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

[ET2593]

NorthernLass wrote:

You’ve not read the information on here properly, it’s when you book the inbound separately and request the 50% avios back that you’re left with 2 PNRs, regardless of it’s open jaw or just a straight return.

The surcharges for Shanghai sound on the high side – I suspect they were “recalculated” by the phone agent and might have been lower if you had actually made 2 separate bookings!

*Just checked and your “taxes” for LHR-PVG would have been £575 if you’d booked it separately. This would have required you to have enough avios to make the booking online though, before requesting half back.

Sounds like an amazing trip though, Shanghai is also on my bucket list!

That’s interesting that booking separately might get you cheaper taxes and charges. Is there any benefit to having just 1 booking if that’s the case?

[NorthernLass]

Again people really need to properly read up on this stuff. This applies to Hong Kong and Brazilian destinations (I don’t think there are any other long haul routes), due to their departure tax rules.

Other destinations will incur BA’s RFS fees so it doesn’t matter whether you have 1 booking or 2. This is just on BA though, With IB and EI the surcharge situation is different again.

[Roker]

I’m annoyed (with myself) for missing out on this saving as calling direct today to book the return leg has cost me over £250. To be honest I did so because I was slightly worried about getting an agent that would really understand that I was entitled to a 50% Avios refund (it has been mentioned as a possible problem on this forum). I thought I’d read everything about booking the return leg on this chat string and on the HfP website but I can’t recall seeing this being clearly highlighted as a way to reduce the charges significantly. The only message I really picked up from all this was ‘book the return leg separately online if you have enough Avios, then ask for 50% back, otherwise you have to call’

[JDB]

NorthernLass wrote:

Again people really need to properly read up on this stuff. This applies to Hong Kong and Brazilian destinations (I don’t think there are any other long haul routes), due to their departure tax rules.

Other destinations will incur BA’s RFS fees so it doesn’t matter whether you have 1 booking or 2. This is just on BA though, With IB and EI the surcharge situation is different again.

There are far more origins than Hong Kong and Brazil where you will pay less than the RFS rate which also doesn’t relate to “departure tax rules” but rather surcharges in some case and BA policy for others. Mainland China (in the case of BA, now just Shanghai) for instance is £156 vs RFS £287.50. South American departures beyond Brazil also offer lower charges as do many Asian routes plus Australia.

[afghafgh]

Called up tonight, got through at 11.50pm and the agent point-blank refused to help me. Claimed that he couldn’t keep me on hold for more than 3 minutes, and that I’d have to call back. After some pleading I did hang up, and obviously couldn’t get through to anyone in time when I redialled. And the seats were snapped up before I could check out online.

Is this official policy or did I just get unlucky and land a jobsworth? Unbelievably annoying.

[jimboandthejetset]

I only got through at 0032 (lowly Blue). Sadly I could already see that the CW seats had gone. Ended up in Premium Y… time for a reward flight finder subscription…

[NorthernLass]

@Roker – it’s a learning process and many readers, myself included, didn’t get the best value from avios/vouchers at the beginning. If you keep reading here you’ll find many nuggets of info you can file away for future use. Doing dummy bookings of all the different permutations of a trip you’re planning is also very useful for highlighting where savings can be made.

@afghafgh – yes there are several posts in this and other threads where people have encountered unhelpful agents, it’s a bit of a lottery. For best chance of success you need to be simultaneously trying to book online at midnight if possible.

[NorthernLass]

@JDB, I’m getting £187.52 for surcharges from PVG, but yes, still less than the RFS fee. We should probably have a list of these destinations in the avios university series!

I’ve mentioned it previously, but another example of not always wanting BA to “recalculate” your taxes is when you have one leg in F as this can also result in being charged more than if you make separate bookings.

[JDB]

NorthernLass wrote:

@JDB, I’m getting £187.52 for surcharges from PVG, but yes, still less than the RFS fee. We should probably have a list of these destinations in the avios university series!

I’ve mentioned it previously, but another example of not always wanting BA to “recalculate” your taxes is when you have one leg in F as this can also result in being charged more than if you make separate bookings.

These surcharges actually fluctuate significantly on a daily basis (I paid £156.50 a few hours before my post vs RFS £287.50 and the £187.52 you are seeing today), so it’s difficult to provide a list, but there are not many destinations where you will pay the full RFS charges for journeys originating outside the UK. They are quite commonly the same for flights starting in the Middle East.

