Does using 2 x ‘new’ 241 BA Amex vouchers for a family of four still make sense?
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One of the benefits of the 2-4-1 companion voucher that comes with the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card is that you can use two vouchers in the same booking for a family of four.
This may seen obvious, but it isn’t. Technically, the rules of the 2-4-1 voucher say that the cardholder must travel. This would block the use of two x 2-4-1 vouchers on the same booking, since the 2nd voucher would be used for two non-cardholders.
British Airways thought about this, however, and built in some flexibility.
The flexibility is important because, with the Premium Plus American Express card, the voucher is valid for two years.
As you can earn one voucher per card year, it is very likely that you will have multiple vouchers in your account at some point.
Being able to use two vouchers at once for a family of four has, historically, been very handy. I have done it myself numerous times.
And yet ….
We wrote an article yesterday on how the new-style British Airways Premium Plus American Express card opens up a lot of extra Avios availability in Club World.
This is not marketing guff. The extra seats really are there.
A couple of people asked what happened if you tried to book for more than two people. We did some more experiments (thanks Mark) and the extra availability is still there. This means that, if you have a new style 2-4-1 voucher, you can book for more than two people and still get access to the extra Avios seats in Club World.
This should make you question whether you should use 2 x 2-4-1 vouchers at once
On this basis, you should potentially think twice before using 2 x new-style 2-4-1 companion vouchers to book for a family of four.
If you use two vouchers in one booking, you won’t have a voucher left for your next booking – and this means no access to the extra Club World seats.
Of course, if you don’t earn enough Avios to just use 1 x 2-4-1 voucher when booking for a family of four, this isn’t an issue for you. Continue as you were, and use two vouchers per family booking.
For people who DO earn enough Avios, however, think about the following scenarios:
- For Holiday 1, you use 2 x 241 vouchers to book for your family of four to Barbados, benefitting from the extra Avios availability
- For Holiday 2, with no 241 vouchers left, you try to book for a family of four to San Francisco but cannot get seats due to not seeing the extra availability
Plan B seems better to me, if you have enough Avios coming in:
- For Holiday 1, you use 1 x 241 voucher to book for your family of four to Barbados, benefitting from the extra Avios availability
- For Holiday 2, you use 1 x 241 voucher to book for your family of four to San Francisco, benefitting from the extra Avios availability
Going forward, your 241 voucher from the Premium Plus card is a ‘joker’ which magically unlocks extra business class Avios seats. You may want to think twice about using two in the same booking.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
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:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
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.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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