Forums › Frequent flyer programs › British Airways Executive Club › Using a BA 241 voucher with a three person family
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Looking to better understand the logistics of booking 241s with a 3 person family, as my son is now over 2 and needs his own seat.
I understand it will often be hard to get three reward seats, and so would have to pay for the extra seat as cash but can I mix cash and avios seats in one booking? If not, does it matter how I split the bookings? I assume I cannot book a single cash seat for a toddler as it would look like he was travelling solo, and it would presumably be more beneficial for the cash seat to be me (Silver status) for the extra Avios and tier points that would be earned.
My wife and son are both in my household account, my wife is BA Bronze and I am Silver, both until end of 2022. We have ~440k Avios in the household balance.
- This topic was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
You are correct in that can’t mix avios and cash tickets on the same booking.
As the owner of the 2-4-1 you need to be on the booking that uses it.
So booking 1 would be you and son.
On separate booking would be your wife.
Remember though that there are now 4 guaranteed club rewards on every flight and unless the destination is one with super high demand it’s possible that you could get 3 rewards on the same flight,
I’m not 100% sure but I think you can have 3 people on the same booking that contains a 2-4-1 but hopefully others can confirm.
I’m loathe to do these split bookings after a problem with them several years ago. I was travelling with my wife and 3 kids under 10 on 2 booking references to the caribbean. On the way home they tried to bump me and my daughter off the flight due to overbooking whilst leaving my wife and 2 sons to travel back alone. Needless to say this caused a major problem which eventually got sorted out, but they did say that I might need to get off the plane when it stopped at Nassau if there were too many people wanting to get on!!!!! (it was a providenciales – gatwick via nassau flight). Once again, BA excelling themselves with their customer service.
Thanks Chris that’s very helpful.
Completely agree Tomahawk a little frustrating that we will have to break the family over different bookings unless multiple seats are available, but I’m not sure it entirely justifies having a second child just to align with BA’s system!
I now realise as the person who flies more for work, we should probably swap the BAPP Amex over to my wife so that she earns the vouchers so I can benefit from the extra cash seat if needed. AS the admin one, I started the card and have her as a supplementary without ever realising there would be a benefit in reverse!
@ShirleyBassey (fab!), you can have more than 2 people on a 241 booking IF the other pax are children. So if you have enough avios and availability, no problem booking for your partner and child. I have done this numerous times, and once or twice actually picked my first port of call on the basis of CW availability (e.g. starting trips to the US and Caribbean in NYC and DC). We have also travelled on split bookings and have had the odd issue so that is always a risk, as @tomahawk points out. More so when your kids are small.
So if you want to make an avios booking for 3, confirm that you want to use your 241, then add 2 adults and a child – you will get a price quoted of 2 x avios plus 3 x taxes/fees, and take it from there.
@tomahawk – what is it with these flights that stop at NAS?! Last time we went to GCM our domestic leg was cancelled and the ground staff tried to tell us that my OH (cash booking) would be re-routed via MIA the same day, while son and I (on avios) would have to come back 2 days later for the next direct flight! We weren’t having any of that and eventually they paid for us to get from MAN to LHR by taxi.
Then while we were on the ground in NAS a private jet crash landed on the runway so we had to wait an extra 2 hours before we could take off again 🤦♀️😂
- This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
Thanks Northern Lass, very clear!
I realise my wife will also get the benefit/disadvantage of no lounge access but no toddler time in the run up to any flight!
Thanks Northern Lass, very clear!
I realise my wife will also get the benefit/disadvantage of no lounge access but no toddler time in the run up to any flight!
Are you not looking at CE/CW which would give you all lounge access? If you’re happy with economy you shouldn’t have a problem finding availability until the toddler goes to school!
I currently have 5 people on a single pnr/booking number which includes (2) 2-4-1’s
I say currently because it’s been bouncing along for 18 months and may still need to be moved or cancelled.It gets easier as the kids get older – my most recent booking involves me and my OH in F to the US next Xmas while the boy, who will be 17, is on a separate booking in J. I realise there could be a lot of technical hitches doing it this way but the 2 F seats were too tempting to pass over!
NorthernLass, you’re right for CW, was thinking more of WTP!
