The ‘How to book the return leg with 2-4-1 companion voucher’ thread

[Amy C]

strickers wrote:

What about back from Johannesburg rather than cancelling?

I looked, none of them left either 😩

[No Longer Entitled]

@Amy – when is your half term week? I see availability towards the back end of the 22/23/24 albeit in economy. How many tickets do you need?

Also, don’t cancel just yet if you have no immediate need for the avios. More availability may appear and the cost to cancel remains the same at a later date.

[NorthernLass]

@Amy C – Is it worth calling at midnight to see if BA can see extra availability from the new voucher? I know it doesn’t always appear immediately though. Do you have another voucher you can search with? I can check for you if not.

*Presume your plan is to book using full avios and claim half back?

[NorthernLass]

@Amy C – just checked with a new voucher and there are economy seats back from CPT on Feb 22/24/25. As No Longer Entitled says, these would be better than nothing and you could always change/upgrade later if premium cabins become available. I’m assuming that if you call BA they will be able to see these and add them for you.

[Amy C]

NorthernLass wrote:

@Amy C – Is it worth calling at midnight to see if BA can see extra availability from the new voucher? I know it doesn’t always appear immediately though. Do you have another voucher you can search with? I can check for you if not.

*Presume your plan is to book using full avios and claim half back?

Half term week is mid Feb so avoided that. No interest in anything other than CW as cannot bear a flight that long in economy. I’d rather not go. Won’t chuck away the outbound just yet. Might go with Virgin instead but that’s less straight forward with voucher and combining points etc. Need 2 tickets.

I’ve used my voucher on the outbound and don’t yet have another. I will do in about a week or two. Yes that was the plan Northern Lass. I was fairly confident as I’d snagged the outbound easily at midnight. I’m amazed anyone was quicker than me, I’d pre populated everything and was faster than the speed of light!

[NorthernLass]

I totally get that! You’ve still got the possibility of more I class seats being released with the extra CW availability – someone needs to develop an alert for those!

[Aardvark]

Re NorthernLass – Question: I have booked outgoing flight to Capetown (Using new 2 for 1 voucher) Waiting for the return leg to come available in a few weeks, I have enough avios to book the return leg at midnight then phone up and get the half the Avios refunded (2 separate bookings). However, as I am booking online at midnight but without a voucher, am I seeing reduced availability? If this is so and I fail, I should then still phone up in the morning as there may be Reward availability that I am not seeing and may still be available. Is this correct? Sometimes the more I understand about this the more confused I get!

[Amy C]

Aardvark wrote:

Re NorthernLass – Question: I have booked outgoing flight to Capetown (Using new 2 for 1 voucher) Waiting for the return leg to come available in a few weeks, I have enough avios to book the return leg at midnight then phone up and get the half the Avios refunded (2 separate bookings). However, as I am booking online at midnight but without a voucher, am I seeing reduced availability? If this is so and I fail, I should then still phone up in the morning as there may be Reward availability that I am not seeing and may still be available. Is this correct? Sometimes the more I understand about this the more confused I get!

Sorry for butting in but this is what happened to me this week. I saw some still available this morning that were released last night and booked them. I couldn’t see them under my account as I’d used my voucher on the outbound. I looked using my OH account, saw them and rang to book. First I rang America (due to the time) and they refused to help, then I rang BA silver line when they opened and the agent said they didn’t exist (even though I was looking at them). She wouldn’t budge. So I rang again and got someone else and insisted they were there after initially being told they weren’t. I told her they were the extra availability due to the companion voucher. She left me on hold for ten mins while ‘checking with others’ and found them. Thankfully I got them booked. Two days later than the ones I actually wanted but better than nothing. It’s a right headache!

[No Longer Entitled]

It is a right headache. The only plus side is that the obstacles that BA place in the way will deter 99% of your competition. Being determined and educated in the ways of their IT, and it’s limitations, is a real differentiator.

[Aardvark]

Looking at some other articles I think the extra Avios availability only applies for Business Class. I am going Bus out but plan to return Premium Economy.

[NorthernLass]

There is often more CW availability due to PE being a much smaller cabin, and yes no extra availability with the new voucher. Therefore it might be best to pounce at midnight/1 am (if after March 26th) or call to book as if the flights are there the agent will see them as they won’t be dependent on the new voucher.