[pilotpoints]

I managed to add a return leg onto my open jaw booking. However didn’t realise that it was a Peak time ticket so ended up having to pay more avios! However this was required to fit my trip.

My issue currently, that was 5 days ago, the outbound flights are ticketed, yet the return flight haven’t? There is no 125-number. Does anyone have any experience here to assist?As I’ve seen some people been denied boarding as a result.

[NorthernLass]

Presumably your travel date is some way off? I’ve seen posted on here that there’s a queuing system for these ticketing requests, done in date of travel order, so I would give it a bit longer before chasing.

[strickers]

@pilotpoints BA reticket in order of departure date, you may find the credit card details have dropped off the BA system. It should get sorted but keep checking and remind them once a week or so, you’ll probably also need to call and give them the credit card details again. As long as the booking is showing in your account and it gets ticketed before departure you’ll be fine.

[yorkshireRich]

I really need to find the time to read all the relevant information but if anyone that wants to quickly point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated.

I have 2 companion vouchers and there are 3 of us. 2 adults and at the time of departure, the third passenger will be 2 years old.

I’m thinking of the possibility of Mexico City on Iberia and then flying home on BA cancun to LGW.

Both companion vouchers are in my wife’s name. Can I do any of it online on the BA site or do I need to phone up. It’s just an idea at the moment.

TIA

[aq.1988]

yorkshireRich wrote:

I really need to find the time to read all the relevant information but if anyone that wants to quickly point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated.

I have 2 companion vouchers and there are 3 of us. 2 adults and at the time of departure, the third passenger will be 2 years old.

I’m thinking of the possibility of Mexico City on Iberia and then flying home on BA cancun to LGW.

Both companion vouchers are in my wife’s name. Can I do any of it online on the BA site or do I need to phone up. It’s just an idea at the moment.

TIA

Just to let you know that you won’t be able to use 2 vouchers for 3 people if they are both in your wife’s name. You’ll only be able to use 1 voucher, and I believe you’ll only be able to use it to book 3 people on a single booking on BA if there are standard avios availability (not the extra seats opened up by using the BAPP voucher).

Also, someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but I also believe that Iberia only release 2x J seats per flight as standard. Not sure if that’s a route that typically releases more?

[NorthernLass]

I think it can vary on IB, but only 2 are guaranteed. Also CUN is very popular – though with the little one being only 2, hopefully you can avoid school holidays! As above, to book for 3 of you, you’ll need 3 standard CW seats to be available on BA, and if you want to use both vouchers, it’ll need to be 2 separate bookings (one as 241, and one as 50% off).

You can book the outbound online, but for an open jaw you’ll need to at least call to either add the return or request 50% avios back.

The other option, which has served us well, is to save one voucher and book the 2nd adult on a BAH (if this is possible on BA and IB, at the very least it’ll probably need to be booked on the phone). This gets you a good deal on accommodation or a hire car, more avios plus TPs, and you only have to pay the balance 3 weeks before you depart.

[aq.1988]

NorthernLass wrote:

I think it can vary on IB, but only 2 are guaranteed. Also CUN is very popular – though with the little one being only 2, hopefully you can avoid school holidays! As above, to book for 3 of you, you’ll need 3 standard CW seats to be available on BA, and if you want to use both vouchers, it’ll need to be 2 separate bookings (one as 241, and one as 50% off).

It won’t be possible to use both vouchers (even separate bookings), because both are in his wife’s name. Being in a family of 3 myself, it’s one limitation of the BAPP voucher that I really wish they would change.

[NorthernLass]

Ah yes, sorry I missed that! More reason to consider the BAH option then.

[Roker]

Roker wrote:

I’m annoyed (with myself) for missing out on this saving as calling direct today to book the return leg has cost me over £250. To be honest I did so because I was slightly worried about getting an agent that would really understand that I was entitled to a 50% Avios refund (it has been mentioned as a possible problem on this forum). I thought I’d read everything about booking the return leg on this chat string and on the HfP website but I can’t recall seeing this being clearly highlighted as a way to reduce the charges significantly. The only message I really picked up from all this was ‘book the return leg separately online if you have enough Avios, then ask for 50% back, otherwise you have to call’

UPDATE: Interesting development today. BA emailed me to say please call them about my return leg. Turns out the Amex payment hadn’t gone through. Reason was the booking was made under my wife’s name but the Amex stored on the system is mine and he seems to have tried to put the payment through in her name as it’s her 241. Hence a card/card name mismatch and he didn’t wait to confirm the payment had gone through.

