Flights cancelled by ba, requested a refund via email, got sent vouchers, eventually got through to customer services, to be told once a voucher has been issued it can’t be changed back to a cash refund! In this post, I wanted to take a closer look at the British Airways travel together ticket, which is a benefit that you can unlock if you spend $30,000 in total on purchases within each calendar year. Now, here’s where it gets a bit savage from British Airways, and not in a good way. I tried calling the helpline. NB: Customers with Future Travel vouchers issued due to the COVID-19 situation should refer to the following ba.com section for details how to redeem them: www.ba.com/confidence. Your email address will not be published. Know this: if an airline cancels your flight, rather than you cancelling, you’re eligible for a refund, not just a voucher. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. You’re gonna’ work for your money…. The Companion Award eVoucher has three major constraints that we have to address. Same goes for buying miles, or anything other than taking an existing cash ticket, and upgrading using the voucher, since this technically creates a “new” ticket. British Airways new “mega” vouchers take all the vouchers from a multi person trip and combine them into one large voucher, which rests under the name of the lead passenger. It’s a disgrace, they have my money, and I want it back. I know this as this far I’ve had ELEVEN refunds, and am waiting on them to talk to a hotel so they can process a 12th. In Europe, package trips are supposed to include a level of transferability, meaning you should be able to hand them off to someone else, either for a fee, if you cancel, or with better flexibility if the package is cancelled by the operator. Please guard the eVoucher number and pin as you would cash. “All the while, the airline kept top tier members happy, with a private phone number to handle requests, with a higher level of discretion and flexibility.” The airline already faces an unfairly uphill battle due to lack of support from the UK Government, while the rest of Europe has enjoyed over €19 billion in bailouts for the aviation sector. And, that’s assuming, of course, you don’t fall for the button in the cancellation email which kills your odds instantly. One of the best features of British Airways platform has long been British Airways Holidays, which allow people to book deals which include flight plus at least one other part of travel, like car rental, or hotel, and just pay a small deposit. Big thank you to Tommo - your advice worked brilliantly and I have now managed to change my FTVs into an eVoucher. Ways to pay on ba.com - plus, what if your card has expired since you paid. This may include inadvertent deletion, forwarding or access of the email containing your eVoucher number. UPDATE 26.11.2020: British Airways launched Black Friday 2020 promotion and offer discount code for 20% off any BA flight from the UK. It’s good that you can use up to three vouchers towards one new booking, but keep in mind you’ll need to phone to do this – which can be a task in itself – even if you have online vouchers. If your booking has a lower value than your eVoucher, you'll given the difference in a new eVoucher. Answer eVouchers can be used as part or full payment towards any British Airways published air fare including special offers, when you're making a booking either on ba.com or with our Sales team. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Similarly, customers should NOT cancel their own bookings at any point in the voucher process. Whether it’s a friend, relative, immediate family member, dog or work colleague, British Airways has made that impossible with their vouchers. BA has just released a brand new promotional code in 2021! Every booking showed the same message: “seats cannot be reserve until check-in”. So the first problem BA customers with travel vouchers have is that they need to figure out which type they have…. What have they got to lose? I have had exactly the same problem. Were you able to get it resolved? If your booking is a higher cost, you can just pay the difference with your debit card, credit card, PayPal account, etc. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly... I think it’s because my companion has a suffix at the end of the name. How Much "Extra" Is Premium Economy Worth? Another concern is if you accept a voucher you also waive your consumer protection rights built into your Credit Card, hence the Bank cannot claw back the amount owed. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It is not an eVoucher that you would enter into ba.com for a discount off a brand new booking and new travel arrangements should NOT be made in this way. Why?? This means that you must convert Future Travel Vouchers to eVoucher for agents, to enable the complete end-to-end development. To save the quizzical face on the phone, BA internally refers to these as EMD’s and BWC’s, so if you hear someone using jargon to make your phone call even more complicated, don’t be alarmed. As you say too much red tape but there is nothing in there web site that references this and i am not sure why the upgrade would make it impossible to make it a mega voucher….. British Airways offered a voucher against a return business class flight they cancelled. Thank you. They are now working their way through all customers who took a voucher on a simple single person flight booking which did not have any paid ancillary items such as hotels, upgrades, paid seating or extra luggage and were not disrupted. Now they say if I go to CAA ombudsman all offers will be withdrawn. I was duped into the evoucher when