…..only to be told what I already knew (but forgot). That being that you can’t change an Avios award within 24 hours of departure. Better yet, the time on hold approximately equals the length of the flight I was calling about. If you saw my post yesterday, you know the basics of how and why I booked an award trip for a 250 mile flight. I did not share my reason for needing to be in North Carolina in the first place. MJonTravelMom is in the hospital. She is much improved, but it doesn’t look like she is going to be released from the hospital quite as rapidly as initially thought, so I need to stay an extra night or two. Of course, this revelation was unknown until less than 24 hours before my planned flight back home to DC.
You can’t change an Avios award online so I dialed up BA, and waited. Then I waited some more. And then some more waiting, and finally they answered. Award space is available on the flight I want, but I was quickly reminded that it is within 24 hours of departure so my flight cannot be changed, hospitalized parent or not, thank you very much. So…do I blow 4500 more Avios on another award, or just take a $200 dollar Southwest nonstop into BWI and Super Shuttle myself home? Time will tell. I haven’t made up my mind yet. At least we aren’t talking about losing an enormous wad of points here, but it still annoys me just a little. But in truth, do a few points really matter when you’re talking about MJonTravelMom or anyone being in the hospital? Not really. 🙂 Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Ouch! I’m sorry to hear of your experience. I’ll say this much: I’ll NEVER ‘hold’ for fifty minutes, under any circumstances. My limit is variable, but it neer reaches 50. If any airline cannot service my needs with FAR less time to the initial contact, I’ve already made a very bad choice. As with anything, I’m still learning.
@MSP,
Thanks very much!
Sorry to hear! Best of luck with everything!