-
Hello,
Just checking my 241 FTV strategy with the HfP crowd (some details simplified for ease). My wife and I have one 241 old style voucher each, both of which are due to expire towards the end of this year. We also have two children who will be 12 or over this year which means there is no longer an automatic benefit to booking them cash tickets over using Avios (as cash tickets are no longer discounted and Avios tickets are the same price for children and adults).
1. Availability constraints mean it hasn’t always been possible for us to use two 241’s at the same time and so we would previously use a voucher for the adults and pay cash for the children. However, we want to keep the option of using two vouchers on the same trip open in case there is availability. Given the restriction on keeping the same travellers if converting a 241 to an FTV we plan to put each 241 through with one adult and one child. This would seem to maintain the same Avios saving, whether we use one voucher or two, whilst also retaining the flexibility of using both vouchers on the same trip if there is availability.
2. As travel picks up it seems quite possible that BA could pull the “book with confidence” offer for new bookings with no notice. It therefore seems to make sense for us to pull the trigger now. However, it seems hard to predict the future at the moment, and whilst perhaps a slim chance, I wouldn’t want to miss out should there be a better offer in the future. With the “book with confidence” scheme applying to all travel due to be completed by 31 August 2022, does it thus make sense to book the “placeholder flights” (that I plan to cancel for FTVs) for the end of August to maximise the time I have to see how things pan out?
Thanks in advance!
I’m also interested in this. I have 2 x 241s that expire in the first half of 2023, and am wondering whether to go ahead and convert them to FTVs now to extend them to Sept 2023. It’s only a few extra months, but would cover my 2023 birthday.
I’d be a bit annoyed with myself if I miss the chance to extend the 241 expiry dates, but I also don’t want to commit to naming travellers yet.
There was mention of FTVs containing 241s being refunded, with the companion voucher dates extended, but I haven’t seen any further reports of that. That would be the perfect solution for me, but I don’t know how long it’s safe to wait before converting them to FTVs.
I’ve only seen pure speculation on here about the 241 dates being extended and can’t see BA doing this, realistically. Is there one person you’re guaranteed to travel with, and would you be doing 2 separate trips with your vouchers? If so you could just convert one into an FTV and use it for your birthday. Or use each voucher for you plus one other, and add cash or avios bookings separately for the rest of your party. The only element you really need in the FTV in the 241.
Good questions.
I normally travel just with my other half. Everyone else has left the nest.
I have four 241’s in play. Two are in FTVs (with my partner) that I need to use before Sept 2023. The other two currently expire in Feb and March 2023. Those are the ones that I need to think about.
We’re both clinically vulnerable, my partner especially so. So we’re just staying put and trying not to think about travel. We would normally do a trip to the West Coast USA once a year, and then maybe somewhere else like Singapore or Hong Kong – and also a couple of short-hauls. I’ve tended to keep the 241s for the longer trips. Then, every now and then, I’d do a tier point run to stay at Silver.
If I knew for sure that I could convert the Feb & March 241s to FTVs later this year, I’d just hold onto them for now in case we need to do a trip with other family members (funeral/wedding/etc). It’s not knowing whether BA’s rules might change that’s the problem. I’d like to extend the companion vouchers for as long as possible, but keep some flexibility of passengers. Also, have my cake and eat it too.
It’s tricky and will be driven entirely by BA’s view of booking trends.
However … realistically, BA can’t win. If new restrictions came in after they’d scrapped FTV, they would be under huge pressure to allow refunds / vouchers regardless. Perhaps better to keep FTVs going and get the business from waverers.
The snag for BA is that corporates won’t be paying £6k for CW returns to NY if they can pay £1500 for an inflexible ticket and get an FTV if a meeting runs late etc.
Yes, I see what you mean. It’s a business after all.
I shall consult with my other half and decide whether we want to keep the 241s as they are, so we can be flexible in case we want to treat other family members, or whether we should be selfish and convert them into FTVs 🙂
Thanks to everyone for their comments, and apologies to Ducky for threadjacking.
Not at all Ant68 – most helpful. We decided to go ahead and book LON-MAN flights dated at the end of each 241 voucher’s expiry. This was done with a mix of adult/children in order to maximise flexibility. We will convert to FTVs as the 241’s come up to expiry or 31 August, whichever is longer, to maintain our options.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