my flights were canceled April 2020. A couple of questions… I haven’t accepted the voucher yet and wonder whether the start/end dates are determined by the date the flight was due to leave, or the date the flight was cancelled, or the date I decide to accept the voucher (as there might be some small added value in not accepting the voucher immediately). If BA cancels, not you cancelling, you’re entitled to refund to original form of payment. We were going on a special holiday (50th birthday)as a group and now we do not want to travel at all. In other words, choose the lead passenger carefully. A cynic could argue that these simple customer technologies should’ve been in place already, but carrying on…. eVouchers can be used as part or full payment towards any British Airways published air fare including special offers, when you're making a booking either on ba.com or with our Sales team. British Airways promotion code 2021 – 20% discount all flights! The British Airways Companion Voucher is possibly the most valuable U.K. credit card benefit out there, but it can be a struggle to redeem it for its maximal value. #BestAvoided. The processes were ethically ambiguous at best, and many customers felt tricked into accepting a voucher, but if it’s easy to spend, who cares, right? when i call the main call line, they were rude and kept transferring me about and waited for 5 hours. I have had correspondence by way of resolver where answers come through executive club. 2. Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information. First World problems I know, but interesting nonetheless?! Got e Vouchers as flight not cancelled, but would say BA dishonest and deceitful, very very unhappy with service. If you have a BA holiday booking but have not paid the balance, you can get back the deposit via voucher. Otherwise nice post . I was able to use 1 evoucher, but can’t use the second one. However, keep in mind that the eVoucher programs look essentially the same once you are logged in. It can be used when purchasing British Airways flight tickets through our contact centres or on ba.com, with the exception of tickets purchased using Avios or On Business points. Unfortunately, British Airways, isn’t playing fair, excluding people from using their travel vouchers to pay any remaining balances on old trips. A new page opens up asking you if you’re a passenger on the canceled flight – do not do anything here just yet. In the earliest days of the pandemic, British Airways issued vouchers which could only be used over the phone, before promising a new set of vouchers, which could be used online. MARTIN LEWIS has issued new advice for British Airways customers who have been left with cancelled flights amid the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s the text from the internal British Airways documents agents use…. Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. © 2018 Eurostar International Ltd. All Rights Reserved. We have tried to get a cash refund but with no luck. To access Manage My Booking, you will need your 6-character booking reference and your Last Name. As I have just discovered, and despite being told the opposite by BA over the phone on 31st March, BA are refusing to void/cancel vouchers WHEN NO REFUND IS REQUIRED. E. Note: If you work in another district court that also uses eVoucher, you can have the same User Login and Password for all courts. British Airways Customer Relations issued me an eVoucher - how can I redeem it on flights? More by Gilbert Ott, I think the attitude to staff and customers alike by BA management is clear. they say cancel or change booking online. If you’ve cancelled upcoming travel booked through British Airways because of coronavirus and its associated travel restrictions, you may have received a credit voucher for the amount you originally spent, which BA calls a Future Travel Voucher. – job done. I have the same problem. You may now easily save up to 20% off a regular fare on all long-haul flights…In this case, offer is targeted to British Airways Executive Club members. My insurers have accepted my claim for a flight to Tokyo on 18th March that went ahead. Why make enemies right now? British Airways was also failing to tell people how much their voucher was for – or what vouchers or Avios were rolled up in it – and it was not … All the while, the airline kept top tier members happy, with a private phone number to handle requests, with a higher level of discretion and flexibility. what i learned. I did some googleing and found another website where they have found a workaround to get you refund on the British Airways website. In another extremely customer unfriendly policy, vouchers cannot be used for things customers might want to pay for, as trip extras. www.eurostar.com but when you go online the website does not work. where they repeatedly said they cannot refund once a voucher is issued. You cannot use an eVoucher towards British Airways Holiday bookings online or other products, such as seats. I’ve called and emailed BA customer service but they won’t help or look into the issue. The Future Travel Voucher must be converted into an eVoucher. It’s important to note that … Am I flogging a dead horse? Whatever type of voucher you do have, there are quite a few things you cannot do, which you might really like to do. Phoned BA a second time the BA advisor stated the advice was wrong, but when pushed agreed we could not board the plane. And woes, there are. Use the Google chrome browser. I had an Avios booking for a return flight in November which has just had one sector cancelled, can’t wait for the fun of getting my Avios back. BA changed the evoucher from 1 voucher to 2 vouchers (for 2 passengers) in August. Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Screen Reader users press Enter to select a Filter by product. As others have said as well, the link in the BA email received from them last week did not work, just merely took me to their main page and not to an Application Form for converting my FTVs to an eVoucher to use online. Like many other airlines, British Airways is facing unprecedented times, and a learning curve is somewhat expected, and fair. The eVoucher is valid until the expiry date shown and is not renewable. For those most at risk during covid-19, validity dates for vouchers may not be enough time to safely travel again, which has many bookers hoping to use their vouchers for someone who can travel. Vouchers are not eligible to be used in payment or part-payment towards an existing holiday booking. If you're a member of our Executive Club, when you earn this voucher it entitles you to receive a second seat for a companion on the same flight as yourself, and in the same cabin when you, when you make a reward booking on a British Airways mainline flight with a BA prefixed flight number. Accepting a voucher at this stage, rather than a refund is ultimately a favour to an airline, and one that customers will be better informed to seek a refund rather than a voucher in the future. British Airways evouchers for cancelled flights are arriving – and it’s a mess. The RBC British Airways companion ticket 3 main constraints you need to know about. All BA have to do is void the voucher and provide evidence of that. Pick up the phone, tall to somebody (yes it may well take several attempts to get through and when u do it might take 40 mins – an hour +) and BA will more than happily refund your money ( and your avoid and any 2-4-1 vouchers). Some vouchers can be used for flight only, while others can be used for British Airways holidays too. When will I get a response from your Customer Relations team? The longest I’ve waited for the money to get back in my account is 10 days ( although when I spoke to them Friday I was warned the current backlog could mean a 21 day wait.). Spoiler alert: the British Airways vouchers are not easy to spend, and carry more red tape than a crime scene. Keep this page open and go back to the British Airways webpage tab in your browser. Backstory: British Airways Checkered Refund Process. Not sure if I can post the link here but I'll explain.. 1. Unlike some airlines which simply see any amounts as a travel bank, which can be used for any purchase at all, BA is keeping the red tape wrapped right. Please use the previous link instead. – BA actively campaigned against government funding for the sector, notably with competitors Flybe and Virgin… but wait for it. The British Airways Visa Signature® Card is one of the better airline co-branded credit cards out there, as it offers lots of benefits for those who fly British Airways with any frequency.. you cannot change the ticket type (eg an Avios ticket cannot be turned into a cash ticket) you need to call British Airways to rebook. If the link in your confirmation email isn't working, try logging on to the Manage My Booking section of ba.com and printing your non-flight vouchers from there. Any redemption flight has to originate out of Canada Oh, and some of the phone only vouchers have been converted to online use, which is both good and bad. Rang the free phone number today that is supposed to deal with refunds, recorded message & then I got cut off. The Latest On Bali's Plans To Reopen For Visitors. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. The booking included a Companion Voucher which expires in May ’21, so it makes sense to take a voucher which will effectively extend the life of that voucher by nearly 2 years from it’s current end date. Then sought and obtained over £300million from HMG treasury in corporate finance support… on top of the furlough funds from the British taxpayer. Ask for a refund, get it actioned, get your money back in your account then do with it as you please. “it may take several attempts of 40 mins to an hour”. Not sure of procedure on other browsers. Travellers rarely caught on in time, before a voucher was automatically issued, and unless you were plugged into daily goings on of the airline, it was impossible to know that the only way to get a refund was to call the airline. “The airline already faces an unfairly uphill battle due to lack of support from the UK Government…” British Airways Vouchers: More Red Tape Than A Crime Scene? Now this sems like a minor issue but that means i can’t make another booking where i wish to combine it with another voucher…. I paid taxes by Amex. British Airways is keen for new bookings, but they may lose out on many “old” deposit only bookings, or future goodwill, by making people struggle to use funds from cancelled trips. Keep in mind, the BA vouchers wouldn’t apply to special upgrade offers in the app or online, and only work for upgrades where you simply pay the difference in one fare and another. All travel on British Airways is subject to British Airways General Conditions of Carriage. They don’t allow the vouchers to be used to offset cash upgrades at the airport, only those paid for prior as I found out to my chagrin last week.. British Airways Customer Relations issued me an eVoucher - how can I redeem it on flights? Here’s a look at what’s happened, what you can do with your British Airways vouchers, and most importantly, what you cannot…. A list of partners is here. As to the “mega vouchers” these can be used online, but only once you’ve called British Airways to have the separate vouchers converted into a mega voucher. It all