When should you accept a British Airways ‘Future Travel Voucher’ instead of a cash refund?

I want to take a look today at whether you should take a British Airways ‘Future Travel Voucher’ or a cash refund if you decide to cancel an upcoming flight.

Future Travel Vouchers are now more flexible.  Last week, British Airways announced that all Future Travel Vouchers would be extended by 12 months.  The new ‘travel by’ expiry date is 30th April 2023.

British Airways is also working through the backlog of Future Travel Vouchers for ‘all cash’ flight bookings (cash tickets with no payments for seat selection or other anciliaries) and converting them to eVouchers.

If you receive an eVoucher by email to replace your Future Travel Voucher, you can use it online without having to call BA to rebook.  This special page of ba.com explains how to spend an eVoucher.

What is a ‘Future Travel Voucher’?

Think of a ‘Future Travel Voucher’ as a frozen ticket – because that’s what it is.  Your voucher even has the same reference number as your old ticket.

Every component of your ticket – cash, Avios, companion or Lloyds vouchers, payment for seat selection etc – is ‘locked’ into the voucher.

When you want to rebook, you call BA and your ticket is unfrozen.  Irrespective of the original expiry date of any 241 or Lloyds voucher, it will still be valid.  Remember this, however:

• you can change the destination of your trip, paying more Avios and cash if needed, or getting another voucher for the balance if you now need fewer
• you cannot change the passenger names – don’t break up with your partner if you are requesting a Future Travel Voucher
• you cannot change the type of ticket – you cannot use the cash element of an ‘Avios and cash’ ticket to book a pure cash ticket, for example, and you cannot ask for the cash part to be used towards a BA Holidays booking
• you cannot add a 2-4-1 voucher to a Future Travel Voucher if there was not one there originally
• all travel must be completed by 30th April 2023

Is it ever worth taking a Future Travel Voucher if I need to cancel a flight?

Sometimes ….

As regular HfP readers will know, British Airways is desperately keen for you to take a Future Travel Voucher rather than a cash refund.  Anyone who wants a cash refund needs to ring up to ask for one, as refund functionality has been removed from ba.com.

This is what I recommend:

Do you have a non-refundable cash flight booking which is still operating?

Take the Future Travel Voucher if you no longer wish to travel.  You have no other option.  However, wait until as late as possible in case British Airways decides to cancel the flight as cancellation allows you to request a full cash refund.

In recent weeks we have seen cases of British Airways ceasing to sell tickets for flights but not cancelling the service.  The cancellation does not take place until a couple of days before departure.  You may need to hold your nerve.

Do you have a non-refundable cash flight booking where the flight has been cancelled?

Contact British Airways and ask for your cash.  There is no benefit in taking the Future Travel Voucher.  Refunds for cancelled flights booked for cash can now be requested online here – there is no need to call.

Do you have an Avios flight booking which is still operating and with NO paid seat reservations and NO 2-4-1 voucher involved?

If you are willing to swallow the £35 cancellation fee per person, I would ring up British Airways and cancel your booking.  Personally I’d prefer the Avios and cash back in my account.

However, wait until the last minute in case the flight is cancelled by BA as cancellation allows you to avoid the £35 fee.

If you don’t want to pay £35, take the Future Travel Voucher but note its limitations (no changes to passenger names, no way to add a 2-4-1 etc).

Do you have an Avios flight booking which is still operating but where you paid for seat reservations?

This is trickier.  If you voluntarily cancel for a refund, you pay the £35 per person cancellation fee and you LOSE the seat reservation fee you paid even though your Avios and taxes are returned.

Instead, I would take the Future Travel Voucher because your voucher will include a separate credit for the seat reservation fees which can only be used against future seat reservations.

However, wait until the last minute in case the flight is cancelled as cancellation allows you to request a full cash refund.

Do you have an Avios flight booking which is still operating and which includes a BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher?

This is trickier.  If you voluntarily cancel for a refund, you pay the £35 per person cancellation fee.  Your Avios, taxes and 2-4-1 voucher are returned to you.  However, you need to consider whether you can re-use your 2-4-1 voucher before it expires.

There is no sign yet of BA making an additional, third, extension to expiring 2-4-1 vouchers but I consider it likely.

If you take the Future Travel Voucher, your 2-4-1 voucher is frozen and remains valid for flights completed by 30th April 2023 which gives you extra time to use it.  You will also save the £35 cancellation fee.  You cannot change the passenger names, however, which will be a problem for some people.

Do you have an Avios flight booking which has been cancelled? 

In this scenario, you should call BA and ask for your cash, Avios and any 2-4-1 voucher to be returned to you.  There is no cancellation fee to pay.

Alternatively, BA will move you to ANY future BA flight – even if there are no Avios seats available – to a city within 300 miles of your original destination.  The only catch is that the last date to travel is 365 days from the day you made the original booking.  If you booked your flight a year in advance, you can’t take advantage of this.

Alternatively, if your booking contained a 2-4-1 voucher which is nearing expiry, you may want to take the Future Travel Voucher as this keeps your 2-4-1 alive and you can rebook for flights completed by 30th April 2023.  There is no sign yet of BA making an additional, third, extension to expiring 2-4-1 vouchers although I think it is likely.

Hopefully this will help you decide what to do about your upcoming flights.

If you have any further questions about Future Travel Vouchers, take a look at this page of ba.com.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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.