Avios flight cancelled? You can rebook for ANY date, even if Avios seats are not available
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We haven’t covered the great British Airways refund saga for some time, but we are returning to it today.
There is some good, potentially great, news.
If your Avios flight is cancelled, you can now rebook your trip via ba.com for any date even if Avios seats are not available.
None of the HfP team have any ‘cancelled but not refunded’ Avios flights at present so we haven’t been able to test this personally. However, this is what we understand happens.
Simply go into ‘Manage My Booking’ and select the rebooking option. You should be offered a flight on the same route on any day where a service is due to operate, up to 12 months from the date your ticket was originally issued.
This rule could catch you out, since you cannot move your flight more than a year from, give or take a few days, the day you made your booking. If you booked 355 days ahead then you’re stuffed.
We are still unsure of the exact rules. However:
if you are using a 2-4-1 voucher, it seems that you must still be operating within the validity dates of the voucher
if your trip was on off-peak dates, you will only be offered off-peak dates to rebook
If you don’t see this for any reason, you will need to call up and potentially quote the rule change referenced above.
There must, obviously, be cash seats available for the flight you want. You are rebooked into a cash ‘bucket’ which may even earn you Avios and tier points back. A reader sent me an example where he was offered a BA codeshare on Loganair for rebooking, which cannot ever be booked with Avios.
Remember that this policy only applies if your flight is cancelled and you have not selected a ‘Book with Confidence’ voucher instead. If your flight is not cancelled but you no longer wish to travel, your only option is to take the ‘Book with Confidence’ voucher or a standard refund, paying the £35 fee.
This new policy is obviously open to abuse but it is a generous move by British Airways and hopefully it will be used as intended.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2023)
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
25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £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 £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.
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
30,000 points and unbeatable 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
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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 bonus and a £200 Amex Travel credit every year 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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