The British Airways Visa Signature® Card (review) is one of the best airline co-branded credit cards out there, as it offers lots of benefits for those who fly British Airways with any frequency, and it’s also offering a solid welcome bonus at the moment.
In this post, I wanted to take an updated look at the British Airways travel together ticket, which is a benefit that you can unlock if you spend $30,000 in total on purchases on the British Airways Visa in a calendar year. I especially wanted to look at this in light of the changes that have just been made to this benefit, plus British Airways reducing surcharges on some awards. Is it worth putting $30,000 of spending on the card in order to earn a companion voucher?
In this post:
The British Airways Card travel together ticket
The British Airways Visa perk that tends to cause the most differing opinions among people is the travel together ticket. I say that because some people find it to be invaluable, while others find it to be worthless. Let’s take a closer look at how this benefit works.
British Airways companion voucher basics
The British Airways Visa offers a companion voucher when you spend $30,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year. Cardholders can earn up to one of these per year, and it will be deposited in your Executive Club account four to six weeks after you’ve completed the required spending. Here are the basic things you need to know when it comes to redeeming the certificate:
- It’s valid for travel on British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus, though not for travel on other partner airlines
- You can use it for a one-way or roundtrip ticket originating anywhere in the world, so the ticket doesn’t have to originate in the United States
- You can use it either to have a companion travel with you without requiring any Avios, or alternatively, you can use it to get 50% off an award ticket for one person
- You can use it for travel in economy, premium economy, business, or first class
- You need to redeem the certificate within 24 months of when it’s issued (outbound travel has to occur by that date, though you can return on a later date)
- You’re allowed to have stopovers on the ticket
- There needs to be award availability for two passengers on the flight you want in order to use it
- You need to pay the taxes and carrier-imposed surcharges for both passengers, though you only need to redeem Avios for one passenger
We’ve seen some significantly positive changes to this over time. As of mid-2022, we saw a change whereby the voucher could be used for solo travel, reducing the number of Avios required by 50%. Then as of mid-2023, we saw a change whereby the voucher can also be used for travel on Iberia and Aer Lingus, and can be used for travel originating anywhere in the world.
Redeeming the British Airways travel together ticket
On the surface taking advantage of the British Airways companion voucher might seem like a no-brainer. After all, if you can get a two-for-one international award ticket, that sounds like a great deal. But there are some things to be aware of, which I wanted to address below.
How much does British Airways charge for award tickets?
For context, British Airways has a distance-based award chart, and the cost of each segment is calculated separately, per the following chart:
Zone // Distance | Economy Off Peak // Peak | Premium Economy Off Peak // Peak | Business Off Peak // Peak | First Off Peak // Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Zone 1 1-650 miles* *Not available in North America | 4,000 // 4,500 | 5.750 // 6,750 | 7,750 // 9,000 | 15,500 // 18,000 |
Zone 2 651-1150 miles | 6,500 // 7,500 | 9,500 // 11,250 | 12,750 // 15,000 | 25,500 // 30,000 |
Zone 3 1151-2000 miles | 8,500 // 10,000 | 12,750 // 15,000 | 17,000 // 20,000 | 34,000 // 40,000 |
Zone 4 2001-3000 miles | 10,000 // 12,500 | 20,000 // 25,000 | 31,250 // 37,500 | 42,500 // 50,000 |
Zone 5 3001-4000 miles | 13,000 // 20,000 | 26,000 // 40,000 | 50,000 // 60,000 | 68,000 // 80,000 |
Zone 6 4001-5500 miles | 16,250 // 25,000 | 32,500 // 50,000 | 62,500 // 75,000 | 85,000 // 100,000 |
Zone 7 5501-6500 miles | 19,500 // 30,000 | 39,000 // 60,000 | 75,000 // 90,000 | 102,000 // 120,000 |
Zone 8 6501-7000 miles | 22,750 // 35,000 | 45,500 // 75,000 | 87,500 // 105,000 | 119,000 // 140,000 |
Zone 9 7001+ miles | 32,500 // 50,000 | 65,000 // 100,000 | 125,000 // 150,000 | 170,000 // 200,000 |
As you can see, British Airways has peak and off-peak pricing, and that varies based on the specific date you’re traveling. To figure out how much an award would cost you’d then use additive pricing for each segment. In some cases there are some quirks with award pricing, especially for intra-Europe connections, but the above is a useful general summary.