It’s actually been over a year since any of us have been on a damn BA flight, and not for lack of trying! Trips to Tokyo, New York and Croatia were all booked on Avios and cancelled when he would have been young enough to travel without his own seat. Will definitely look to relegate our son to J while we go upfront once he gets a little older 🙂
Our last BA flight was the one I mentioned before, in August 2019! Got F to BOS booked for next month so 🤞. On the plus side I have rediscovered the convenience and cheapness of LCCs from MAN having had extremely successful trips to TFS and PMI last summer. Currently got 3 LCC trips and 3 BA planned for this year …
I now realise as the person who flies more for work, we should probably swap the BAPP Amex over to my wife so that she earns the vouchers so I can benefit from the extra cash seat if needed. AS the admin one, I started the card and have her as a supplementary without ever realising there would be a benefit in reverse!
Don’t forget that you can refer her for BAPP for the referral points, and decent sign-up bonus if she has had a BA card in past two years.
Other thing to consider when there are three of you if you’re looking at CW is Avios for Upgrade, which isn’t such a good deal as it used to be but may work out better than a cash CW fare or a straight redemption for the third ticket. It doesn’t solve the problem of it needing to be a second booking though.
This thread seems appropriate for my own question, so apologies for jumping in.
I’m considering a booking in the future for 3 people. Two adults and a young adult in the 16 – 18 age range.
Want to make use of avios and a companion voucher. Club World.
Am I right in assuming this would best be done on the phone if we want to ensure all 3 people are on the same booking and a companion voucher is used for two of them?
Or else should I proceed with a standard 2-4-1 booking and then make a separate reward booking for the 3rd person, and hope BA will seat us in close proximity? (No BA status).
Club World. Assuming sufficient J availability.Thanks.
- This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
@Aston100 – anyone over 16 is classed as an adult by BA so you might find that the CSA will just refuse to make a 241 booking for 3 people, as normally only children can be added to these.
If the young person isn’t a seasoned traveller (and not au fait with all the admin) you could use the 241 for 1 adult and them, and make a separate booking for the 2nd adult. We’ve done this a few times. You obviously need to be confident there will be enough award seats to cover both bookings and aware that in the event of changes/cancellations etc you’ll have to do everything twice to sort it out!*Though – I’ve never actually tried to make a booking for 3 adults with a 241 so someone else with an unused one might like to try and see if this is actually possible online.
- This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
Don’t forget that you can refer her for BAPP for the referral points, and decent sign-up bonus if she has had a BA card in past two years.
That should say “hasn’t had”, of course… not sure why I can’t edit my original post?
*Though – I’ve never actually tried to make a booking for 3 adults with a 241 so someone else with an unused one might like to try and see if this is actually possible online.
Hi Anna, I tried this yesterday and got an error message advising something about maximum number of travellers, so it doesn’t appear to be possible to do it online on one booking.
- This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
That confirms it then!
Though separate bookings for older teens aren’t necessarily a bad thing – I have just bagged 2 F seats for me and my OH to the US for next Xmas and consigned the 17 year old (as he will be then) to slumming it in J on his own booking!
- This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
I’ve just successfully used one 241 voucher online, on a booking with four individuals. I’m not sure why others got an error but it worked fine for me. It was with a ‘new style’ companion voucher. I’ve also tried dummy bookings up to the payments page with an ‘old style’ 241 and not had an issue – using one voucher on a booking for 3 or 4 pax.
I’ve just successfully used one 241 voucher online, on a booking with four individuals. I’m not sure why others got an error but it worked fine for me. It was with a ‘new style’ companion voucher. I’ve also tried dummy bookings up to the payments page with an ‘old style’ 241 and not had an issue – using one voucher on a booking for 3 or 4 pax.
Adults/children?
That confirms it then!
Though separate bookings for older teens aren’t necessarily a bad thing – I have just bagged 2 F seats for me and my OH to the US for next Xmas and consigned the 17 year old (as he will be then) to slumming it in J on his own booking!
NL, admit it, you’re Kirstie Allsopp!
We always book 2 adults+child on a 241 – they simply lop off the corresponding points, and it’s all on the same booking.
Funnily enough, I’m looking at doing a Kirsty for GRU next Xmas as only 2 Club available…but it will no doubt be me who gets demoted!!Ha, I am definitely not the creative type, Michael C! And she is definitely not northern 😂
We know that children can be extra pax on a 241 booking but Robm seems to be suggesting he booked for 3 or more adults, which nobody else seems to have been able to do so far!
- This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .
It’s worth noting that if you are a family of three, the Barclays Avios Rewards upgrade voucher is a useful companion to a BA Amex 241. It lets you book two people with the 241 and a third with the upgrade voucher (so you’d pay WTPlus Avios for a Club seat).
@NorthernLass – the booking + dummy bookings included 1 child. Most of them were 3 adults + 1 child using 1×241. Some were 2 adults and 1 child.
I didn’t get any kind of error with any of them.
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