BA Companion voucher

[scouser]

Hi everyone,

Can anyone explain what the British airways companion voucher is please and how do I use it, i have a BA Amex card and about to hit the limit to obtain one. I have no idea how it works but i do have a BA executive account and collect the avios etc.

If anyone could help with info it would be much appreciated.

[Fluffypenguin]

It allows you to book two seats for the cost in avios for one person.

So basically, you can book a reward flight for two of you, but only use the amount of avios needed for one person.

It does need to be a reward flight though, so obviously there needs to be seats available. Most people use them for business or first class as those use up the most points.

If you go on to the BA website, there is section on there where you can search for reward flights and it will show you prices in avios and tax. You do need to pay the taxes for two people though.

[Claudette]

We always use ours for business or first class flights. You need to have saved up enough Avios points for one flight and then get to bring your companion along on the same flight for free (other than taxes).

A business class flight to Orlando requires either 125k or 137.5k avios points depending on the time of year. As mentioned, it is subject to there being two reward seats availability. It seems some people are up at midnight the day flights are released to book their flights. I have never done this and have always found sufficient availability but may have to tweak by a day or two of my chosen travel dates. We have a bit more flexibility than some as we don’t need to accommodate school dates.

[stanleycamel]

Don't forget that as from September 1st 2021 the terms for Amex Companion vouchers and spend on the Amex "Blue" card and Amex "Black" have changed.

BA Amex Premium card (black one) - now has a £250 annual fee and a spend of £10000 per year to trigger the voucher. The voucher can be used for any cabin and BA have extended the booking class for Club to include I class so gives more availability. A flight booked with a new Companion Voucher issued after can start outside the UK which opens interesting possibilities.

BA Amex (blue one) - this now has a minimum spend of £12000 reduced from £20000 to trigger the Companion Voucher. If you have already spent between £12000 and £20000 you will have already qualified for the voucher. so in the next few days check your BAEC account to see if has been triggered by the change. The disadvantage is that it can only be used for Economy flights.

Any vouchers issued prior to the change are subject to the previous rules regardless of the card type. It isn't possible to mix old and new vouchers either.

[Goldia]

Just to add to what others have said the deadline for using your voucher is either 12 months or 24 months from date of issue depending on which card you have. The premium card has the longer life.

I don't believe this has changed since the 1st Sept changes mentioned by Stanley.

[Tinkerbell 1]

Once you qualify it should automatically show in your Avios account. When searching reward flights you say if you want to use the voucher or not.

[scouser]

I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply it,s a great help thanks everyone. 😀

[heedtheba]

I have 2 x companion vouchers due to COVID extension dates but I found it cheaper to just buy normal tickets and use some avios points for a discount , I can't get flights to the USA cheaper with the companion ticket than just buying , what’s the best price have anyone had with the taxes etc

[Claudette]

Originally Posted by heedtheba

I have 2 x companion vouchers due to COVID extension dates but I found it cheaper to just buy normal tickets and use some avios points for a discount , I can't get flights to the USA cheaper with the companion ticket than just buying , what’s the best price have anyone had with the taxes etc

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I have used companion voucher to secure tickets that would have cost anything from £4-10k for a pair. The value is in getting business or first class flights, there isn’t a lot of value in economy.

[scouser]

Sorry lol, just a couple of questions,

1, Do avios flights include baggage ?

2, If things change due to covid etc and I need to cancel is it true I can cancel anytime upto 48 hours before and get a refund of all my avios ?