Can I fly to one city and back from another using Avios?
BA Companion Voucher rules are a subject we get a lot of questions about at Reward Flight Finder (RFF). One of the most frequently asked is: can you use a British Airways American Express Companion Voucher for an open-jaw reservation? The short answer is yes — but BA keeps it a bit of a secret.
What is an open-jaw flight reservation?
For those not familiar with the term “open-jaw reservation”, don’t worry — it doesn’t involve dental surgery. An open-jaw booking is one where your outbound flight lands at one airport, but your return flight leaves from an airport in a different city. A classic example would be an itinerary starting with a flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO), where you pick up a rental car for a trip down Pacific Highway 1, returning your car in Los Angeles two weeks later for a flight home from LAX.
The rule for an open-jaw reservation is relatively simple: the distance between your arrival airport and your new departure airport must be shorter than either of the two flights you take. Fly out London–San Francisco, drive down the coast, fly back Los Angeles–London, and you are well within the rule.
How do I use a BA Companion Voucher for an open-jaw booking?
First things first: the British Airways online reservation system does not let you book an open-jaw flight using Avios. So many people mistakenly think it is not possible. We’ve got good news — it is. You have two options, but for most people the second is by far the better choice.
The first option, if you hate using the phone, is to book your flights as two separate one-way journeys on BA.com. This is rarely the best route. You will pay taxes and fuel surcharges based on the country each flight originates in, and in some places — such as the USA — BA charges more in taxes and surcharges than they do for flights that start in the UK. You can end up paying more than you would for a true open-jaw return. Also, if you want to use a BA Companion Voucher for the return journey, both flights need to sit on the same ticket reservation, which separate one-ways don’t allow.
The better option is to use RFF to check reward seat availability for both your outbound and inbound flights first. Use the Worldwide Map to spot which destinations have availability, and the Availability Calendar to compare dates side by side. You can mix cabin classes if you want to — fly out in World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) and pick a flatbed in Club World (Business Class) for your overnight return, for example. The one caveat is that your companion must fly in the same cabin as you on each flight.
Once you’ve chosen your flights, call British Airways and ask them to make the booking. They will be able to set up an open-jaw booking for you and apply your Companion Voucher to it.
A few tips:
- Call British Airways Club customer services, rather than the main BA reservations number.
- If you are in the Bronze, Silver or Gold tiers, call your dedicated number — you can find it on your BA Club card or when you are logged into your BA account. In our experience, the agents handling premium customers are more used to handling Companion Voucher enquiries.
- Tell the agent at the start of the call that you want to use your BA Companion Voucher for an open-jaw reservation. It saves time.
- BA has a standard charge for phone bookings (this can vary by region, and is usually waived for Gold members). If you tell them that you tried to make the booking online but the open-jaw routing isn’t supported, they will often waive the charge. Always check the current fee on BA.com before the call.
- Some agents may resist making an open-jaw booking if your return flight is from a different country. Before 2011, your flights had to enter and depart from the same BA price zone. That is no longer true. Today, the geographic distance between your original landing airport and your new departure airport must be shorter than either of the two flights. If you hit resistance, ask to speak to a supervisor or hang up and try a different agent later.
- Like all BA Companion Voucher reservations, your tickets must be on BA-operated flights — not codeshares or other partner-airline departures.
- If you also hold a BA Gold Upgrade Voucher for two, you can combine it with your Companion Voucher on the same open-jaw reservation. Barclaycard Avios Upgrade Vouchers work differently — check the rules for the specific voucher you hold before you call.
One more thing to be aware of: once an open-jaw reservation is booked using Avios with or without a Companion Voucher — you cannot amend the ticket if the change would alter the number of Avios required. Instead, the whole ticket has to be cancelled and rebooked, with the risk that the leg you wanted to keep is no longer available. Worth thinking twice before changing dates.
And of course, you can always check the number of Avios required for any BA route on RFF.
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