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