What is a British Airways Companion Voucher?

The British Airways Companion Voucher

The BA Companion Voucher is one of the best credit card perks on the market, certainly if you are British Airways Executive Club member who flies frequently from the UK.

Put simply, it lets you buy two reward flights for the price of one using Avios points. Which is why it is also sometimes referred to as the “BA 2 for 1 companion voucher”.

You only pay half the points you normally would for two people, however you do still have to pay the taxes, fees and surcharges for both tickets, the “buy-one-get-one-free” discount only applies to the Avios.

How to Get a BA 2 for 1 Companion Voucher

This is a benefit that is only available to holders of the British Airways American Express Credit Card (Blue) and its slightly posher sister, the British Airways Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Card (Black).

To earn a Companion Voucher, you need to spend a minimum amount within the membership year, a 12 month period which starts and renews on the same day of the year that you opened your account.

For the blue card, which has no annual fee, you need to spend £20,000 to get a voucher which will expire in a year. For the black card, that has a £195 annual fee currently, you “only” need to spend £10,000 in the year and your voucher is valid for two years.

Important Points to Remember

You can only earn one voucher within each 12 months of membership, even if you spend more than the minimum qualifying amount. The qualifying spend also resets at the start of each membership year.

If you time things very carefully, you can hold two valid vouchers at the same time, then redeem both on a reservation for four people .

You can only use a BA Companion Voucher on a British Airways operated flight, not one flown by their One World partners. The flight you book has to start in the United Kingdom and return ticket reservations have to land back there too.

Other Considerations:

• You can only use the voucher on flights you pay for entirely with Avios.
• The person named on the voucher has to both make the reservation and travel.
• Your companion has to be named in your household account or “friends & family” list.
• You can’t name different companions for the outbound and return legs or change the name of your companion after you have booked.
• Both travellers must be on the same flight and in the same cabin.
• You have to use your Amex card to pay the taxes, fees and surcharges.

Tips To Get The Most Value

The difference in taxes between economy class and premium cabins is not as great as the difference in the cash price. So using a Companion Voucher to fly business class can give you a benefit worth thousands of pounds on a long haul flight.

European flights can be very expensive during the school holidays. However, you might be able to bag a bargain Club Europe ticket, better still the taxes and fees are capped on these routes.

Reward flight availability is limited, particularly on busy routes and at certain times of year. So a great tip is to use a website like Rewardflightfinder.com, which lets you search availability across classes and set up alerts when reward seats become available for the destinations you are looking at.