The ultimate guide to the British Airways Companion Voucher

The British Airways Companion Voucher can be the most valuable U.K. credit card benefit out there, and used the right way can save you thousands of pounds.

Since the programme is more complicated in practice than a simple buy one, get one free model, we have broken down the details for you.

At the most basic level, each Voucher allows 2-for-1 travel on British Airways Avios redemption reward flights. So, you pay half of the Avios required per two people. Importantly, taxes, fees and surcharges still apply in full for both passengers, and only the Avios part of the redemption is 2-for-1. On long-haul flights in premium cabins the surcharges are substantial.

Recently, the redemption rules were expanded so the Voucher can also be redeemed for solo travel. A single traveller would pay 50% of the Avios required, and the full fees, taxes and surcharges for one traveller.

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Who is it for?

The Companion Voucher is best suited to BA Executive Club members who want to fly British Airways, can spend at least £10,000 on a BA branded credit card in 12 months, and have a good amount of Avios to redeem.

Related: My post-coronavirus British Airways Companion Voucher strategy

Earning the Companion Voucher

You can earn the Companion Voucher through the following minimum spends on your BA Amex card:

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• The British Airways American Express Credit Card: £12,000 per membership year. This card has no annual fee and earns 1 Avios per £1 spent on everyday purchases.
• The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Card: £10,000 in each membership year. This card has an annual fee of £250 per year and earns 1.5 Avios per £1 spent on everyday purchases.

The spend is on a 12-month basis from your account opening and renewal date. It's worth noting that you can only earn one Companion Voucher per 12 months per card from your renewal date (card year), and money spent beyond the required amount does not roll over. So, even if you spend £50,000 for a year on your BA Amex, you only earn one Voucher for that card year. If a couple are spending that much each year they might consider each applying for a BA Amex and spreading the spending across the two accounts so they can each earn a Companion Voucher to redeem.

The Companion Voucher will appear in your BA Executive Club account a few days after you reach your required spend. There's a handy tracker in your American Express account to show how close you are to earning it.

Earning two Vouchers

You can use two Companion Vouchers at the same time for a group or family of four if you accrue two Companion Vouchers across two card years and book and take your outbound flight before the first Voucher expires.

You need to hold the Premium Plus Card to have the 24-month expiration date (more on expiration below), but it is possible with a 12-month expiry if you time your spending carefully around your renewal date.

Related: When should you book flights for next Christmas?

One tactic is to hold off on hitting your required spend until close to your renewal date and then earn another one quickly afterwards.

For example, my renewal date is October. I will put most of my summer expenses on my Premium Plus Card to hit the required spend in September and then put my holiday expenses on it to earn another one in December because it is a new earning year. Then, I have two Vouchers to use as a family of four that expire around the same time.

As they are valid for 24 months with my Premium Plus Card, I then have more time to find availability and earn the requisite Avios for the redemption.

Alternatively, two people could each earn a Companion Voucher on their own card and redeem both for the same journey.

Expiry

Having a Companion Voucher expire is a colossal waste as you are potentially flushing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of value down the toilet, so keep track of their expiration in your BA Executive Club account.

Outbound travel must take place before the expiry of the Voucher, but return travel can be after the expiry of the Voucher. You have to book the return at the same time or book a one-way.

The Companion Voucher expirations are as follows:

• The British Airways American Express Credit Card: 12 months from issue
• The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Card: 24 months from issue

The dates are listed in your Executive Club account, so you can keep an eye on the expiration.

Related: The top 10 questions I'm asked about British Airways, Executive Club and Avios

Redeeming

As Avios seats are released 355 days before the date of departure, you can book your outbound journey online as a one-way and then ring British Airways to add the return destination when your return journey seats open up.

Each time you make an Avios search on BA.com, you will be prompted by a checkbox on whether you wish to use your Companion Voucher and, if you have more than one, both will be listed and you can select one or two.

Always ensure you use your Voucher with the nearest expiry date first.

That pesky UK Air Passenger Duty

For Vouchers earned before 1 September 2021, you must depart from the U.K., therefore triggering the Air Passenger Duty tax that is charged on all flights departing from the country. The workarounds are to depart from Jersey or Inverness. Both airports are within the U.K. for Amex Companion Voucher purposes but do not trigger APD, so your out-of-pocket cost will be slightly lower.

For Vouchers earned after 1 September 2021, you can start your journey anywhere to redeem your Companion Voucher. This is handy if you live outside the U.K. or perhaps want to save money on the APD tax by starting your journey in Paris (CDG), for example. You can have up to four sectors per Companion Voucher redemption, so if you wanted to start your journey outside of the U.K., you could redeem Paris (CDG) to London (LHR) to Miami (MIA) after 1 September. You could potentially save several hundred pounds this way.

