Going for Gold with BA in 2021

Butts

If anyone is thinking of booking a Holiday or Short Break Post May 17th (or pre if going to Jersey) almost risk free , I would seriously consider BA who have a Sale On.

You pay a miniscule deposit of £60 or £120 (Business) and that's it until three weeks before your balance is due.

If you change your mind up to that point you can cancel penalty free and receive your deposit back in the form of a voucher.

If they have a Sale before your balance is due you can cancel the existing booking and rebook at the new price using your voucher to knock off the balance !!!


Regular readers will be aware I had a seismic number of aborted trips last year for various reasons and they were all refunded promptly by BA.


I have put my money where my mouth is and booked the following:

May - Belfast

June - Dublin

July - Bologna - Italy

August - Prague

September - Bucharest - Romania

September - Dusseldorf

October - Sofia - Bulgaria

October - Istanbul

November - Athens


Apart from the first trip to Belfast they are all from Edinburgh via LHR/LCY in Club Europe, so on most of the trips that should be more free Highland Park than my liver can safely absorb in the Lounges and Onboard.

If my mission succeeds I will go straight from BA Blue through Bronze and Silver and onto Gold by the end of the Year. This means next year I will be back in cattle with my free pick of the seats and Lounge Access for me and a guest. Nuanced readers will observe leaving from EDI I've got a few 240 pointers in there.

The whole cost of this enterprise will be less than the cost of my cancelled TUI Holiday in the USA this May. Luckily I was able to get a full refund when they changed my Hotel - was supposed to be travelling May 17th !!!

Most of the trips cost around a monkey for 3/4 Nights and 4 Business Class Flights.


No one has to undertake an insane orgy of travel on this scale, but if you want an almost risk free package have a look at the website.

Wish me luck folks !!

bagand96

I'm still not unconvinced you're on the BA marketing payroll 🤣

[Deleted User]

bagand96 said:

I'm still not unconvinced you're on the BA marketing payroll 🤣

He’s the pilot 😂😂😂.   

Good luck Butts.  You crack me up.  

silvercar

Not wishing to thwart your plans, but I understand that no alcohol is currently being served at the Heathrow lounges.

ratechaser

silvercar said:

Not wishing to thwart your plans, but I understand that no alcohol is currently being served at the Heathrow lounges.

Just as long as it is by the time I use next use them in July!!

By the way, I'm with the OP on this one. BA have about the most flexible booking policies in the business right now, and their prices are very competitive (I grew up in an era where my first flights for years were bucket shop charters with Monarch, Britannia etc, because BA was far too posh and expensive). 

Pretty much a risk free punt with small deposits at the moment if you know how to work it...

Incidentally OP, while gold is a nice extra with its slightly better lounge, extra Avios, free economy exit rows in long haul... silver gets pretty much all I'd ever need, and is a lot easier to maintain! Now if you told me you were shooting for GGL, then I might be impressed 

silvercar

Hmm. Gold Also gets your more availability on economy reward flights as well as a more helpful phone line for sorting issues.

but I agree that BA have been great with cancellations and rebooking etc during this last year.

ratechaser

silvercar said:

Hmm. Gold Also gets your more availability on economy reward flights as well as a more helpful phone line for sorting issues.

but I agree that BA have been great with cancellations and rebooking etc during this last year.

Oh yes, I forgot about the V bucket being available for rewards. It did come in useful a few years ago for me when trying to get 9 seats on the same flight... but recently it's not been a major challenge to use my Avios - already got business upgrades sorted for Dubai in July...

And exit rows sorted for all my short hauls...

Butts

silvercar said:

Not wishing to thwart your plans, but I understand that no alcohol is currently being served at the Heathrow lounges.

Well the Lounge in Edinburgh is not even open !!!

Expecting May 17th reopening for the Bar at LHR.

Butts

bagand96 said:

I'm still not unconvinced you're on the BA marketing payroll 🤣

Yes I think it all up from my cell in Broadmoor.

Seriously it's the greatest open secret out there , BA's current booking policies. 

Butts

Tedber said:

bagand96 said:

I'm still not unconvinced you're on the BA marketing payroll 🤣

He’s the pilot 😂😂😂.   

Good luck Butts.  You crack me up.  

Wish I was on 100K year !!!

Butts

silvercar said:

Hmm. Gold Also gets your more availability on economy reward flights as well as a more helpful phone line for sorting issues.

but I agree that BA have been great with cancellations and rebooking etc during this last year.

The Tier requirements have all been slashed this year....

225 Bronze

450 Silver

1125 Gold

Some of the trips from EDI via LHR are 240 pointers !!! - good for short haul.