Is The ‘New’ BA Amex 2-4-1 Voucher Any Good?

As you are probably aware (if you’re a BA Amex cardholder) the 1st of September saw some substantial changes made to the 2-4-1 voucher & BA American Express cards. We want to take a look at these changes to allow you to work out if it’s worth your while collecting the ‘new’ BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher. If you are unsure as to what a BA Amex 2-4-1 Voucher is see here – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/are-ba-companion-vouchers-worth-it-ba-amex-2-4-1/

What are the changes to the BA American Express cards?

The main changes are (this only applies to voucher earnt on the 1st September onwards)…

1. The Free BA Amex’s 2-4-1 Voucher can now only be used for economy flights BUT the spend required to trigger the voucher has been reduced from £20,000 to £12,000.
   
2. The fee on the BA Premium Plus BA Amex is increasing from £195 to £250 BUT the vouchers will now book into I-class (discounted cash Business Class) as well as standard Avios availability. This in theory means a much improved chance of getting the Business Class tickets you want…
   
3. New BA Amex 2-4-1 vouchers can now be used on flights that start outside the UK.

You can read in detail about the full changes on British Airway’s website here – https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/offers/terms-and-conditions/amex-companion

Is there any point in having the Free BA Amex?

If you want a free card & would be able to reach the reduced £12,000 spend for the voucher then maybe (though we’d still prefer the BA Premium Plus Amex!) Whilst redeeming Avios for a long-haul economy flight rarely makes sense you may be able to get some value on peak short-haul flights with the ‘taxes & fees’ capped at £35 per person. In reality, however, a lot of people want to use their Avios on Business Class flights which means you’d need to stump up the £250 annual fee for the BA Premium Plus Amex. You may also consider ‘upgrading’ your free BA Amex to the Premium Plus card just before you hit £10,000 and then downgrading afterward.

Does the BA Premium Plus Amex 2-4-1 voucher have more availability booking into I-class?

The million-dollar question! Does the ability to book into I-class with the BA Premium Plus Amex 2-4-1 voucher actually open up more availability? Let’s look at some examples…

Sydney

Without new 2-4-1 voucher

When we looked for flights with BA on 22nd June to Sydney and returning on the 9th July we found no Avios availability

With the new 2-4-1 voucher

Repeating this search for flights with BA on the same dates to/from Sydney opens up a huge 6 seats on the outbound & 2 on the inbound.

Cape Town

Without new 2-4-1 voucher

When we looked for flights with BA on 30th June to Cape Town and returning on the 6th August we found 2 Business class seats on the outbound but no Avios availability on the inbound.

With the new 2-4-1 voucher

Repeating this search for flights with BA on the same dates to/from Cape Town doesn’t open any additional seats on the outbound & but does open up seats on the inbound.

Toyko

Without new 2-4-1 voucher

When we looked for flights with BA on 5th March to Toyko and returning on the 19th March we found no Avios availability in Business on the outbound but Business class available on the inbound.

With the new 2-4-1 voucher

Repeating this search for flights with BA on the same dates to/from Toyko opens up Business Class availability on the outbound & but doesn’t change availability on the inbound.

Conclusion

Are you happy with the changes to the BA Amex card 2-4-1 voucher? At the moment the Premium Plus 2-4-1 voucher does seem to be adding extra availability… even if it doesn’t always tell you! 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 questions please feel free to leave them in the comments below.