-
Hello,
Looking to book a redemption for next year. To snag the seats I’ll probably need to book the outbound on release, then book the return a few weeks later. I know this is possible via the call centre i.e they will add the return later and connect the bookings.
Can anyone tell me if the taxes/charges will be 2 x one way, or if they “fudge” them when calling later to book the return? Obviously 2 x one way taxes and charges are more than booking a return from the start but you run the risk of “losing” the outbound seats by that point. I’ve been told/read both sides of it so looking for actual experiences of what happens.@revatron – there are two different ways of achieving what you want. If you call to add a return, it will remain on one booking and BA will recalculate the taxes/fees/charges which shouldn’t (but occasionally does, even with RFS) make a difference unless you are travelling to/from a destination such as Brazil or Hong Kong that limits carrier surcharges.
The alternative, if you are using a companion voucher, is to book the return yourself on full Avios in order to secure the seats and then contact BA to have 50% of the Avios refunded by applying the voucher used on the outbound. You end up with two separate bookings (which are never truly linked) and if you change or cancel you will be subject to two sets of change/cancellation fees. Some agents are a bit funny about this so sometimes you have to call again and as this is an unpublished policy concession, one can’t assume it will always apply and BA will only allow it if the return seats weren’t able to be booked at the same time as the outbound.
JDB, thanks for taking the time to reply. Its a Virgin redemption, no vouchers to use. 2A2C for EDI-MCO. The seats go fast when released so I need to know the best strategy in advance, but also would like to know for sure on the taxes/charges issue.
JDB, thanks for taking the time to reply. Its a Virgin redemption, no vouchers to use. 2A2C for EDI-MCO. The seats go fast when released so I need to know the best strategy in advance, but also would like to know for sure on the taxes/charges issue.
Apologies, was being thick and can’t help re Virgin I’m afraid.
@revatron, it’s been reported here by readers who regularly book award flights on VS that they do indeed recalculate the taxes when you add a return journey.
You might want to dig out the dedicated Virgin threads for lots more data points.
@revatron if you find suitable threads please add to here, I will be doing similar for a diff journey
I’ve also wondered about this and in fact started another thread but can’t see a definite answer. Also, I have a “companion” voucher on VS so wonder if that would also work (i.e. Will they recalculate the miles when I had a return) like BA do?
Hi, I have got experience of this and they did recalculate the fees/charges when I added the inbound reward booking, 2 weeks after the outbound. I ended up paying the fees of a return reward flight plus a £30 amendment fee. I posted on this issue in a chat started on 17th September under the title of ‘Can I amend a reward booking to use a Companion Voucher’ if you want to see an example of the fees I paid for a UC return MAN -MCO. Sorry, my IT skills are a bit rubbish, so I’m not sure how to directly post a link to the chat.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
