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Sorry, @Karin, but you can’t actually rely on anything BA agents say to be correct. I think that if you try and call back to do this, they will tell you that it’s not possible, firstly because the outbound leg is on JAL and secondly because it just doesn’t work that way.
Did you mention that your outbound flight is with JAL?
I also don’t understand what you mean by “avios plus cash” – how much of each did you pay for the flights?
Re my original question and I apologise if it’s still in the wrong thread but anyway – I spoke to BA earlier to clarify whether the booking we made using avios plus cash on the outbound LHR to HND route for next March meant we couldn’t claim back half the avios when we made the return booking using our companion voucher as suggested on this forum. We hadn’t been able to use the cv for the outbound leg due to the scramble for the 4 cw seats at midnight. BA confirmed that if I book our return flights using a cv they will indeed refund us half the avios from the outbound flight ‘because the return flights aren’t released yet’.
[ppquote quote=616180]
I’m sure this has been covered but I’m new to this 241 booking on busy routes thing: I’ve just booked LHR to Tokyo next year using avios plus cash as the companion voucher CW seats were snapped up before me at midnight. When my return date availability is released in a couple of weeks, if I’m able to use the Cv for the return booking, does the half avios refund from BA still apply? It feels like it should as I would just be doing it in reverse – instead of booking the outbound with the Cv and then the return using avios plus cash, I would be doing it the other way around. Tia 😃
Someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but you can’t book the first leg of your 241 booking at full avios, and then request the 50% back. As you are looking to book the Tokyo to LHR leg using your voucher, that is technically the outbound leg of your voucher, so you will have to use the voucher when making the booking. You can only retrospectively ask for the 50% back when making the inbound leg if it was not available when the the outbound was booked. As you are going to use half the voucher for Tokyo-LHR, then the 2nd half of the voucher will still be able to use for the outbound leg of another trip East within the open-jaw and booking rules.
Also, I think one way cash bookings are usually very expensive, so you might want to consider cancelling if its within the 24 hours, and trying again at midnight to book your outbound with the voucher (might be 1am when the clocks go forward).
Karin has asked this elsewhere as well and been answered there. Seemingly outbound was booked with JAL. Would be best to keep the thread in one place
I’m sure this has been covered but I’m new to this 241 booking on busy routes thing: I’ve just booked LHR to Tokyo next year using avios plus cash as the companion voucher CW seats were snapped up before me at midnight. When my return date availability is released in a couple of weeks, if I’m able to use the Cv for the return booking, does the half avios refund from BA still apply? It feels like it should as I would just be doing it in reverse – instead of booking the outbound with the Cv and then the return using avios plus cash, I would be doing it the other way around. Tia 😃
Someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but you can’t book the first leg of your 241 booking at full avios, and then request the 50% back. As you are looking to book the Tokyo to LHR leg using your voucher, that is technically the outbound leg of your voucher, so you will have to use the voucher when making the booking. You can only retrospectively ask for the 50% back when making the inbound leg if it was not available when the the outbound was booked. As you are going to use half the voucher for Tokyo-LHR, then the 2nd half of the voucher will still be able to use for the outbound leg of another trip East within the open-jaw and booking rules.
Also, I think one way cash bookings are usually very expensive, so you might want to consider cancelling if its within the 24 hours, and trying again at midnight to book your outbound with the voucher (might be 1am when the clocks go forward).
Karin has asked this elsewhere as well and been answered there. Seemingly outbound was booked with JAL. Would be best to keep the thread in one place
Sorry I’ve never used this site before and ask the same question on a different thread – the one you referred to but I can’t find the thread so can’t see the responses. Also I didn’t pay cash for the outbound leg, I paid avios plus cash with the hope of using the voucher when the return flights are released. Could you please direct me to the other thread so I can see the responses – if any. Thanks
I thought you meant cash, and reduced the cost with avios. The rest of my comment is valid about the use of the voucher, though. Another poster replied with pretty much the same explanation about the voucher.
Here’s the thread:
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/tokyo-reward-flights/
I’m sure this has been covered but I’m new to this 241 booking on busy routes thing: I’ve just booked LHR to Tokyo next year using avios plus cash as the companion voucher CW seats were snapped up before me at midnight. When my return date availability is released in a couple of weeks, if I’m able to use the Cv for the return booking, does the half avios refund from BA still apply? It feels like it should as I would just be doing it in reverse – instead of booking the outbound with the Cv and then the return using avios plus cash, I would be doing it the other way around. Tia 😃
[/quote] do let us know how you get on with it. Things are always changing in this space.