This rule change is also handy if you only want to redeem your Companion Voucher for a one-way journey. You could start anywhere British Airways flies and redeem it for a one-way flight back to the U.K.

Amending

You can book your Companion Voucher redemption in whatever class you find available and then upgrade it if flights open up in a higher class for £35 per person each way. You have to call BA to do this and cannot do it online. Like all Avios bookings, using a Companion Voucher redemption has more generous cancellation policies than cash tickets and can be really handy for those of us with shifting plans.

Related: TPG reader question: Will my companion voucher be upgraded if I upgrade my British Airways American Express card?

Rules

Here are some hard and fast rules when redeeming, but remember that the basic rules suit the traditional U.K. traveller who wants to fly British Airways with a partner or friend from the U.K., or travel solo and save plenty of Avios on their redemption.

Related: Big news: British Airways Companion Vouchers can now be redeemed for solo travel

Musts:

• Flight must be on British Airways metal (no partners or mixing);
• Flight must originate in and return to the U.K. for vouchers earned before 1 September 2021. For vouchers earned after 1 September 2021 they can begin anywhere British Airways flies;
• The person who is listed on the Voucher must make the booking;
• The person listed on the Voucher must travel;
• Same companion for outbound and return when choosing to redeem for a couple, rather than solo travel;
• Only for reward bookings paid fully with Avios (not cash + Avios);
• Companion must be on the same flight and in the same cabin;
• There must be Avios award seats available for each passenger in each sector;
• Mixed class itineraries are available which is especially handy when you can't find the desired availability in all sectors;
• Still pay taxes, fees and carrier charges for both tickets, which can be hefty;
• Must use a British Airways Amex card to pay taxes and fees for the fees, taxes and surcharges. (Note: many travellers report that it needs to be paid with any Amex, not necessarily a BA Amex);
• Cannot change the name of a companion after booking — you must cancel the ticket; and
• Companion must be added to your "Friends and Family" list with BA or be in your Household Account.

Related: Amex Companion Voucher or Barclaycard Upgrade Voucher — what's best for solo travellers?

There are a lot of rules that make the Companion Voucher challenging to use for more complex redemptions, but you should also note these positives:

• Can also be used one-way but then is considered fully redeemed;
• While you have to depart before the Voucher expiry, you can fly back at any date;
• Companion Vouchers can be used in any cabin. From 1 September 2021, the Companion Vouchers earned from the basic card are devalued hugely as they can only be redeemed for economy class going forward;
• Companion Voucher can be used on any route British Airways operates where there is Avios award availability;
• You can return from a different city (e.g., MAN-BKK; KUL-LHR), but it requires a call to BA;
• If you cancel your tickets, you do get the Companion Voucher back;
• "Gold Upgrade for Two" Vouchers can be used;
• Companion Voucher traveller can be a child;
• You can still have a lap infant when using a Companion Voucher and pay 10% of Avios for the baby; and
• Need enough Avios available for the outbound but could wait to add the inbound prior to departure.

How to maximise a Companion Voucher redemption

Companion Vouchers can be extremely valuable, especially for higher cabins of service. Remember, what you're saving is Avios, which we value at 1.1p, but it is worth also factoring in the notoriously high taxes on British Airways redemptions out of the U.K. On a 200,000-Avios ticket, the Companion Voucher would be bringing £2,400 of value.

Set out below is a variety of popular redemptions showing the Avios and tax costs for two tickets off-peak, against the price of the average cash tickets booked six months in advance.

The chart assumes off-peak travel and using a Companion Voucher.

Redemption option 1: Long-haul

Premium cabins

As the taxes are nearly the same between classes, you are parting with a similar amount of cash with a Companion Voucher redemption whether you are squeezed in the back of the plane or sitting up the front. To earn the most value from your Companion Voucher if flying long-haul, the premium cabins (Club World and First) make more sense if you are sitting on a pile of Avios.

While previously it could be difficult to find two seats in a premium cabin on the same flight, in addition to the existing Avios availability and the doubling of the minimum guaranteed number of Avios seats for all Executive Club members announced recently, British Airways will also open up additional Club World seats for Companion Vouchers earned from the Premium Plus Card from 1 September.

Related: How much better is British Airways business-class availability using a new Companion Voucher?

Here's how it should work in practice. Say you're wanting to fly to Dubai (DXB) on Christmas Eve in Club World. This is a peak travel period and usually difficult to find Avios availability.

