Cancelling BA Amex Premium – Still able to use 2-4-1 Vouchers?

[StanTheMan]

JDB wrote:

@StanTheMan – if they wish to (not saying they necessarily do) they can “yank it back” by a variety of means, including expiring it, removing it or cancelling it. They can also change it from the PP voucher to the free one as they do in reverse when people upgrade the card but end up getting the lesser voucher. The ability to change validity during covid and how the new vouchers are programmed to access extra inventory while say blocking a third person on the booking for accessing it, ought to be clues that Amex and BA can do plenty. The suggestion they can’t do anything is truly nonsense and not borne out by the evidence.

If you rile Amex, they can be quite unpleasant and I think that blithely to say, carry on it will be fine as it has in the past is to misunderstand what is going on at Amex UK the moment.

That’s fair enough. hard to disagree. That is why I only play these games on Player 2’s account!

I think the ability to ammend/extend the voucher does seem more of a BA ability than Amex though.

[Durban]

I will hit the spend amount needed in the next couple of months for my next 2-4-1 voucher on my AMEX BAPP.

I want to cancel the Amex BAPP once I have my 2-4-1 voucher and when ready , book flights using a different AMEX card.

I have done this before and it worked absolutely fine. Is this still the case as I won’t be booking this vouchers flights for another year.

[Durban]

I will hit the spend amount needed in the next couple of months for my next 2-4-1 voucher on my AMEX BAPP.

I want to cancel the Amex BAPP once I have my 2-4-1 voucher and when ready , book flights using a different AMEX card.

I have done this before and it worked absolutely fine. Is this still the case as I won’t be booking this vouchers flights for another year.

[ed_fly]

Durban wrote:

I will hit the spend amount needed in the next couple of months for my next 2-4-1 voucher on my AMEX BAPP.

I want to cancel the Amex BAPP once I have my 2-4-1 voucher and when ready , book flights using a different AMEX card.

I have done this before and it worked absolutely fine. Is this still the case as I won’t be booking this vouchers flights for another year.

I’d encourage you to read this thread, if such a significant change has been made, it would’ve been covered extensively across the site and forums, I.e. it appears that it remains fine to cancel the BAPP. Notwithstanding this, please do read JDB’s posts above. What is the case today, may not be the case tomorrow or indeed next year.

[JDB]

Durban wrote:

I will hit the spend amount needed in the next couple of months for my next 2-4-1 voucher on my AMEX BAPP.

I want to cancel the Amex BAPP once I have my 2-4-1 voucher and when ready , book flights using a different AMEX card.

I have done this before and it worked absolutely fine. Is this still the case as I won’t be booking this vouchers flights for another year.

Downgrading to the free BA Amex is fine, cancelling may not be if you want to be sure to stay within the terms and keep your voucher. If you are preferring the cancellation option so as to start a 24 month fallow period for a SUB in December 2025 onwards, given all the ongoing changes at Amex, what is the likelihood of you being eligible then?

[Eoc]

They still cancelled a flight anyway

ba to Costa Rica on a 241. Wife name on voucher. paid for both legs on my plat. outbound leg accepted. Inbound leg my payment refunded vis card not my wife’s BAPPa few days later. Found out 11 months later on return date when couldn’t check in online. 90 tense minutes on phone to sort out.

[SteveJ]

Eoc wrote:

They still cancelled a flight anyway

ba to Costa Rica on a 241. Wife name on voucher. paid for both legs on my plat. outbound leg accepted. Inbound leg my payment refunded vis card not my wife’s BAPPa few days later. Found out 11 months later on return date when couldn’t check in online. 90 tense minutes on phone to sort out.

I have no idea what this post is saying. They refunded you for half a booking on the same PNR? And you never saw the refund?

[NorthernLass]

+1, it would be helpful to have the whole story!

[Kraut]

Just to contribute, I had this concern after the wife & I both got the 241 voucher after signing up to the BAPP cards. We cancelled after getting the vouchers (both still had Gold cards) and I’ve just booked a trip using my 241 voucher and it was no issue to pay using my Gold card, so I would say as long as your have ANY Amex card it should be fine

[zapato1060]

SteveJ wrote:

Eoc wrote:

They still cancelled a flight anyway

ba to Costa Rica on a 241. Wife name on voucher. paid for both legs on my plat. outbound leg accepted. Inbound leg my payment refunded vis card not my wife’s BAPPa few days later. Found out 11 months later on return date when couldn’t check in online. 90 tense minutes on phone to sort out.

I have no idea what this post is saying. They refunded you for half a booking on the same PNR? And you never saw the refund?

@SteveJ yes my brain was doing somersaults too.

[Caps44]

Cancelled over the weekend, the agent said that my voucher is safe, but I need another Amex card to pay the taxes when using it.

[SteveL]

My BA Amex Premium is shortly due for renewal. I asked if there was a renewal/redemption offer and was advised by the agent there was not. Downgraded to the free BA Amex card. Does the downgrade class as a new application and affect the 24 months wait time before applying for another card and getting the sign up bonus?

[SteveJ]

SteveL wrote:

My BA Amex Premium is shortly due for renewal. I asked if there was a renewal/redemption offer and was advised by the agent there was not. Downgraded to the free BA Amex card. Does the downgrade class as a new application and affect the 24 months wait time before applying for another card and getting the sign up bonus?

Holding any BA card disqualifies you from getting a SUB on the BAPP.

