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What can the British Airways “You First” team do for you if you are booked in First Class?

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“You First” is a dedicated call centre set up to help anyone holding a British Airways First Class ticket.  Not many people know it exists, which is a shame because – irrespective of the wait times at the main British Airways call centre – telephone calls to “You First” are generally answered quickly.

The last time I used it, back in August 2020 at the height of the pandemic when getting an airline to answer your call required a minor miracle, I got through within 30 seconds and within five minutes my tickets were changed following a cancellation.

‘You First’ is by far your best opportunity to get an affected flight rebooked or refunded.

British Airways You First telephone number for first class passengers

The British Airways “You First” telephone number is 020 7949 3055.  If you are in the UK, there is also a free version which is 0800 408 7667.

‘You First’ is open 24/7, although if you call outside UK office hours you may be diverted to an offshore call centre and the service level may be different.  It is, I believe, the same team that look after Gold Guest List members.

You can also ring this number to make a First Class booking for cash or Avios, as well as call to make any changes or cancellations.

What else can “You First” do for you?

The British Airways website is rather vague about what “You First” offers.  On the webform for contacting “You First” it suggests using them for:

  • Travel queries
  • Journey disruption
  • Mishandled bags

To be honest, I don’t think I have ever used it for anything other than flight changes.

Much of the value used to be in booking spa treatments or cabanas in The Concorde Room lounges in London and New York, but these features no longer exist.

British Airways You First telephone number

You can ask “You First” to send you the menu for your particular flight in advance, if you contact them within a few days of departure. This can be especially useful if you are wondering whether to pre-order a special meal or not.

The British Airways “You First” service is NOT meant to be a concierge service.  They will, however, answer the telephone quickly and deal efficiently with the basics such as ticket changes – although you could justifiably argue that you shouldn’t need to have a First Class ticket to get this level of service!

There isn’t much about “You First” on the British Airways website, but the little there is can be found here.

Don’t forget that we have a full guide to redeeming Avios for British Airways First Class seats which you can find here.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £12,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Comments (31)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Peter says:

    I booked a ticket in First during a sale last year. No information was provided that the You First helpline existed. Months later my original flight was cancelled and the automatically re-booked flight was not suitable. Again no information about You First.

    I tried to re-book on BA.com but the system demanded I pay the going rate that was more than the cost of the whole ticket. On several occasions the normal phone lines went unanswered for over an hour. In the end it appeared I had not option but to cancel and refund. If I had known about You First I would probably have been able to travel and BA could have avoided paying out a substantial refund.

  • LittleNick says:

    What happened to the Cabanas in the Concorde room?

    • Rob says:

      Went during covid.

      • mkcol says:

        Has something been done with the space they occupied?

        • Save East Coast Rewards says:

          They’re still there (the signs are on the door) but they’re unused. No idea what they look like inside now (perhaps they’re used for storage). It was never a luxurious experience. It was like hiring a room in a hospital for a few hours (although you could request a bucket with LPGS brought to your room)

  • R says:

    Can you use You First to upgrade an existing booking to First?

  • Nick says:

    Rang last year when F flight to IAD cancelled at 24 hours notice. Call was re-routed to GGL and the agent refused to help as I wasn’t GGL..I calmly explained I had dialled you first number but she refused to help ..sorted the rebook via the gold line and then put a complaint in..received an apology and Avios service recovery ..lack of agent consistency

  • Rich says:

    Just used them now as a found a one-way upgrade from Biz to First (Avios) and they were super helpful.

  • Phil says:

    I called them regarding a ticketing issue. A lady called Mercedes answered and could not have been more helpful. She sorted everything, and this was not an easy issue to resolve. Kept me up to date and called back whenever she said she would. Can’t ask for anything more.

  • Joe says:

    Does anyone know if this line will help you where you have mixed bookings? I have a trip upcoming where outbound is First and return is Club World; I wish to make changes to the whole booking.

  • Terry says:

    Wouldn’t recommend calling them about mishandled bags – we tried that this week after having two more suitcases go missing on our Las Vegas to LHR via Dallas flights (having had one get damaged and one get delayed on the outbound flights). Was told quite specifically that the First service ends once you’ve landed.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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