Cancelling Flights Booked with Avios

Posted by dealswelike on February 27, 2013 | 25 Comments

If you’ve been keeping up with British Airways Avios points, you are probably already well aware of the amazing value those points can provide. However, what happens when you book a flight using your Avios points, and need to cancel? With most US domestic airlines, the points get redeposited into your account and you have to pay a pretty significant fee of about $150. When you book through British Airways though, the fees are extremely reasonable for cancelling your flight. This is a huge perk of booking an American Airlines flight with BA Avios points over AAdvantage miles.

A few weeks ago I was looking into a semi-last minute flight and for 4,500 points I was able to fly from NYC – BOS. This same flight using AAdvantage miles would have been 12,500 miles (which I would never have wasted my miles on). 4,500 points for a one way flight is an amazing value, especially considering the flight price. I also wasn’t 100% sure of my plans, so I did not want to pay for a ticket knowing that there was a chance I was going to cancel. When using British Airways Avios points, reservations can be cancelled for cheap, so I went ahead and booked the flight. Ultimately, I ended up cancelling the flight reservation, got my 4,500 points redeposited back into my account and lost a measly $2.50.

When cancelling a flight booked with British Airways Avios points, they typically charge you $40 per passenger. Still less expensive than other airlines, but why spend the money when you don’t need to. If you cancel online, many of times you will get back the full amount of points used and the only lost will be the taxes spent. For domestic American Airlines operated flights, this is typically $2.50 per segment. So for a non-stop roundtrip flight you’ll lose $5 total per passenger – MUCH cheaper than $40! And the best perk, you do not have to sit on hold waiting for a representative to answer your call!

Also, if you need to change the dates of a flight booked with British Airways Avios points, you are better of cancelling and re-booking. When you change your flight online you will still be charged the $40. So instead of paying that fee, cancel the flight (say goodbye to the minimal taxes paid) and rebook the flight. The points typically go back into your account right away so those points should be readily available to book another flight.

If you have gold or premier status with BA, you will pay no cancellation fees, so you might as well call and have them cancel your flight so you get the full amount back for taxes paid. For non-US domestic flights, the taxes you are paying are typically more than $2.50 per segment. This is for all operated flights.

If you are new to the British Airways program, then take a look at this prior series. This will give you the in’s and out’s of using your points and help you realize the best redemption opportunities:

NOTE: This is not a written BA rule and people have had different experiences, so your might vary as well. My only experience is for AA operated flights, so other operated flights booked with British Airways might be different (i.e., Cathay Pacific). Read the comments section to learn about others people’s experience. However, the BA written rule is $40, so even if you have to pay only $40 per passenger, that is still significantly cheaper than what most other airlines charge!

Categories: British Airways

Angelina said,

I love this feature about using Avios!
mommypoints said,

The only caveat is that if travel has started (ie you have flown the outbound but not the return) then you won’t get a credit for the points spent on the return if you cancel. So, if you think your return plans may change then book as two one-ways.
smitty06 said,

this is great information. Taking my first Avios booked flight this weekend.
Lyn said,

Online I tend to get “unable to cancel, please contact us” message. You can never trust your ability to do things online with BA
Apu said,

Same happened to me too… lost a huge 2 $ and 50 c
Nick said,

I hope u don’t kill it.
IPG said,

Is there an Avios award chart available online, by chance?
Robert said,

@mommypoints: couldn’t you just book two one ways and then there would be no ways to lose the miles?
Everett said,

What is the time frame on canceling? I’ve looked into canceling before, but it looked like if I canceled within 24 hours that I wouldn’t receive any points or cash back, so I’d have to do it well before the day of the flight. Is this correct?
Ahmed A said,

I booked a flight to caribbean recently (st.lucia) but given the crappy flight times and length of travel with a toddler, was looking to maybe switch to Turks & Caicos – I went through the “cancellation options” link under “Manage my booking” page and it told me $40/person -> $120. Still better than 150$pp w/ United I guess
Ryan said,

Frankly, I just took advantage of these feature and changed a Friday afternoon flight to morning for… $2.50
dealswelike said,

@Ryan – did you cancel first and rebook or did you simply change?
dealswelike said,

@Robert -yes you can. But just remember, if for some reason you are not able to cancel online and you need to cancel both flights, you’ll be paying $40 per flight.
Henry said,

How about Avios + Cash. I’ve booked a flight MIA-GRU for 4 and was wondering if they return the cash spent besides the avios.
dealswelike said,

@Henry – I have not cancelled an Avios + Cash award, but from my understanding as long as you cancel 24 hours + ahead of time, you’ll get refunded both the avios points and the cash paid.
CTravlr said,

Absolutely love this about using Avios. Makes me feel a bit better about changes knowing I don’t have to have status or pay exorbitant fees for a change.
Peter S said,

@Everett
If you need to cancel a flight which was booked on AA using Avio within 24 hours, you don’t get your points back but you do get your $$$ back. Just call their representative to ask for the $$$.
Jamison @ Points Summary said,

i’ve had success canceling multiple avios awards over the phone and just forfeiting the taxes, but was never charged $40 for a phone fee.. FYI: I have no BA elite status
Rick said,

Hi,

I am quite confused by your post. In my experience, when I booked short haul cathay flights using Avios, I always got my taxes refunded, but not the $40 booking fee. Even on the Avios site, it says clearly that there is a $40 charge for cancellations made online. Not sure why you are spreading mis information.
Akiva said,

it doesnt always allow you to cancel online,,, sometimes they allow you to change flights online as well
tonyims said,

I want to change the date on an Avios + cash award but the website keeps telling me to try later. Id rather do it online than on the phone so they wont charge me the $40. Any ideas?
Harry said,

Does anyone have this experience cancelling ALASKA AIRLINES tickets booked as Avios awards?
Hugo said,

Hello there,
I used Avios to book 4 one ways award tickets on Air Berlin. Now, because of personal reasons, I need to cancel one of those tix. U think its possible?
dealswelike said,

@Huge – Yes, they will charge you $40 to cancel and redeposit your Avios miles though (which is nothing compared to other airlines). If you do it over the phone they might tack on an addition $25 fee.
DaveS said,

I have a two-leg one-way booked with Avios from Dublin to Chicago to Wichita. I now find that I may not want to fly the last leg to Wichita at all due to a change in plans. Do you know if it is possible to cancel and redeposit Avoios for one leg only of a multi-leg itinerary? I’d be willing to pay a $40 fee if necessary since I value 4,500 Avios higher than that.