GAME OVER: You can no longer extend 2-4-1 vouchers by claiming a Future Travel Voucher

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• Dragonfly says:

  2 Mar2 March 05:45

  I have a 2-4-1 voucher expiring Sep 2022 – but I cannot travel before this date, so I will have to forfeit this [crying :(]

• Al says:

  2 Mar2 March 05:59

  Must you fly before they expire or just book and travel after? Sadly one voucher expires in June, second sept. Didn’t do the old trich after such nightmare with past booking during pandemic.

  • dragonfly says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:05

    my understanding is that you must fly the outbound before the expiry date – inbound can be after the expiry date – this is for the old vouchers (not new vouchers)

    • BJ says:

      2 Mar2 March 06:23

      That’s correct.

  • Erico1875 says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:08

    Need to fly before.
    I’m losing a 2 4 1 expiring in 2 weeks. Just forgot about it and now it’s too late.
    We still have 3 left, and a current 2 4 1 CW booking between the wife and I, though, so not the end of the world.
    I’m just so lazy with admin type stuff

    • novelty-socks says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:54

      Same here- going to lose one, maybe two vouchers. It’s just the way it goes and I can’t get too worked up about it. BA have been pretty generous with their extensions.

    • flyforfun says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:24

      Same here. I have 3 vouchers and an FTV-241 that I’m unlikely to use anytime soon. I’ve tried to find reward availability to somewhere I’d like to go with no luck. I think I’m just going to burn them on a Euro trip just for the sake of it!!!

• Richard says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:07

  So this means that avios bookings can now be cancelled for free right up until departure time, rather than max 24 hours before departure?

  • BJ says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:28

    Where are you getting that from Richard?

    • AJA says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:01

      I think what Richard is suggesting is that if you have eg a RFS reward booking and you decide to cancel for a FTV, which you can do up to close of check in, you use the above form and the Avios will be automatically refunded. That means you bypass the normal 24 hours before cancellation limit.

      • BJ says:

        2 Mar2 March 07:13

        Ok, got it, thanks.

  • Mycity says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:30

    Think even before Covid you had to cancel at least 24 hrs before departure.

  • tiriavpo says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:06

    This was always the case actually with FTVs – you could FTV right up to check in closed, and then cancel the FTV later – for the usual fee.

    Now, it would appear, you can effectively cancel right up until check in closes.

    • tiriavpo says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:23

      .. and, apparently, for free.

  • Rob says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:42

    Wouldn’t bet on it.

    • Richard says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:11

      then avios bookings in any way won’t fully meet the ‘travel with confidence’ guarantee.

• Nathan says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:17

  I forgot about one that expires at the end of the month. I remembered a fortnight ago and thought of going somewhere short haul for the weekend (last weekend).
  There were no redemptions to any destination available. None, I checked.
  Firstly I wrote this down to being half-term. Fair enough, one snoozes, one loses.
  Then I began checking out to the expiry date. Nothing on any weekend. Deciding this was a bit odd, I checked for redemptions for a single traveller using only avios and, hey presto, 6 seats available in J for a flight that previously had ‘no availability’ for 2 on a 2-4-1 query.

  Did I miss a memo?

  • Erico1875 says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:36

    ouch.
    BA skulduggery puts even Ryanair to shame.
    At least with Ryanair, I can get shafted to 65 destinations from my local airport , EDI

    • BJ says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:03

      I have miixed feelings on Ryanair and EasyJet at EDI. So long as it doesn’t compromise full service flights to European hubs I’ll be fine though. We are doing ok, we can get to almost every European capital directly. What I think we really beed now is a direct service to Asia, preferably Cathay or Thai.

  • BJ says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:53

    By any chance did you also try searching for two seats without ticking the voucher box? I’d be making a complaint regardless on basis that searching for a single traveller yielded 6 available seats but searching for a couple yielded none.

    • Lady London says:

      2 Mar2 March 09:49

      Rob did an article on that. I think it was between 1 and 2 months ago.

      • jjoohhnn says:

        2 Mar2 March 11:40

        That was where Gold members have access to a larger pool of seats that open up.

        • Rob says:

          2 Mar2 March 11:56

          This was our test of the extra Avios seats using the new 241 vouchers – https://www.headforpoints.com/2021/09/06/british-airways-american-express-241-voucher-availability/

    • Nathan says:

      3 Mar3 March 06:32

      I thought about it, but concluded that life really was too short for hanging on the phone to BA for an hour only to be met with “there isn’t a button on the till for that, please hold”.

• BJ says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:20

  Where we have existing reservations (or make new ones) using companion vouchers for travel dates commencing after their original expiry date courtesy of a FTV will we be able to change (as opposed to cancel) those reservations without forfeiting the companion voucher? If we cannot then such reservations will no longer benefit from the usual flexibility that comes with a reward booking.

  • Thegasman says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:47

    A change is actually processed as a cancellation & new booking isn’t it? That would suggest you’ll lose your 241 if you make further changes.

    • BJ says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:08

      I’ve not heard that before but surely not? The PNR always renains the same when processing a change IME.

      • Terry S says:

        2 Mar2 March 14:35

        Yeah I think as you say the PNR stays the same and so that PNR No has an expiry of Sep 23.
        I just made a booking using a 241 FTV for an outbound only for next year (original 241 was expiring in June so converted it to a FTV last month luckily). I asked what if I need to make changes to the new booking – which I will as I’ll need to add the return – and was told by two BA call centre agents (because I got cut off half way thru the first call) that it’s no problem as the PNR/FTV keeps the Sep 23 expiry.

