How a solo traveller can benefit from Barclaycard upgrade vouchers and BA Amex 241 vouchers

The launch of the Barclaycard upgrade vouchers, available via Barclays Premier with Barclays Avios Rewards and the two Barclaycard Avios Mastercard credit cards, was a substantial boost for the solo traveller looking to fly with Avios.

(As a reminder, there is a 25,000 Avios sign-up bonus on the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard and a 5,000 Avios sign-up bonus on the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard.)

Just as important, the launch of the Barclaycard credit cards spurred American Express into making its own British Airways credit cards more attractive to solo travellers.

Miles and points for the solo traveller

How should your miles and points collecting change if you are a solo traveller?

Whilst Head for Points has always treated the 2-4-1 voucher from the British Airways American Express card as the greatest thing since sliced bread it would have been pretty useless to me in my youth.

I did a lot of solo travelling before I settled down, and a 2-4-1 voucher wasn’t much use there.

The 2022 changes to the British Airways American Express vouchers made a big difference to solo travellers. You can now use a 2-4-1 companion voucher to get a 50% Avios discount on a flight for one person. There’s no saving on the taxes and charges though ….

Miles and points benefits for the solo traveller

Ignoring the Barclaycard and British Airways American Express vouchers for a minute, in general the solo traveller has an easier time with the ‘miles and points’ game than a couple, and a far easier time than a family.

Here are a few things in your favour as a solo traveller:

• The fewer award seats you want, the easier it is to get them. One is easier than two is easier than four.

• Unless you work in education, a solo traveller is unlikely to be tied down to school holidays when seats are harder to find and both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are operating ‘peak’ reward pricing.

• Some airlines restrict the award seats they release.  British Airways only opens up four Club World seats 355 days from departure, although they will generally open up more as the months pass. Virgin Atlantic only guarantees to open two seats in Upper Class.

• It is easier for a solo traveller to get an award seat using ‘easy’ miles, generally from credit cards.  Take, for example, the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard. This card comes with a sign-up bonus of 25,000 Avios.  This gets a solo traveller quite a way towards a Premium Economy ticket or Economy ticket to most places.  A couple would still have been substantially short.  Adding on a free (for the first year) Amex Gold with another 20,000 points, the Barclays Premier sign-up bonus of 25,000 Avios or a British Airways American Express bonus and you’d have enough for a one-way Business Class redemption on some routes.

• A solo traveller will find it easier to arrange their schedule to maximise their points earning and burning and even minimise their airport taxes. Ever tried telling your partner that you need to change your hotel three times during a week because you want to maximise your bonus points? Or that they are flying to New York via Madrid because its just 34,000 Avios each way in business class? If you’ve got family, don’t even think about it, at least whilst your kids are small.

• A solo traveller may also be willing to compromise slightly on airline or hotel quality to maximise points earning or minimise points spending.  Whenever I go with my family we stay at better hotels, ignoring whatever promotions are on offer elsewhere, than if I am travelling alone.

Things that count against the solo traveller:

• You don’t have a partner who can also obtain credit card sign-up bonuses

• You don’t have a partner who can help boost your ‘household income’ to improve your chances of being accepted for credit cards, although American Express has now moved back to looking only at personal income

• You don’t get any favours from the hotel reward schemes – a room for one person costs the same number of points as a room for two. That said, you get an easier time than a family, as suite redemptions using points are rarely available.  You can request two connecting rooms but in my experience it is 50/50 whether you actually get them when you check in.

What do credit card annual spend vouchers have to offer the solo traveller?

How does the Barclays upgrade voucher work?

There are three ways of earning a Barclays upgrade voucher:

• open a Barclays Premier current account with Barclays Avios Rewards – you automatically receive an upgrade voucher every 12 months

• open a Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard and spend £10,000 within 12 months, repeatable annually

• open a free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and spend £20,000 within 12 months, repeatable annually

The vouchers are valid for two years. They cannot be used to travel in First Class, only Business Class and Premium Economy / World Traveller Plus.

The Barclays upgrade voucher allows you to upgrade an Avios seat for free.  (Actually, technically, that’s not how it works. It lets you book a Club World Avios seat and pay the mileage of World Traveller Plus, or book a World Traveller Plus Avios seat and pay the mileage of World Traveller. You need Avios availability in the cabin in which you will sit.)

This HfP article explains in detail how the Barclays upgrade voucher works.

How does the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher work?

There are two ways of earning a British Airways American Express companion voucher:

• open a British Airways Premium Plus American Express card and spend £15,000 within 12 months, repeatable annually – the voucher is valid for two years and in all classes

• open a British Airways American Express card and spend £15,000 within 12 months, repeatable annually – the voucher is valid for one year and only for Economy flights

A solo traveller can use the voucher to book an Avios reward flight. They will get a 50% discount on the Avios required, although full taxes and charges are still due.

The voucher can be used for either a single or return flight, and the flight does not need to start in the UK.

This HfP article explains in detail how British American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers work.

Don’t forget Virgin Atlantic

Whilst this article is Avios-focussed, it is worth mentioning that the Virgin Atlantic Reward credit cards also offer a voucher each year.

From 1st November 2024 these will be worth a 75,000 points discount on a companion ticket or an upgrade, increased to 150,000 points if you have Virgin Flying Club elite status. This makes them equally attractive for solo travellers.

Conclusion

There is no easy answer as to whether solo travellers come out best overall in the miles and points game.

However, by carrying the right credit cards and exploiting the right opportunities, you can tilt the odds in your favour.

As to whether the British Airways Premium Plus American Express voucher or the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard voucher is best for you, here’s a simple guide:

Step 1

Decide exactly where you want to fly, which class you want to sit in and whether you’ll be flying on a peak or off-peak date

Step 2

Take a look at this table

Step 3

Look up the cost in Avios of the seat BELOW the seat you want to fly in (ie for Club World look at the cost of World Traveller Plus) – this is what a Barclaycard Avios Mastercard voucher seat will cost you. Remember that you can’t fly in First.

Step 4

Work out half the Avios cost of the seat you want to fly in – this is what a British Airways Premium Plus American Express voucher seat will cost you.

Step 5

Make your decision! Remember that taxes and charges are not reduced and are based on the cabin in which you fly.

Further information

Interest rate data for Barclaycard Avios Plus:

The representative APR is 80.1% APR variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 29.9% variable.

Interest rate data for Barclaycard Avios:

The representative APR is 29.9% variable.

Interest rate data for British Airways Premium Plus American Express:

The representative APR is 137.8% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 30.0% variable.

Interest rate data for British Airways American Express:

The representative APR is 30.0% variable.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers: