Do you know you get a refund with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic if you cancel within 24 hours?

Did you know that both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic offer a cooling off period for new bookings?

Whilst it is not widely publicised, both airlines let you refund your booking – in full – if you cancel within 24 hours. There are no additional fees and it applies to both fully flexible AND ‘non refundable’ ticket types, including Avios and Virgin Points bookings.

This is especially handy if you make a mistake on your booking, have simply changed your mind or if a more convenient redemption flight opens up. I’ve made use of the cooling off period on several occasions.

I’ve become so used to this benefit that it sometimes surprises me that most airlines don’t offer it. The actual reason, I believe, is that this is a legal requirement for flights booked to/from the United States. For an easy life both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic decided to extend it to all routes.

Refunds when cancelling British Airways flights within 24 hours

You can see the British Airways 24 hour cooling off policy on their website here. To quote:

“If you have booked directly with British Airways and you notice a mistake with your booking after you have paid for your ticket(s), you can cancel your flight booking and claim a full refund without penalty, up to 24 hours from when you make the original booking.”

Whilst the guarantee talks about cancelling if you made ‘a mistake’, you can in reality cancel for any reason as long as your flight is not due to depart within the next 24 hours.

This guarantee only applies to flights booked directly with British Airways. Bookings through travel agents such as Expedia or Opodo are not covered.

To request a refund for a cash ticket, you need to call the British Airways call centre (EDIT: this is apparently now possible online). Refunds for Avios redemptions can be managed online.

Note that British Airways Holidays bookings are not covered under the 24 hour cooling off period.

Any cancellations outside of 24 hours will not be eligible for a refund – except for taxes and Government charges – unless you’ve booked a ‘fully flexible’ fare.

Fully flexible tickets can be cancelled online after 24 hours for a £15 administration fee (£30 by phone). Avios tickets can be changed or cancelled at any point up to 24 hours prior to departure for a £35 per person fee.

Refunds when cancelling Virgin Atlantic flights within 24 hours

Virgin Atlantic has a similar policy. It is even less visible than the British Airways policy as it is only mentioned when you actually book a flight. Here is what Virgin Atlantic says:

“If you make a mistake or your plans suddenly change you can easily cancel for a full refund or make flight changes for free within 24 hours, as long as you’ve made the booking at least 7 days before your flight date.”

You can find the policy under ‘Fare Conditions’ before the payment page after selecting your flights

If you want to cancel your ticket outside of the 24 hour cooling off period and have a non-refundable ticket, you can get a refund of the taxes and Government charges minus a £30 administration charge.

Virgin Points tickets can be cancelled up to 24 hours before departure for a £30 per person administration charge.

Conclusion

Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic offer convenient 24 hour cooling off periods, giving you the option of a full refund if you choose to cancel your flight within a day of booking it.

This is a useful feature and has saved my bacon a handful of times.

Unfortunately other UK airlines do not offer the same protection. easyJet, for example, will let you cancel your flight for a refund within 24 hours of booking but will charge you an administration fee between £49 and £55 per booking for the privilege. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will refund 100% of what you paid.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

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.

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.