Check the expiry date of any new British Airways American Express 2-4-1 vouchers

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• Lyn says:

  24 Nov24 November 16:49

  Congratulations for a very well-deserved award Rhys.

• Iain miller says:

  24 Nov24 November 20:51

  On a 2-4-1 voucher.
  I have one which expires in February.
  Is it still possible to extend them with a cheap booking and an FTV?
  I know the previous advice was to wait till it was about to expire before doing so…but I presume the chances of it being extended again are zero?

  • Dave says:

    24 Nov24 November 22:00

    Yes I’m pretty sure this is still live. I have two related questions though if anyone can help:
    1) does anyone know what the best options are to keep the taxes low when doing this? Is it possible to not put in £70 by choosing a destination with taxes lower than the RFS cap? Main reason being uncertainty as to whether the FTV would in reality ever be used…
    2) do people sense there is any risk of BA pulling the FTV option in the near future – it would seem crazy in light of the current situation, but still…

    • AJA says:

      24 Nov24 November 22:46

      In reply to both of you there’s realistically no chance of BA extending validity of 2-4-1s again and yes the booking and cancelling for FTV still works. To keep the cost down just book a one-way in economy eg LHR to MAN which limits the Avios and taxes you wrap up in the FTV. There is a very small likelihood of BA stopping the FTV route while travel is still subdued but there is no guarantee that it will still be there in Feb 2022 so if there’s no chance you want to use your 2-4-1 before it expires naturally and you want to extend the 2-4-1 I’d do it sooner rather than later.

      • Dave says:

        24 Nov24 November 23:04

        Thanks AJA that’s helpful. One way seems obvious now you say it!

        • Coogan says:

          25 Nov25 November 07:06

          How does the FTV actually work? I’ve got 2 2-4-1’s expiring in the next 2 months.

          Anyone able to explain the details (or point me on the direction of a guide somewhere?) How does it work in practice? What the FTV gives and why booking something random like a one way to Manchester recommend? Or should I just let both vouchers expire in this crazy times we are living where travel is getting riskier again?

        • AJA says:

          25 Nov25 November 08:51

          @Coogan The FTV is essentially a manual voucher that contains your normal booking. So you

          1) initially use the 2-4-1 in the normal way ie book a flight online on BA eg one way LHR MAN in economy for 2 passengers which costs 4,500 Avios +£35 RFS fees for 2 passengers..
          2) Then you cancel the flight but instead of getting everything back less the £35 you opt to receive a FTV. You can do this online via the Covid advice pages.
          3) The FTV suspends your booking for use by 30 Sep 2023. It uses your existing PNR booking ref eg AJA001. 4)You don’t actually get anything back but it is held offline in BA’s system essentially as a pending future flight. 5) When you want to use it you phone BA and say I want to use my FTV AJA001 to book LHR-JFK in Club on 1 Sep 2023 returning 7 Sep 2023 which costs 75,000 Avios +£655 taxes (made up as I can’t remember actual figures). BA says that’s fine you owe an extra 70,500 Avios + £620 taxes.

          Upside is you extend 2-4-1 for use by 30 Sep 2023.
          Downsides are:
          1) You have to PHONE BA to use the voucher,
          2) you CANNOT redeem online so no good if you want to fly a route with limited Avios availability
          3) it is travel BY 30 Sep 2023. You cannot use it to book a return flight beyond that date

      • Iain says:

        25 Nov25 November 14:24

        Thankyou. Very helpful

• A says:

  2 Dec2 December 06:49

  Does anyone know if the 2-4-1 expiry’s have been sorted so that a voucher triggered tomorrow would have +6months expiry?

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