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I know this has been touched on before I just wanted to double check,
So I have earned and booked using my 241 voucher travelling may 2025, I also have the Barclays plus Avios card, I had the thought this morning about cancelling BAPP and getting a pro rata refund so I can start the clock on the 24 months sign up bonus, my only issue is I do not want to potentially jeopardise our flights next year, I read someone mention about being asked to show the BAPP to BA at the airport? Also if needed to make any changes (we shouldn’t) the refund wouldn’t be able to go to the BAPP as it’s cancelled etc.
Like I said I just wanted to make sure nothing could go wrong if I cancelled
Also to add, we probably won’t be needing another 241 for 2-3 years anyway, is it safer to downgrade and then cancel after may? Or is there still risks
Downgrading wouldn’t reset the clock. Only cancellation will.
The terms say you need to hold one of the BA Amex cards while using the voucher, but this is not being enforced now, no one knows when.
It’s a gamble and it’s down to your choice.Downgrading wouldn’t reset the clock. Only cancellation will.
The terms say you need to hold one of the BA Amex cards while using the voucher, but this is not being enforced now, no one knows when.
It’s a gamble and it’s down to your choice.So are you saying if I downgraded to the free one this would carry much less risks? This would be fine and I would cancel after my may flight
Downgrading will definitely be less risky and is what I’d do if it is all about getting some of the annual fee.back and avoiding paying the new annual fee for the next year.
That said but even if you cancelled completely and also needed to cancel the reservation the refund will go to the BAPP but just call Amex and they will transfer the money to your bank.
Downgrading will definitely be less risky and is what I’d do if it is all about getting some of the annual fee.back and avoiding paying the new annual fee for the next year.
That said but even if you cancelled completely and also needed to cancel the reservation the refund will go to the BAPP but just call Amex and they will transfer the money to your bank.
Yep we have Barclays card now too, if I was keeping the card I would have paid the 300 this year and 300 next year before even getting on my flight
And I have some Avios sitting in AMEX app under BA card I’m guessing if I downgrade I wouldn’t lose these but if I cancelled I would
I read someone mention about being asked to show the BAPP to BA at the airport?
Surely you could still show the card at the airport, in the very unlikely case you were asked to? 🙂
Correct. Downgrading your Avios are safe. If you want to cancel and Avios to be saved then only cancel card after Avios have transferred to BAEC
I read someone mention about being asked to show the BAPP to BA at the airport?
Surely you could still show the card at the airport, in the very unlikely case you were asked to? 🙂
No, you can’t! What ‘showing’ the card actually means is that BA will swipe the card. As ever, it’s the cover up that gets people into more problems than the initial attempt to fiddle the system. Of course the cardholder has also contracted to destroy the card on cancellation.
No, you can’t! What ‘showing’ the card actually means is that BA will swipe the card. As ever, it’s the cover up that gets people into more problems than the initial attempt to fiddle the system. Of course the cardholder has also contracted to destroy the card on cancellation.
Why would they swipe it? What would that achieve? Have you seen it done, @JDB?
No, you can’t! What ‘showing’ the card actually means is that BA will swipe the card. As ever, it’s the cover up that gets people into more problems than the initial attempt to fiddle the system. Of course the cardholder has also contracted to destroy the card on cancellation.
Why would they swipe it? What would that achieve? Have you seen it done, @JDB?
They swipe it to check the card validity; that’s a standard procedure. And yes, I have seen it done on many occasions for all sorts of different reasons and I’m quite sure you will have done albeit that wouldn’t suit the narrative of purportedly trying to assist people cheat the system, the purpose of which eludes me, particularly when the advice is dodgy.
No, you can’t! What ‘showing’ the card actually means is that BA will swipe the card. As ever, it’s the cover up that gets people into more problems than the initial attempt to fiddle the system. Of course the cardholder has also contracted to destroy the card on cancellation.
Why would they swipe it? What would that achieve? Have you seen it done, @JDB?