begs the question: why is British Airways creating a sea of red tape, when they’re so desperate for customers? You can book a £2500 first class trip to New York, but just pay £300 as a deposit, paying the rest over time, up to a few weeks before travel with no interest or fees. For starters, you can’t use them to pay for any extras for old bookings, or to cover any remaining balance on old bookings. I bought these tickets 100% with Avios 57000. It still works, and it’s a fantastic feature. That’s not a great look. Any help would be appreciated. Answer eVouchers can be used as part or full payment towards any British Airways published air fare including special offers, when you're making a booking either on ba.com or with our Sales team. British Airways is no exception, and making matters worse, their voucher system wrapped so heavily in red tape, you might think it’s a crime scene when you try to use one. We have had a incredibly high number of voucher requests so it's taking us longer than hoped process them all - please can we ask you to bear with us whilst we work in 'date of receipt' order. Airlines find themselves in an unenviable position right now, eager for new bookings, but still working their way through refund woes. British Airways (Further) Improving Flight Vouchers, Full Airline Flight Cancellation Refund Rules (2020), British Airways Intentionally Deceived Passengers About Refund Rights, Quick Win: 10,000 Hilton Honors Points For Survey, How A Man Earned $300K From Credit Card Points. No one has told me why they won’t do it. If you wanted to convert your £1000 in BA vouchers to help cover checked bag fees, or better seating assignments, you cannot. British Airways American Express Companion Voucher. BA have never argued over a refund during this whole debacle. Instead they are refusing and causing me to lose the £670 which I can now claim from insurers. The travel equation has changed for many people who received vouchers. We will look at them individually. So far BA have converted over 20,000 vouchers into e-vouchers and are converting them at over 10,000 a day. Learn More{{/message}}, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Yep, Greece Is Opening For Summer Travel. Updated 17/07/2020 11.14 AM (BST). BA is terrible in terms of customer service. No button to ask for refund only vouchers on site.BA then sent email to say that our flight was cancelled on the 18th march as travel not permitted. Anyone out there having this problem? With covid-19, there’s been an unprecedented amount of that, and many customers want their money back, with no plans to travel in the near term, and uncertainty around many jobs. You can use eVouchers to purchase British Airways flight tickets on ba.com. Don’t deserve loyal customers. the call line does not work. You cannot use eVouchers to purchase tickets using Avios, On Business points or group bookings. British Airways vouchers cannot be used for…. They took my money straight away when i booked , same as they did for thousands of others. . BA has not contacted me nor the holiday company. Big thank you to Tommo - your advice worked brilliantly and I have now managed to change my FTVs into an eVoucher. I am one of the customers who has ended up with a voucher because when I went online for a refund only the voucher option came up So thinking this was the route to obtain a refund I pressed it Thus discovering an email for a voucher and no route to a refund I immediately telephoned and was told they could not handle it I must use the complaint procedure After a month of back and forth no satisfaction and told that they consider it closed I can accept or go to external arbitration Currently I have emailed the BA CEO – no reply so far and asked my MP to take up the matter At 75 I am disgusted with BA and am in a situation where I may not be able to fly in the future. Brilliant how BA treat their customers. For many years, British Airways offered a simple, easy to use customer friendly online portal to handle refunds, where you simply followed a link from your cancelled flight booking, and could click “refund” or “voucher”. We will reply to you by email you as soon as possible. USA stopped travel from UK on 16th march so the group cancelled booking as were unable to travel the following week. ‘How do I apply for a British Airways eVoucher?’ The Holiday Guru solves coronavirus-related traveller queries By Daily Mail Reporter Published: 08:45 EDT, 15 September 2020 | Updated: 08:45 EDT, 15 September 2020 The Holiday Guru is always on hand to answer your questions. Once you figure out if your voucher can only be used over the phone, or if online is ok, it’s all about knowing what you can, and of course, what you cannot do with the British Airways voucher. The value of any non-changeable hotel and/or experience products on a BA holiday booking it will be excluded from the voucher credit. Required fields are marked *. I didn’t ask for this voucher. Please respond if you have. Move on to the next step. Booked flights for four people to New York December 2020, BA sent emails the day before the flights stating looking forward to you flying with us. Good, since they can be used online, bad, because the rules are all slightly different. When covid-19 hit, in an effort to preserve cash – aka keep customers from taking it back – British Airways re-coded this website to remove the refund option. They’re trying, but some more work certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone. And yes, technically the amount is no longer ATOL protected, since it’s just a common travel voucher, and not a package. If British Airways was being graded on their handling of cancelled flights, refunds and