Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Forums Frequent flyer programs British Airways Executive Club BA ultra late refund / Amex issue

  • thewoat 29 posts

    So I have been waiting on BA to issue a refund for months(BA double charged me at airport, their error), genuinely months after being told I’d get it in days, but at worst a couple weeks, all fine, within the billing period, already had the voucher, so no issue and no gaming here, I just happened to use the BAPP for it. So essentially just 3x buffer.

    It should come as no surprise I’ve fully paid off the Amex in that timeframe obviously, BA had 5 weeks to refund in that billing period. But my year has also rolled over, and I’ve currently completely stopped using it as proven by zero purchases for about 6 weeks as I’m using others.

    They are now claiming they’ve refunded to original payment method – they didn’t even tell me this, I just told them I’d gone to CEDR with it.

    It’s a fair lump, over £2000…. does this now mean I’ll now need to spend £17000 to get my voucher this year when I start using it? Bear in mind, I already had the voucher last year when I did the spend…. I’m fighting for a voucher instead but I’m essentially being told no chance so far, but good lord, what a mess this whole thing has been.

    They should be giving me liquid cash as I’ve paid this off for them with my own cash when they had ample time to refund it, it’s not like my bill ended the next day and I stopped using it…

    BA Flyer IHG Stayer 3,101 posts

    Refunds always go back to the original method of payment. You’re not going to get cash or a voucher / credit note from BA to apply to another booking.

    And yes as the refund has been received in a new voucher earning period it does mean that you need to spend that £2k more.

    Whilst this does appear to be unfair from a situation not of your making it is how the system works and has done so for a very long time and AMEX won’t change it.

    thewoat 29 posts

    I’m not asking for Amex to change anything, they’ve done nothing wrong?

    BA’s absurd refusal and delay tactics have caused this, and it’s ended up in a right mess. I can’t exactly pay a mastercard with an amex. If they’d been clear about how long they would have taken, I would have let it stay on the amex and told BA to pay the interest.

    How would I get the money if I hadn’t renewed and cancelled the card?

    BA Flyer IHG Stayer 3,101 posts

    When there the account is no longer live AMEX would hold the cash is suspense and then contact you to provide details of where to send it to – usually via deposit into your bank account

    John 1,341 posts

    If you paid off the Amex with a debit card from a UK current account you hold, there is no problem and Amex will simply send the money back to the debit card if you ask them to.

    If you used Curve to pay Amex with a credit card, Amex may not be too happy

    zapato1060 844 posts

    Sounds like making a mountain out of an ant hill.

    1. You have the 241 voucher and it will not be taken back, its yours to use, right now.
    2. You have received/will receive in cash £2,000
    3. You just have to spend another 2k in 2025

    Frans 3 posts

    You can ask Amex for a refund of the credit balance. That will set your card to zero, problem solved.

    thewoat 29 posts

    1. I have last years voucher. I haven’t even started spending this year yet, currently -£2000.
    2. Not from BA… Amex will, but it’s now adding 10 day on top of something I should have gotten about 3 months ago which would have totally avoid 1.3.
    3. Yes, but I shouldn’t have too, and it could be a struggle (obviously, not their issue and all that, but taking months for a refund I was clearly told I’d get in weeks if not days is, and having it routinely denied because the system didn’t see it despite me showing it clearly and other agents realizing it… is their problem)

    No I don’t use Curve, no tricks here. But yes I do kind of stop using these cards more or less bang on their voucher point, and no I don’t downgrade.

    Like I said, I wish I just left it there and made them pay the interest now, it was after all, their fault. All I get from all this hassle is my refund too. The amount of time wasted chasing this has been insane.

    I’ve also now been told I could have had it paid in an alternative method, but because no one actively communicated that this refund was coming my way until an hour after the CEDR case opened… how the hell was I to request that.

    thewoat 29 posts

    You can ask Amex for a refund of the credit balance. That will set your card to zero, problem solved.

    Except I’m now at £-2000 for my spend and retention spend targets, when I shouldn’t be. Since this was paid after I earned my voucher last year.

    NorthernLass 10,516 posts

    It won’t set the required spend to zero, because in Amex’s view, @thewoat spent £2k less than the required amount to get the 241 in the last card year. I would be annoyed, as well.

