One of the most popular perks of banking with American Express (Amex) is being able to discount the cost of flying with British Airways (BA) when you spend money on your credit card.
One way Amex customers can do this is by earning BA tier points by using their eligible Amex cards, allowing them to get free seat allocation, access to first-class lounges, extra baggage allowance, and much more.
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These “reward flights” use Avios to drive down the price of your ticket and, depending on how many points you have, can even make your flight as cheap as £1.
What is a British Airways American Express companion voucher?
BA Amex companion vouchers allow recipients to effectively double the power of Avios points when purchasing reward flights.
This can be done in one of two ways:
- Travelling with a companion: You can use a companion voucher to take someone with you on the same flight and in the same cabin without spending any extra points.
- Travelling alone: You can use a companion voucher to discount the Avios price of your reward flight by 50%.
If you choose to bring a companion along by using a voucher, you will not need to spend any additional Avios points, but you will need to pay any applicable taxes and other flight charges.
Customers travelling with a companion who have multiple vouchers can use a maximum of two of the same type on one reward flight booking. This amounts to a maximum of four passengers (excluding infants under two years old).
Solo travellers can only use a maximum of one voucher per booking.
How do you get a BA Amex companion voucher?
BA Amex companion vouchers can be earned by BA Amex card customers when they spend £15,000 on their participating Amex card in a given year.
The current cards eligible for companion vouchers are the British Airways American Express Credit Card, and the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card.
You are only able to earn one companion voucher per year.
Companion vouchers earned with the British Airways American Express Credit Card will be eligible for 12 months after they are earned.
Meanwhile, companion vouchers earned with the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card will be eligible for 24 months after they are earned.
Note that you cannot earn a companion voucher if you spend the required amount on a different Amex card.
For a full rundown of all of Amex’s available cards, read ‘Which is the best American Express credit card?’.
What are the different types of companion voucher?
The type of companion voucher you have depends on when and how you earned it.
Companion vouchers earned through the British Airways American Express Credit Card after 1 September 2021 are displayed on your British Airways Club account as 'BA American Express Credit Card Companion Voucher'.
Meanwhile, companion vouchers earned through the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card after 1 September 2021 will be displayed as ‘BA American Express Premium Plus Companion Voucher'.
Finally, if you earned your companion vouchers before 1 September 2021, they will be displayed in your account as 'BA American Express Companion Voucher'. These have different terms, validity, and benefits than the others. BA says more information about these can be found at ba.com/amex-companion.
You cannot combine two different types of companion voucher in one booking.
How to redeem a BA Amex companion voucher
Once you have spent the required £15,000 on your eligible BA Amex card, you will be able to see your voucher displayed in your British Airways Club account.
You can then redeem it by going to https://www.ba.com/bookwithavios and signing in. You can then select your voucher at the top of the page and choose your destination and dates.
Finally, you can look through the available flights, choose them, and book your tickets; perhaps to Athens, Puerto Rico or the Swiss Alps.
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