If I search without a Companion Voucher, business class is not available with Avios on 24 December:

However, BA has said that from 1 September 2021, Companion Vouchers from the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card will also have access to "I class" award availability. Checking those Christmas Eve flights on ExpertFlyer, which is owned by TPG's parent company Red Ventures, there are plenty of seats available in the "I class" fare bucket, which would be available to book with a Companion Voucher.

This means on these flights, availability using a Companion Voucher is significantly better than without a Companion Voucher.

Related: Everything you need to know about British Airways' fare classes

Watch those taxes long-haul

For long-haul economy redemptions, there's unlikely to be much value in redeeming your Companion Voucher. This is because you will be charged a hefty amount of fees, taxes and surcharges for the second "free" passenger, even though you won't need any Avios for this second passenger.

Looking at New York as an example, you could use your Companion Voucher to book two passengers in economy class for 26,000 Avios total on an off-peak date plus ~£300 each in fees, taxes and surcharges. Why this isn't a great deal is because we regularly see sale fares in economy to New York for £300 or less each, where you could earn Avios and Tier Points and save your Companion Voucher for something more valuable.

Related: Avios vs. Tier Points: British Airways Executive Club status explained

Redemption option 2: Within Europe on peak dates

Many points maximisers swear by saving their Companion Voucher for last-minute intra-European flights in Club Europe.

Intra-European flights over the holidays or in the summer can skyrocket. One easy and valuable redemption is to use your Companion Voucher for a European flight during these times, where the taxes are capped at £50 per return business-class ticket.

While our chart above shows advanced fares for December redemptions, doing a high summer redemption to Nice, Greece or Croatia can be highly valuable.

Redemption option 3: Whatever you were going to pay cash for

I previously redeemed my Companion Voucher earned from my Premium Plus Card for two premium economy seats to the Maldives in November 2019. I parted with 82,500 Avios and £950 in taxes plus a Companion Voucher.

Why premium economy and not business? Most importantly, there were no business-class seats available, and the dates matched up with our Marriott points redemption at the St. Regis Maldives. BA also has the only direct flight, and the times are ideal for missing the fewest amount of days in the office.

Finally, we were going to pay cash for the premium economy tickets, which totalled £3,950. My husband is an economist, and as we were saving £3,000 that we were going to spend, we saw this as real cash savings and more valuable than the inherent benefit of flying Club World to another destination that had availability. The flexibility of the ticket also means that if there is a business-class sale, we can still scoop up flights. Or if reward availability opens up, we can cancel these tickets for £140 and have the Avios and Companion Voucher redeposited into my account.

We did not factor in the Avios that we would have earned if paying cash, but that should always be an additional consideration.

Redemption option 4: Two adults plus child under 2 in Club World

Because you only pay 10% of the Avios for a "lap infant," you can travel as a family of three with a child under 2 and a Companion Voucher for a significant reduction and have more space to spread out, particularly with the two middle seats and bassinet in Club World.

The two seats create a play space for the young traveller and there's the hope that he or she falls asleep in the bassinet attachment as you sip your Champagne and watch your first film in ages.

Related: TPG reader question: Does my credit card's travel insurance cover flights booked with points and miles?

Avios-specific redemptions

If you have a specific number of Avios you're looking to use in conjunction with a Companion Voucher, take these guides into account:

• How to best maximise a British Airways Companion Voucher with 50,000 Avios
• How to best maximise a British Airways Companion Voucher with 100,000 Avios
• How to best maximise a British Airways Companion Voucher with 150,000 Avios
• How to best maximise a British Airways Companion Voucher with 200,00 Avios

Bottom line

A Companion Voucher earned through the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card can easily generate thousands of pounds in value for £10,000 spend, which is the best current travel benefit available with a U.K. credit card.

For Vouchers earned from the free British Airways American Express Credit Card, there are frustrating new restrictions that say the Voucher can only be redeemed for economy class, so you are unlikely to gain value from long-haul economy redemptions because of the high fees, taxes and surcharges both passengers are required to pay.

You may still get some good value from last-minute peak short-haul redemptions. The spend required is £12,000 each year to earn the Voucher, and you can start your journey outside the U.K. Unfortunately that Voucher is only valid for 12 months

For Companion Vouchers earned from the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card, they are better than ever. There are significantly more seats available for redemption with this Voucher, especially in Club World/Club Suite, which means you can easily obtain £1,000+ from your Companion Voucher.

Related:

• The 2022 beginner's guide to points and miles — unlock great travel
• How to use online shopping portals for maximum bonus points and miles
• 8 tips and tricks for finding a great travel deal
• How to travel to Spain for (almost) free using points and miles

Additional reporting by Ben Smithson