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Hi all,
First time poster! I recently used my companion voucher, booked the outbound online and then booked the return via call centre when the date went live. In my BAEC transaction history it shows the voucher I used for the outbound flight being redeposited and then redeemed again for the full return trip, however the voucher is still sitting in my account. I haven’t tried to book anything on it and probably won’t as I don’t have enough Avios now anyway. I have a few questions:
Has the voucher been put back into my account in error?
Would it still work if I used it again even though the voucher number is linked to a confirmed ticketed booking?
Should it disappear automatically after a few days while all the systems align?
If it’s showing as available, might something have gone wrong with the booking which would cause problems turning up at the Airport?
Any help appreciated!
Yes, there are a few comments about this – it is always worth having a look through previous posts but this is one: https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/241-new-style-companion-voucher-redeemed-but-still-showing-as-usable/
If you have an e-ticket, and the trip appears in your bookings, with your BAEC number, and you can go into MMB, you should be fine.
Do check that the flight has been ticketed, rather than just showing in manage my booking. Two days before a recent redemption trip BA contacted me because they forgotten to take payment of £5.70, which was preventing ticketing. The 241 had reappeared in my account.
Same happened to me. In my case I think the problem stemmed from cancelling the original booking, then cancelling the second booking for a FTV and then rebooking involving the call centre. Both flights are ticketed and i have flown the first one so fingers crossed i’ll still be ok for the second flight. Given the monetary (taxes and fees) element was fine I assume BA don’t reconcile vouchers and\or Avios.
I can confirm that BA have charged me the extra money and I have received an email with the updated e-ticket and the ticket numbers appear in Manage My Booking so I think it should hopefully all be ok!
Good evening. Would be grateful if anyone has been able to successfully redeem a reissued ( duplicate ) 2-4-1 voucher that was already ‘used’? I had an old-style 2-4-1 used for summer 2023 flights which I changed just the date by a week, over two months ago. The rebooked flight ( extra Avios taken and payment too ) has been ticketed and email confirming the flights received. However, the companion ticket is still showing in my account as ready to use.
I remember the agent, taking a long time, working out what extra payment there would be, and Avios because of the recent changes in reward flights redemptions.It seems to allow me to make another 2-4-1 booking…. I’m tempted to use it. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I wouldn’t do it, honestly. Ethical concerns aside, if BA realised what had happened and cancelled your flights it could cause all sorts of problems. They’ve also been known to close people’s BAEC accounts altogether when breaches of their terms occur – as in the notorious case of the lady who was renting out her garden space in return for using her tenants’ avios!
But just out of interest, is the voucher code on your confirmation email the same as the one on the voucher still showing in your account? I would have thought the system would recognise this if it was used twice, although this is BA’s IT we are talking about!
Thank you for replying. Yes I’m not sure what to do!
Yes the companion ticket number is the same as the one on the current summer booking. 🤷🏻♀️ surely it should not be in my account!
Sorry I mean the companion voucher that is ready to use has same number as the one on my summer booking. Thing is it’s easy to lose track of 2-4-1 vouchers if you have more than one. I could ‘accidentally’ use it 😉
Of course, but then you might find that BA had cancelled your return flight mid-trip, for example (like the garden lady). BA seem to shoot first and ask questions later. But feel free to try it and report back!
Just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?
Of course, but then you might find that BA had cancelled your return flight mid-trip, for example (like the garden lady). BA seem to shoot first and ask questions later. But feel free to try it and report back!
@NL I’m perhaps not surprised but quite disappointed, given your professional background, that you haven’t advised the OP what knowingly reusing this voucher constitutes. I’m quite sure you know.
Just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?
The worst that could happen is most unlikely to materialise but would be catastrophic. There are also various lesser but still material risks but ultimately it’s up to people whether they are happy knowingly/intentionally reusing a voucher to which they know they have no entitlement.
There was a similar thread recently about the potential reuse of free night certificates that hotels had failed to take. The general response was rather more responsible.
@JDB, I was just waiting for you to come along and do it, though you seem to have conveniently ignored my earlier post exhorting sm not to attempt this. But in my “professional” (though retired) opinion, I consider it very unlikely indeed that an offence of fraud would be proved, or even pursued; I think BA would simply suspend the account, do their own “enquiry” and unilaterally decide whether to permanently shut it down as per their Ts and Cs. As I’ve pointed out before, anything involving loyalty points is a legally grey area as they are not property in the legal sense of being something which can be owned and therefore stolen or otherwise used dishonestly. When you open a BAEC account you enter into a contract with BA where you agree that all avios ultimately remain under the control of BA, and BA can do with them pretty much as they please. It’s worth reading through the FT thread to get an idea of exactly what the consequences of breaching BA’s Ts and Cs can be:
@JDB, I was just waiting for you to come along and do it, though you seem to have conveniently ignored my earlier post exhorting sm not to attempt this. But in my “professional” (though retired) opinion, I consider it very unlikely indeed that an offence of fraud would be proved, or even pursued; I think BA would simply suspend the account, do their own “enquiry” and unilaterally decide whether to permanently shut it down as per their Ts and Cs. As I’ve pointed out before, anything involving loyalty points is a legally grey area as they are not property in the legal sense of being something which can be owned and therefore stolen or otherwise used dishonestly. When you open a BAEC account you enter into a contract with BA where you agree that all avios ultimately remain under the control of BA, and BA can do with them pretty much as they please. It’s worth reading through the FT thread to get an idea of exactly what the consequences of breaching BA’s Ts and Cs can be:
This is about a voucher not points directly. If it were about points, it anyway ceases to be grey when you attempt to obtain something with them. I actually wasn’t suggesting fraud, although that’s not impossible, it’s something much simpler. But anyway, I didn’t see any exhortation, but something rather lower key when it should be much more clear cut unless you subscribe to the Boris school of thought.
Just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?
The worst that could happen is most unlikely to materialise but would be catastrophic. There are also various lesser but still material risks but ultimately it’s up to people whether they are happy knowingly/intentionally reusing a voucher to which they know they have no entitlement.
There was a similar thread recently about the potential reuse of free night certificates that hotels had failed to take. The general response was rather more responsible.
Clearly the facetious tone of my post wasn’t conveyed in the writing!
There’s no way I’d want to risk turning up at the airport for my trip of a lifetime made on a ‘dodgy’ booking. But perhaps others like living on the edge and would risk it.
So I’ve already flown the flights I booked with my companion voucher, but my companion voucher still shows up in my account as available for booking – has anyone trying booking a second flight with their companion voucher?
This hasn’t happened to me (have a reusable voucher reappear)
More than once I’ve had a useable one disappear!
One I had to fight to get back; one eventually reappeared of its own accord.
Personally — and we all have our own level of risk appetite – if I’d used one and it appears to still be usable after I’d flown it, I’d be tempted to use it again provided I still held the financial product that caused me to own/earn it in the first place. I think it’s unlikely you’d be denied boarding at the 11th hour if you did that, but clearly not a zero risk.
I’m currently locked out of my on business account due to an IT “glitch” from BA. Personally I’m happy to take the rough with the smooth with BA IT.
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