British Airways has previously inflated the Avios points needed for flights, and I was keen to avoid this likely devaluation, so I was determined to use these vouchers for Club World business class tickets as soon as possible. In the past, we have saved as much as £7000 compared to the cash price for the same business class return tickets. So, it is definitely worth the effort.

I have now used my BA Companion Vouchers to go to Barbados, New York, and Marrakech in 2022, and I have bookings for Japan and Chile in 2023. 

But, I set up lots of other RFF Alerts before settling on these. You can select many destinations, set up many Alerts, and just decide whether to book the reward seats when they trigger. I review my Alerts every month and edit the dates if needed. Here’s an example of some of my Alerts in 2021 as travel opened up. 

Here are my tips for securing those elusive tickets:

1 Be determined, and be focused, the prize is worth it.

You collect Avios points to use them. Not to leave them sitting in your BA Club account (unless you’re saving them for a specific date and destination). Utilising your everyday spending and points collection for BA reward seats means you can save a huge amount of cash when booking flights - especially if you maximise perks like the Avios Companion Voucher.

Over my years of collecting Avios points, I have saved thousands of pounds towards travel, which has also helped me take more holidays than I would have before. However, airlines don’t make it particularly easy to find seats, so you need to spend a little time and effort using tools like RFF to make sure you don’t miss out on the seats that suit you best. 

2 Be flexible about dates 

The more flexible you are, the easier it is to find your seats. If however, you can’t be flexible as your target dates are set in stone (for a wedding say) then you need to plan many months ahead. If you are the bride and groom, and you MUST be there, then the only way to guarantee to get the seats is to book exactly 355 days ahead, the moment the seats are released at midnight GMT.

For very popular destinations and at peak times, this means calling BA in the USA. You will only be able to book the outbound flights as the return flights are not yet available. You then have to wait for exactly 355 days before your return flight and call BA at midnight GMT to add to your original booking. 

3 Be flexible about destinations

British Airways has a huge network, though they have suspended some routes since the pandemic. The best use of the BA Companion Voucher is for long-haul business class travel. That is where the huge savings are.

But, some routes are easier to secure than others. So I target a selection of destinations rather than just one. Here’s my list of easy & hard to get destinations.

Remember you can start your journey from anywhere BA flies to, so that adds greater choice and flexibility.

Remember too that an Avios Companion Voucher can be used 1-way, return, open jaw, or solo

4 Set lots of Alerts

Personally, I think the absolute key to making sure you use your BA Companion Voucher and your Avios points is to set up many Alerts to different destinations on different dates months in advance & just sit back & see what comes up. This way you don’t forget about your Avios and you get regular triggers to remind you. 

I am a Gold member & I can set up to 20 Alerts at one time. I think the maximum I have ever done is 12. I find it very exciting getting an Alert trigger as it forces you to make a decision either to book the flights or not.

It may not be your first choice destination, but it is available right now, with no guarantee that your first choice will come up later. I will often buy the tickets & keep my Alerts in place, and if my first choice comes up, I will then cancel the earlier booking & book my first choice (see below for fees). I’ve also done this to upgrade my seats. 

5 Set Alerts well in advance

The harder-to-book reward seat destinations are not impossible to get, but you must set Alerts a good  4-6 months ahead and if your dates are peak dates, then set Alerts 8-10 months ahead. Setting Alerts for longer periods costs you no more, but it does improve your chances of being able to get the seats you want. If you are a family of 2 adults and 2 school-age children, then you will be limited to school holidays. Horror! Using 2 BA Companion Vouchers I would definitely be setting Alerts 11 months ahead. 

6 Book the seats as soon as you are alerted by RFF

If you are sure you want to go, then don’t delay. Book the BA reward seats immediately. British Airways only guarantee 4 Club World tickets on each flight.

7 Remember book & cancel is a viable option

It only costs £35 per person to cancel an Avios reward seat booking. You get all your Avios points back immediately, freeing you to make another Avios redemption. Don’t worry about this cost. If you can get long-haul business class tickets to your preferred destination, this fee will be minimal compared to the huge cash savings you would be making. 

If you’re looking to start using your British Airways Avios points pot to take you to amazing places, sign up for RFF and you’ll be able to see all available BA reward seats on flights across the globe for your preferred dates, in all cabin classes. You’ll also be able to use your membership to set up Alerts, with our Gold membership permitting you to set up 20 active Alerts at any time. 

To take a look at our different memberships visit our Pricing page, or to see how RFF can help you spend your Avios points for flights visit our homepage.

