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Hi, I have next week MAN-LHR-SAN on Avios. There is now availability LHR-SAN on the same flight.
If I cancel my booking on BA.com, will I be refunded full Avios + cash elements, and does anyone know how soon the Avios are re-deposited so that I can jump on there and make the new booking?
I clicked through the cancellation screen but started getting confused when it talked about vouchers etc, which I don’t want to be lumbered with!
Has anyone actually missed a BA connection from MAN recently? It actually sounds to be just as bad at LHR atm.
The problem is, your avios could reappear anywhere from instantly to not at all and need persistent chasing up of BA to sort it out. Cancelling on the phone might be the best bet, as you can check if the avios have reappeared before you let the CS agent go. The cancel for a FTV option online now in theory gets you your avios and cash back, but only once they have assessed whether the booking is eligible for a FTV which causes a bit of a delay.
Can you get any avios from anywhere else to make the new booking?In the last 7 days, my particular MAN-LHR has been cancelled 3 times, and with a 1h55m connection I’d almost certainly miss the onward connection if it’s even half hour late. I have a friend waiting for me in SAN and am tight on annual leave, so a potential EU261 and re-route doesn’t appeal.
Not to mention the degrading security queues, and needing to factor in so much extra time at security, it takes the fun out of the holiday. From LHR the departure is 1415 so even if I go get in the queue 3 hours early, at least it’s not silly O’clock.
Regarding Avios, technically I could re-book the ticket with a lower Avios/higher cash element. The main thing I’d like to know is that I will definitely receive a refund for the other Avios + cash, and not in the form of a voucher that I don’t want/need?
If (big if) you can get through on the phone and assuming the LHR-San seat is still available it can all be done in one go
If you can’t rebook for whatever reason, and your MAN-LHR is cancelled (also for whatever reason), you can insist that BA ground staff get you re-routed, even if it’s to LAX, the same day. They can and will pay for a taxi to LHR, or you can go MAN-MAD-LAX on Iberia or via CDG with Air France. A similar thing happened to us the last time we flew long haul with BA in 2019 and confronted with all the (acceptable to us) options, they went for the £300 taxi ride!
There was an article on it a few weeks ago, but as far as I know any avios flights you now cancel which were departing by (??) August 31st will eventually come back as a full refund, not a FTV.
**Obviously get to MAN early so you can be ready to pounce as soon as any cancellation is announced.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
It sounds like you need the Avios back in order to rebook. In that case I think I would just stick with the flights as booked.
You’re risking the Avios coming back in time and there still being Avios availability to book once the Avios are returned to you.
If you cancel online for an FTV the Avios will eventually be returned to you but it is not an instant process. If you just get an FTV you are still going to have to call BA to rebook anyway so as suggested above it would probably be better to phone BA to do what you want.
That said how are you getting down to LHR. You may just be swapping hell at MAN for hell at LHR.
If you stick with the original flights there’s a chance the MAN-LHR flight may be delayed there’s also a chance it will all go fine. Besides you will definitely avoid the check in hell that is LHR.
Phone up, and they should be able to do it now problem. If you don’t have the avios to book before you cancel then I would suggest leaving it as it is unless you can get through on the phone.
If your booking was made a while back you need to remember that fees have gone up, so the new booking would be significantly more expensive.Thanks for the comments/tips. Thought I’d update you on my experience for others in a similar position.
I downloaded Skype and then at around 2100L UK time tried the US freephone +1 800 325 4504 (Options 1, then 1, then 1 again for changing an Avios ticket).
Within 5 mins got answered by what sounded like a Newcastle call centre. The first lady I spoke to was lovely and was halfway through removing the MAN-,LHR sector and was processing a refund of several thousand Avios plus around £30. And then the line dropped! Damn.
I called back and got answered by the same call centre, but a different colleague. She told me that I couldn’t remove the sector, however she could cancel my booking altogether with immediate refund of Avios and I could then re-book (she told me there were 9 seats available on my flight, so no risk of them disappearing in those moments). Which I promptly did, for the same price as my original booking, just excluding the connecting flight.
Re motivation for making the swap, you all have valid points. But I have to take a train to MAN, and bearing in mind the ridiculous amount of extra buffer I’d need to leave, would mean leaving home at 5:00 for a 10:45 flight. Along with the risk that that train is delayed/cancelled. Instead now I can go down to LHR at my leisure the afternoon before, and check in to a local hotel knowing that I can’t miss my flight. Considering my LHR-SAN departs at 14:00, even if I get in the security queue (HBO) at 10:00 it will be considerably less stressful than MAN. Friends sailed through LHR fast-track in 15 mins yesterday late morning.
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