So I called them (short waiting times these days, even on the Blue line) and they asked for the right card number. I asked if I could cancel the return leg; the agent said yes, and as I hadn’t paid there’d be no cancellation charge. She said she would return the Avios.

When I saw the seats had been returned to inventory, I made a new booking, with charges at £575 rather than £806, and I called to get 50% Avios back, which happened straight away. All completed and £231 saved (thanks @Northernlass). Now I just have to hope the Avios from the original booking come back into my account sooner rather than later (the agent said that may take a few days).

Still lots of availability to Shanghai by the way..it’s just a short hop from there to Japan.

[NorthernLass]

That is very weird as Amex don’t usually do name checks, but great result for you!!

Keep an eye on your avios balance – they generally come back immediately so something may have gone wrong here and you might need to chase it up.

You’ve got me looking at Shanghai now, even though my holidays plans are set until mid-2026 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

[Roker]

NorthernLass wrote:

That is very weird as Amex don’t usually do name checks, but great result for you!!

Keep an eye on your avios balance – they generally come back immediately so something may have gone wrong here and you might need to chase it up.

You’ve got me looking at Shanghai now, even though my holidays plans are set until mid-2026 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

I got my 100,000 Avios back yesterday for the flight I cancelled, so it took about 2 days. Seems like you you have to wait a day or two if you call to cancel a flight, as I did first, but you get the Avios refunded immediately if you book the return leg online and call to ask for 50% back, as I did as soon as the seats went back into inventory.

[bgs]

I need to book the inbound flights (I already booked the outbound) on a very competitive route for 3 people, using one 241 voucher and one full price redemption. I know I need to call for the 241, but should I try to book the third ticket on the phone too at the same time (will they reserve three tickets straight away?) or should I try to book the third ticket on the website at the same time as I am on the phone?

[NorthernLass]

You could have have had all 3 people on the booking unless you were accessing the “extra availability” in CW, which is unlikely at T-355. I’ve made an open jaw 241 booking in the past with 2 of us on the outbound and 3 on the inbound, however if the agent isn’t aware this is possible it may slow them down and risk you losing the seats!

They should be able to reserve all the seats but it might be quicker for them to book 2 and you to book the 3rd online. Your 3rd person will be left with 2 PNRs.

You could also make all the bookings online if you have enough avios and request 50% back for the 241 afterwards.

[Oviplokos1]

I was able to secure 2 tix to Texas for this December using my BAPP voucher, but there are no return avios seats at the moment.
I know it’s probably a silly question, but anyway – do you think BA will release some business class seats for 26 Dec (need to fly on this date) from any of 3 TX airports?
TIA!

[NorthernLass]

Boxing Day is the one off-peak date over Xmas & New Year, so award seats get snapped up fast. It’s not the best period for extra seats being released as BA knows how high demand in general is at this time.

You don’t need to fly home from Texas though – pretty much any airport in the continental US would comply with the rules and there’s usually plenty of availability from the east coast, to where you could connect on a US domestic ticket.

There are early morning flights from JFK and BOS which are far less painful than a red-eye as well!

*Also, if you’re after CW seats, have you searched with another 241 (if you have one, or ask someone to oblige), to see if there’s any “extra availability”. I can have a look later if you need someone to do it.

[Oviplokos1]

NorthernLass wrote:

Boxing Day is the one off-peak date over Xmas & New Year, so award seats get snapped up fast. It’s not the best period for extra seats being released as BA knows how high demand in general is at this time.

You don’t need to fly home from Texas though – pretty much any airport in the continental US would comply with the rules and there’s usually plenty of availability from the east coast, to where you could connect on a US domestic ticket.

There are early morning flights from JFK and BOS which are far less painful than a red-eye as well!

*Also, if you’re after CW seats, have you searched with another 241 (if you have one, or ask someone to oblige), to see if there’s any “extra availability”. I can have a look later if you need someone to do it.

Thank you NorthernLass!
I do have another voucher and can see some availability from Atlanta and lots from Vegas and in worst case scenario will fly through one of those airports.
The problem is it will add extra 400-500 pounds and few hours of flying (plus no protection in case of delay of the first flight) as flights at suitable time cost quite a lot on the 26th, so I would rather avoid this option if at all possible.