So did you book on JAL – “also tried to get 2 cw seats to Tokyo for next March – clearly impossible with only 4 released at midnight and despite getting them ‘in my basket’ at breakneck speed! but managed to get direct lhr to HND on JAL using avios plus cash.” Or BA?
Booked on JAL. Obviously not ideal as it’s going to prove much more costly if we don’t manage to use the CV for the return but feeling quite hopeful at the moment. I think if we can’t get a CV inbound flight when they’re released in a couple of weeks we’ll wait for the Iberia flights on this route to resume in October and see if we have more success there.
I guess only time will tell. We used the maximum avios plus cash. I’ll report back when I book my return seats 😱
Skype is just an app for making internet calls cheaply, it still uses the normal number. It’s really easy to use, just download it and add some credit.
I’m not 100% sure but my guess is it will be midnight tonight then 1 am after that.
Thank you for encouraging me to use app. (Older anxious person!😆)
I used skype and successfully booked my Sydney to London return using my C voucher.
Got through really quickly so had a 10 min chat with a very helpful person who was happy to wait until midnight.Great news! I’m a bit of a technophobe so if I can use something, anyone can, lol.
So I’m looking at doing an Open Jaw return, outbound London to Buenos Aires, return from Rio. Am i correct in thinking the correct way of doing this is to either book the outbound (London to Buenos Aires) online at 1am or calling up, and then ring up when the return is available, explaining i couldnt book the return when booking the outbound as it wasnt available? I think for this route, it would be much better to book the return seperately and link the bookings and get half avios refunded due to low taxes coming back from Rio, but i would be short on the number of avios needed to do this. How do they combine the different taxes on Jaw flights?
The most-applied rule seems to be that you have to select the same numerical option – so first combo outbound, for example, requires first combo inbound.
If you haven’t got enough avios to book the inbound online, you will need to call, and they will charge you the normal BA surcharges 😬
Also check if you can get better options with IB from/to MAD.
I have enough miles & another companion voucher that I could use to book the return leg online as a stand-alone booking to secure any reward seats that I see. Does anyone know if I would then be able to call BA and ask them to combine the 2 bookings into 1 booking (and refund me the second voucher – plus any excess taxes etc paid if applicable?)
You don’t use another 241 voucher when booking the return leg – you book it as a full avios redemption, then you call, have the 2 bookings linked to the original 241 voucher and get half the avios for the second booking refunded. So you need enough avios to book the return leg at full rates.
As above, the tickets remain as 2 separate bookings, and the taxes are 2 lots of one-way taxes – this may be ok or substantially worse than a return – you need to specify where you are going. You can check the taxes by doing dummy bookings as returns and one-ways and work it out.
So each of the 2 tickets is a separate booking?
Does that mean you can book two different return legs and link to the same original 241 voucher?
e.g.
book 2 x outbound with 241 leaving 01/05
book 1 inbound on 01/06 and 1 inbound on 01/07 and link both to the outbound with 241?(and to further complicate, what if you don’t book the inbounds at the same time?)
No – the Ts and Cs of the voucher still apply, but I think this is essentially what you asked on the separate thread you started!
Okay thanks, so both passengers must travel at the same time on both legs as well as in the same cabin?
Okay thanks, so both passengers must travel at the same time on both legs as well as in the same cabin?
18. The Cardmember and their Companions must travel together at all times therefore must be booked onto the same flight and cabin class when travelling using a Companion Voucher.
Skype is just an app for making internet calls cheaply, it still uses the normal number. It’s really easy to use, just download it and add some credit.
I’m not 100% sure but my guess is it will be midnight tonight then 1 am after that.
Thank you for encouraging me to use app. (Older anxious person!😆)
I used skype and successfully booked my Sydney to London return using my C voucher.
Got through really quickly so had a 10 min chat with a very helpful person who was happy to wait until midnight.What number did you dial?
The most-applied rule seems to be that you have to select the same numerical option – so first combo outbound, for example, requires first combo inbound.
If you haven’t got enough avios to book the inbound online, you will need to call, and they will charge you the normal BA surcharges 😬
Also check if you can get better options with IB from/to MAD.
Do the surcharges still apply, even though this isnt a booking thats possible to be made online, given A) the return wasnt available when i booked the outbound and b) open jaws cant be booked online as far as im aware? How much are the usual surcharges?
