Holidaying In The Uk Your Refund Rights
While the above sections on cancellations apply to both UK and overseas holidays, there are some specific extra points to consider with UK holidays especially if you’re still chasing a refund for a cancellation as a result of a previous lockdown.
Of course, UK holidays are allowed currently, but as that hasn’t always been the case previously, and since it’s possible restrictions could return, we’ve detailed your rights in different circumstances below.
Carriage Of Newborn And Babies
Newborn with no medical complications
Normal Term. British Airways is able to carry new born children born at normal term with no medical complications once they are more than 1 week old. These children need no prior medical clearance.
Premature Infants. British Airways is able to carry premature infants born at more than 37 weeks gestation, with no medical complications, once they have reached the normal delivery date plus one week. These infants need no prior medical clearance.
Premature newborn and ex-premature infants
Children born at less than 37 weeks gestation that were born with no medical complications can be considered for carriage once they have reached normal term plus one week but they will require medical clearance until they reach 12 months old.
Children born at less than 37 weeks gestation that were born with any respiratory complications cannot be considered for carriage until they have reached normal delivery date plus 6 months. From normal term plus 6 months old until they reach their first birthday, they will require medical clearance.
In both cases please contact PMCU prior to booking.
Babies with medical conditions
Babies with any significant condition, such as cardiac disease, or any other condition requiring medical support, e.g. oxygen, medication, treatment during flight, should be discussed with PMCU prior to booking.
I Rebooked Using A Voucher And My Trip’s Been Cancelled Again Can I Get A Cash Refund
We’ve been asked this a lot, so we put it to aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority. It told us that if you accept a voucher for a cancelled flight and use it to book a second flight, you’re subject to the T& Cs of the second booking and these will often state that if you booked using a voucher, you can only get a voucher back if the flight is later cancelled.
In essence, the second booking will generally be regarded as a completely new transaction with no reference to the previous booking though it’s worth checking directly with the airline as T& Cs can vary.
It’s also worth noting that the above doesn’t apply to package holidays if your package holiday is cancelled by the travel firm, you’re entitled to a full cash refund regardless of how you made the booking. For more info on the extra protection you get with package holidays, see our Holiday Rights guide.
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Buying The Right Flight Insurance Policy
A comprehensive travel insurance policy should offer protection for your flight should you need to cancel or amend your plans for reasons beyond your control.
A valid travel insurance policy can offer protection in the event something goes wrong with your holiday. If you take out insurance at the time of booking, whether you opt for or , you should be covered for cancellation from that point should you have to cancel your flight due to reasons outside of your control, you should be able to recoup some if not all of the cost of your holiday. Additionally, you will have cover for things like medical costs, lost and stolen baggage and travel delays. While you have rights for flight cancellations and delays under EU legislation, most flight insurance policies will make a cash pay out on top of your legal entitlement. And if you miss your plane through no fault of your own before you even leave the UK, a policy that includes a missed departure clause will also help you out with the additional costs of rearranging your travel plans.
Jet2 Tui Easyjet Ryanair British Airways: Latest Travel Insurance And Refund Advice Ahead Of Summer Holidays
There’s still plenty of uncertainty around international travel
If you’re travelling abroad this summer there will be plenty of rules and regulations to follow.
That’s not to mention the uncertainty around booking holidays as coronavirus continues to play havoc with international travel.
The Government’s traffic light system sets out the rules holidaymakers will need to follow when they return to England, but what happens if your trip is cancelled or you can’t make it?
Read more: New face mask rules for all the major airlines ahead of summer holidays
A number of the major airlines have already put a pause on many flights this summer due to the uncertainty.
It’s important to note the latest travel insurance and refund advice to know what you’re entitled to should your long-awaited trip not go ahead.
Here’s the latest from major airlines including Jet2, TUI, easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways, including their refund policies and travel insurance options.
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What Is A Visa Signature Card
Visa has three different levels of credit cards Traditional, Signature and Infinite. Each of these types of Visa cards is accepted everywhere that Visa is, but generally comes with a different level of benefits. The British Airways Visa Signature® Card is a Visa Signature, which is the middle of Visa’s three levels.
Short Haul Flights Departing On Or After 1 February 201:
British Airways will no longer be able to provide therapeutic oxygen on short-haul flights for flights departing on or after 1 February 2018. This also includes short haul segments connecting to and from long haul flights.
