241 advice – BA not possible to final destination, vouchers on separate cards

Not possible to mix avios and cash tickets in the same booking.

This doesn’t need to be a problem. I have done numerous trips using a 241 to get to the US, then connected to another destination on a separate booking. It works best if you build in 2/3 days at the first stop, in case of disruption. We spent Xmas and New Year 2022 in the US, starting in Washington DC (in F with the 241) for 3 days then flying to Key West on American Eagle (also using avios) to begin the rest of the trip. We had an amazing time and no travel hitches.

Check the terms of your travel insurance before booking (in case of a missed connecting flight on separate tickets). I allowed 4 hours in Singapore once. Inbound flight was delayed for 90 minutes, but I was relaxed as “I had insurance”. Turns out my insurance insisted on a 24 hour connection time,
Pleased to say that we made our connection (courtesy of Changi’s superb efficiency).

1958 wrote:

Check the terms of your travel insurance before booking (in case of a missed connecting flight on separate tickets).

Absolutely. I’m slightly uncomfortable as I have a 3 hour connection at Haneda in May between two separately ticketed flights. My travel insurance will cover us for £1k each if we miss the flight, so we should get home, although it would probably be in economy which would be grim for 15 hours. If any further reward availability opens up in Business then I will book a spare redemption flight for a couple of days after our planned flight.

Only slightly worried as our JAL domestic flight has an excellent record for punctuality, but things can go wrong.

I once took a domestic flight from Orlando to La Guardia that took 8 hours with a refuelling stop in Richmond VA due to bad weather. Was very glad that I was in (Domestic) First. (And that was in September. All NY area airports closed due to a storm soon after we took off. Most of the trip was spent flying around in circles.)

OP is specifically asking about using 241s and avios at a peak travel period!

NorthernLass wrote:

OP is specifically asking about using 241s and avios at a peak travel period!

I’m simply being honest about an important limitation of reward fights. USA connections are rarely a good use of Avios or 241s.

I used my Upgrade Using Avios (UUA) approach in February half term, which is at peak time. If you book well in advance, cash prices on peak dates are often no higher than on other dates. Using cash, BA often charges no more for a connecting flight to the US than for a direct flight to the gateway hub. Beside the risk of missed connections, booking separate flights will always be more expensive than a single booking. As a result, UUA on one or two carefully targeted legs can be a very cost-effective alternative that’s easy to overlook.