BA Companion Voucher Secrets: Open-Jaw Avios Redemptions

BA Companion Voucher Secrets: Open-Jaw Avios Redemptions

Can I fly to one city and back from another using Avios Point?

BA Companion Voucher rules are a subject we get a lot of questions about at Reward Flight Finder. One of the most frequently asked questions is: Can you use a British Airways American Express Companion Voucher for an open-jaw reservation?

The short answer is yes, but BA keeps it a bit of a secret.

What is an open-jaw flight reservation?

For those not familiar with the term “open-jaw reservation”, don’t worry it doesn’t involve dental surgery. An open-jaw booking is one where your outbound flight flies to one airport, but your return flight leaves from an airport in a different city. A classic example would be an itinerary starting with a flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO), where you pick up your rental car for a trip down Pacific Highway 1, returning your car in Los Angeles two weeks later, for a flight back to England from LAX. The rules for an open-jaw reservation are relatively simple: The distance between your arrival and departure airports must be less than the distance of the flight back home.

How do I use a BA Companion Voucher for an open-jaw booking?

First things first: The British Airways online reservation system does not let you book an open-jaw flight using Avios points. So many people mistakenly think it isn’t possible. Well, we’ve got good news for you, it is! In fact you have two options, but for most people the second will be by far the better choice.

So, the first option, if you are one of those people who hates using the phone, is that you could book your flights as separate one-way journeys, using Avios, on BA.com.

This is unlikely to be the best way to do it though. Firstly you will need to pay taxes and fuel surcharges for the country each flight originates in. In some places, such as the USA, BA charges more than they do for flights starting in the UK. So you might find that you have to pay more in taxes and surcharges that you would for a true open-jaw return. Also, if you want to use a BA Companion Voucher for a return journey, both flights need to be on the same ticket reservation.

Instead, start by using the Reward Flight Finder search tool to check reward seat availability for your outbound and inbound flights. Don’t forget, you can mix cabin classes, for your companion voucher return, if you want to. So, you could fly out in World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) but choose a flatbed in Club World (Business Class) for your overnight return flight. The caveat is that your companion must fly in the same cabin as you on each flight.

Once you’ve chosen your flights, call British Airways and let them make the booking for you. They WILL be able to make an open-jaw booking for you and apply your companion voucher to it.

A few tips: ● Call Executive Club customer services, rather than the main BA reservations number. ● If you are in the Bronze, Silver or Gold tiers, call your dedicated number, which you can find on your card or when you are logged into your BA account.

Agents handling premium customers are generally more used to handling companion voucher enquiries, in our experience. ● Make sure you tell the agent, at the start of the call, that you want to use your British Airways companion voucher for your open jaw reservation. ● BA has a standard charge of £15/15 Euros for making a phone reservation, unless you are a Gold tier member (this can vary outside Europe). If you tell them that you tried to make the booking online but that it's impossible, they will often waive the charge. ● Sometimes agents may resist making an open-jaw booking for you, if your return flight is from a different country. Before 2011, your flights had to enter and depart from the same BA price zone. That is no longer true. Today, the geographic distance between your original landing airport and your new

departure airport must be shorter than either of the two flights. If you do encounter problems with this, ask to speak to a supervisor or just hang up and call a different agent later. ● Like all British Airways Companion Voucher reservations, your tickets have to be booked on BA operated flights, not codeshares or other partner airline departures. ● If you are lucky enough to have a BA Gold Upgrade Voucher for two, you can use it in combination with your companion voucher, on your open-jaw reservation. However you can’t use a Lloyds Bank upgrade voucher with a companion voucher.

One thing to be aware of, once an open-jaw reservation is booked using Avios, with or without a 2-4-1 voucher, you cannot amend your ticket if it will result in a change to the number of Avios required. Instead, the whole ticket must be cancelled and rebooked, with the risk that you cannot rebook the leg you want to keep.

Of course, you can always check the number of Avios required, for any BA route, on Reward Flight Finder.

Original Source https://rewardflightfinder.com/news-and-advice/ba-companion-voucher-secrets-openjaw-avios-redemptions