Customers requiring therapeutic oxygen on short haul flights will be required to make their own provisions for all short haul segments of their itinerary. Acceptable therapeutic oxygen provisions are outlined below. Customers need to obtain medical clearance for approval of their own therapeutic oxygen provisions. Medical forms should be despatched to the medical clearance team a minimum of 7 days prior to departure.
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British Airways Holidays Customer Promise And Other Benefits Of Booking A Ba Holiday
BA holidays are a great way to book at the moment for a number of reasons. Firstly you only have to pay a small deosit with the balance payable three weeks before departure. This means if you cant travel you are only risking a small deposit. You also earn an extra 1 Avios per £1 spent on top of any flights or car hire that earn Avios. Currently I am only booking Avios tickets and holidays to keep it low risk.
BAs Customer Promise for holidays also has a lot of benefits such as being able to change or cancel and get a voucher for your booking if you dont want to travel. Here are all the benefits:
Wheelchair Assistance At The Airport
Although BAs special service request tool is the best I have seen to date, the information is not always transferred to the agents in the airport. While I have generally found the airline to be on top of things, particularly with the return of my gate-checked power wheelchair, there have been several instances where I was denied pre-boarding.
In one such case, on a flight from London-Heathrow to Miami, the aisle chair team did not show up to help me board until almost everyone else had boarded. Because the flight was covered under U.S. law by the Air Carrier Access Act, I wrote to BA about the matter. The response I received was disappointing, with no admission of the violation and no attempt at service recovery.
Sadly, I forgot to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation, which was a missed opportunity to hold the airline accountable for the violation. On flights to/from the USA, passengers are protected by the ACAA even if flying on a foreign carrier.
With those issues aside, I have always found the assistance staff to be competent and friendly, regardless of the airport used. BA has promptly returned my gate-checked power wheelchair on all but one occasion, including in notoriously difficult airports like Beijing.
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Can A Travel Agent Charge Me A ‘cancellation Fee’ If My Flight Or Holiday Is Cancelled
We’ve heard from MoneySavers who have had ‘cancellation charges’ of up to £75 per person taken off their refunds by their travel agent after an airline or package holiday firm has cancelled their trip.
Travel agents’ association ABTA says agents ARE allowed to do this, as long as this is included in their T& Cs though if in doubt, check what you agreed to when you booked.
Yet even if a travel agent does cover this in their terms, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute told us there’s a chance it may not be a “fair term”, so might not be allowed. It told us it couldn’t comment on whether such terms are fair at this stage, or whether holidaymakers can successfully challenge these fees but if you think a cancellation charge is unfair, contact your travel agent and ask it to justify the fairness of its fees.
Also note that tour operators and airlines can’t charge you a cancellation fee if you booked direct, so if this happens, make sure you demand a refund in full.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Vs British Airways Visa Signature Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card is an all-purpose travel credit card that enables you to use your accumulated miles to pay for travel expenses as statement credits.
There are new loyalty perks or airline-specific aspects of the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card, which is an important distinction.
If you are a British Airways loyalist or regularly find yourself flying with them, then it is hard to beat a British Airways credit card, especially with its 100,000 Avios introductory bonus, whereas the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card offers a 60,000-mile introductory bonus and 2x miles per dollar on all purchases with it
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Are There Any Restrictions To Which Bookings I Can Access With Manage My Booking
You will be unable to access Manage My Booking for any bookings that:
- were made through our Group Bookings team or via a travel agent for a group, which includes any booking for 10 or more passengers
- are for flights that have been flown or cancelled
- include hotels, cars, experiences or transfers booked on iberia.com
How To Get Your British Airways Credit Card
To get your British Airways credit card, check to see if you have a credit score first.
If you are unsure of what your credit score is then you should check your credit score from the four credit bureaus in the UK: Experian, Crediva, Equifax and Transunion.
Some of these credit bureaus may charge you a fee to view your credit report so what you can alternatively do is request a statutory credit report which is a free credit report which each credit bureau must provide to you upon you requesting it.
Alternatively, you can also use credit score services such as Checkmyfile and clearscore to check your credit report.
Once you have done this you should then check on a credit card eligibility platform to see what credit cards you are eligible for and then apply for the best credit card. This may be the British Airways credit card or it could be another credit card from a different provider which suits you better.
In this brief guide, we discussed the British Airways credit card. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.
