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I have a cautionary tale to tell about earning tier points when booking through BA Holidays.
For a recent transatlantic business trip (LHR-ATL, PHI-LHR) I used BA Holidays to book flexible flights for both legs and a hotel for my stay in Philadelphia. Collectively this came to a 5 figure sum and I was expecting the 1 tier point per £ spent to apply. Before flying I had to postpone my trip for a week and amended the booking (the flights and the hotel) on the phone via a very helpful BA Holiday agent.
After coming back from my trip I noticed that I’d received 400 bonus tier points for both legs of my flight but nothing related to revenue spend. I phoned British Airways Executive Club quoting my booking reference and asked for this to be rectified which they said they would. Days later I received an email from the British Airways Club saying that BA Holidays “have confirmed that my booking reference did not meet the terms & conditions to qualify for BA Holiday tier points”.
I have scrutinised those Ts & Cs and am at a loss to discover my transgression. The only thing I can think of is having booked the flight + hotel at the same time, I then had to modify that booking by postponing both the flight and the hotel for a week. The upshot is that for the sake of an extra roughly 800 tier points that I would have earned from booking the hotel through BA Holidays, I am being denied more than 10,000 tier points which I’d have earned had I just booked the flight alone on BA.com.
That seems pretty shabby treatment to me and also commercially short sighted: why would I ever use BA Holidays again after this?
I’m not sure what if anything I can do at this point. Is escalating my complaint worth it or even possible? I don’t know but I want to warn off others from making a similar mistake in the future.
Days later I received an email from the British Airways Club saying that BA Holidays “have confirmed that my booking reference did not meet the terms & conditions to qualify for BA Holiday tier points”.
I have scrutinised those Ts & Cs and am at a loss to discover my transgression
You need to contact BA Holidays directly (not via BAC) and ask them what specifically it was about your booking that did not meet the Ts & Cs, because that clarity appears to be missing in your post above.
There are some email addresses listed in this post which should be direct contacts for BAH, however that post was from 2022, so I do not know how current the email addresses are.
I have found BAH to be very helpful and very knowledgeable, so will hopefully they will shed some light on this for you.
Something doesn’t add up here. A few questions though.
1 Are you sure you haven’t fallen foul of this:
British Airways Holidays tier points awards do not apply to any British Airways flight bookings where the hotel or car is added to a booking in a ‘Shopping Basket’ with individually priced flight and hotel and/or car components or when added in Manage my Booking after the flight has been booked.Also
2 When did you first make the booking and was it for flights after 1 April 2025? the BAH TP only applies for trips after that date.
3 Did you pay anything to amend the booking?
4 How long since you’ve returned from the trip? Tp are supposed to be applied 14 days after travel is completed
5 Did you fly on BA metal and on BA flight numbers?
6 Was this in CW?
7 Did you register for the bonus TP offer?
Sounds like you’ve been awarded the bonus TP for the flights but not received anything for the flights.How was this actually booked?
Did you select the flight only option and then add the hotel at the end or did you use the ‘flights + hotel’ option from the get go.
The former doesn’t count as a BA Hol for the calculation of nTPs based on the entire cost of the trip and only the flight element.
I have had a very similar issue. I had 2 passengers on my BAH booking. I had to change the flights so I spoke to the GGL team to get them to do it. They didn’t have 2 of the same classes for the new flight so split the booking and change the flights for the 2 separate bookings. I was explicitly clear on the call to ask if this would affect the tier points and assured it would all be fine.
After I got back I got the bonus tier points but nothing else. I complained twice, and finally after 6 weeks got the exact same stock response as you with no further explanation. TBH at this point I don’t even mind if I just get the normal nTPs for the flights only but to get nothing is totally outrageous.
I have complained again to the GGL team and asked them to escalate it but they said all they can do is submit a claim to BAH again. Strangly I did get the nTPs for an internal US Alaska flight on the same booking post a couple of days ago but still nothing for the BA flights.
Has anyone else that has had this issue managed to get the tier points added?
@SwiftUberGeek – it’s odd that the GGL team agreed to amend a BAH booking unless they were simply acting as a go-between. If they did, it suggests that your trip perhaps wasn’t a compliant BAH?