        Weirdly also, the lady made the change to my FTV in seconds (ie changed it from its original LHR-MAN to the new booking LHR-MCO), I then got cut off, rang back to confirm it and pay the extra taxes etc. The guy said the previous agent had made the change and she’d blocked those seats indefinitely until I ring back in the future to add the return. What I mean is I could pay the additional taxes/Avios when I add the return. I couldn’t quite believe this so I said I would pay the taxes/extra Avios now for the outbound, then add the return in the future and the taxes/Avios would then readjust……

• Billy says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:29

  “You are a mug if you let this expire”

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    2 Mar2 March 09:14

    Whats strange was people claiming to wait until last minute to turn it into an FTV. Whether you did that yesterday or a month before, you get the same expiry. Why would you wait until last minute?

    • Andrew says:

      2 Mar2 March 14:13

      In case BA announced (yet another) blanket extension to all unused 2for1s

      • Rob says:

        2 Mar2 March 14:26

        Your voucher inside an FTV would still have been extended though. And once BA started expiring 241s on 1st October it became very hard to backtrack.

  • Cosmo175 says:

    2 Mar2 March 14:56

    Have to admit I was sitting on mine as I wasn’t sure who would be the other passenger – as I believe whoever is on the original booking gets put onto the FTV. Kicking myself that I didn’t take a punt though, I think I was assuming that BA would at least give some notice.

• Robert says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:44

  Assume any (now- or soon-to-expire) 241 currently wrapped up in a FTV will be honoured up to the Sep 23 “fly by” date?

  I understood there was a rolling programme of refunding Avios-FTVs and returning 241s. If they do, will the returned 241s have Sep 23 as the expiry if the booking was made before today?

  • Graham says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:13

    I am in the same position so would appreciate an answer to this question too! Thanks

  • SteveJ says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:14

    I’m not aware there were any data points of FTVs with 241s embedded being refunded? Only those without 241s if I recall.

  • NorthernLass says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:20

    I’m wondering this as well, I have 2. There’s nothing actually in the FTV which confirms there’s a 241 in there.
    There was a mention that one person had had their voucher returned with an extended expiry date so we can only hope that this might be BA’s next move!

  • The Streets says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:25

    Be careful! I had a 241 wrapped in a FTV for a previously booked long haul flight to Hong Kong. BA decided themselves that they would refund me the avios and money paid… and automatically expired the 241 voucher! They could only apologise for what they were doing…

    • Lady London says:

      2 Mar2 March 09:57

      What was the underlying reason, @The Streets?

      If it was because BA cancelled any flight on your booking then regardless of any 2-4-1 expiry date you have a free choice of future date to move those seats to.

      Once a 241 is a ticket, or any other voucher or discount or sale price ticket, and previous date restrictions do *not* apply to any part of the booking for either seat, including not applying to the 241 seat, as soon as the the airline cancels your booking.

      This is provided under EU261 and under its UK261 equivalent. So whatever BA might say, be unable to have their cr4p.systems do or even put in their t’s and c’s, if you take them to mcol or theoretically CEDR, you will win every time.

      • Lady London says:

        2 Mar2 March 10:03

        Mistype above may have made it ambiguous.

        Once you convert any voucher including a 241 voucher to a ticket, you have a seat with full rights. Date restrictions on rebooking no longer apply if BA cancels a flight on your booking.

        The same applies to sale tickets. If BA cancela a flight on your booking you are no longer bound by any sale dates or dates mentioned in the terms and conditions of a sale.

        Legally you also don’t need availability of any particular booking class to rebook into, if a seat is being offered for sale in your cabin you have a right to it. The airline can’t say there has to be an avios or a sale-price seat to rebook you into.

      • The Streets says:

        2 Mar2 March 14:33

        It was a flight we had booked for Hong Kong in August 2020 but couldn’t go at that time because of other non-Covid reasons. We then asked for a FTV which was issued. Fast forward to January 2022 and BA email to say that they will be refunding the avios and money wrapped up in the FTV. When i called to ask what would happen to the 241 I was told I would not be receiving it back because it would have expired… We have plenty of vouchers in the family so not overly fussed but very poor (but expected) service from BA

  • Dan says:

    2 Mar2 March 10:45

    I had a 241 wrapped up in my FTV and have just successfully used it to book an Avios trip using the 241 for Feb next year so looks like existing ones are still being honoured.
    The original 241 was due to expire in September 2022, new flights booked for Feb 2023.
    I only booked and cancelled some flights from London City to Dublin about 2 weeks ago so luckily managed to save my 241.

• Sc says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:47

  My flight was cancelled in august last year and I haven’t had a refund or voucher. It just simply disappeared off my app. I have been meaning to call when I have a spare few hours. This was a 2-4-1 booking so will I lose my voucher as it expired last year or can I get a voucher as it was cancelled before they made these changes?

  • Thegasman says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:51

    You would have your UK261 rights to rebook on a new date of your choice regardless of Avios availability (if you’re happy to pursue BA via. CEDR/MCOL) or take a full refund but if you choose FTV then I’d imagine new rules would apply essentially rendering the FTV option useless.

    • sc says:

      2 Mar2 March 14:14

      I did try to rebook initially but they told me it had been over a year since the ticket was issued so I couldn’t unless there was availability with avios seats. It was originally booked in first and downgraded so I might try calling you first and see how I get on

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