Tokyo using 241 voucher

[lovetravel0527]

Hi all,

Currently trying to book Tokyo for March 23 but really struggling to see any reward flight availability for CW x 2, has anyone had any luck recently? Please forgive me as I’ve only ever booked using our 241 voucher twice and they were both a very easy experience as I rang up at 9am and was offered the seats immediately but really struggling with these ones.

The US call centre is seemingly closed at 1am BST, my Skype wouldn’t connect me to the Australian call centre and tried the Japanese call centre but there was a language barrier so couldn’t proceed. Nothing in CW is showing on the website for pretty much the whole year, is booking these seats using this voucher even possible?! Also nervous about being able to book the seats back too, especially as we’ll be abroad in Hong Kong at the time the flights are released.

Any advice appreciated, I get easily confused by this whole process so apologies if its an obvious answer. Thanks in advance!

[Anna]

Were your previous 241 bookings to Tokyo? I think since the pandemic it’s become one of those rarer than hen’s teeth destinations which get snapped up immediately on release like SIN and SYD.
There is a longish thread here about booking the return but the strategies are helpful for either sector.

[Anna]

That said, there are plenty of PE seats showing on SeatSpy if your priority is just to get there regardless of cabin, plus your 241 is presumably new-style and may eventually unlock the extra availability as and when BA loads that. It may be a case of having to check every day though!

[meta]

23 March is not on sale yet. It will be in two days time. Next year is a leap year so the release dates are pushed.

You are also looking at 1am booking since we are now in BST and as @Anna said this destination is now on par with SIN, SYD,MLE. You could try starting in the regions as that will open up extra availability.

[lovetravel0527]

Thanks @Anna @meta .

My previous two bookings using the 241 voucher were SIN and HKG however as these were booked during COVID times I’m assuming competition to get those seats was lower as those countries weren’t open at time of booking so it was slightly riskier. I can see there’s HKG availability so don’t mind booking that if I need to, however it’s an additional 4.5 hour flight from there. I do have the new companion voucher and ideally looking to travel within this two week window in March/April 2024 (just realised I put wrong year in the title!) but flexible on duration/inbound/outbound dates. CW is non-negotiable for this long of a flight to be honest, as someone who has panic attacks during travelling it’s much more comfortable so I’d rather go via HKG if I really needed to.

I was ready to call at 12:50am, however I believe the US call centre closes at 8pm EST which would be 1am BST so seemingly can’t call them, don’t understand Japanese so couldn’t listen to the options on there and Skype wouldn’t let me call Australia (although I’ll give it another go tomorrow). I refreshed the website at 1am and just didn’t see them become available on there at all, only premium economy so assume they were snapped up on the phone. Do you have any other tips for which international call centre to try tonight please?

I currently have 360,000 points so am I right in thinking I’d be able to book both legs online (100,000 for outbound + companion voucher, then 200,000 for inbound and call up and ask them to connect the bookings? If so, would this have an impact on taxes in this region?).

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks.

[Roker]

This morning I booked TYO > LHR in Club World for 21 March using a 241 voucher, having booked LHR > SNG for end Feb a couple of weeks ago.

I got an alert from Reward Flight Finder at 1:20am last night that the seats had become available so I called the US office right away to try to get them. The operator picked up straight away but then put me on hold for 10-15 minutes, after which he said I should call 1-800-452-1201 instead. Tried that but they were closed. Wasted £20+ phone call (I know, I must get Skype sorted).

Woke at 8am and thought I’d give the UK office a try. I wasn’t optimistic but I got straight through (I think it was her first call of the day) and secured the tickets. 88,000 Avios + £700 for the return leg, no discussion of rungs or any other options. Delighted to get the flights all booked..I just hope at least one leg will be Club Suites by then. Good luck @lovetravel0527. Tokyo is wonderful in March..we were there in December and are going again next month. The flight is very long now that Russia is closed but it’s worth it when you get there and at Y160 to the pound right now it’s a bargain too, especially compared to the US.

[lovetravel0527]

@Roker , that’s great news for you, I’m really glad someone has had some luck getting them!

Off the back of your comment I gave BA a call and they said I definitely need to be on the phone if possible as they do sell out quickly. I’ll sign up to Reward Flight Finder too as that seemed useful for you.

Hopefully Club Suites will be in by then, we are heading to HKG in a few weeks and flying old on outbound but suites on inbound. Really looking forward to trying them for the first time as they seem like a huge improvement.