Booking – 241 Redemption as 2xone ways less than +355

[ajrbrown76]

Hi,

Read plenty of options that it’s fine to book using AMex 241 out on Iberia to S.Am, then adding an open-jaw return (Brazil to london) as a separate Avios booking then getting this joined to the 241 booking (to benefit from low Brazil taxes).

However, (and apologies if i’ve missed this!) all the discussions i’ve read concern booking the outbound at +355 then waiting till the return is +355/bookable and booking that, then getting excec club to join these.
If the outward and return are already less than +355 – ie I ‘could’ phone exec club now and get them to book both legs in one go (but then wouldn’t benefit from the cheaper Braz tax/fees on the return leg) – can i still do this as an outward booking now on 241, then book the return as a one-way on Avios and call them to join it to the existing outward 241?

Thanks

[JDB]

@ajrbrown76 – there is no published policy on this; it’s simply an unofficial BA concession to facilitate initiating outbound bookings before the return is available when officially/per the terms both should be booked at the same. The conventional wisdom is therefore that no, if you are ‘in date’ to book both legs together, they need to be booked together so you might not get the Avios back. The trouble is that if you ask up front, they will probably say no, but if you try it you might not get the Avios back but you could cancel and hope the seats return into inventory. While it’s permissible to mix IB and BA as you plan, this can unfortunately also mess up the taxes.

[ajrbrown76]

Thanks – makes sense, but definitely didn’t want to ask up front as thought this would be a No.

Probably not worth risking them not joining it.

[Not Long Now...]

I believe it’s a no, you can either save the avios on both legs and book as a return, or save the taxes on the return but pay more avios. Time for some maths me thinks…

[NorthernLass]

If you do go ahead and try this, don’t ask for the bookings to be joined or linked because this isn’t what happens and can end up confusing the issue. You’ll still have 2 separate PNRs, but BA may refund half the avios you spent on the 2nd booking. Simply explain that you have booked the return journey separately from the outbound, which you booked with your companion voucher, and ask if they will kindly refund 50% of the avios.

However, as @JDB points out, agents have different approaches to these issues as there’s no formal policy, and they may refuse on the grounds that both legs were available when you booked.

[ajrbrown76]

Thanks for all the feedback – really helpful. Points vs Cash….hmmm