British Airways has just improved the value proposition of its Travel Together companion voucher issued with the British Airways Visa Signature® Card (review). This is the second improvement we’ve seen in the past year or so, as we also saw some positive developments to this in the summer of 2023.
In this post:
British Airways Travel Together voucher changes
The British Airways Visa Signature Card offers a variety of perks, and one of those benefits is a Travel Together companion voucher when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year. Once earned, this is valid for two years.
As the name suggests, historically this voucher has been intended for companions, meaning that you could have someone travel with you when redeeming Avios. You wouldn’t have to use any Avios for the second person’s ticket, but rather would just have to pay the taxes and (high) carrier imposed surcharges.
In June 2022, we saw a change whereby the British Airways companion voucher could be used for solo travelers, so that you could get 50% off the number of Avios required for a ticket.
Now we’ve seen some further positive changes, as of July 2023:
- Historically the companion voucher had to be used for travel originating in the United States; now it can be used for travel originating anywhere in the world
- Historically the companion voucher had to be used for travel on British Airways, while now it can be used for travel on Aer Lingus and Iberia as well, as long as you book through British Airways’ website
Is this companion voucher change a big deal?
When you combine last year’s changes with this year’s changes, I’d say the value proposition of the British Airways companion voucher has improved considerably. The most valuable thing that the certificate now offers is flexibility, which is useful for those of us who are speculatively earning a companion voucher:
- It’s nice to be able to redeem this voucher with a companion or alone
- It’s nice that you can originate outside the United States, where the carrier imposed surcharges are often considerably lower
- It’s nice that you can redeem on Aer Lingus and Iberia, in terms of award availability, routes, carrier imposed surcharges, and product
In the past I saw fairly limited value to speculatively earning the companion voucher, simply because I didn’t have a specific use in mind for it Furthermore, there’s an opportunity cost to spending on a British Airways card. But with these changes, I’d say there’s a lot more merit to earning a companion voucher.
Bottom line
The companion voucher issued with the British Airways Visa Signature Card has just become more flexible. It can now be used for travel originating outside the United States, plus for travel on Aer Lingus and Iberia. This follows last year’s change, whereby you can redeem the companion voucher for 50% off an award for a solo traveler.
This probably isn’t a game changer for most, though I do think there are some people who are more likely to speculatively earn one of these given the amount of flexibility now offered.
What do you make of these changes to the BA companion voucher?
As a solo traveler it’s great as I’ve already used the 50% off option. For me my travel companion is in the UK so wasn’t able to use T2G option but now we can i may go back to my BA card as primary as I go to London frequently
Delighted, I recently moved from the US to Dubai so I was a bit concerned how I’d use this. I’m United 1K but now I’m torn if I should invest my travel with Qatar, Emirates or BA. The Avios between Qatar is also good, but Aeroplan is still competitive with Star Alliance easy for SE Asia, tough dilemma.
For how long are the companion vouchers valid after they're issued?
1 year from date of issue. I assume this hasn’t changed.
2 years
I will enjoy being able to use this for my wife and I on flights through Madrid or Dublin. London Heathrow is a zoo.
The flexibility on these vouchers is awesome. I was flying LHR-TLV with my wife next week. We got business class return seats booked up some time ago. Our plans changed, so I called BA to ask what would happen if I didn't fly home (I was booked as the companion). It turns out that was the only think that wasn't possible (if the companion no shows, apparently the main passenger will be denied boarding). However,...
The flexibility on these vouchers is awesome. I was flying LHR-TLV with my wife next week. We got business class return seats booked up some time ago. Our plans changed, so I called BA to ask what would happen if I didn't fly home (I was booked as the companion). It turns out that was the only think that wasn't possible (if the companion no shows, apparently the main passenger will be denied boarding). However, they offered the following options for a £35 change fee:
- split the booking, and reapply the companion voucher as a 50% discount to my wife's existing booking
- if we did the above, I could then cancel the return of my now separated booking and still retain my outbound by paying the appropriate Avios (even though Avios availability no longer existed)
BA does have high charges, and their flexibility on regular short haul bookings is poor. However, companion vouchers/Avios bookings are fantastically flexible due to their cancellation and amendment conditions.
Being able to use this certificate anywhere in the world really makes it valuable.
This is a good change.
This now makes it now a significantly more valuable voucher.
Can the 50% off voucher be used for premium class tickets or is it limited to economy class redemptions?
@ Ben F -- Any cabin would qualify.