@Amy C – outright refusal to help is the most annoying of the BA CS obstacles! The other day I was on chat for ages then the agent refused point blank to refund my 50% avios. I was convinced he was wrong so I called the Silver line for the first time – answered after 30 mins and a lovely man in Liverpool said his chat colleague was talking nonsense and refunded the avios without further ado!

[ExpatInBerlin]

Apologies if this is a silly question.

I have an old style companion voucher expiring Feb ’24 and am looking to book a return trip from LHR to YVR in Jan ’24. At present, we know our departure date and there are seats available in Economy (which we’re happy with) so are keen to get the outbound leg locked in. However, we are flexible on our return date by several days and would be keen to leave it a little while longer to book this in as we are only a few thousand avios away from being able to book this in PE rather than economy.

My question is, is it possible to book this either online/on the phone to BA as a one way companion voucher trip now and then add the return leg at a later date? I know people do this when flights have just been releaed at mindnight 355 days before to lock in coveted club seats, but is it still fine to do it when the return flights are already available to book online?

[No Longer Entitled]

I can’t see how the date on which you book the return legs should be relevant to BA linking the bookings and returning the avios. There could be all sorts of reasons why you did it they way you propose, including no availability for months. I’m not sure the BA Customer Service rep would even have any way of knowing, or caring, that the seats had been available prior to your booking. All they will want in my experience is your BA Exec number and for you to clear security.

That said, if you are just a “few thousand” avios away from the return then BA have a bonus on avios for the next 4 days whereby you receive an additional 40%, Might be worth considering if it is a small amount just for the certainty?

Current prices, including the bonus amount, for a few thousand as per:

2,800 £47
4,200 £63
5,600 £79
7,000 £95

Maybe better than running the risk of the seats going or BA changing ‘policy’ to the extent that linking and refunding is policy!?!

[NorthernLass]

Theoretically you should be able to do this but you will need to call to have the inbound leg added unless you have enough avios to book it online at the full price, and a picky CS agent might query why you didn’t make the entire booking in one go as both legs were available. If you explain that you didn’t have enough avios at the time, they may well accept this. It may all be perfectly fine but I and other readers have experienced phone and chat agents refusing to do things for really flimsy reasons recently so it’s best to be aware that things may not go 100% smoothly!

Remember as well you are supposed to use the BA Amex with which you earned the voucher to pay for surcharges on both legs, so make sure the details match!

Be aware as well you’ll only get one avios/cash option because you’re using an old voucher.

[ExpatInBerlin]

Thanks @NoLongerEntitled (and apologies for accidentally reporting!) and @NorthernLass, much appreciated. Didn’t realise there was a BA avios sale on so totting up the difference we need to book it in one go and save the stress of a CS agent not playing ball/the seats no longer being available. Yes the fact it’s an old voucher has meant we can only go with the highest avios option (which would be 60,000 avios return in Economy) and having recently shelled out 190,000 avios for CE returns to Barbados in December we are comparatively avios-poor at present but determined to use the 241 voucher before it expires mid-Feb ’24!

[xcalx]

From a previous 2-4-1 article “you need to book AND fly the outbound leg of your redemption flight before the expiry date of the voucher. You can return at any time.”

I have a new style BA 241 expiring 28Apr 2024. Example If we book outbound flights for say 25th Apr 2024 can I add the return flights for Nov 2024 when they become available.

Am I right in thinking the return can be added AFTER the expiry of the 2-4-1 Thanks

[NorthernLass]

You are technically supposed to return within 12 months of the outbound flight, and if the voucher expires before the inbound, the entire journey is supposed to be booked at the same time. However, I took a chance on the latter and used the outbound portion of an old 241 due to expire on 30/9 to book MAN-LHR-GIB for next month. When award flights for Feb ’24 were released recently, I booked AGP-MAN-LHR and asked for 50% avios to be refunded. The BA chat agent refused to do this for spurious reasons so I called the Silver line and the agent refunded them with no issues. So it does depend to some extent who you speak to at BA!

[afghafgh]

Hi all, for someone like me with no BA status – what is the best number to call at midnight UK time? Is it still going to be the US exec club number (1 800 452 1201?)

If anyone with recent experience can advise of their approximate wait time that would be much appreciated.