If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.
You can also contact the debt charity Step Change if you are in debt and need help.
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British Airways American Express Credit Card
The British Airways American Express® Credit Card is a reward credit card.
Here are the main features and benefits of this card:
- Representative 22.9% APR variable. This is based on a credit limit of £1200.]
- Variable-rate of interest which changes in line with the Bank of England base rate
- No annual fee on this British airways credit card
- You get a 5k bonus avios welcome offer if you spend £1k within your first 3 months of opening the British airways credit card account.
- You get 1 Avios for every £1 you spend
- You can add additional cards for friends, family members etc . This may help you spend more and earn more rewards faster
- You will be automatically enrolled in the British Airways executive club as a British airways credit cardholder.
- You could earn a 2 for 1 or companionship ticket when you spend £20k in each year you win the British Airways credit card. You will still have to pay the taxes and carrier fees for the flight.
- You get a lot of travel benefits such as travel insurance to preferential travel arrangements
- You can access the global assist customer service wherever you are in the world in any language.
- You get travel accident insurance which protects you for up to £75,000 on public transport when you purchase your travel ticket with your British airways credit card.
To be eligible for this card you will need to be:
Be at least 18 years of age
Be a UK resident with a permanent UK address
Have a UK bank account
Have no history of bad credit
Overseas Holidays Where Can You Go Amid More Restrictions
Even if the UK Government says it’s OK to travel, there’s no guarantee your destination will let you in . For example, there are no warnings against travel to Australia but it has placed severe restrictions on travel from the UK.
Plus, even where there’s no outright ban, there may be other restrictions in place, eg, you may have to provide a negative coronavirus test and quarantine on arrival. Rules can also change unexpectedly. So before booking anything it’s crucial to make sure you fully understand the financial risk, and book flexibly wherever possible.
Check the Foreign Office website, as well as directly with the country itself , for the latest. The Foreign Office’s advice is also key for travel insurance cover and your rights to a refund. If it advises against “all but essential travel” or “all travel”, you aren’t supposed to go, and this may trigger a refund see more on refund rights if the Foreign Office warns against travel below. Travelling in defiance of the advice may also invalidate your insurance.
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Does British Airways Offer Unlimited Holiday
30English reviews out of 30
11 January 2021
Pros
Travel the world, opportunities to be involved in projects, training and recruitment, staff travel benefits, pay higher than other airlines, investments in new aircraft, refurbished cabins, new catering, free Wifi to access work sites inflight, free food on duty, food allowance for time spent down route, can access hotel reward schemes, discounts on travel, car hire and insurance. Free vaccination, USA tourist visa, Pension and the list goes on..
Cons
Lots of change , some unhappy colleagues, promotion for crew has stopped due to redundancies, some roster practices and seems that every 5 years the wheel is reinvented
Advice to Management
Happy crew = happy customers
Travel the world, opportunities to be involved in projects, training and recruitment, staff travel benefits, pay higher than other airlines, investments in new aircraft, refurbished cabins, new catering, free Wifi to access work sites inflight, free food on duty, food allowance for time spent down route, can access hotel reward schemes, discounts on travel, car hire and insurance.
11 January 2021
25 July 2021
Pros
Good benefits, such as pension, work life balance good salary compared to other companies
Cons
Treatment of staff could be improved.
Good benefits, such as pension, work life balance good salary compared to other companies
25 July 2021
Good location. Green walks and parks. On site parking.
Cons
Advice to Management
21 September 2019
How Do I Benefit From Using Manage My Booking
As a British Airways customer, Manage My Booking is a self-service online initiative designed to assist you by:
- Giving you reassurance about your booking by being able to view booking details 24 hours a day at any time up to when you travel for each flight.
- Eliminating the need for you to check your booking details and request booking services by phone.
- Reducing time spent in airport check-in queues.
- Providing travel information relevant to your booking to help you plan and prepare for your travel.
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Earning The British Airways Travel Together Ticket
British Airways Visa cardholders can earn a Travel Together Ticket after spending $30,000 on purchases in a calendar year. You can only earn one Travel Together Ticket per 12-month periodso if you spend $30,000 on the card right off the bat in January, your spending during the rest of the year wont count toward earning another one.
Once you hit the spending thresholds, you will be issued a Travel Together Ticket in the form of a voucher in your British Airways Executive Club account.