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.
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?
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