Cancelling Amex 2-4-1 – return only – how to optimise?

[rharrisuk]

I’ve a CW return (PHX-LHR) booked with an Amex 2-4-1 – I no longer need these flights and tried to cancel – expecting to get the return portion of the Avios back, along with the charges minus £35 per person for cancelling. I was surprised to be told that if I did this, as the outbound portion had been flown, cancelling the return would mean I lose the Avios used for the return portion, I’d only receive the charges refunded, minus £70 but no Avios. Is this correct?

I was offered the option to convert the return portion into a FTV but was told this would lose the 2-4-1 benefits, so I’d only end up with a voucher with the Avios along with the value of the charges. Again, is this correct? I was surprised that I’d lose the 2-4-1 benefit in this scenario.

Is there any other better way to maximise the release of the Avios to allow me to make a new booking?

• This topic was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .

[JDB]

There were some posts about this a few days ago re a trip to Cape Town. What you are being told is broadly correct. Pre Covid, if you cancelled the return after the outbound, you would get no Avios or voucher back (see term 17.1). As the voucher has already been used one way it is no longer valid, but according to the post, they are currently allowing the voucher to go back into an FTV, to be used only one way and only in the same direction as the cancelled flight, but possibly from another city. If you cancelled for refund, the voucher is a goner; in principle the voucher is either for a one way trip or a return/open jaw but cannot be used for two separate one way trips.

[Colin MacKinnon]

Another idea is to rebook for a different date.

I just did this with a 241 back from LAX and changed date and departed from Denver. Didn’t even get charged the change fee!

As I recall, this change was introduced abut two years ago – and you can only change in the same avios points band.

[Mondegreen]

I had the exact same issue and after speaking to several BA agents, and advice from the experts on the forum, concluded the following:

1. If you change the dates on the return and re-book you would need to find Avios availability before 12 months of the outbound date of travel. You would not be charged the £35 change fee per ticket if the return date was before the 31st August 2021 under the BA Fly with Confidence guarantee. However, if the inbound flights were changed to a date after this, you would be charged the £35 fee per ticket to do so.
2. If you request a Future Travel Voucher you would be able to book any two flights and maintain the companion award (subject to Avios availability) as long as the date of travel was by 30 Sep 2023 and it was an inbound (return) flight. If converting this inbound Avios and 2-4-1 reward booking to a FTV, as long as the flights are re-booked as inbound (from outside the UK back to the UK) the companion ticket will be maintained, but not if used as an outbound flight. The passengers have to be the same as the original ticket but the destination can be from anywhere back to the UK (but you may need to check the rules on the distance of the departure airport as compared to that of the departures airport of the cancelled flight).
3. If you cancel the flights outright, you lose the Avios used for this booking completely as well as the Companion reward and would only be entitled to the taxes refund – clearly not a sensible choice.

Here’s the link to my original query:

https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/cancelling-amending-return-leg-of-ba-241-companion-tickets-whats-possible/

[Rob]

As noted above, pre Covid you would be 100% stuffed in this scenario.

As it is, you’ve got lucky and the FTV option is available. You lose the 241 element of course but it’s a small price to save the Avios.

The other option is to move the return to a far later date, and perhaps even try to change the destination, and use it as the return for a future holiday.