Are BA companion vouchers worth it (BA Amex 2-4-1)?

If you are new to point collecting and have done your own research online you probably have read a lot about BA companion vouchers offered by the BA Amex cards in the UK. A lot of people regard them as one of the most valuable things in the world of point collecting. But are BA companion vouchers worth it for you? Read on to make your own mind up!

This is my experience using the points system and is not a recommendation of any financial product. There are other credit cards which can earn you travel points including IHG credit card, Tesco Credit Cards (by exchanging Clubcard points for avios, hotel stays and more) & Virgin Atlantic credit card. If you use one of my referral links to an American Express card upon you being accepted I will receive points, this varies between 9,000 – 18,000 depending on the card I refer you from.

What are BA Companion Vouchers?

They are basically 2-4-1 vouchers to use on Avios redemptions. This allows you to get 2 tickets for the price of one in Avios, the cash element of ‘taxes and charges’ would still be due for both tickets.

On the extreme end the 2-4-1 voucher could save you 400,000 Avios if you were lucky enough to find 2 x first class returns to Sydney from London. More realistically however 2-4-1 vouchers are used for trips in business to America, Asia or the Middle East.

If you were to book a peak business class return to New York from London the 2-4-1 voucher would save you 120,000 Avios on a return for 2 people.

With a peak business class return to Bangkok from London the 2-4-1 voucher would save you 180,000 Avios on a return for 2 people.

If you booked a peak business class return to Abu Dhabi from London the 2-4-1 voucher would save you 120,000 Avios on a return for 2 people.

If you value an Avios at 1p it means you are getting £1,200 worth of value to New York, £1,800 worth of value to Bangkok and £1,200 worth of value to Abu Dhabi. Don’t forget to compare cash rates if you would book in cash if you didn’t use Avios. If you would never pay cash for business class it doesn’t really matter! You should be able to get at least 1p worth of value per point, anything below is suboptimal.

Not bad right?

How do I earn a BA Companion Voucher?

You will need to spend £10,000 within a year on the BA Premium Amex & £20,000 on the Free BA Amex. This isn’t a calendar year but a card year which starts on the date you were approved for your card. You can only earn one voucher each card year but there is nothing stopping you and your partner getting separate cards and both meeting the target for 2 x 2-4-1 vouchers.

On the free BA Amex the voucher is valid for one year and on the BA Premium Amex it is valid for two years.

Usually within a few days of hitting your spend target for the voucher it will appear in your BA account. You don’t need to wait until the end of your card year to get it!

BA Companion Vouchers Key information

The voucher is valid on BA operated flights only

It doesn’t matter that you can book other airlines with Avios points the 2-4-1 is exclusively for BA operated flights only. That means no Qatar Airways, American Airlines and Iberia etc. Also no franchise or codeshare services.

You need to be one of the travellers

If you earn the voucher on your BA Amex you need to travel… there is no way to book tickets for 2 other people. You also must travel together at all times on the same flight and cabin. You can’t leave your partner in economy whilst you live the high life in first class. Sorry!

Can I cancel my card as soon as I have my voucher and not lose it?

Yes, despite what Amex says I (and many others) have kept their voucher after cancelling their card. You also don’t need to pay taxes/fees on your BA Amex… any Amex will do!

Can I downgrade to the free BA Amex after getting my voucher on the BA Premium card?

Yes you can. It will still stay valid for 2 years.

Why is the BA Premium card better than the Free one?

In my opinion…

1) The 2-year validity compared to 1 year on the free card makes it a lot easier to book the tickets you want.

2) You need to spend £20,000 on the free card to trigger the 2-4-1 voucher. At 1 Avios per pound would return 20,000 Avios. On the BA Premium card £20,000 spend would get you 30,000 Avios. If you can get 1p worth of value per Avios you are offsetting £100 of the annual fee for 10,000 Avios. Which means you are paying £95 for an extra year of flexibility… well worth it in my opinion!

3) Rather than spending £20,000 on the free card and getting one voucher valid for a year you and your partner/friend/family member could put £10,000 through on two separate cards and earn 2 x 2-4-1 vouchers valid for two years. Handy for a family of 4, 4 for the price of 2.

4) You could also spend £10,000 on the BA Premium card and use the other £10,000 you’d need to spend on the free BA Amex to hit other sign-up bonuses. For example the IHG credit card, Virgin Credit & Amex Platinum Card.

If you are interested in fast-tracking your point collection take a look at our guides to fast track yourself to 250,000 Marriott points or fast track yourself to 200,000 Avios points.

If I already have the Free BA Amex can I upgrade and trigger my voucher sooner?

Yes, if you’ve already hit £10,000 spend in your card year you will automatically trigger the 2-4-1 voucher. You can of course after upgrading cancel or downgrade. You can’t get the sign-up bonus on the BA premium card as you already hold/have held an Avios earning card in the last 24 months. A lot of people reach £10,000 on the free BA Amex, upgrade to get their voucher and then cancel for a pro-rata refund on the BA premium’s £195 annual fee. You could end up paying as little as a few quid!

Is there any way to extend the voucher?

Nope! No way at all, sorry! As long as you book and fly the outbound before the voucher expiry you can fly back at anytime!

Have you considered going for the BA Amex card for the 2-4-1 voucher? If you are looking for a referral link to get bonus points check out our referral page here – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/ – if you have any other question please feel free to leave them in the comments below.