Advertising Standards Authority finds against Amex and British Airways over the ‘2-4-1’ Avios voucher

The Advertising Standards Authority has decided that British Airways and American Express have been misleading in their promotion of the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher.

I can see the point.  If you read Head for Points then you implicitly understand that the 2-4-1 voucher only covers the Avios required for the 2nd ‘free’ flight.  Taxes and charges are due on both tickets.  This is not necessarily clear to the general public.

British Airways and American Express offered to amend the small print to say “Taxes, fees and charges apply per person”.  This was welcomed by the ASA but was not seen as enough to overcome the strong ‘2-4-1’ message.

I knew this judgement was coming and we amended our credit cards directory last week to remove reference to ‘2-4-1’.  We will continue to use that phrase in our editorial but other references will change to ‘companion voucher’.

You can read the full judgement on the ASA website here.

You can learn more about how the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher works in this ‘Avios Redemption University’ article.

PS.  Whilst you’re on the ASA website, have a look at this judgement against Holiday Inn Express from 2014.  It asks a deep philosophical question.  Is breakfast at Holiday Inn Express actually ‘free’?  Can something be ‘free’ if no-one pays for it?  The ASA decided that it isn’t and wasn’t.  Holiday Inn Express has not been able to advertise ‘free breakfast’ in the UK for the past six years.

---

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 2022 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our January 2022 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals.

There are special sign-up bonuses on both of the BA American Express cards until 28th February 2022. The bonus on the free card is doubled to 10,000 Avios and the bonus on the Premium Plus card is increased from 25,000 Avios to a huge 40,000 Avios.

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.

The bonus on the Capital On Tap card is increased from points worth 10,000 Avios to 30,000 Avios until 4th February 2022.

The bonus on the British Airways Accelerating Business card is increased from 30,000 Avios to 45,000 Avios until 28th February 2022.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.

Apply 31st March 2022 and your cashback will be increased to 2% for the first three months.