British Airways changes its ‘Book with Confidence’ policy (again)

British Airways has once again changed its ‘Book with Confidence’ policy. 

All deadline dates have now been removed.  It seems that BA has decided that the August 2021 deadline was putting people off from booking for later in the year or for Christmas.

Full details are on ba.com here.

What has changed if you booked before coronavirus?

If you booked before 3rd March 2020, you can request a Future Travel Voucher as long as your outbound flight is due to be taken by 28th February 2021.  You can also change the date of your trip, subject to the payment of any fare difference.

The previous deadline was January.  People who booked ski holidays for February half-term are now covered.

What is the position for all other travellers?

The current policy waives the change fee for new bookings made from 3rd March 2020 for travel at any date in the future.

You can change the date, the destination, or both.  You will have to pay any difference in fare, however.

Alternatively, you can exchange the value of your ticket for a Future Travel Voucher valid until 30th April 2022.  You can do this at any time and for any reason.

Remember that, for bookings made purely with cash and with no Avios element, these vouchers now come as an eVoucher and can be used online without having to call British Airways.

There was previously a ‘travel by’ deadline of 31st August 2021, beyond which BA was not willing to guarantee the ability to change your flights or take a voucher.

Remember that British Airways is legally required to offer a full cash refund if it cancels flights.  Before requesting a refund via a travel voucher, you may prefer to wait to see if your flight is cancelled, allowing you to ask for cash.

Will the Future Travel Voucher deadline be extended?

This is the next question that British Airways will need to grapple with.  When it started giving out vouchers, putting a ‘travel by’ deadline of 30th April 2022 seemed generous. 

Even if you believe that travel restrictions from the UK will be lifted in a few months, it is unlikely that many of BA’s top long-haul destinations will be welcoming tourists for some time to come.

Full details of the ‘Book with Confidence’ guarantee are on ba.com here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Until 9th April 2021, American Express is running the biggest sign-up bonuses ever seen on a UK payment card.

You will earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points on American Express Business Platinum (apply here) and 50,000 Membership Rewards points on American Express Business Gold (apply here) which is FREE for your first year. Points transfer 1:1 into Avios. Here are links to our reviews:

Here are your other options. There are two official British Airways American Express cards:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

If you have a small business, we especially recommend Capital On Cap’s Visa card which comes with a generous bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)