[Durban]

Thanks all , that it is reassuring. We have an ordinary Amex cashback card that can be used.

[joshmcr]

I just wanted to add some experience. My card membership fee is due soon so I reached out via Amex Live Chat to cancel the card. Prior to confirming the card cancellation, the live chat agent quoted the following:

It’s important to let you know:

– If you still have an outstanding debit balance on your Account, it remains subject to the Cardmember Agreement (and interest charges if applicable) until the balance has been repaid in full.

– No additional Charge Insurance, offered as part of your Card benefits, will be cancelled.

– Please ensure you cancel any subscriptions or recurring charges on the Account, including any American Express Insurance that was purchased (e.g. Card Defence or My Essentials).

– If you have earned a British Airways Companion Voucher, please be aware that Companion Voucher bookings must be made using the British Airways Card they were earned with. This is set in the Terms and Conditions on the Companion Voucher. Cancelling this Account may mean you are unable to redeem your Companion Voucher.

Finally, please remember that by cancelling your Card you will no longer be able to collect Avios. In addition any Avios collected in your BA American Express Card Account not yet transferred to your BA Executive Club Account will be forfeited.

My statement date is out of sync with my card membership date (perhaps my fault — I moved it recently to align with other cards) so I’m going to have to wait until all Avios have transferred to my BA Executive Club account in order to close it. This means I’ll need to pay a pro-rata fee for the card.

Of course, they quote the guff about needing to pay with the same card that earned the voucher but at least this is via live chat and not phone so you can avoid feeling pressured.

For what it’s worth, I find Amex live chat to be really good. I cancelled another card recently via it and it was hassle-free.

[ed_fly]

joshmcr wrote:

I just wanted to add some experience. My card membership fee is due soon so I reached out via Amex Live Chat to cancel the card. Prior to confirming the card cancellation, the live chat agent quoted the following:

It’s important to let you know:

– If you still have an outstanding debit balance on your Account, it remains subject to the Cardmember Agreement (and interest charges if applicable) until the balance has been repaid in full.

– No additional Charge Insurance, offered as part of your Card benefits, will be cancelled.

– Please ensure you cancel any subscriptions or recurring charges on the Account, including any American Express Insurance that was purchased (e.g. Card Defence or My Essentials).

– If you have earned a British Airways Companion Voucher, please be aware that Companion Voucher bookings must be made using the British Airways Card they were earned with. This is set in the Terms and Conditions on the Companion Voucher. Cancelling this Account may mean you are unable to redeem your Companion Voucher.

Finally, please remember that by cancelling your Card you will no longer be able to collect Avios. In addition any Avios collected in your BA American Express Card Account not yet transferred to your BA Executive Club Account will be forfeited.

My statement date is out of sync with my card membership date (perhaps my fault — I moved it recently to align with other cards) so I’m going to have to wait until all Avios have transferred to my BA Executive Club account in order to close it. This means I’ll need to pay a pro-rata fee for the card.

Of course, they quote the guff about needing to pay with the same card that earned the voucher but at least this is via live chat and not phone so you can avoid feeling pressured.

For what it’s worth, I find Amex live chat to be really good. I cancelled another card recently via it and it was hassle-free.

without wanting to rehash the previous discussion on risk of losing your voucher. The t&c’s no longer require taxes and fees to be paid for on card the voucher was earned on. So live chat is out of date on that one.

[PeteM]

AmEx live chat is good for the simplest requests, which it is almost impossible to get wrong.

Other than that they will routinely lie, embellish facts and provide patently incorrect (or out of date) information.

There is a fundamental issue with the training, incentivisation and/or remuneration of the agents which AmEx don’t appear to be doing anything about, even though it’s been an issue for years and really devalues the product.

As an egregious example, they will provide, in writing, incorrect dates for when a card was closed. When you then apply for a new card two years later, but it turns out it’s not been two years and you miss out on a chunky joining incentive, because they just made the date up, AmEx will, during the complaints process, back them, say “whoops they got it wrong” and issue derisory compensation. It really should not be necessary to chat to 2-3 agents to make sure this sort of information is definitely correct!

[JDB]

@PeteM – Amex has become the John Lewis of the credit card world. Both used to have exemplary customer service with knowledgeable and engaged staff who also were quick to resolve problems, thus maintaining high levels of customer goodwill. That’s all gone. Both became complacent. They are both losing market share at a rapid rate…

[claytom3214]

As of mid March 2024, I’ve just contacted Amex to ask this very question. They said:

me >> I’ve got the Amex BA premium plus card and I’ve earned a 2-4-1 voucher. I’m reviewing my credit cards at the moment and if I downgrade my Amex to a standard BA card or no longer want my BA PP card, do I still keep the 2-4-1 voucher?

Amex >> Yes, if you have obtained the voucher already and then you downgrade, you will still get business class ticket with companion voucher. I would like to inform without American Express card, you cannot use companion voucher. The taxes which needs to be paid for flight using companion voucher needs to be via American Express card.

me >> so just to double check, I can keep the 2-4-1 voucher if I downgrade from an AMEX BA Premium Plus to a BA Standard credit card?

Amex >> Yes, correct.

[JDB]

@claytom3214 – the question you asked has not been in doubt since June of last year. If you cancel your BAPP rather than downgrading (which people do to reset the two year clock) the considerations are different.

[jakals92]

Slightly different question (I think), does anyone know if I can cancel the amex that was used to book the flights? My BAPP is already cancelled but I could do with resetting the clock on my gold.