Canceled flight? How to understand and use a British Airways Future Travel Voucher
If you've canceled upcoming travel booked through British Airways because of coronavirus and its associated travel restrictions, you may have received a credit voucher for the amount you originally spent, which BA calls a Future Travel Voucher. It's important to note that if BA canceled your flight, rather than you doing the canceling, you are legally entitled to a refund rather than a voucher. However, if you did the canceling, you'll likely be given one of these vouchers for future travel.
We've had a number of confused readers contact us about how to both understand what they have received and how to use it.
We spoke to British Airways about this and here are some tips.
Related: Rebooking, voucher or refund? What's your best option for upcoming British Airways flights?
How do I find my Future Travel Voucher?
Vouchers are sent to customers by email only to the address associated with the canceled booking. A different voucher will be issued for each passenger (to the lead email address), so if you are canceling a booking for two passengers you should receive two vouchers.
These vouchers are not displayed in your Executive Club account, so BA has advised us that the only way to find your vouchers is to check your emails. If you're having trouble locating your voucher, try searching 'Future Travel Vouchers'.
This is a frustrating situation, as it means some travelers may forget they even have a voucher if it's buried among hundreds of British Airways promotional emails.
If you have canceled multiple bookings, you will have multiple different vouchers — I already have six. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to collate them. You might want to consider entering the details into a password-protected spreadsheet or shared document for ease of reference.
What information can I find on my Future Travel Voucher?
About the only useful information in the voucher email is the voucher number, which begins with 125, followed by 10 unique digits (i.e. 125-1234567890). The email with your voucher does not show the value of the voucher or the expiration date. It does show the original booking reference number (PNR) that the voucher represents.
Once you're ready to redeem the voucher, you'll have to call BA to do so — which, at this time, is not advisable given long hold times. You'll have 12 months to use the voucher from the date of the first flight in your original booking.
How much is my voucher worth?
British Airways has advised us that the only two ways to determine the value of your Future Travel Voucher are to:
- Look up the value of your original booking it relates to, using the PNR in the voucher email. The voucher value is for the same amount; or
- Call British Airways to ask.
If you are creating a spreadsheet for your voucher details, include the value of each voucher as you calculate it. You cannot look up the value online aside from entering the PNR from the original booking, and the information is also not included in the email with the voucher number.
Related: When is it time to call your airline?
How do I use my voucher?
You can only use your Future Travel Voucher by calling British Airways.
Expect long wait times if you are calling anytime soon, as thousands of other passengers cancel and defer their upcoming travel. You can also use multiple vouchers per new booking if the new booking costs more than the value of the voucher. If your new booking does not use up all the value of the Future Travel Voucher you are using, just to add an extra layer of complexity, you cannot use that voucher for other bookings — a new voucher will be emailed to you for the remaining amount.
What can I use my voucher for?
Your voucher can be used to travel to any destination in the British Airways network including partner airlines, as long as it's a British Airways-marketed route with a BA flight number. It can also be used on a British Airways Holiday.
Related: What are codeshare flights and how do they work?
When does my voucher expire?
Unlike a Companion Voucher that shows up in your Executive Club with a clear expiration date, you have to work out the expiration date of your Future Travel Voucher by looking up your original booking using the PNR in the voucher email. The voucher expires 12 months after the departure date of your original booking. And like with a Companion Voucher you must book and travel before the expiration date.
I would recommend setting calendar reminders for the date that is three months before the expiration date of the voucher, and then another reminder for two months before so you don't forget to book and travel before it expires.
What happens to my canceled award bookings?
In line with British Airways' Book With Confidence policy, award bookings made with Avios can be canceled for no fee, just like cash bookings. If you cancel a redemption booking without paying a cancellation fee you will receive the fees, taxes and surcharges you paid when making the redemption as a Future Travel Voucher, as well as the Avios back into your Executive Club account.
However, you can ordinarily cancel a redemption booking for a $44 per person cancellation fee and receive the fees, taxes and surcharges refunded back onto the card you used to pay for them originally. That has not changed. If you pay the cancellation fee, you can receive a refund back onto your card. If you instead want to avoid paying a cancellation fee you will receive this amount as a Future Travel Voucher.
Bottom line
I appreciate British Airways had to very quickly develop a system to allow thousands — if not millions — of bookings to be canceled as its IT systems and staff are swamped with unprecedented changes to how the airline operates. That being said, the current Future Travel Voucher system as it stands now is incredibly customer unfriendly. Between looking through your inbox for the voucher, having to look up the value of it, remembering the expiration date and having to call the airline to use it, there's a lot of room for error in letting these vouchers go to waste.
If you have been issued more than one voucher, I would recommend creating some sort of spreadsheet document and set calendar reminders to piece together the critical information. That way, you can ensure you get all of the value out of each voucher you're given.
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta
- Annual companion ticket for travel on Delta (upon renewal)
- Ability to earn MQDs through spending
- Various statement credits for eligible purchases
Cons
- Steep annual fee of $650
- Other Delta cobranded cards offer superior earning categories
- Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months, starting from the date that your account is opened. Offer Ends 04/01/2026.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members receive 15 Visits per Medallion® Year to the Delta Sky Club® when flying Delta and can unlock an unlimited number of Visits after spending $75,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Plus, you’ll receive four One-Time Guest Passes each Medallion Year so you can share the experience with family and friends when traveling Delta together.
- Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. and select international locations (as set forth on the Centurion Lounge Website), Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. (see the Centurion Lounge Website for more information on Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge availability), and Escape Lounges when flying on a Delta flight booked with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. § To access Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 90 minutes of their departing flight (including layovers). To access The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 3 hours of their departing flight. Effective July 8, 2026, during a layover, Card Members must arrive within 5 hours of the connecting flight.
- Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $10 in purchases on your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card with MQD Boost to get closer to Status next Medallion Year.
- Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main round-trip flight to select destinations each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit.
- $240 Resy Credit: When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card for eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants, you can earn up to $20 each month in statement credits. Enrollment required.
- $120 Rideshare Credit: Earn up to $10 back in statement credits each month after you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card to pay for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers. Enrollment required.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- With your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, receive upgrade priority over others with the same Medallion tier, product and fare experience purchased, and Million Miler milestone when you fly with Delta.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees