What’s in a name? Not a lot for holders of a BA Companion Voucher, it seems, as now you can get a discount without actually having a companion fly with you.
Whereas previously, the perk equated to a buy-one-get-one-free on BA reward flights taken together, since this June, the same BA Companion Voucher can alternatively entitle a solo traveller to a 50% discount.
It’s a move likely to prove highly popular, as British Airways American Express credit card customers who earn the vouchers have been nagging BA to widen their scope for some time.
It follows on from other welcome news last year that Companion Voucher holders no longer had to depart from the UK when redeeming the voucher.
Here’s how it works
Customers of British Airways American Express credit cards have a chance to earn a Companion Voucher every year (see details below).
These vouchers allow a cardholder to book return reward seats (on the same flight in the same class) for two people anywhere that BA flies and yet only pay the number of British Airways Avios required for one passenger. Vouchers issued before 1 September 2021 can be used in any cabin class and two people must travel.
Now, vouchers issued to British Airways American Express members after 1 September 2021 can be used in cabin classes depending on whether the credit card is free or not. Customers of the free BA Amex credit card can redeem the vouchers in Economy only. Those with the fee-paying Premium Plus card can use the voucher in any cabin class.
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The latest change for post 1 September 2021 vouchers is to allow these to be used to redeem for one passenger, only paying half the Avios required.
Understandably, this perk has proved particularly popular in Business and First-Class cabins where the savings in Avios (and the cash equivalent) are the largest.
So, for example, an off-peak return BA Club Suite redemption from London to New York City would usually cost 110,000 British Airways Avios. A solo traveller could use their Companion Voucher to reduce the cost by 50%, to 55,000 Avios return (a saving of 55,000 Avios).
As with all BA reward flights, the fees, taxes and surcharges you would pay on a full-price booking are still payable even if you use the voucher. Also, you can only use the voucher on British Airways and its subsidiaries with BA flight numbers, or oneworld partners operated by BA, not on its partner airlines in the oneworld alliance.
Extra flexibility
Announcing the expansion of the Companion Voucher scheme, British Airways added a further twist, saying holders “…will be able to choose from a variety of options regarding how many Avios to spend versus cash on each booking. This was previously fixed to just one Avios and cash option based on the route and cabin.”
This effectively means that if you don’t want to pay for your flight entirely in Avios, you now have a greater range of allowable cash +Avios combinations to choose from, so you have a better chance of finding a proportion that suits you.
However, the Companion Voucher saving will only be on the Avios proportion of the fare.
How to earn a Companion Voucher
To have the potential to earn a Companion Voucher you must be a member of the British Airways Club (which allows you to collect and spend Avios). You must also have either a British Airways American Express Credit Card, which is free if you're eligible (collect 5,000 bonus Avios when you spend £2,000 in first 3 months) or a British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card, which costs £300 annual fee (collect 30,000 bonus Avios when you spend £6,000 in first 3 months).
You earn British Airways Avios whenever you use these cards (1 Avios for every £1 spent on the free card, 1.5 Avios per £1 on Premium Plus, plus 1.5 and 3 Avios per £1 on BA.com purchases respectively, 3 and 4 Avios per £1 on BA holidays and flights). However, to earn a Companion Voucher you must hit a required spend on your card within 12 months. This 12-month period runs every year from the anniversary of the day you opened the card account. 29.1% APR variable (rep 29.1% free card, 135.7% Premium Plus incl fee). T&Cs apply. Subject to status.
The required annual spend to earn a Companion Voucher is £20,000 on a British Airways American Express Credit Card, or £20,000 on a British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card.
You can only earn one voucher every 12 months. Once you have reached the qualifying spend, further transactions on the card won't count towards another Companion Voucher until the anniversary ticks over.
You must be the main cardholder of the account to earn the reward, so if you have a joint account, you can't earn two vouchers, and also the second cardholder's transactions will not count towards the required spend.
The Companion Voucher is valid from the day you receive it for 12 months if you're a free British Airways American Express Credit Card customer (Economy only, redeemable on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus reward flights), or 24 months if you have the Premium Plus card (any cabin class with additional Club World seat access).
You can only redeem up to two Companion Vouchers at one time on the same booking and they must be the same type (i.e. the before September 2021 or after September 2021 versions).
Full terms and conditions regarding the Companion Voucher are here. As always, it's best to seek independent financial advice when weighing up credit cards and other bank products and not make a decision based on the rewards alone.
What could you save travelling solo with a Companion Voucher?
Using Reward Flight Finder (RFF)'s Availability Calendar, we’ve found some amazing examples of how solo travellers can now save using the voucher. Better still, our Avios flight finder shows these have reward seats available to book right now:
London – NYC: A peak first class return is 160,000 Avios. Using a BA Companion Voucher for solo travel means you get it for 80,000 Avios (saving another 80,000).
London – Dubai: A off-peak business class return is 100,000 Avios. Using a BA Companion Voucher for solo travel gets you it for 50,000 Avios (saving 50,000)
London – Mumbai: A peak business class return is 150,000 Avios. Using a BA Companion Voucher and travelling solo, you get it for 75,000 Avios (saving 75,000)
London – Barbados: A peak business class return is 150,000 Avios. Using a BA Companion Voucher for solo travel means you get it for 75,000 Avios (saving 75,000)
London – Sydney: A peak business class return is 300,000 Avios. Using a BA Companion Voucher for solo travel bags it for 150,000 Avios (saving 150,000)
As the use of the Companion Voucher is subject to availability, it pays to use RFF’s own Avios flight finder to help you track down your preferred flights. We can Search across multiple options and send you an alert when the seats you are interested in pop up.
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