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Forums Frequent flyer programs British Airways Executive Club Adding return flight to a on way booking on a Cash ticket

  • gavman99 29 posts

    Hi….I know when booking an Avios reward flight, you can book the outbound leg 355 days in advance then call the contact centre to add the return leg to the booking when that flight is released. My question is , can you do the same on a cash booking and if so, would we get charged the contact enter admin fee ?

    Also, we’ll be flying from Edin to Geneva via LHR. If I do a reward search on ba.com it asks me if I want a stopover in London. However when doing a normal cash booking search, I dont get asked that and the only way I can see to arrange a stopover is to go in via the multi-city search tool and add all legs in separately which isn’t anywhere near as intuitive as being asked if I want a stopover. Am I missing something or is that just the way it works on normal searches ?

    Thanks.

    NorthernLass 10,457 posts

    1. In theory you could do this, but it’s not wise to book cash tickets at T-355 as they can be very overpriced and come down in the following weeks. Any extra fees would arise from the Ts and Cs of the particular booking, if it was cash and not avios that you were using.

    What route/date are you doing that would necessitate booking so far out?

    2. That’s the way it works on cash bookings, part of the wonderful weird world of ba.com!

    gavman99 29 posts

    It’s already going to be an expensive ski trip so keen to book it as cheap as possible. I always assumed prices start cheap on release and only get more expensive.

    Sorry I said Geneva….I meant Oslo.

    So EDI to LHR on 16th Jan then LHR to OSL on 17th Jan – returning 24th Jan with no stopover.

    AndrewT 538 posts

    I’ve never seen the question asked about booking half a cash return and adding the second leg later, so I imagine it’s a complete No No.

    As well as the fact that T-355 fares are often higher than a few weeks later, the cost of one-way long haul can be several times half a return. You would have to pay that up front, and then what, if anything would be refunded? The difference between the original ‘out + return’ one way cost’ would be unknown retrospectively. If they repriced the whole trip based om the cost when the return was added, that would definitely be a change fee + contact centre fee, so what would you be gaining?

    If it’s short haul why bother in the first place.

    NorthernLass 10,457 posts

    I just don’t think many people book cash fares at T-355! I’m sure it’s possible to add a leg, but BA may charge a change fee per whatever Ts and Cs a cash fare will have.

    European fares don’t usually have the one-way mark-up that long haul ones do, so this isn’t a problem per se. In fact, due to various factors, it can actually be cheaper doing it this way (though there would be extra complications if BA then cancelled one of the legs).

    Also consider a BAH as this may work out better value and you have much longer to pay the bulk of the price.

    gavman99 29 posts

    Thanks both.

    We are looking at car hire as well so BA Holiday may be a good option which I hadnt considered.

    Sounds like we are probably best to wait at least a week until the return flights are released and book everything at the same time.

    However, how much of a gamble is it waiting a further few weeks to see if the overall cost has come down ? I’d be gutted to find out we could have got it cheaper !!

    NorthernLass 10,457 posts

    Can you not use avios? With bookings like this, flexibility can be invaluable, and if it’s an expensive time to travel, award seats sound like good value.

    You mentioned a stopover and I would seriously suggest you do an overnight at LHR on the way out in case of weather or other disruption.

    gavman99 29 posts

    I could use Avios but our Avios balance isnt what it used to be so going to keep that back for a big holiday in a year or two.

    PS – We are definately doing a stopover in London so we can get the early morning flight out from LHR.

    AndrewT 538 posts

    You can never say never, but if it’s Oslo I think the price is unlikely to increase significantly in the early weeks, so no need to panic. A few quid either way shouldn’t be a reason for trying to make life difficult.

    While the new website kindly obscures all the fare class details as far as I can see, the message ‘x tickets left’ is an indication that seats in the current fare bucket are getting low and that it may be time to jump in if you’re sitting on the fence.

    gavman99 29 posts

    Thank you. In your experience then, would you be willing to estimate after approx. how many weeks would you expect prices to come down to below launch price before going back up again ?

    Arnerd 38 posts

    You might find the fare finder useful.

    https://www.britishairways.com/travel/low-price-finder/public/en_gb?region=SOA

    Even in short haul Europe, return fares are cheaper than two one-way tickets if not using Avios.

    NorthernLass 10,457 posts

    They’re not – someone actually posted an example yesterday. It might look that way on first glance, but it could be because single return legs are priced in euros (or other applicable currency), so the raw numbers look higher.

    John 1,320 posts

    Not sure how useful it is but Google Flights can give you an idea of how the current price compares to historical prices

    ZW 57 posts

    Northernlass is right, best to book Avios reward tickets, if not enough Avios, it might be cheaper to buy/boost Avios first than buying cash tickets. For short haul, it might be cheaper to use Avios, plus the ability to change/cancel.

    gavman99 29 posts

    Thanks all replies. Another quick question if thats ok.

    I know BA release reward flights at midnight 355 days in advance but is it the same for cash flights ?

    JDB 6,170 posts

    Thanks all replies. Another quick question if thats ok.

    I know BA release reward flights at midnight 355 days in advance but is it the same for cash flights ?

    Yes, although it’s not necessarily a good time to be buying cash tickets as they usually don’t release the cheaper fare buckets on day one.

    gavman99 29 posts

    Thanks. Would you happen to know when they tend to release the cheap ones ?

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