Thousands of BA customers urged to check holiday vouchers now – or lose them for good
FLY BYE Thousands of BA customers urged to check holiday vouchers now – or lose them for good
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
BRITISH Airways customers are running out of time to use millions of pounds worth of vouchers for travel.
The airline gave out e-vouchers to travellers who had a flight or holiday disrupted during Covid.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
1
The clock is ticking for customers looking to use their Covid travel vouchers
Credit: PA
As part of the small print on the vouchers, you needed to initially use the vouchers by the end of April 2022.
However, this date was extended by the airline multiple times into 2023, 2024, and now finally to September 30, 2025.
This means there is little more than a month to book and complete a trip with the vouchers if you have some left to use otherwise they'll expire completely.
British Airways' parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) estimates there are still around £420million worth of unused flight vouchers.
This figure also includes vouchers that have not been used with other airlines owned by the company including Aer Lingus and Iberia.
You could have a voucher from BA if your flight was cancelled by the airline during the pandemic.
To check thoroughly search your emails to see if there is a voucher tucked away.
You can also search through your email address on a dedicated search engine on the BA website.
Then if you've got any vouchers, you should get an email back with British Airways' within a couple of hours with the amount you have to spemnd.
If you still can't find anything but have a niggling feeling that you should have a voucher, contact BA customer service through its online form or by calling 0344 493 0787.
How do I redeem my flight voucher?
You'll need to visit ba.com and find the flights you'd like to book. As you come to pay, enter your voucher code.
The total amount you'll need to pay including after you've applied your voucher will then be shown and you'll be able to continue and make a payment.
You can use either the full value of your voucher in a single booking or use some of it to pay for a less expensive booking.
If you don't use all of the credit issued on your voucher, British Airways will send you another voucher covering the difference.
Vouchers don't cover extras such as seat reservations – you'll need to pay for these another way.
Can I swap my voucher for a cash refund?
Sadly not. Some customers were initially able to get a cash refund for disrupted travel plans but that is no longer the case.
You'll need to use up the voucher on flights or a holiday to avoid losing out on the money you spent.
Get travel insurance as soon as you book travel
Heading on holidays is one of the most exciting parts of the year for many Brits.
But when things go wrong, it can leave you out of pocket.
One way to help cover yourself is to buy travel insurance as soon as you book flights or accommodation.
Insurance covers the cost associated with disruption and other hiccups that can hit holidaymakers before they've even set off.
However, you'll need to have the policy in place before disruption takes hold to get a payout.
But more than one in four don't get cover in place until the day of departure leaving theme exposed to issues and big costs, according to data from comparison site Go.compare.
It's also a good idea to use a credit card rather than debit card for booking a getaway.
This is because any purchases made on a credit card between £100 and £30,000 are covered by your provider if things go wrong, thanks to Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
This includes holidays and airline bookings and means, for example, if an airline or tour operator goes into administration, your money would be protected.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
25 minutes ago
- Spectator
Should the Prime Minister take a summer holiday?
Silly season is upon us, as MPs jet off on holiday (or back to their constituencies) to get a well-needed break from Westminster. Sir Keir Starmer had to cancel his summer holiday last year after riots broke out across the country – but hopefully this year the Prime Minister will manage to enjoy some time to recharge before party conference season hits. But on whether the PM should be taking any downtime at all is a contentious subject among the public. Mr S has got hold of some new polling that shows just how much time off – and where – Brits believe Starmer should be allowed… According to Ipsos polling that surveyed 1,144 British adults between 11-14 July, just over four in ten adults think the PM should take about the same amount of holiday as the average UK worker, while a third believe Starmer should take less. 5 per cent of Brits think the top job should be completely full time, with the Prime Minister not able to take any holiday at all – a view shared by 7 per cent of Reform UK voters. Bad luck, Keir! A third of people want the PM to holiday right here in Blighty. And while around one in two think that it is important that Starmer gets some rest, three-quarters of Brits aren't that bothered about whether Sir Keir gets to choose his destination. And, after all that, even if the country's leader finds himself in a location not of his choosing somewhere in the British Isles, the vast majority of Brits (78 per cent) want him to keep his phone on him at all times. No rest for the wicked, eh?
New Statesman
26 minutes ago
- New Statesman
Where did Britain go wrong?
