Companion Voucher Key Takeaways

• You need to book and fly the outbound leg booked with a 2-4-1 voucher before its expiry date but you can fly back whenever you like.

• You must use an American Express card to pay your taxes on a companion voucher booking, though it doesn't actually have to be a BA Amex card.

• If you need to cancel a flight booked with a companion voucher, you will get the voucher back. However, the original expiry date will remain the same.

• You can't split your payment for a BA Companion Voucher flight with cash and Avios. “Part-pay with Avios” bookings are ineligible, it has to be a reward flight booking where the full price of the flight ticket is covered by an Avios redemption, minus taxes and fees.

• You aren't allowed to change the name of the second traveller after making a booking. To do so, you have to cancel the whole booking, but there is no guarantee that reward flight seats will still be available when you rebook.

• BA won't let you use a companion voucher to get a refund of half your points on flights for two that you have already booked using Avios.

• You can combine 'Gold Upgrade For Two' vouchers (earned when you reach 2,500 BA Executive Club Tier Points) with a companion voucher.

• British Airways will not extend the expiry date of companion vouchers, however they may offer some flexibility on the flights you booked with it, depending on the ticket type or during exceptional circumstances, such as during the coronavirus pandemic. (During the pandemic you could artificially extend your voucher by booking 2-4-1 flights then cancelling them to receive a future travel voucher with a longer expiry date.)

• If BA cancel your flight you are still entitled to both be rebooked onto new flights or to receive a refund of your voucher and Avios.

• You will not earn new Avios or BA Tier Points on the flight booked with your companion voucher.

• You can add an infant under 2 to your booking for two adults, the cost will be 10% of the Avios and taxes required for an adult ticket.

• Your flights will not be cancelled if you cancel your BA Amex card after making your companion voucher booking.

• If you earn the voucher, then cancel your card, the voucher will still be valid but you will need some form of Amex card to pay the taxes when you redeem it.

• If you earn the Premium Plus voucher, it will still be valid for two years, even if you then downgrade to the fee-free BA Amex card.