High carrier-imposed surcharges & UK APD
The major “catch” to redeeming Avios for travel on British Airways is the high fees associated with such travel:
- British Airways is known for its high carrier-imposed surcharges on award tickets, which in some cases can total $1,000+ per person for a roundtrip ticket in a premium cabin (or even more); note that these vary market-to-market, so you may pay significantly different surcharges whether your destination is Paris or Copenhagen, for example
- If your ticket involves a departure out of the UK with a stopover of more than 24 hours there, you’ll pay the UK Air Passenger Duty, which for a long haul flight is $107-112 in economy and $236-247 in premium economy, business class, or first class (and this doesn’t include any of the other taxes)
BA Visa carrier surcharge rebate
While there are hefty carrier-imposed surcharges when redeeming through British Airways, the good news is that you can stack benefits. When redeeming your companion ticket you can also take advantage of a $100-200 statement credit, as the BA Visa offers up to $600 in statement credits per year toward award ticket carrier surcharges. The way this works:
- You can get a $200 reward for a reward flight in British Airways first or business class
- You can get a $100 reward for a reward flight in British Airways premium economy or economy
Those won’t be reflected in the amounts shown below, because this rebate is credited after the fact.
Where to find your British Airways companion voucher
The terms indicate that your companion certificate will post within four to six weeks of when you complete spending. When I earned mine, I received an email letting me know that I had earned a companion certificate within two weeks of the eligible statement closing date.
Once the certificate is in your account, you’ll see the option to redeem it every time you go to the award search tool.
The travel together ticket is rarely worth it in economy
Redeeming Avios for travel in British Airways economy isn’t necessarily a great deal. In late 2022, British Airways increased the Avios required for award tickets originating in the United States, but decreased the fees.
For example, using the British Airways companion voucher you could fly roundtrip from New York to London in economy off-peak for two people for 50,000 Avios plus $400 (the cash price below is for one traveler).
That’s not a terrible value, but the Avios requirement is significantly higher than what you’d find through most other programs. I’d say this is only mainly a bad deal when you consider that you had to spend $30,000 on the card in order to earn this companion voucher, and that has quite an opportunity cost.
The travel together ticket could make sense in first & business class
Generally speaking, the sweet spot for redeeming on British Airways is for first & business class tickets, given how much these tickets would cost if paying cash.
For example, you could use the companion voucher for a roundtrip off-peak business class ticket between New York and London and pay just 160,000 Avios total, plus $700 per person. That’s an average of 80,000 Avios plus $700 per person.
What about if you want to travel further? You could fly all the way from New York to Johannesburg in business class for 340,000 Avios total, plus $1,600 per person. That’s an average of 170,000 Avios plus $1,600. Ouch.
That pricing is really rough, if you ask me.
British Airways has an award seat guarantee
While the carrier-imposed surcharges can be frustrating, one awesome thing about British Airways Executive Club is that the program guarantees a certain amount of award availability per flight. Specifically, the airline makes at least four business class award seats available on each flight when the schedule opens.
There are many airlines that don’t regularly release any award space when the schedule opens, so this is a pretty awesome feature. If you’re quick, at least you’ll know that you can redeem your Avios (and companion voucher) on your choice of flights.
The travel together ticket is a good deal on Iberia
It’s really exciting that the travel together ticket is now valid on Iberia, given that Iberia has much lower surcharges than British Airways. For example, you could fly one-way off-peak business class from Boston to Madrid on Iberia for 34,000 Avios total, plus $120.60 per person. That comes out to an average of 17,000 Avios plus $120.60 per person, which is amazing.
Is the British Airways travel together ticket worth it?
Above I’ve given some examples of how you can redeem the British Airways companion voucher. This raises the question of whether the companion voucher is worth earning. As usual, there’s no “one size fits all” answer to that.