By surcharges, I meant the standard BA RFS fee, which I think is more than you pay if you book an award flight from GIG online (though this might have been changed by now). You shouldn’t be charged the phone booking fee for the reasons you mention.
*I just checked out of interest – if you book GIG-LHR online, the “tax” element comes up as £8.60 pp. If BA is booking this for you over the phone, they will charge £275 pp!
By surcharges, I meant the standard BA RFS fee, which I think is more than you pay if you book an award flight from GIG online (though this might have been changed by now). You shouldn’t be charged the phone booking fee for the reasons you mention.
*I just checked out of interest – if you book GIG-LHR online, the “tax” element comes up as £8.60 pp. If BA is booking this for you over the phone, they will charge £275 pp!
Thanks – I realise this would be a suboptimal way of doing it as opposed to booking the return online with the low fees, but i dont have enough avios to do it that way. Where do you see the tax element charges when booking over the phone? I assume this would enable me to work out the total taxes i’d pay for the planned trip
It’s not tax as such, it’s a set RFS fee depending on the zone you’re flying to/from. Just double it for the return trip. Have you read up on award flights and done a few dummy bookings to see the avios and cash charges?
Wanted to check with the experts here before I make any phone calls/move points around.
Is it possible to book with a 241 voucher LHR – LAX for the outbound and JKF/LHR for the return?
Wanted to check with the experts here before I make any phone calls/move points around.
Is it possible to book with a 241 voucher LHR – LAX for the outbound and JKF/LHR for the return?
Open jaw are allowed as long as the distance is shorter.
LHR-LAX 4741nm
JFK-LHR 2999nm
LAX-JFK 2151nmAs the LAX-JFK is shorter than the other two then yes you can, this complies with open-jaw rules.
Hi,
Just wondering if someone could provide some confirmation on if we should still be using the USA BA Executive Number (1 800 452 1201) to call from the UK to book flights T355 at 1am?
It looks like the USA office closes at 8pm EST which is 1am UK time currently. Japan’s Executive Number, their office does not open until 1am UK Time.
I am hoping to book LHR to HND (CW, using my BAPP 241) outbound at T-355. My original plan was just to try book is online myself, but seeing as I will be awake at those hours, I am now thinking it is probably best to ring BA as well as trying myself. If I ring the USA office at around 12:45am, that should be okay? Seems to be mixed posts around this, with some people getting through and others not.
Many thanks
It’ll be 1900 in US east coast at midnight UK time this coming Saturday, so you should ring then. They’ll be closing up shop at 0100 UK
Hi,
Just wondering if someone could provide some confirmation on if we should still be using the USA BA Executive Number (1 800 452 1201) to call from the UK to book flights T355 at 1am?
It looks like the USA office closes at 8pm EST which is 1am UK time currently. Japan’s Executive Number, their office does not open until 1am UK Time.
I am hoping to book LHR to HND (CW, using my BAPP 241) outbound at T-355. My original plan was just to try book is online myself, but seeing as I will be awake at those hours, I am now thinking it is probably best to ring BA as well as trying myself. If I ring the USA office at around 12:45am, that should be okay? Seems to be mixed posts around this, with some people getting through and others not.
Many thanks
It’ll be 1900 in US east coast at midnight UK time this coming Saturday, so you should ring then. They’ll be closing up shop at 0100 UK
I don’t think that will work because the seats are not released until 1am UK time now..
Hi,
Just wondering if someone could provide some confirmation on if we should still be using the USA BA Executive Number (1 800 452 1201) to call from the UK to book flights T355 at 1am?
It looks like the USA office closes at 8pm EST which is 1am UK time currently. Japan’s Executive Number, their office does not open until 1am UK Time.
I am hoping to book LHR to HND (CW, using my BAPP 241) outbound at T-355. My original plan was just to try book is online myself, but seeing as I will be awake at those hours, I am now thinking it is probably best to ring BA as well as trying myself. If I ring the USA office at around 12:45am, that should be okay? Seems to be mixed posts around this, with some people getting through and others not.
Many thanks
I called the US office last summer to make a booking at 12.50am. The agent was happy to stay online to make the booking. I originally called Australia but the called was picked up by the India call centre and the agent didn’t know how to make a companion voucher booking.
Can I sense check something. I want to book flights for March 30 2025. Therefore I need to call at 1am on April 9 2024. Is that right?
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