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Looking to use a new-style BA 241 voucher for an East Coast transatlantic First return for 2. Prior to the expansion of RFS to long haul I’d prefer to go out in F but return in CW to save the Avios – given usually not much of a F ground experience down route excl. JFK (and night flight home where you just want to sleep), but now it’s cheaper to return in F if your outbound is already F…
Looking at off peak dates, let’s say NYC (EWR), for 2, using voucher.
Max Avios, min. Cash pricing starting and finishing in DUB appears to be:
154500A + £584.72 (short haul legs in economy)
166000A + £584.72 (short haul legs in CE)For reference, simply from and back to london the flights in F cost 136000A + a steep £1705.72. The DUB routings connect to the same transatlantic flights from and to LHR.
Had a play with starting in AMS, MAD, BUD but the cash element was always >£1000 – any other ideas cheaper than DUB?
Off hand, does anyone know if you can access the Concorde Room having landed in F at LHR on the way home, but with a departure to DUB in either ET or CE?
If I book this I’ll probably use the less-than-24h layover trick to have a stress free day departing LHR but still avoiding APD. When selecting the layover option you individually elect for ET or CE for the short haul sectors, picking 4 individual flights in total. If you elect for no layovers, you just select “First” outbound and “First” return (and of course are actually ticketed for the short haul in CE cabin) – I wonder if that second method would result in an F ticket for the last sector, LHR-DUB, allowing CCR access?
Appreciate any hints or tips! Thanks
You could try INV (in the UK but APD exempt) as well as ARN, CPH and CDG.
Remember to add in the cost of positioning flights / hotels into yiur calculations when comparing the fares.
As to the CCR my understanding is they allow access the same day as landing from an F flight as long as you show the BP. Makes no difference what cabin the onward is in.
Super, thanks!
There may be a better way of doing this, though it would depend on a CS agent playing ball, I haven’t tried it yet.
DUB-LHR-BDA, for example is 83k avios plus £193 pp (not using a 241) outbound. Book the inbound separately, whatever class you like but using the same option number to avoid that particular hitch with CS, from BDA – wherever (you might not want to end in DUB). Then contact BA and ask for the 50% avios back if you used a 241 on the outbound. Cash element isn’t recalculated when you do it that way so theoretically you won’t get legged over on the surcharges as you do if you try and book it on a single PNR.
For me, I would probably go outbound in F to east coast then do the very short hop back on the day flight from JFK/EWR/BOS in PE or Y, with a mini break in DUB using the savings and ending in MAN which is my local airport.
You don’t save much by departing ex-INV, you’re still looking at over £600 in “taxes” one-way.
Thanks for the tips. I tried routing via INV, CDG etc. Interestingly (to me!), for INV for example – even though the connection times were fine, the system showed no F availability for the long haul segments. Reverting back to DUB and the F availability was back. I didn’t appreciate BA play with award availability like this, based on where you start for a non-direct routing.
Thanks for the tips. I tried routing via INV, CDG etc. Interestingly (to me!), for INV for example – even though the connection times were fine, the system showed no F availability for the long haul segments. Reverting back to DUB and the F availability was back. I didn’t appreciate BA play with award availability like this, based on where you start for a non-direct routing.
The Amex 241 must be doing something strange – I understand if it was Club World you might see extra I class on the long haul – maybe it’s seeing that on the feeder flight – have you tried Jersey (same as INV) or Ams for the failsafe back to back to start
Do you mean the F cabin box said “No availability”, but was showing other cabins, or you just got a straight “no availability” (at all) result? Sometimes you need to use the stopover facility to get F to show up, presumably because the cabin isn’t available on the domestic connection. DUB not being a domestic connection might be different. Just a guess, but you shouldn’t be getting different availability based on where you start.
I was trying LHR EWR return in F, 28 Feb to 4 Mar. Starting at MAD and DUB show F availability (no layover selected for now, so when available, just selecting First for entire outbound and First for inbound). INV and a few others just said no availability. I’ll prob use the layover feature in reality anyway, so will have a play with that to perhaps unlock the F in long haul – but initially I was just trying to compare cash elements required.
Other cabins were available when F unavailable, yes.
As a BA gold member with plenty of Avios, I’d imagine the advice is don’t skip the last sector back to DUB?
(I say the above in the sense that I have things to lose were they to accuse me of breaking the terms of BAEC reward flights? Not sure if they actually would for a one off but perhaps not worth the risk is it – take the CCR breakfast and a glass or three of LPGS, and head back to DUB to be safe!)
As a BA gold member with plenty of Avios, I’d imagine the advice is don’t skip the last sector back to DUB?
Book from LCY and hope there is a train strike
Haha…I like it.
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