Who shouldn’t earn the British Airways companion voucher
If you’re not someone who values premium travel immensely, and/or not someone who is willing to spend quite a bit on award ticket purchases, then the voucher probably isn’t for you, aside from some niche redemptions.
I think it’s totally fair that many people avoid programs with high surcharges, given how many options are out there that don’t involve huge surcharges. With this voucher, you’re still paying the surcharges for two passengers (minus a rebate of up to $200 per itinerary).
While British Airways has reduced surcharges in many markets, the number of Avios required for a ticket has increased significantly, so the value hasn’t necessarily improved much.
Who should earn the British Airways companion voucher
I also think there are many situations where the British Airways companion voucher is well worth it. British Airways’ business class product is improving significantly with the new Club Suites, and the airline has an incredible route network in the United States, and increasingly flies to secondary markets.
If you’re someone who values the convenience of a nonstop flight to London and wants to fly first or business class, then the companion ticket is likely going to be one of the best options.
Furthermore, the companion ticket allows you to have a stopover in London, so if you’re someone who values the ability to do that enroute to your final destination, I think it could also make sense.
The way I mentally approach the companion voucher is like a way to get a heavily discounted business class ticket on your pick of flights for two people, assuming you book at the right time. While British Airways has some great paid business class fares, they’re rarely available from the United States to London, so for many this is the most affordable way to fly nonstop between between the US and the UK in comfort.
Bottom line
Overall I find the British Airways Visa to be an exceptionally well-rounded card. In addition to its big welcome bonus, the card also offers perks like 10% off British Airways tickets, and up to $600 per year in statement credits to offset carrier surcharges. If you fly British Airways with any frequency then this card is worth having and holding onto, in my opinion.
The British Airways companion voucher is something that some people swear by, while others find it to be worthless.
Whether or not it’s worth it really depends on your travel patterns. If you value the ability to travel nonstop to London in comfort then I think it absolutely could be worth it. If you’re looking to travel to other parts of the world, and if you don’t greatly value the ability to fly nonstop, the value proposition isn’t as obvious.
If you’re someone who usually prefers to fly economy, or who absolutely won’t pay surcharges on award tickets, then this probably isn’t for you. There are still some valuable niche redemptions, like redeeming on Iberia, but it’s not like there’s that much award availability.
If you have the BA Visa, have you earned a travel together ticket? If so, how did you use it?
@Ben - you say $1,000 per person round trip - but I don't see any prices lower than $2,200 PER PERSON in fees in First Class, if you leave from Los Angeles or Seattle and fly through LHR to another destination. I tried Lisbon, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Frankfurt - they're all $2,200 - Which makes $4,400 total. What am I missing? How do I find the $1000 fees?
Iberia's already amazing value in biz class just went through the roof
I think that it depends on the restrictions. At least back in the day these types of certificates had to be used with the other person paying full fare which made the companion ticket about the same as two cheaper tickets or costing more. Also, what you don't consider is the possible return you would get on other cards for $30,000. It's not just about the return on that money for using the BA card.
These are companion vouchers for Avios redemptions
It makes sense only if you travel in business/first and destinations which are usually very expensive with cash - even on sale - like London - Tokyo, London - Singapore etc as you can save potentially thousands of pounds. Personally I use the voucher mostly for European flights as tax is only £50 - like London to Athens or London to Istanbul.
Recently found it useful for Iberia flights to S.America as well.
Just redeemed one for London to Athens in Club Europe: £70+voucher+39500 Avios for two. Cash price for two was over £2,000 or £1,500 in Economy. Even Easyjet was about £1,500 including baggage and on-board food (essential for a 4hr flight).
I make that pretty good value.
It's ok value. Better value is redeeming it on Iberia e.g., biz class for two from Madrid to Chicago, a few hundred $ and 34,000 avios
If BA first class is merely the best business class (if that) and there are no F awards it may not make sense
Makes a lot of sense just for J. My wife and I both have cards that give you a companion voucher. That means that we can go on vacation with our family of four. Done it several times transatlantic and saved thousands of pounds in the process, even with the surcharges and taxes. My daughter and I are going to DC next month for £2,200. That's cheaper than flying in economy and £4k cheaper than paying for J in cash.