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Just to clarify folks.
I just redeemed my Barclays upgrade voucher on INV – LHR – MIA and was only charged the 50k avios (peak date) and nothing extra for the domestic leg. Not an issue with 2 agents over the phone as when I was about to pay with the first agent I got cut off on the phone and when I phoned back the 2nd agent gave me exactly the same price and avios.
Anyone who has had to pay extra avios for the domestic leg has been charged wrongly as I suspected when I first wrote my comments a few weeks ago.
@Northernlass you were wrong to accept them taking extra avios for your domestic leg.
Hopefully this will clarify to others that this voucher is useful for folk outside London.
I am calling back to add in my return legs when they become available as agreed with agent.Sorry, I accidentally hot the report button when trying to reply.
Thanks for the update, not ready to book yet (need time off work) then i will do a dummy run on the website and call to book
I did both bookings online, separately, I’ve never spoken to anyone at BA about the voucher or paid the high amount of avios mentioned – that was other posters. In reality this just meant we paid 4k avios plus £17.50 each for the MAN-LHR leg, so not the end of the world. Going forward, I’ll know to argue my case if I decide to book by phone!
Just to clarify as well – on the domestic leg of long haul award bookings you will be required to pay the local tax element. This seems to be about £38 from MAN – possibly nothing from INV with its special status? So the cash element will vary slightly depending on where you start your journey.
When I look to book with the Cabin Upgrade voucher online, BA only offers economy and PE – and only shows availability in those cabins.
So how do I use it – online – to book the available CW seats?
Select PE and it will automatically upgrade you to CW if there are avios seats available.
I cancelled LAS due to family issues in the first half of next year. Voucher re-appeared straight away and I rebooked to New Orleans later in the year (very excited, probably on the basis of all the unrealistic supernatural films set there!). Now got to muster the courage to call BA and persuade them to add a MAN connection… 😬Now got to muster the courage to call BA and persuade them to add a MAN connection… 😬
Awake (jet lag) in the wee hours this morning and I bagged two one way CW seats to SIN for next year. Didn’t fancy calling the US/Japan number at the time (I think US will already have been closed at the time anyway) but also didn’t want to pass up the seats so I just went ahead online.
I need a domestic connection from NCL but I’ve never tried it this way in the past. Can I call up and request they are added to the same booking? What should they cost me?!
Not the end of the world if I can’t get it since BA11 leaves late in the day so ample time for alternative arrangements to be made, if necessary.
People have reported different experiences, it seems to depend on the knowledgeability of the agent you get, so it may require HUACA. You SHOULD only pay (at most) the tax charged by NCL and no avios. This varies a bit by regions, I think it’s £38 from MAN which is why I thought for years it was the RFS surcharge. LON and EDI are slightly less, though. One reader said he was charged nothing at all though, so you may get lucky. If they start saying you need to pay extra avios, HUACA.
Thanks @NorthernLass I’ll report my findings
Reasonably happy with the value I’ve got out of the voucher (96k + £1k) taking into account the popularity of the route, moreso if I can get the domestic leg without too much faff
Oh dear! I dialled the non exec club line first by accident and the fella didn’t have a clue what I was talking about… wanted to call me back in 3 days time with an answer
Realising my mistake I hung up and called exec club, all sorted within about 12 mins for about 30 quid extra tax and no Avios, which looking at dummy bookings is as-expected. The chap knew exactly what I wanted and how it should be ‘priced’ so very happy with that outcome
Just to confirm. When you downgrade from the Avios Plus to the free card, you get a new account year along with your new card number.
I downgraded in June when I had earned my voucher for spending £10k on the paid card.
The tracker in my account showed a new target of spending £20k by June 2023.
I’ve just passed that spend, and the second voucher is already sitting in my BAEC account.
Just to confirm. When you downgrade from the Avios Plus to the free card, you get a new account year along with your new card number.
I downgraded in June when I had earned my voucher for spending £10k on the paid card.
The tracker in my account showed a new target of spending £20k by June 2023.
I’ve just passed that spend, and the second voucher is already sitting in my BAEC account.
And on that note, i done the opposite and got my voucher on the free BC Avios for £20k spend then earned another voucher after a £10k spend when I upgraded to the BC Avios plus
Called BA today to book a domestic with my BC upgrade voucher. GLA-LAX return in club for 65k Avios and £856. This was rather than LHR-LAX club return that was 65k Avios and £845, agent knew exactly how to book so was not on the phone for long, so really only got charged an extra tenner for the domestic GLA-LHR return.
Just to mention, she done the full booking on the phone, i never booked anything yet.
Thanks for all the advice as i would have ended up booking separate and costing way more Avios than needed.
Can you upgrade one way for one person only ? I assume you lose the “unused” portion
I’ve currently got the Avios Plus card, and have earned the upgrade voucher. I was planning to downgrade to the free card back in October, but then the 100k offer came up, so I am keeping it until February when I should qualify for the points. My card anniversary date is not until June, so don’t want to continue paying the £20pm for the extra 0.5 avios per pound, and it not contribute to a voucher.
