Use 241 now – Is my logic sound?

[rashomon]

Hi all – just wanted to sound out something with you all

We are a family of 4 and casual flyers and like the idea of maxxing 241 vouchers to travel PE/CW when I can for family holidays – we’re already booked up for 2023.

I have a solo trip later next year and I’ve booked a return flight in CW for myself using straight Avios. My BAPP year starts in September but I’m quite close to earning my 241 voucher already – it will probably trigger in January at current spend rate.

As there is lots of availability for my route I’m thinking of cancelling the original booking and then make the same booking again but make use of the 241 voucher so I only use half the Avios. This would put approx 85k Avios back in my account,

My thinking here is that it’s harder to acquire Avios as a casual flyer than it is to attain the 241 voucher. Of course, the downside of this approach is that I will need to wait till Sep before I can start earning for the next 241 and it will be another year after that before we have 2 x 241 vouchers that we can make use of as a family.

Just sense-checking to see what people think.

1) Use the 241 now and get 50% of my Avios back … or
2) save the 241 and build up Avios for future.

Appreciate your thoughts!

[Chris R]

I would rebook and gain the extra avios back. As you say, I find that it’s harder to earn the avios required for a CW redemption per year than it is to earn a 241

[SteveJ]

Do you not have another player that can get the BAPP so you’re earning another voucher on a second card?

[Froggee]

Yep – I’d rebook using the voucher.

A bird in the hand and all that.

Your voucher effectively costs you £250. You’ll have an additional £35 to cancel your existing booking. Call that £285 cost of using the voucher.

The value of the 85,000 Avios you will save is vaguely between £570 and £850 depending on what price you put on them. (0.67p – 1p).

It sounds like a win to me.

However, have you double checked the pricing of your flights since BA changed redemption pricing or is all fine?

[rashomon]

Thanks all 🙂

Yup – as I thought then – good to use the voucher now (or as soon as I get it at least!)

@Froggee – pricing of the rebooked flight will actually be in my favour slightly – so another win there. Not by much but still it all helps.

My only issue is I will need to cancel the current booking and then wait for the Avios to land back before I can rebook with the 241. Do you know how long it normally takes for Avios from a cancelled flight to be credited back?

[Biki]

What is the cost of booking a premium economy flight and then upgrading with avios to club? Taking into account the avios and tier points you get for the premium economy element, it might work out better overall?

[BJ]

Yes! In addition to your rationale it’s smart to remain alert to the possibility of sudden and unexpected negative changes and take action to counter them. It is not wise to hoard points, miles, vouchers etc abt the best of times, and certainly not in the current climate.

[Matt]

If you phone up you might be able to get them to cancel and rebook at the same time, so no anxious wait for avios to return.

I would agree with the other advice given – if you don’t have a big pool of avios then don’t spend them unnecessarily.

[rashomon]

Thanks –

@Biki – not sure the upgrade plan works out in my favour but I’ll try crunch the numbers later.

@Matt – A great tip but unfortunately I don’t have enough currently to rebook. I’ll need that refunded Avios in my account to make the booking – hence my question on how quickly the Avios is credited back after a cancellation. Let me know if you have any ideas on how long this takes!

@Bj – 100% onboard with this sentiment. It seems to me that the whole Avios ecosystem is built on a bed of shifting sands and no telling when the next change will come. I suspect it won’t be in the favour of the little guy like me whenever it comes.

I’m seriously thinking that I need to get out of the game.

My loose plan is to cancel my BAPP as soon as my 241 lands in the account and sign my wife up to a new BAPP in her name to earn the next 241 ASAP and then cancel her card also.

This should leave me with a pot of approx 150k to 170k Avios and a fresh 241 voucher with a 2 year window in which I can get to take Mrs and myself in CW somewhere nice. Oh yeah … family! – so, I’m not totally heartless – the teens can come along also but I would do a revenue/cash booking for them … they will turn right when we board the plane 😀