A positive suggestion for improving the British Airways American Express cards

To give British Airways and American Express credit, they have never stood still when it comes to the benefits on the two British Airways American Express cards.

Whilst these changes have not always been positive (eg the constant fee increases), many of them have genuinely improved the product. This includes the ability to open up additional reward availability in Club World for British Airways redemptions when using a companion voucher, letting you use your companion voucher on Aer Lingus and Iberia and letting solo travellers fly for half Avios.

You can see the current features in our British Airways Premium Plus American Express review here and our free British Airways American Express review here.

There is one change that I still feel is overdue, however.

(Before I go on, long term readers may recognise that I ran a version of this article 18 months ago. It had absolutely zero impact (!) but I am happy to give the idea another shove. Like our long running campaign last decade to bring in a status hold for new parents, we often get there in the end.)

Here’s the problem ….

Both my wife and I have our own Premium Plus cards, meaning we generate 2 x 2-4-1 companion vouchers each year. Because we have two children, this works well as it covers a family holiday.

Whilst the renewal dates on the two cards differ by three months, we try to time our spend so that we trigger the vouchers at roughly the same time.

The problem is that we can hit the voucher target very quickly these days, for better or worse. We are normally at around £9,000 of spending after three months.

But we don’t want to trigger our vouchers after three months ….

Here’s the snag. I want to delay triggering my companion vouchers for as long as possible.

I try to ensure that I have two unused vouchers and a decent pile of Avios constantly available, in case British Airways open up an attractive new route and I can grab seats for peak weeks. However, we already have two unused vouchers in the bank – we don’t need any more for now.

What this means is …. our two British Airways American Express Premium Plus cards go into a drawer when we get close to £10,000.

(I tend to stop at £9,000 because I don’t want to risk missing out on a good cashback offer on my card. It would be galling if I got, say, a ‘£100 back on £300 of Hilton spend’ offer but couldn’t take advantage because it would force me to trigger my voucher early.)

Where is the value in this for British Airways and American Express? I end up moving our family spending to other cards, even though I would be perfectly happy to keep picking up 1.5 Avios per £1 on my Premium Plus card.

There seems to be a very simple answer to this problem

In November 2024, the spend required to trigger a companion voucher on a British Airways American Express card will rise to £15,000. This will force me to use my card more, but using a stick rather than a carrot is not good business sense.

This is what should be done.

Your 2-4-1 Premium Plus companion voucher should be valid for the rest of your current Amex membership year plus two years.

At the moment it is valid for two years from the date of issue. I believe it should be for the rest of your current card year PLUS TWO YEARS. The expiry date should not be impacted by when you trigger the voucher.

If this rule was currently in place, I would happily keep spending on my Premium Plus card. Because it isn’t, I won’t.

I don’t see who loses under my proposed scenario. Cardholders don’t have to mess around juggling their spend to ensure they trigger their voucher to maximise its life. American Express and British Airways profit from additional card spend. Let’s get it done!

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.