I have booked BAH via GGL loads of times with no issues before. The booking was deffo BAH on the confirmation etc even after the changes. If it wasn’t BAH then surely the nTPs would have just posted for flights anyway? Like ricknye I cannot see anything in the T&Cs to explain why it isn’t valid and for BA to not give any further detail is just crazy.
I’ve had the same problem as well with my tier points (4300) being rejected although I got tier points bonus and miles for the flights / car.
LHR-YYZ
IAH-LHRHad 1 night car booked. Due to flights being delayed I was late picking up the car at DFW
I’ve asked GGL line and BAH what specific T&C this has violated. I wish I’d done a screenshot of the website as it said I’d receive XXX tier points
Maybe Rob can check with BA what’s going on as it’s obviously impacting multiple customers
Interesting. I have exactly the same issue with the same response. I have asked for clarification of:
1. In what way was the holiday not compliant
2. Why have all BA folk I have spoken to so far (two months since returning) thought that the points should be added
3. Why, even if for some reason the entire spend (flights, taxes, hotel) does not qualify has the base fee not been applied as TPs.No answer yet.
Worth noting that my itinerary was also changed due to irrops at LHR and a changed flight in the US, plus a hotel change due to me being marked as a no-show thanks to the delay leaving London.
This appears to be a systematic issue with charged BAH bookings. I can’t see anywhere it would breach their T&Cs but that is just the stock response we are all getting.
@Rob how do we get this escalated and sorted. Do you know anyone that can help?Having something similar here. Found flight, which was open jaw so couldn’t be selected via BAH. Added car before paying. Have received the bonus tier points, but nothing else. Spoke to BA Club Silver line who said they would escalate. Almost 10 days later and nothing. Not sure what rule I may have breached to receive nothing for a £3k+ flight.
OP says they booked “flexible” flights – would these qualify as a BAH? I thought they always booked into a specific fare bucket, though of course it is possible to make changes to a BAH so OP may have been referring to this.
OP says they booked “flexible” flights – would these qualify as a BAH? I thought they always booked into a specific fare bucket, though of course it is possible to make changes to a BAH so OP may have been referring to this.
I tried to replicate such a booking and you can indeed add a car or hotel and are only given a single price (vs. a fare construction where BA shows separate values for each component … we know these are NOT BAHs).
I thought BAH were non refundable (you lose the deposit) but in this case the conditions show different values. You get 0% refund if you cancel 72 hours before the flight but can get a full refund otherwise. You have to pay the full amount however.
There is no indication this is NOT a BAH, I compared versus a BAH and each page looked exactly the same.
OP says they booked “flexible” flights – would these qualify as a BAH? I thought they always booked into a specific fare bucket, though of course it is possible to make changes to a BAH so OP may have been referring to this.
I tried to replicate such a booking and you can indeed add a car or hotel and are only given a single price (vs. a fare construction where BA shows separate values for each component … we know these are NOT BAHs).
I thought BAH were non refundable (you lose the deposit) but in this case the conditions show different values. You get 0% refund if you cancel 72 hours before the flight but can get a full refund otherwise. You have to pay the full amount however.
There is no indication this is NOT a BAH, I compared versus a BAH and each page looked exactly the same.
This is the challenge. It feels like even BA can’t quite identify how you stop a BA Holiday from being a BA Holiday such that no TP will be earned. Numerous people have asked for an explanation (there’s a similar thread running on FlyerTalk) with the same frustrations and head-scratching. It feels very easy to fall foul of rules that are not especially clear.
What is really hacking me off is that the even base fare cost hasn’t been applied as TPs, only the bonus TP for each flight segment.
It’s a goat rodeo over at BA, it really is. Utter shambles.
I posted this on FlyerT: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-british-airways-club/2196811-ntp-not-being-awarded-ba-holiday-2.html#post37144166
May be helpful to showcase what IS NOT a BAH (as you can see Flight + Car priced separately).
The problem is that many people are indeed booking BAHs and then being told it was not!