As I also have Avios Rewards, I should get my 2nd voucher in October next year anyway.
If I did downgrade to the free card in Feb, I know I would get a new card year and £20k spend target; but say, I decide to upgrade back to the Plus card (if the option to upgrade is available) later in the year, say at around £8k spend, would I get a new voucher at £10k, or does the previous £8k not contribute? Does it work similar to the way you can upgrade to BAPP with Amex?
Also, is there any difference between the validity of the voucher earned on the free or paid card, same 2 years? Thanks
I’ve currently got the Avios Plus card, and have earned the upgrade voucher. I was planning to downgrade to the free card back in October, but then the 100k offer came up, so I am keeping it until February when I should qualify for the points. My card anniversary date is not until June, so don’t want to continue paying the £20pm for the extra 0.5 avios per pound, and it not contribute to a voucher.
As I also have Avios Rewards, I should get my 2nd voucher in October next year anyway.
If I did downgrade to the free card in Feb, I know I would get a new card year and £20k spend target; but say, I decide to upgrade back to the Plus card (if the option to upgrade is available) later in the year, say at around £8k spend, would I get a new voucher at £10k, or does the previous £8k not contribute? Does it work similar to the way you can upgrade to BAPP with Amex?
Also, is there any difference between the validity of the voucher earned on the free or paid card, same 2 years? Thanks
I went from free to paid, got a new spending target even though i was way above the initial £20k total to get my first voucher.
I have got both vouchers on free and paid BC and both vouchers are valid for 2 year from it posting to your account
I think the target would reset when you upgrade or downgrade as mine did on the upgrade
I might keep the avios reward at £12pm to get a third upgrade voucher but soon as my 100k hits im downgrading back to free BC Avios
Am I the only one struggling to find any valuable redemptions with this voucher. No matter where I look, the taxes ruin it entirely and I am able to find a cheaper redemption with other airlines.
Thoughts? Or any tips on getting good value redemptions. I’m not fixed on any one single destination, just want to get decent value out of it.
No. Me too.
Tried EDI to BLR OW using a 2 4 1 no problem.
No flights available using Barclays though.
Then changed search to LHR to BLR.searched WTP in order to upgrade to CW. Insane pricing. I’ve removed my Avios balances for privacy.Price
Your Avios: Your household Avios:
2 AdultAvios per person 30 000
Price per person £422.00
Taxes, fees and carrier charges* per person £546.84
Total price £1,937.68
Your Avios:
Your household Avios:Total 60 000 Avios + £ 1,937.68
I must add, unlike others, my Barclaycard experience has been great up until this point.
I am hoping this pricing is a glitch due to all the (positive 4 me mostly) changes to Avios redemptions and will get sorted.
I’m in no hurry to bookI should trigger my next upgrade voucher this week so I’ll check out some of these prices. I can’t understand why you seem to have 2 lots of charges on your dummy booking, however it’s never been possible to book a domestic connection online, which is why you can’t find anything from EDI. You’ll either have to call BA to book the whole thing or to ask them to add it later.
I’m struggling to see any value in the Barclaycard voucher. Just booked MAN-LHR-SYD (one-way, one person) in club and with the voucher it was quoting me 60,000 Avios plus £2,357.17.
Without the voucher there were various options ranging from 145,000 Avios plus £375 all the way down to 62,500 plus £1,600. Needless to say I didn’t use the voucher. Seems pointless unless I only had 60,000 Avios and even then it would be cheaper to buy the additional Avios and go for one of the non-voucher options.
Could you book that online? If so they must have tweaked the system so you can now add a domestic connection without calling. Though something weird has definitely happened to the surcharges!
Could you book that online? If so they must have tweaked the system so you can now add a domestic connection without calling. Though something weird has definitely happened to the surcharges!
Yeah, it was online and I’d forgotten that was an issue. When I last looked at using the voucher a few months back, it wouldn’t work with a domestic connection.
That’s interesting to know. I should have my next upgrade voucher this week so will check this out.
Well, this is absolutely the ridiculous to the sublime in terms of Barclaycard service. Hit the £20k spend at the weekend for the upgrade voucher on the free card, the target rolled over this morning to show it was complete and the voucher is already in my BAEC account!
Grghh! Just tried a dummy booking MAN-LHR-NAS and even though there is availability and the system let me put in stopovers, I just kept getting boomeranged back to the “no availability on your dates” page. I wonder if this is also a browser issue, like the silly surcharges thing.
@Ryan, which browser did you use for your MAN-LHR-SYD booking?
Well, this is absolutely the ridiculous to the sublime in terms of Barclaycard service. Hit the £20k spend at the weekend for the upgrade voucher on the free card, the target rolled over this morning to show it was complete and the voucher is already in my BAEC account!
well, I’m still waiting for my avios for November. I’m told I’ll get them next month instead.
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