A positive change to the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher rules
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Without giving cardholders any notification (I think), American Express has made a positive change to the small print of the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher.
(Presumably the reason for the lack of notification is that the change is positive!)
The rules can be found on this page of ba.com.
Finally …. one of the most common question in my inbox can be put to bed.
Let’s go to Clause 17.
It used to say:
17. The Cardmember is responsible for paying any Taxes, Fees and Charges relating to their Companion Voucher booking. Taxes, Fees and Charges apply per person. All Taxes, Fees and Charges must be paid for using the British Airways American Express Card.
and it now says
17. The Cardmember is responsible for paying any Taxes, Fees and Charges relating to their Companion Voucher booking. Taxes, Fees and Charges apply per person. All Taxes, Fees and Charges must be paid for using an American Express Card.
It is important to note that nothing, in practice, changed.
It was ALWAYS the case that:
- you could use any type of American Express card to pay the taxes and charges on your 2-4-1 companion voucher redemption, as ba.com could not discriminate between different types of personal American Express cards, and
- you could use an American Express in any name (Amex does not do name verification as part of its security checks, so this was never an issue – payments go through if you say you are the cardholder, even if you are not)
However, it was very common – when redeeming a 2-4-1 companion voucher by telephone – for the call centre to insist that you had to pay the taxes with your British Airways American Express card. This was true according to the T&C but was not true in reality and was not imposed for online bookings. Some people did come to verbal blows with the call centre about it.
Anyway …. this is no longer an issue.
It also means that there is no longer any requirement to still hold your British Airways American Express card when you redeem your voucher. This was never a stated rule in the first place (unless you interpret clause 32 to mean this) but was of course implied by the rule saying that you needed to pay with your BA Amex.
It’s not clear if this change is just American Express / British Airways being nice, or if there was some regulatory pushback (you were being forced to keep a financial product to utilise a benefit you had already earned) or if this is linked to the ending of pro-rata refunds on cancelled American Express credit cards from 2nd October.
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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.
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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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
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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:
American Express Business Platinum
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American Express Business Gold
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Capital on Tap Pro Visa
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British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
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