Photo by. Britain isn't working – for different reasons, voters across the political spectrum affirm this view. You don't need to subscribe to the more dystopian accounts of the country's state to recognise its validity. Back in January 2008, BBC News ran an article charting how the average British person would soon be better off than their US counterpart for the first time since the 19th century. Today, UK GDP per capita at $54,950 is more than a third lower than the US's ($89,678). Here is one illustration of why, ever since the financial crisis, Britain has felt like a poorer country than it expected to be. A No 10 aide speaks of how 'we don't have the country of the 1990s' and of a 'profound living-standards crisis' that has endured beyond the inflation spike of 2022. But what was the moment that Britain took a wrong turn? This isn't merely an academic question but a highly political one. As Phil Tinline charts in his book The Death of Consensus (2022), successful leaders tell a story about the nightmares of the past as well as the dreams of the future. For my piece on Labour's 'summer of discontent' I featured some exclusive polling from More in Common on this question and the full results are worth exploring. Sixty per cent of voters believe that Britain is on the 'wrong track', while just 22 per cent believe it is on the right one (among 2024 Labour voters the split is 45 per cent to 41 per cent). Brexit is the most popular source of blame (29 per cent) followed by the Covid-19 pandemic (18 per cent), the election of Tony Blair (14 per cent) and the election of Margaret Thatcher (7 per cent). There are some revealing subsets: while 40 per cent of Labour voters and 41 per cent of young voters cite the EU referendum, 35 per cent of Reform voters and 26 per cent of Conservative voters cite Blair's election. The salience of Brexit is striking. By pursuing a trade deal with the EU, Keir Starmer showed that he is prepared to take political risks. Labour strategists point to his decision to meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen during the local election campaign as evidence that they are not chasing Reform's tail. But while the deal was well-received by the public, it has quickly faded from the political conversation (some in Labour believe Starmer should be doing far more to pin an unpopular Brexit on the populist Nigel Farage). If voters routinely complain that they do not know what Labour stands for, it is partly because the government has not been clear enough about who and what it blames for Britain's state – and the different course it would chart. As work begins on Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves' conference speeches, here is a question that should be at the heart of them. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here [See also: One year on, tensions still circle Britain's asylum-seeker hotels] Related
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Brits urged to check boarding pass for crucial detail - or risk being turned away from flight
With summer travel reaching its peak, plane passengers are being urged to check a crucial detail on their boarding pass at the airport - or risk being denied boarding. Brits should be paying close attention to a code commonly displayed - and often ignored - on valid boarding cards, known as an 'SEQ'. During overbooked flights - a common occurrence during peak periods - airlines may need to deny boarding to some passengers. In such cases, they use check-in order as a factor in deciding who gets turned away from the plane, with later check-ins often considered for denial. This is where a 'SEQ' number comes into play - essentially a three-digit number that indicates your 'sequence' or the order in which you checked in for your flight. Hadleigh Diamond, luxury airport chauffeur provider at SCS Chauffeurs, explains: 'A SEQ of 001 means you were the first to check in; 152 means you were the 152nd. 'While it doesn't affect your seat assignment or boarding group, it's crucial during overbooked flights, especially on budget airlines.' More than 6 million passengers across the globe were denied boarding last year, with many unaware that checking in early may have guaranteed them their seat, as reported by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Hadleigh adds: 'Airlines tend to overbook flights as not all passengers turn up on the day. 'When a flight is so overbooked that passengers are denied boarding or offloaded, the airline will usually ask for volunteers. But if no-one comes forward, each airline will deny boarding to passengers in line with its own policies.' Solo travellers, passengers flying without luggage, or individuals who paid the 'lowest fare' are also warned that they may be more likely to be considered for denial. To reduce the risk of being turned away, Hadleigh encourages passengers to check in as early as possible, keep an eye out for 'SEQ' codes on boarding cards and refrain from assuming a booked seat guarantees a space on the plane. He further warns: 'If you're flying with friends or family, make sure everyone checks in together to avoid getting split up by the SEQ system. In worst-case scenarios, some members may board while others are denied.' Meanwhile, a travel expert has gone viral after revealing the meaning behind the dreaded 'SSSS' printed on some boarding passes - a code that can lead to extra TSA screening and major airport delays. Chloe Jade Meltzer, 30, who has visited over 156 countries, was flying from Germany to New York when she noticed the four letters on her ticket. It stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection, a designation she says is 'a pain to deal with' and most often applies to flights heading into the United States. 'Basically, it means that you've been flagged for extra security checks before you can board your flight,' she explained. 'This is always related to flying into the United States, and it's usually for international travel.' Meltzer has traveled to more than 156 countries and admitted she receives tickets with 'quadruple S' quite often. 'The first few times that you get it it can feel a bit daunting or scary. Especially if you are someone who is not a US citizen and you are about to fly into the United States,' she wrote on TikTok.
