Reply To: Chat thread – Friday 3rd January

[Biki]

CJD wrote:

Bit of an odd query regarding passports and reward bookings:

In the next couple of months I’m looking at booking reward flights MAD-MEX on IB using a 2-4-1, with travel to take place in January or February 2026. This will be for a honeymoon, with my fiancée and I getting married this July.

My fiancée’s passport is in her previous married name and expires in February 2026.

We have an upcoming reward booking on BA in March 2025 from GLA to EAS via LCY, booked in her previous married name.

So we can’t do anything with her passport until mid-March at the earliest; I see from the government website we can pre-apply for a new passport (assuming she takes my surname) from mid-April which would be future dated and kick in when we’re married.

Question is, regarding my upcoming booking I want to make, am I worrying about nothing? Am I free to make a booking late January or February as soon as seats become available and add new passport details further down the line when it’s renewed, as long as the passenger name matches the new passport?

We had the same issue when my wife changed her name. We booked the future flights in the new surname, and then once married and passport was changed, she contacted BA to update her BAEC to update the surname, and then added the BAEC number to the booking.