12am GMT / 1am BST: Calling BA Executive Club to book reward flights at 355 days

[SusieQueue]

You need to call at maybe 12.45 UK time – if you are still on hold at 12.55, you get cut off as the call centre closes. If you are on a already connected and speaking to an agent though, the agent will stay on the line and complete the booking. That said, I tried this at 1am Sunday just gone but husband and I were both on hold from 12.45 and didn’t get through 🙁

[Aston100]

Would it be better to close this thread with a message suggesting the use of the de facto master thread instead? https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/booking-return-leg-with-companion-voucher/

[NorthernLass]

I agree about a master thread, however I think people look at that one and think it’s only about booking the inbound.
What we really need is a pinned Q & A or FAQ section.

[Aston100]

NorthernLass wrote:

What we really need is a pinned Q & A or FAQ section.

This.
People have been asking for one for a few years.

[qc]

I see that people use Skype to call but Viber Out works well also and may be cheaper.

[Aston100]

qc wrote:

I see that people use Skype to call but Viber Out works well also and may be cheaper.

Is it country dependent?
Because all my Skype calls to the BA USA call centre have been free.

[highflyer77]

So I am in the same boat – what a hugely frustrating and stressful process this is!

I too researched how to book and have been trying to call the call centre. I can confirm having tried it three times that you get cut off at 00:55 on the dot every night if you are not through to an agent.

Now this ‘open secret’ is out I would imagine they are inundated with callers. I have not yet managed to get through once in the last week.

I could try to call even earlier but is an agent going to hang on the line for 30 minutes waiting for 1am after they have officially closed???

I have tried three times to secure the seats I want. Everything pre populated, clicked through the screens in under 20 seconds. Paying by Amex still throws up the 2 factor authentication which even if on the ‘safe list’ seems to add 5-10 seconds to the booking process.

Each time I get the dreaded cannot complete your booking at this time. So what now? I don’t think I can book any faster, and the call centre option seems a bust.

I am frustrated beyond belief with this. Staying up till 1am night after night in a fruitless quest to use a voucher I have earned – what kind of scheme is this, a total nightmare!

[Aston100]

highflyer77 wrote:

I am frustrated beyond belief with this. Staying up till 1am night after night in a fruitless quest to use a voucher I have earned – what kind of scheme is this, a total nightmare!

It’s a bit ridiculous isn’t it.
But strangely, there are tons of fans of this method on HfP alone.

[yorkshireRich]

highflyer77 wrote:

So I am in the same boat – what a hugely frustrating and stressful process this is!

I too researched how to book and have been trying to call the call centre. I can confirm having tried it three times that you get cut off at 00:55 on the dot every night if you are not through to an agent.

Now this ‘open secret’ is out I would imagine they are inundated with callers. I have not yet managed to get through once in the last week.

I could try to call even earlier but is an agent going to hang on the line for 30 minutes waiting for 1am after they have officially closed???

I have tried three times to secure the seats I want. Everything pre populated, clicked through the screens in under 20 seconds. Paying by Amex still throws up the 2 factor authentication which even if on the ‘safe list’ seems to add 5-10 seconds to the booking process.

Each time I get the dreaded cannot complete your booking at this time. So what now? I don’t think I can book any faster, and the call centre option seems a bust.

I am frustrated beyond belief with this. Staying up till 1am night after night in a fruitless quest to use a voucher I have earned – what kind of scheme is this, a total nightmare!

it’s the game we choose to play. You don’t have to do that for many destinations. I assume it’s Tokyo, Singapore or Sydney you are looking to book.

As many posters on here would advise, look at various options and don’t chuck your eggs in one basket.

I have reward flights to book in 4 weeks to Tokyo, and I’ve already looked at 3 or 4 different options, some cash, some avios. It’s all part of the fun. I won’t be calling Skype, I’ll set my alarm for 00:55, and if I do get them, I get them, but if I don’t I’ll be saving my avios and companion voucher for a different time.

On a brighter note, once Amex trigger 15k for the companion voucher, there will be a lot (including me) that won’t be playing this part of the game as much.

[ed_fly]

yorkshireRich wrote:

highflyer77 wrote:

So I am in the same boat – what a hugely frustrating and stressful process this is!

I too researched how to book and have been trying to call the call centre. I can confirm having tried it three times that you get cut off at 00:55 on the dot every night if you are not through to an agent.

Now this ‘open secret’ is out I would imagine they are inundated with callers. I have not yet managed to get through once in the last week.

I could try to call even earlier but is an agent going to hang on the line for 30 minutes waiting for 1am after they have officially closed???

I have tried three times to secure the seats I want. Everything pre populated, clicked through the screens in under 20 seconds. Paying by Amex still throws up the 2 factor authentication which even if on the ‘safe list’ seems to add 5-10 seconds to the booking process.

Each time I get the dreaded cannot complete your booking at this time. So what now? I don’t think I can book any faster, and the call centre option seems a bust.

I am frustrated beyond belief with this. Staying up till 1am night after night in a fruitless quest to use a voucher I have earned – what kind of scheme is this, a total nightmare!

it’s the game we choose to play. You don’t have to do that for many destinations. I assume it’s Tokyo, Singapore or Sydney you are looking to book.

As many posters on here would advise, look at various options and don’t chuck your eggs in one basket.

I have reward flights to book in 4 weeks to Tokyo, and I’ve already looked at 3 or 4 different options, some cash, some avios. It’s all part of the fun. I won’t be calling Skype, I’ll set my alarm for 00:55, and if I do get them, I get them, but if I don’t I’ll be saving my avios and companion voucher for a different time.

On a brighter note, once Amex trigger 15k for the companion voucher, there will be a lot (including me) that won’t be playing this part of the game as much.

agreed. I’ve booked some outbound flights for Easter 2025 now dreading the game of securing the return flights, but ultimately that’s the price we pay for using avios and not buying cash tickets.

I’m all for 1am seat releases, if they released tickets at midday it would be even harder to secure them.

I have a number of alternative options if I fail to secure exactly what I’m after, though I recognise that can be harder depending on what routes you’re looking at.