British Airways has previously inflated the Avios points needed for flights, and I was keen to avoid this likely devaluation, so I was determined to use these vouchers for Club World business class tickets as soon as possible. In the past, we have saved as much as £7000 compared to the cash price for the same business class return tickets. So, it is definitely worth the effort.

I have now used my BA Companion Vouchers to go to Barbados, New York, and Marrakech in 2022, and I have bookings for Japan and Chile in 2023. 

But, I set up lots of other RFF Alerts before settling on these. You can select many destinations, set up many Alerts, and just decide whether to book the reward seats when they trigger. I review my Alerts every month and edit the dates if needed. Here’s an example of some of my Alerts in 2021 as travel opened up. 

Here are my tips for securing those elusive tickets:

1 Be determined, and be focused, the prize is worth it.

You collect Avios points to use them. Not to leave them sitting in your BA Club account (unless you’re saving them for a specific date and destination). Utilising your everyday spending and points collection for BA reward seats means you can save a huge amount of cash when booking flights - especially if you maximise perks like the Avios Companion Voucher.

Over my years of collecting Avios points, I have saved thousands of pounds towards travel, which has also helped me take more holidays than I would have before. However, airlines don’t make it particularly easy to find seats, so you need to spend a little time and effort using tools like RFF to make sure you don’t miss out on the seats that suit you best. 

2 Be flexible about dates 

The more flexible you are, the easier it is to find your seats. If however, you can’t be flexible as your target dates are set in stone (for a wedding say) then you need to plan many months ahead. If you are the bride and groom, and you MUST be there, then the only way to guarantee to get the seats is to book exactly 355 days ahead, the moment the seats are released at midnight GMT.

For very popular destinations and at peak times, this means calling BA in the USA. You will only be able to book the outbound flights as the return flights are not yet available. You then have to wait for exactly 355 days before your return flight and call BA at midnight GMT to add to your original booking. 

3 Be flexible about destinations

British Airways has a huge network, though they have suspended some routes since the pandemic. The best use of the BA Companion Voucher is for long-haul business class travel. That is where the huge savings are.

But, some routes are easier to secure than others. So I target a selection of destinations rather than just one. Here’s my list of easy & hard to get destinations.

Remember you can start your journey from anywhere BA flies to, so that adds greater choice and flexibility.

Remember too that an Avios Companion Voucher can be used 1-way, return, open jaw, or solo

4 Set lots of Alerts

Personally, I think the absolute key to making sure you use your BA Companion Voucher and your Avios points is to set up many Alerts to different destinations on different dates months in advance & just sit back & see what comes up. This way you don’t forget about your Avios and you get regular triggers to remind you. 

I am a Gold member & I can set up to 20 Alerts at one time. I think the maximum I have ever done is 12. I find it very exciting getting an Alert trigger as it forces you to make a decision either to book the flights or not.

It may not be your first choice destination, but it is available right now, with no guarantee that your first choice will come up later. I will often buy the tickets & keep my Alerts in place, and if my first choice comes up, I will then cancel the earlier booking & book my first choice (see below for fees). I’ve also done this to upgrade my seats. 

5 Set Alerts well in advance

The harder-to-book reward seat destinations are not impossible to get, but you must set Alerts a good  4-6 months ahead and if your dates are peak dates, then set Alerts 8-10 months ahead. Setting Alerts for longer periods costs you no more, but it does improve your chances of being able to get the seats you want. If you are a family of 2 adults and 2 school-age children, then you will be limited to school holidays. Horror! Using 2 BA Companion Vouchers I would definitely be setting Alerts 11 months ahead. 

6 Book the seats as soon as you are alerted by RFF

If you are sure you want to go, then don’t delay. Book the BA reward seats immediately. British Airways only guarantee 4 Club World tickets on each flight.

7 Remember book & cancel is a viable option

It only costs £35 per person to cancel an Avios reward seat booking. You get all your Avios points back immediately, freeing you to make another Avios redemption. Don’t worry about this cost. If you can get long-haul business class tickets to your preferred destination, this fee will be minimal compared to the huge cash savings you would be making. 

If you’re looking to start using your British Airways Avios points pot to take you to amazing places, sign up for RFF and you’ll be able to see all available BA reward seats on flights across the globe for your preferred dates, in all cabin classes. You’ll also be able to use your membership to set up Alerts, with our Gold membership permitting you to set up 20 active Alerts at any time. 

To take a look at our different memberships visit our Pricing page, or to see how RFF can help you spend your Avios points for flights visit our homepage.