This is the only way left to get an online refund for a British Airways Avios flight

Are you trying to get a refund on a British Airways Avios flight ticket?  There is still one way – and only one way – to get a refund online.

This only applies to tickets where your Avios flight has not been cancelled yet.  If it has been cancelled, you need to join the queue for the British Airways call centre to request a cash and Avios refund if you don’t want a voucher.

I strongly recommend NOT taking a voucher on an Avios ticket.  Your Avios and, if applicable, your British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher are NOT returned separately if you take the voucher.

You get a voucher which contains Avios and the 2-4-1 and the cash element.  The voucher will expire after 12 months from your original flight date – and you must return by that date, not fly out – so you are at real risk of losing your Avios permanently.  Take the cash.

How can I claim an online refund for an Avios flight?

British Airways has deliberately hijacked its own website to stop the online cancellation form appearing.

On 19th March we published an article explaining how to get around this and get an online British Airways flight refund by amending the javascript settings in your internet browser.  It took them some time, but British Airways has now managed to block this workaround for desktop computers.

They forget to block the workaround for iPhones, however.  It does NOT work on iPads.

If you have an iPhone, you can still cancel an Avios redemption flight online, as long as the flight is still operating. 

There’s one thing to note.  When you cancel online, your refund is queued for manual cancellation.  It could take a couple of weeks to get the Avios back in your account, with the money taking even longer.  If you call BA, the Avios are returned immediately, although you must still wait for the cash.  If you want to rebook immediately, you need to call instead.

As your flight has not yet been cancelled by BA, cancellation fees will still be due.  The only way to avoid paying the cancellation fee (£35 per person on long haul flights, £1 or £35 on short haul flights depending on when you booked) is to wait and hope that British Airways cancels your flight which allows you to have a fee-free refund.

This is how to cancel your British Airways flight online

This is what you need to do on your iphone.

Step 1

In the Safari browser, go to ba.com and log in to your account (do not use the British Airways app).

The person who originally booked must log in.  You CANNOT cancel if you are a passenger but were not the original booker.

Step 2

At ba.com, go into ‘Manage My Booking’ for the flight you want to cancel.  If you are asked if you want to use the new or current version of ‘Manage My Booking’, select ‘current’ if you want to follow the pictures below.

Step 3

Scroll to the bottom where you will see a link for ‘Cancellation options for this booking’ – DO NOT CLICK IT

Step 4

Go into ‘Settings’ on your iPhone and scroll down to ‘Safari’.  In the ‘Safari’ section, scroll to the bottom where you see ‘Advanced’ and click it.

Step 5

Under the ‘Advanced’ menu, disable JavaScript (turn the green button to grey)

Step 6

Return to ba.com and click ‘Cancellation options for this booking’

Step 7

You will be on the ‘Consent’ page.  Tick the box to say that you have the consent of all passengers to cancel, and click ‘Continue’

Step 8

And voila!  You are on the ‘Calculate refund’ page – DO NOT CLICK CONFIRM YET

Step 9

Return to the ‘Settings’ section of your iPhone settings.  Click ‘Safari’, scroll down to ‘Advanced’, click for the ‘Advanced’ menu and turn JavaScript back on (turn it from the grey below to green):

Step 10

Go back to the ‘Calculate refund’ page on ba.com, scroll down to ‘Confirm cancellation’ and click it.  You’re done.

Thank you to our readers who help finesse this process yesterday.  Good luck.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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

Get 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

30,000 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.