They swipe it to check the card validity; that’s a standard procedure. And yes, I have seen it done on many occasions for all sorts of different reasons and I’m quite sure you will have done albeit that wouldn’t suit the narrative of purportedly trying to assist people cheat the system, the purpose of which eludes me, particularly when the advice is dodgy.
So would downgrading be fine even though it’s a different card, I’m not necessarily trying to play the system I just don’t have much use for it for another 3 years or so
At the end of the day, @shaynemair needs to decide if he’s comfortable with this risk. I am just laying out options. I am comfortable with this level of risk, for example, and many others on this website are too.
After hundreds of flights over the years, as yet BA has never asked me to produce the payment card. However a couple of years ago at Gatwick, Qatar demanded to see the card I’d paid with. I was off to Australia alone to stay with son. I had paid with OH’s card who was on his way back to the car park so fortunately was able to ask him to return to check in. I have no idea what would have happened if he hadn’t returned. The check in staff were neither friendly nor helpful.
@LD27 – I think you are forgetting that for a long time after the introduction of e-tickets, BA systematically required production of the card at check-in. Any BA booking confirmation still carries the rubric:-
“If the payment cardholder is travelling, you must bring the card used to pay for this booking to the airport with you, for verification, before you can travel.”
If you need to have your ticket revalidated (eg minor change) or reissued at any point before or during travel, you are likely to be asked for the card again.
I was recently required to produce the card used in the booking by Qantas to bring forward by one hour an Avios booking made via BA.
@LD27 – I think you are forgetting that for a long time after the introduction of e-tickets, BA systematically required production of the card at check-in. Any BA booking confirmation still carries the rubric:-
“If the payment cardholder is travelling, you must bring the card used to pay for this booking to the airport with you, for verification, before you can travel.”
If you need to have your ticket revalidated (eg minor change) or reissued at any point before or during travel, you are likely to be asked for the card again.
I was recently required to produce the card used in the booking by Qantas to bring forward by one hour an Avios booking made via BA.
So how would I get away with downgrading if it states I need to take that card? As much as I understand this clause in he voucher is valid for 2 years so technically you could be paying £900 to even get the use of 1 voucher?
@LD27 – I think you are forgetting that for a long time after the introduction of e-tickets, BA systematically required production of the card at check-in. Any BA booking confirmation still carries the rubric:-
“If the payment cardholder is travelling, you must bring the card used to pay for this booking to the airport with you, for verification, before you can travel.”
Having paid for one booking recently via Paypal, and now looked at others, I beg to differ.
Interestingly my recent Euroflyer booking do all include that message, but I have half a dozen others (all but one paid by card) where it no longer appears.
@AndrewT – I looked at my last three bookings – a BAH (booked two weeks ago), an Avios/241 redemption and a cash booking each of which carries the rubric I quoted in the first few lines of the confirmation.
@shaynemair – downgrading (rather than cancelling) means you remain eligible for the BA Amex 241 and therefore definitely comply with the terms. If for any reason you produce a different card to the one used to make, booking which can be the case for lots of valid reasons, then you might need to give a reason for that.Clearly you don’t need to spend up to 3 x £300 to use one voucher. The real gamers seem to spend nearer £30 for the voucher while most people stick with the card to keep earning the valuable voucher, now with tier points thrown in as well.
@JDB Probably not the best wording on my part as I wasn’t trying to suggest that it never appears, just not all the time.
Either way it clearly can’t be enforced if you never actually paid by card in the first place. Not had to ring up about the one I used Paypal for, so not sure if the usual validation questions will be a complication or whether it will recognise the lack of card at that point and simply rely on alternative questions.
@AndrewT – I looked at my last three bookings – a BAH (booked two weeks ago), an Avios/241 redemption and a cash booking each of which carries the rubric I quoted in the first few lines of the confirmation.
@shaynemair – downgrading (rather than cancelling) means you remain eligible for the BA Amex 241 and therefore definitely comply with the terms. If for any reason you produce a different card to the one used to make, booking which can be the case for lots of valid reasons, then you might need to give a reason for that.Clearly you don’t need to spend up to 3 x £300 to use one voucher. The real gamers seem to spend nearer £30 for the voucher while most people stick with the card to keep earning the valuable voucher, now with tier points thrown in as well.
