HUGE NEWS! You Can Now Use Your BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher on Iberia and Aer Lingus!

British Airways & American Express yesterday announced some HUGE news regarding the BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher. Effective immediately you can now use your voucher on Iberia and Aer Lingus flights!

Is there any benefit to using my BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher on Iberia / Aer Lingus over British Airways?

Absolutely! The taxes and charges on Iberia redemptions are substantially lower than those on British Airways flights. Particularly if you are willing to fly ex eu (booking your ticket starting in Europe, and having a separate ticket to reach your starting point) to avoid UK air passenger duty. Here are a few examples…

All examples below are the total cost for 2 people when using a BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher.

1. Fly Iberia From Madrid – New York – 68,000 Avios + £ 426.80
   
   Compare that to Flying BA From London – New York – 160,000 Avios + £ 700.00.
   
   Yep, that is not a typo, it’s almost 100,000 Avios cheaper and almost £300 cheaper to fly with Iberia from Madrid rather than start your journey in London with London.
   
2. Fly Iberia From Madrid – San Jose (Costa Rica) – 105,000 Avios + £451
   
   Compare that to Flying BA From London – San Jose (Costa Rica) – 190,000 Avios + £ 900.00
   
   Again almost half the taxes and a huge 85,000 Avios saving by using your voucher from Madrid and Iberia…

If Manchester Airport is your local you will be pleased as you will now be able to use your BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher on the long-haul flights operated by Aer Lingus to New York, Orlando and Barbados. No need to get to Heathrow first for British Airways!

What are the rules regarding redemptions on Iberia / Aer Lingus using the BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher?

The rules/validity is identical to that of redeeming on BA flights…

1. The Free BA Amex’s 2-4-1 Voucher can only be used for economy flights. The spend required to trigger the voucher is £12,000 and you must use it within one year of issue.
2. The BA Premium Plus Amex‘s 2-4-1 Voucher can be used in all travel cabins. The spend required to trigger the voucher is £10,000 and you must use it within two years of issue.
3. Both BA Amex 2-4-1 vouchers can now be used on flights that start outside the UK. Perfect if you want to fly ex-eu to avoid UK air passenger duty,

The only difference is the voucher doesn’t book into I-class (discounted) business class with Iberia & Aer Lingus like it can on BA flights.

How do I use my BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher on Iberia / Aer Lingus?

In exactly the same way you use it for British Airways flights. Simply login to the British Airways website. Click Book, Book a flight with Avios and then making sure your voucher is selected fill in your required journey details and search. If there is availiabiity on the route you are searching for on Iberia / Aer Lingus this will now be shown in the results alongside the BA flights.

You can’t use the voucher on Iberia / Aer Lingus website. Your booking must be made on the BA website as that is where your 2-4-1 voucher is stored.

Conclusion

Seeing the 2-4-1 voucher expanded to include Iberia / Aer Lingus flights is fantastic news giving BA American Express card customers more options to book including lower tax options! Now we just await the ability to redeem our BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher on Qatar Airways…