    How to claw this back, though?

    Now, with the help of an eye-watering vet’s bill and some forward travel costs (e.g. timeshare maintenance fees), as well as normal purchases, I am nearly £10k into my £15k spend 7 weeks into my card year, but in this position I would look to move that credit somewhere useful, such as paying my council tax early, or some utility companies take Amex (not mine).

    I’d also look out for any good offers on buying avios or hotel points which I was going to redeem in the near future (in case of a devaluation), which is similar (to my mind, anyway), to pre-paying a refundable booking. I don’t generally buy points, but a few times when I’ve been chasing a SUB or a voucher, I’ve bought IHG points at 100% bonus, knowing I’m going to get outsize redemption value on our next GCM trip.

    *We are not wealthy, I have just got my Amex spending strategy really finely honed after nearly 10 years on HFP!

    thewoat 29 posts

    Cheers for understanding NorthernLass… you are right on the annoyance, if I was a huge spender, I could absolutely eat this no problem. But my estimation is I’d be fairly close and just about get to the 15k on Amex with my other targets elsewhere, so the 2k is a bit of a hit to me.

    Given that this 2k spend had zero baring on the voucher last year (it took me to just over 14k with the two payments taken out, I had the voucher before any of this). To be punished this year just seems a bit harsh, and it’s not my fault, nor is it Amex’s… and BA are offering zero good will or any level of compensation to even make up for this whole ordeal, and I see others get vouchers for next to nothing. They’ve been nothing short of horrific dealing with this, outside of a couple of agents who got the issue instantly and were equally as baffled by their colleagues responses – who I have rightfully praised.

    It seems like there’s no real way to even complain about the service received outside of Flying either, as that got knocked back instantly today “not our department” when going via the portal.

    John 1,341 posts

    Just make a frivolous complaint on your next BA flight then… yes from reading what others have received, I’ve missed out on hundreds of thousands of Avios because I didn’t think it was worth writing in over certain minor problems on BA flights in the past

    Frans 3 posts

    Except I’m now at £-2000 for my spend and retention spend targets, when I shouldn’t be. Since this was paid after I earned my voucher last year.

    I just had the same happen, that’s why I suggested it. My account went to -£980 because of a refund from BA. I’m not using the card until my new year starts. I asked Amex and I got that refunded to my bank account and now my Amex account is £0. The only thing is that my Amex is now in “negative Avios” because those were clawed back.

    If you ask for the £2000 to be transferred, your Amex account will also show £0 so you don’t have to spend £17,000. Am I missing something? Do you have to spend £2000 more because you wouldn’t have earned the voucher last year without this spend?

    thewoat 29 posts

    Except I’m now at £-2000 for my spend and retention spend targets, when I shouldn’t be. Since this was paid after I earned my voucher last year.

    I just had the same happen, that’s why I suggested it. My account went to -£980 because of a refund from BA. I’m not using the card until my new year starts. I asked Amex and I got that refunded to my bank account and now my Amex account is £0. The only thing is that my Amex is now in “negative Avios” because those were clawed back.

    If you ask for the £2000 to be transferred, your Amex account will also show £0 so you don’t have to spend £17,000. Am I missing something? Do you have to spend £2000 more because you wouldn’t have earned the voucher last year without this spend?

    My new year HAS started, there’s the difference. The 4k spending from this (2k twice) had zero impact on the voucher last year, I had earned it by this point. BA also had nearly 6 weeks to refund within the same Amex year, when they told me it’d be in 2 weeks, if not days.

    And yes, despite the credit transferred now being applied and my balance being £0, my target tracker has indeed incorporated the refund, and seemingly according to live chat, I also need to now spend this additional amount to hit my retention offer spend too. Spend 5k get 12k avios in 3 months, not much of course, but a minor benefit.

    I’m not a free-wheeling spender, so this is all kinda close margins for me, so this additional isn’t helpful at all, when none of it is my fault.

    NorthernLass 10,516 posts

    @Frans – if you’d spent at least that amount above the threshold for triggering the 241, you wouldn’t have to spend more in the next card year. If the refund took you below the £10k/£15k spend, then the deficit would transfer to the following card year.

  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.