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GUIDE

How to use the British Airways Companion Voucher

A British Airways Companion Voucher is a voucher in The British Airways Club, the programme British Airways renamed from the Executive Club with effect from 1 April 2025 [2]. It is used on a Reward Flight, which British Airways describes as a flight booked with Avios plus a fixed cash amount covering taxes, fees and carrier charges [3]. British Airways says that a member using a companion voucher and travelling with a companion pays the Avios for one person and the taxes, fees and charges for both [3].

Facts checked: 18 October 2026

Key takeaways

  • With a companion voucher, the member travelling with a companion pays the Avios for one person and the taxes, fees and charges for both; travelling alone, the member pays half the Avios required for one person and the taxes, fees and charges for one person [3].
  • Reward seats are capped. British Airways guarantees at least eight reward seats in economy, two in premium economy and four in business on its flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick, and two in business and two in economy on London City routes [3].
  • British Airways lists a Reward Flight booking made with any type of voucher, such as a Companion Voucher or a Travel Together Ticket, among the cases where changes need a call to its contact centre [3].

What the voucher pays for

A Reward Flight is built from two parts: an Avios amount and a fixed cash amount that covers taxes, fees and carrier charges [3]. The Avios and cash price depends on the date, the destination and the class of travel, and the date decides whether a peak or off-peak Avios amount applies; a booking can be all peak dates, all off-peak dates, or a mixture [3]. At checkout British Airways presents a range of Avios & Money payment options, where available, so that paying more cash reduces the Avios needed [3].

The voucher changes the Avios half of that equation. In the answers about Avios-only flights on its Reward Flights page, British Airways says that by using a companion voucher, a member travelling with a companion pays the Avios for one person and the taxes, fees and charges for both, and a member travelling solo pays half the Avios required for one person and the taxes, fees and charges for one person [3].

Booking steps for two travellers

1. Confirm who can request the booking. Reward bookings can only be requested by the member who holds the account, or by an individual the member has nominated under clause 3.13 of the Club terms, and rewards are issued to any name requested [2]. That is how the second traveller's name goes on the ticket.

2. Find reward availability. Reward bookings are subject to availability and capacity controls, which limit the number of seats and vary by route and week [2]. The guaranteed minimums above apply to British Airways flights to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City [3]. When a member searches, British Airways shows its own availability first, then availability with partners [3].

3. Watch the timing rules. Reward bookings must be made no less than 24 hours before the intended day of departure [2], and the reward ticket is issued at the same time as the booking is made [2]. For a return journey the outbound and return flights must be booked at the same time [2]. One-way reward tickets are issued at 50% of the Avios required for a return to the same destination, and open tickets cannot be issued as rewards [2].

4. Make sure the Avios are there. British Airways points members to buying Avios, asking a friend or family member to share Avios, or pooling Avios with other Club members in a household account [3]. A household account allows up to seven members of a household, including a maximum of six people under 18, to earn Avios and redeem all or part of them for any one person in the account and no other individual [2]. Avios can also be transferred between a British Airways Club account and Iberia Club, AerClub, Loganair Loyalty, Vueling Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club or Finnair Plus accounts [4]; for the Qatar link, movements are at 1:1, with no fee and no minimum or maximum amount, under terms effective 29 January 2025 [5].

Changes, cancellations and Avios-only flights

In most circumstances Reward Flights can be cancelled or changed subject to availability, for a small service fee, and a cancellation must be made at least 24 hours before the first flight in the itinerary to be eligible for a refund [3]. Moving a booking from an off-peak to a peak date may need more Avios, and moving from peak to off-peak refunds the difference in Avios — but on Avios part payment bookings the money portion of the difference is not refunded [3]. A Reward Flight booking made using any type of voucher, such as a Companion Voucher or a Travel Together Ticket, is one of the cases British Airways lists as needing a call to its contact centre rather than a change online [3].

British Airways also sells Avios-only flights: direct journeys operated by British Airways and its subsidiary Euro Flyer that are bookable only as Reward Flights for Club members [3]. A Companion Voucher or an Upgrade Voucher can be used on bookings for those flights [3], and the page says an American Express voucher can be used within the cabin and dates it is eligible for [3]. Avios-only flight tickets can be cancelled up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund minus a £35 service fee, and a service fee also applies to changes [3]. Where an Avios & Money booking is cancelled within 24 hours of outbound departure, the cash portion of the price is not refunded and the Avios are not refunded [3]; outside that window the flight can be cancelled up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund minus a £35 service fee [3].

Exceptions and limits

  • Earning and expiry. The Club terms and the Reward Flights page checked here do not state which cards produce a Companion Voucher, what spend is required, or how long a voucher remains valid [2] [3].
  • Cabins. The Reward Flights page refers to a voucher being usable within the cabin and dates it is eligible for, but it does not list the cabins a Companion Voucher covers [3].
  • Upgrade vouchers are separate. The same page describes a Barclays upgrade voucher or a Gold upgrade for one/two voucher being used to upgrade between cabins on an Avios-only flight, availability depending, at the same price as a standard Reward Flight [3]; it does not say a Companion Voucher performs that function.
  • No extra tier points. British Airways' Club terms say extra tier points cannot be earned on Reward Flights [2].
  • Partner-operated Reward Flights. Reward Flights can also be taken with Iberia, American Airlines and oneworld partners, where the cash amount is variable rather than fixed [3]. The page does not say how a Companion Voucher interacts with those bookings.
  • Avios can lapse. If a member has not collected or spent Avios, or purchased or transferred them, for 36 consecutive months, all Avios accrued to that date expire [2].

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Virgin Atlantic and other programmes' companion vouchers are not covered here, and neither are British Airways' card products or the Conditions of Use that sit behind the Club terms; see the programme page for the wider picture.

  1. The British Airways Club terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026
  2. Reward Flights, The British Airways Club, checked 18 October 2026
  3. Transfer your Avios, The British Airways Club, checked 18 October 2026
  4. Qatar Airways Avios terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026