And the weirdest thing is that some are getting the bonus nTPs and nothing for the flight or the BAH. How can you get no TPs at all. If it is not a BAH then it is a BA flight (I think the computer is indeed seeing a price of £0 as there is no flight/car component but simply a BAH £ paid).
@ricknye – the only other thing I can think of which may help with the BAH-ness of your booking – did you receive an ATOL certificate at the time of booking with the words “single contract” or “multi-contract” on it?
For example, I am looking at an itinerary that I booked via the BA complex itinerary page last year, with various hotels and return flights, and the booking generated a ‘single contract’ ATOL certificate.
‘Update’ (of a sort). Although I have received no reply to my last email, some new TPs seem to have been added to my account. I say seem to have been added because I hadn’t noticed them previously and checked only because my TP total increased a bit. The new points are shown as ‘BA Holidays tier point award.’ The amount appears to represent the fare net of taxes, but for some reason is marginally lower. Although it is shown as a ‘BA Holidays award’, the amount is much lower than if the gross (base fare, taxes, hotel) amount had been applied.
Now, to add weirdness to the inexplicably inept, although my TP total has increased, the total is not the sum of all TPs awarded since the new earning year began. I’ll give it some time for the BA abacus to get oiled and then contact them, but frankly anything could happen in the meantime.
I’ve started keeping a spreadsheet because I don’t trust BA to not just delete things from my account if it decides to.
S
I posted this on FlyerT: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-british-airways-club/2196811-ntp-not-being-awarded-ba-holiday-2.html#post37144166
May be helpful to showcase what IS NOT a BAH (as you can see Flight + Car priced separately).
The problem is that many people are indeed booking BAHs and then being told it was not!
And the weirdest thing is that some are getting the bonus nTPs and nothing for the flight or the BAH. How can you get no TPs at all. If it is not a BAH then it is a BA flight (I think the computer is indeed seeing a price of £0 as there is no flight/car component but simply a BAH £ paid).
Has to be that, explain net vs gross
‘Update’ (of a sort). Although I have received no reply to my last email, some new TPs seem to have been added to my account. I say seem to have been added because I hadn’t noticed them previously and checked only because my TP total increased a bit. The new points are shown as ‘BA Holidays tier point award.’ The amount appears to represent the fare net of taxes, but for some reason is marginally lower. Although it is shown as a ‘BA Holidays award’, the amount is much lower than if the gross (base fare, taxes, hotel) amount had been applied.
Now, to add weirdness to the inexplicably inept, although my TP total has increased, the total is not the sum of all TPs awarded since the new earning year began. I’ll give it some time for the BA abacus to get oiled and then contact them, but frankly anything could happen in the meantime.
I’ve started keeping a spreadsheet because I don’t trust BA to not just delete things from my account if it decides to.
Is it 500 TPs too high ? That will be the BAPP bonus. No line added, but total TP increased.
Seems to be people who don’t hold a BAPP as well. Unless it’s anyone who ever held one!
‘Update’ (of a sort). Although I have received no reply to my last email, some new TPs seem to have been added to my account. I say seem to have been added because I hadn’t noticed them previously and checked only because my TP total increased a bit. The new points are shown as ‘BA Holidays tier point award.’ The amount appears to represent the fare net of taxes, but for some reason is marginally lower. Although it is shown as a ‘BA Holidays award’, the amount is much lower than if the gross (base fare, taxes, hotel) amount had been applied.
Now, to add weirdness to the inexplicably inept, although my TP total has increased, the total is not the sum of all TPs awarded since the new earning year began. I’ll give it some time for the BA abacus to get oiled and then contact them, but frankly anything could happen in the meantime.
I’ve started keeping a spreadsheet because I don’t trust BA to not just delete things from my account if it decides to.
Is it 500 TPs too high ? That will be the BAPP bonus. No line added, but total TP increased.
Yes, that’s exactly what is it. 500 extra TPs have been added for the BAPP card, but these, for some reason, don’t show as a ‘transaction’ on the statement. The BA Holiday TPs I thoought had been added are actually an old 2x TPs offer which is showing as a 1 April transaction even though the holiday was pre-April. Despite the date, they are (correctly) not included in the current year’s tally.