[xcalx]

NorthernLass wrote:

You are technically supposed to return within 12 months of the outbound flight, and if the voucher expires before the inbound, the entire journey is supposed to be booked at the same time. However, I took a chance on the latter and used the outbound portion of an old 241 due to expire on 30/9 to book MAN-LHR-GIB for next month. When award flights for Feb ’24 were released recently, I booked AGP-MAN-LHR and asked for 50% avios to be refunded. The BA chat agent refused to do this for spurious reasons so I called the Silver line and the agent refunded them with no issues. So it does depend to some extent who you speak to at BA!

Thanks NL I will save this reply for when I am ready to make the booking . As a back up I will have another 2-4-1 ready to trigger.

[Jill Kinkell]

afghafgh wrote:

Hi all, for someone like me with no BA status – what is the best number to call at midnight UK time? Is it still going to be the US exec club number (1 800 452 1201?)

If anyone with recent experience can advise of their approximate wait time that would be much appreciated.

That was the number I phoned, but some posters have have said the USA agents refuse to book for them. My call must have been diverted as I ended up dealing with a chap in India. Call answered very quickly ( it was 0430 ish with them!)

[ecugkq30]

afghafgh wrote:

Hi all, for someone like me with no BA status – what is the best number to call at midnight UK time? Is it still going to be the US exec club number (1 800 452 1201?)

If anyone with recent experience can advise of their approximate wait time that would be much appreciated.

I phoned at about 11.45pm (note will be 12.45am now as the US have gone forward already) and was through in about 7 or so minutes. Problem is if you try any later and get through even at 2 minutes past there is every chance the seats will have gone so worth being early and asking some account admin or other options until the agent will book for you

[afghafgh]

Many thanks both, although I had thought that it would still be a midnight (UK time) call until the clocks go back here at the end of the month?

If I don’t get through on the phone by midnight I’ll probably just try to book them online and then seek a refund of half the Avios. It’s a competitive route but not quite up there with the Sydneys of this world.

[afghafgh]

For the record and to add a further data point, I had no trouble booking my return leg online at midnight (paying the full amount of Avios) and subsequently calling BA to link it to the Companion Voucher and have 50% of the Avios refunded. It took about 5 minutes – the agent had no trouble with it, and the Avios re-appeared in my account just after the call ended. There was no charge to make this change. I still have two booking references (not a problem in itself) but both are linked to the Companion Voucher.

This was an old style voucher so there was no choice as to the combination of Avios and cash used when booking the outbound leg, but out of caution I booked the return leg with the same option (i.e. max Avios and minimum cash – since I wasn’t using a voucher for the return all combinations were offered). Choosing different combinations on the outbound and return legs seems like it may mess things up, at least based on this thread.

Provided you have enough Avios this seems to be a pretty solid option for adding on the return leg, and you’re only likely to miss out on seats to people who have snagged a cooperative agent pre-midnight (I was checked out within about 45 seconds). This was for Tokyo which at present is fairly competitive, with most club world seats being snapped up shortly after release.

[Aardvark]

I did my return online last night and then rang up this morning to get the companion voucher added to my booking. It went fine and got the Avios refunded however, the agent did say that as long as you choose the same level of Avios/money then there isn’t a problem. Also I did Bus Out and Premium Economy back and no problem.

[Roker]

Hi all, interesting thread this, but I can’t see a clear answer to this question:

– if I book the inbound flight on the BA website using a second 241 Voucher, will I get the Voucher back when I call BA to ask them to combine the outbound and inbound legs?

Like many people I am relatively Voucher rich but Avios poor. I was lucky enough to book 2 outbound flights to Singapore for next February using a 241 Voucher and I plan to book the return leg as an open jaw from TYO > LHR for mid-March. I have set up an Alert for that leg on Reward Flight Finder and I want to book the flights as soon as they come out, rather than spend ages on the phone to BA, by which time they may be gone. If I can’t get the second Voucher back,I guess I will have to use ‘full Avios’ and call to get a 50% Avios refund. Full Avios TYO > LHR CW for 2 people is 200,000 + £550 or 108,000 + £1720. I only have 130,000 Avios left so I guess only the second, very expensive option is open to me if I don’t want to use 2 vouchers.