Okay thanks this makes a bit more sense my only worry was I already have booked everything with the BAPP card which would mean if I downgrade it will be a different card rather than the one I booked with, maybe it would have been simpler if I got the voucher then downgraded and booked the flights? But I’m guessing still be ok the way I have done it, and yes I agree like I said I’m not trying to play the system there just isn’t any use for the card for another 3 maybe 4 years
@LD27 – I think you are forgetting that for a long time after the introduction of e-tickets, BA systematically required production of the card at check-in. Any BA booking confirmation still carries the rubric:-
“If the payment cardholder is travelling, you must bring the card used to pay for this booking to the airport with you, for verification, before you can travel.”
If you need to have your ticket revalidated (eg minor change) or reissued at any point before or during travel, you are likely to be asked for the card again.
I was recently required to produce the card used in the booking by Qantas to bring forward by one hour an Avios booking made via BA.
Thanks for pointing out the above. When booking through BAEC, I seem to recall there is a question which asks is the person who is paying travelling. We have always ticked the “no” box. Always thought from that there would be no issue. Are you saying that isn’t the case?
My son has access to staff travel through Qantas cabin crew partner. She has always made payment even if she wasn’t on the flight. Whenever there has been an issue, eg when he couldn’t get on the flight to Perth in Singapore, she had to intervene anyway and sort out flight change. Are you saying that even on staff travel (without member of staff) Qantas could have demanded to see the payment card and if not available, he would have been offloaded?
@LD27 – I think you are forgetting that for a long time after the introduction of e-tickets, BA systematically required production of the card at check-in. Any BA booking confirmation still carries the rubric:-
“If the payment cardholder is travelling, you must bring the card used to pay for this booking to the airport with you, for verification, before you can travel.”
If you need to have your ticket revalidated (eg minor change) or reissued at any point before or during travel, you are likely to be asked for the card again.
I was recently required to produce the card used in the booking by Qantas to bring forward by one hour an Avios booking made via BA.
That’s interesting and good to know – just wondering what would happen if the card used to pay for the booking was a disposable card? (Not something I’d do, but I imagine some people do do this)
@LD27 I really can’t answer your question re Qantas staff travel tickets! All I know is that I arrived in Adelaide quite a bit earlier than expected for my onward flight to Sydney so I asked if they could put me on an earlier flight and I was asked for the credit card I paid with (although there was nothing to pay) and my passport to effect the change. On reflection, the same agent changed the booking and then checked me in for the new flight, so I don’t know if she wanted it for the change or check-in, but she did swipe it. I was also asked for it by Jetstar, and one one of two subsequent Qantas domestic flights. You mentioned that Qatar once asked. One gets asked for the card in China as well. It’s a very basic security measure which one should be prepared for with any airline.
There are those complicating matters by raising the issue of PayPal or disposable cards neither of which I would contemplate using for buying air tickets! In the past people have also asked how they could possibly be expected to remember which card they paid with!
@LD27 I really can’t answer your question re Qantas staff travel tickets! All I know is that I arrived in Adelaide quite a bit earlier than expected for my onward flight to Sydney so I asked if they could put me on an earlier flight and I was asked for the credit card I paid with (although there was nothing to pay) and my passport to effect the change. On reflection, the same agent changed the booking and then checked me in for the new flight, so I don’t know if she wanted it for the change or check-in, but she did swipe it. I was also asked for it by Jetstar, and one one of two subsequent Qantas domestic flights. You mentioned that Qatar once asked. One gets asked for the card in China as well. It’s a very basic security measure which one should be prepared for with any airline.
There are those complicating matters by raising the issue of PayPal or disposable cards neither of which I would contemplate using for buying air tickets! In the past people have also asked how they could possibly be expected to remember which card they paid with!
Do you know the answer to the above one? I have paid with BAPP but technically if I downgrade I won’t have the card I used to pay?
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