So, no progress at all.
Im adding my experience to the post because I suspect its related to the conversation.
Last weekend I took a short haul flight including a car rental thru BA. Added the car at the last stage of the booking on BA website. The original booking was on hand baggage only fare (Outbound fare class G, return fare class N) but adding the car means the booking changes to include hold luggage. I used the hold luggage option as well as the car.
Three days later, I see the following on the BA app.
– Avios received for both legs of air travel
– Avios separately received for the car rental
– Bonus tier points received for each leg (75 nTPs x 2) of the flights
– NO nTPs received for the £ spendEven if I received the nTPs for £ spend, it wouldn’t have made any difference to the status, so I just ignored it. But now that I’ve seen this thread, I’m wondering if there’s any small print that needs to be looked at, before booking the next holiday thru BA.
Im adding my experience to the post because I suspect its related to the conversation.
Last weekend I took a short haul flight including a car rental thru BA. Added the car at the last stage of the booking on BA website. The original booking was on hand baggage only fare (Outbound fare class G, return fare class N) but adding the car means the booking changes to include hold luggage. I used the hold luggage option as well as the car.
Three days later, I see the following on the BA app.
– Avios received for both legs of air travel
– Avios separately received for the car rental
– Bonus tier points received for each leg (75 nTPs x 2) of the flights
– NO nTPs received for the £ spendEven if I received the nTPs for £ spend, it wouldn’t have made any difference to the status, so I just ignored it. But now that I’ve seen this thread, I’m wondering if there’s any small print that needs to be looked at, before booking the next holiday thru BA.
I was going to add a hotel to flights at the same late/end stage yesterday – until I noticed the line (in very small print) that this booking will receive no Tier Points. I went back and started to book hotel plus flight from the outset and the cost went up radically – I did not proceed and booked flights and hotel entirely separately. In context, I am a little surprised that you received the bonus TPs.
Im adding my experience to the post because I suspect its related to the conversation.
Last weekend I took a short haul flight including a car rental thru BA. Added the car at the last stage of the booking on BA website. The original booking was on hand baggage only fare (Outbound fare class G, return fare class N) but adding the car means the booking changes to include hold luggage. I used the hold luggage option as well as the car.
Three days later, I see the following on the BA app.
– Avios received for both legs of air travel
– Avios separately received for the car rental
– Bonus tier points received for each leg (75 nTPs x 2) of the flights
– NO nTPs received for the £ spendEven if I received the nTPs for £ spend, it wouldn’t have made any difference to the status, so I just ignored it. But now that I’ve seen this thread, I’m wondering if there’s any small print that needs to be looked at, before booking the next holiday thru BA.
I was going to add a hotel to flights at the same late/end stage yesterday – until I noticed the line (in very small print) that this booking will receive no Tier Points. I went back and started to book hotel plus flight from the outset and the cost went up radically – I did not proceed and booked flights and hotel entirely separately. In context, I am a little surprised that you received the bonus TPs.
UPDATE: The nTPs for £ spend appeared on my account about an hour after I posted this. Unfortunately there’s no option to edit the original post.
– Avios received for both legs of air travel – 2 days after return flight
– Avios separately received for the car rental- 2 days after return flight
– Bonus tier points received for each leg (75 nTPs x 2) of the flights – 2 days after return flight
– nTPs received for the £ spend – 4 days after return flightIt seems very haphazard and easy to fall foul of some seemingly unpublished T&Cs that mean you end up with no nTPs from either the package or the flights only. If as MGW says some circumstances result in no nTPs then surely, when you make a change the agent has some kind of obligation to let you know this. I am not prepared to drop this when I am down by about 7k nTPs for the flight costs alone. At the end of the day I spent the money and cannot see, nor have been made aware of, anything that would have made it not valid for BAHs TPs; also it was all done over the phone and the agent never raised that it would be an issue. If BA publish terms then they must be legally obligated to abide by them.
Even via GGL I have tried to escalate this but got no where.
Does anyone have any suggestions of how we get to someone that can fix this?
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