vouchers thus far, a parent-teacher web conference might be the best place to start. If you’ve canceled upcoming travel booked through British Airways because of coronavirus and its associated travel restrictions, you may have received a credit voucher for the amount you originally spent, which BA calls a Future Travel Voucher. Um, isn’t crime scene tape yellow? Many customers simply won’t book new flights until past travel grievances are settled, including some airlines taking over 100 days to process refunds, many denying legally entitled refunds and some making it borderline impossible to receive a refund, rather than a voucher, which allows the airline to hold onto customer money. They will gain financially. For many British Airways customers, they did the airline this favour without a fair chance to first weigh their options – aka automatically issued vouchers – which is bad enough, but to then make it hard to spend the cash they’re already holding is questionable at best. To access Manage My Booking, you will need your 6-character booking reference and your Last Name. #BestAvoided. So much for a national flag carrier and a disgrace for a huge company to fail in using technology to aid customers. Bully boy tactics is this legal ? And even once the red tape is unraveled, you still might need a full semester of remote learning to comprehend the rules. Here’s a few things you can do with BA vouchers…. This button does not work with screen readers. Know this: if an airline cancels your flight, rather than you cancelling, you’re eligible for a refund, not just a voucher.With covid-19, there’s been an unprecedented amount of that, and many customers want their money back, with no plans to travel in the near term, and uncertainty around many jobs. Everytime the line cut me off. Obviously, in uncertain times with even more uncertainty around travel, many people prefer a refund, but few are getting them. And since the program is much more complicated in practice than a simple BOGOF, we have dug into the details for … Some important information to remember regarding Customer Relations eVouchers: If you have any queries or problems with using your eVoucher: Contact British Airways, Answer Id 732 It was originally published on 2 May 2019. A voucher may only be redeemed towards a new British Airways Holidays booking made once you have received the voucher. Not sure if anyone else has come across this problem but i am being told because i upgraded my ticket from economy to Club Europe i can’t get a mega ticket? Step by Step Conversion Process Most recently, BA added a third type, “mega vouchers” which can be used online, and can combine other vouchers. Nothing surely. The good news is – that work … If the link in your confirmation email isn't working, try logging on to the Manage My Booking section of ba.com and printing your non-flight vouchers from there. Amex have refunded my taxes and refused BA payment when they disputed on the grounds that I should be refunded if I want that. All I want is my Avios to be put back on my account again. Lost or stolen eVouchers will not be replaced. You will remember that British Airways has been allowing people to cancel forthcoming flights in return for a British Airways travel voucher for a number of weeks. This will invalidate any eligibility for the voucher and process a fare rules refund. Phoned BA who stated flights were still going to New York, it wasn’t until I pushed the BA staff that they said we wouldn’t be allowed to board the flight. To avoid potential issues, DO NOT have multiple As others have said as well, the link in the BA email received from them last week did not work, just merely took me to their main page and not to an Application Form for converting my FTVs to an eVoucher to use online. Anyone know if I booked a flight with a voucher that is then cancelled by BA, am I entitled to a cash refund or just vouchers again? {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. American Airlines just issued me a $100 AA eVoucher, over 2 months after I complained about paying a Preferred Seat fee yet getting a seat without a working tray table (see American Airlines: “Preferred” Seat Doesn't Work But No Refund of Fee).Here's the response: Dear Ms. Stockton: We received your correspondence to our Social Media Team via Twitter. You need to be aware of them as we look at the best ways to work with them. Been useing ba for 24 years, every year, never again!! #NationalDisgrace #BeyondAbysmal #FlyAbBA. Thanks for helping to educate the travelling public. Arguably, not allowing customers to use cash they’ve already spent with the airline to cover tickets they still hope to take may lead to further cancellations, with customers eating deposits rather than putting in new funds. BA sent her a new voucher that can be used online after the Guardian got in touch, but said it could not be applied retrospectively and would have … In Live this is done automatically, however, the functionality in Pre-live does not exist to allow this. There’s no ability to transfer a voucher or an amount to book for another person, with one small exception. (It has also been ‘encouraging’ people with cancelled flights to … Learn More{{/message}}, Stay up to date on everything travel, with our handy newsletter. This British Airways promo code is valid until November 28, 2020. Travel dates allowed for this BA […] Screen Reader users press Enter to select a Filter by category. Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. To get around this EU guidance, British Airways states that once you accept a voucher for a holiday booking, it’s no longer an ATOL protected holiday, it’s just a voucher, so you have no rights.