Should a family of three swap who holds their BA Premium Plus Amex card each year?
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In June 2022, British Airways made a major change to the British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher.
You could now book a seat for one person for 50% of the usual Avios required. The 2-4-1 voucher no longer required two people to be travelling.
You can see the full list of card features in our British Airways Premium Plus American Express review here and our free British Airways American Express review here.
How does this work in practice?
It is as simple as you would expect:
- Go to the Avios booking page on ba.com
- Tick the box to say that you want to use your companion voucher (which we may now need to rename!)
- Search for availability for one person
This is what you will see:
There is now a message saying that you have activated the solo traveller 50% discount.
Whilst the message references the Premium Plus card, the 50% discount also applies to Economy bookings made using a new-style free British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher.
Everyone wins …. except for families of three
There was a gaping hole built into this new policy though:
- Solo traveller – a big winner, they now have a use for a 2-4-1 voucher, getting them a 50% Avios discount on a single ticket
- Party of two – they have always been fine, since it’s a 2-4-1 voucher!
- Party of four – they have alway been fine if two x 2-4-1 vouchers were used, even if both vouchers were in the same name. ba.com is set up to allow a group of four to book using two x 2-4-1 vouchers held by the same person.
- Party of three – hmmm …..
If you are a group of three people and you have two 2-4-1 companion vouchers HELD IN THE SAME NAME then you are stuck.
ba.com (or indeed the BA call centre) does not allow you to make a booking where two people travel on the first 2-4-1 and the third person gets a 50% Avios discount using the second 2-4-1.
You can’t make two separate bookings because the BA Amex cardholder must travel on each booking.
Even if you have two x 2-4-1 vouchers (in the same name), you can’t use both at once for a group of three people.
The best you can do is book two people (usually the cardholder and the child, to avoid the child being on a separate booking) using the 2-4-1 voucher. The third person must book a standalone Avios ticket at full rate.
There are three ways around this problem
What is a family of three to do, apart from having another child?
There are three solutions:
Option 1 (for average spenders):
The obvious choice is for the two parents to alternate who holds the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, with the other person cancelling.
As soon as the 2-4-1 voucher is earned on one card after spending £10,000, the card could be cancelled. The second person can then apply and start working towards their own 2-4-1 voucher after spending £10,000.
This means that you will eventually end up with 2-4-1 vouchers in two different names.
You can then book for a family of three:
- one x 2-4-1 voucher in Parent A’s name is used for Parent A and the child
- one x 2-4-1 voucher in Parent B’s name is used for Parent B to book a solo ticket with a 50% Avios discount
(Remember that from 2nd October 2023 you no longer get a pro-rata fee refund when you cancel an American Express credit card. You would need to decide whether it was best to cancel Person A’s Premium Plus card ASAP after the voucher is triggered or to wait until the year end to maximise the value of the £250 annual fee.)
Option 2 (for higher spenders):
If your household spends over £20,000 on American Express cards each year, you may want to consider both adults getting their own British Airways Premium Plus card and keeping both active at all times. My wife and I do this, as it is the obvious choice for a family of four who want one Avios holiday per year.
Whilst you would be paying £500 per year in annual fees, you would be triggering two x 2-4-1 vouchers, one in each name.
This allows you to book a trip for a family of three each year:
- one x 2-4-1 voucher in Parent A’s name is used for Parent A and the child
- one x 2-4-1 voucher in Parent B’s name is used for Parent B to book a solo ticket with a 50% Avios discount
Option 3 (for those with lots of non-Amex spend):
A final option is to bring the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard into the equation.
The Barclaycard Avios Mastercard gives you an Avios upgrade voucher each year. You need to spend £10,000 on the £240 per annum card or £20,000 on the free card.
Importantly, both vouchers are valid for two years and both vouchers can be used in all classes, except First Class.
Just as important, the Barclaycard Avios upgrade voucher is transferable. As long as the cardholder books, anyone can fly.
This means, for a family of three:
- one adult and a child could travel using a British Airways Premium Plus American Express 2-4-1 voucher
- the second adult could book a separate ticket using a Barclaycard Avios Mastercard upgrade voucher (this can be done irrespective of whether the voucher is in the name of the second adult)
The way the Barclaycard voucher works (and we wrote a full article here) is that it ISN’T really an upgrade voucher. What happens is that you book an Avios seat and pay the Avios price of the next category down. Book Club World and you pay the Avios needed for a World Traveller Plus seat, plus the standard Club World taxes and charges.
One snag with this option is that users of Barclaycard vouchers do not get access to the additional Club World reward seats that are made available to someone using a Premium Plus 2-4-1 voucher. This may make it harder to find the availability you need.
Conclusion
It is frustrating that British Airways does not allow a family of three to use two x British Airways American Express 2-4-1 vouchers (in the same name) for a trip. This would allow two people to benefit from a 2-4-1 deal and the third person to benefit from the 50% solo traveller discount.
You can get around this by alternating which family member holds your British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, or by getting a Barclaycard Avios Mastercard to use alongside it.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – October 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current 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
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
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.
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
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
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
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:
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
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 when you spend at least £2,000 per month.
Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review
*missgeekchic* 
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