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I’m thinking of saving up to get a 241 reward voucher but am not sure if with limited availability is it worth it. I don’t currently have a voucher so how do I go about seeing what the availability is (ideally without paying a third party subscription). Is it the same availability that I can see when I search for Avios reward flights? I think that I read the Gold status opens up more 241 rewards like it does for Avois rewards, is this correct? Also does the where the 241 voucher was obtained from have any barring on availability ie is it better from A BA Amex card?
Many thanks
It sounds like you need to have a good read of Rob’s articles and various threads on here re the voucher as you seem to be labouring under quite a few misconceptions! It’s worth investing a bit of time getting clued up on these things to minimise the risk of disappointment later.
Per @NorthernLass, there are quite a few misunderstandings here. I will clear some up.
1. You don’t save towards getting a 241. You spend towards one on a BA Amex only.
2. Availability really depends on the route, time of year. Some are more popular than others at the moment Japan, Hong Kong and Australia (always) very difficult.
3. Normal 241 is whatever you can see i.e. look for 2 business class, the extra availability I class you can only see with a voucher, and they come and go. None of the subscription services have crack that nut yet.
4.I believe Gold status opens up availability by offering to pay double the amount of avios. I don’t know too much about it but there is an article on it. You need to fly quite a lot with BA in premium to read Gold. I probably wouldn’t worry too much about this.
5. There is also an upgrade voucher for Barclays, for the purpose of this discussion it doesn’t open extra availabilities.Agree with NorthernLass. You should spend some time reading the main articles, it will clear up almost all your questions except whether it is worth it, that depends on where you want to fly.
Thanks for your swift responses.
One issue that I’m not clear on is if I see avios reward availability does that mean that there is 241 voucher availability?
Yes, as long as there are 2 seats! But the new vouchers can open more up, which is another article!
Thanks for your swift responses.
One issue that I’m not clear on is if I see avios reward availability does that mean that there is 241 voucher availability?
The basic idea is if there is 2 seat you can use your voucher to redeem them and only pay for one seat worth of avios (but both tax payment). If you only see one seat then no dice unless you are solo traveller then you can pay half. If you see 2 seat the extra availability doesn’t matter. If you see no seat now, there might be extra availabilities but you can’t tell if you don’t have the voucher in your account.
I haven’t used a 241 Amex voucher since before Covid and I have no means of using any of the vouchers I have because there is zero availability.
LHR-BKK – not flying with no date they might fly.
LHR-TOK – pre covid usually a very easy route to get a seat but now nothing.
LHR-KUL – not flying.
LHR-SIN – hen’s teeth as Oz routing through SIN nowadays.
LHR-HKG – another hen’s teeth destination.
Not sure why I continue with the BAPP when the only option seems to be double Avios on Qatar and we can’t use the Amex 241 on them.
Yes, as long as there are 2 seats! But the new vouchers can open more up, which is another article!
Or one seat – the voucher can now be used as 50% off one seat as well as 2for1 – so you don’t have to travel with someone to get value from the voucher.
I haven’t used a 241 Amex voucher since before Covid and I have no means of using any of the vouchers I have because there is zero availability.
LHR-BKK – not flying with no date they might fly.
LHR-TOK – pre covid usually a very easy route to get a seat but now nothing.
LHR-KUL – not flying.
LHR-SIN – hen’s teeth as Oz routing through SIN nowadays.
LHR-HKG – another hen’s teeth destination.
Not sure why I continue with the BAPP when the only option seems to be double Avios on Qatar and we can’t use the Amex 241 on them.
Lots of good advice here about reading up on the voucher but the above post is key. Before devoting time to the voucher have a think about destinations.
If you want to fly west you are, relatively speaking, going to find seats easy to come by. If you want to fly east it is very difficult. It can be done, with a lot of leg work, booking exactly 355 days out, calls to overseas agents at midnight etc, but how many casual collectors really want to do this?
Short-haul is a different matter but then, while there is value (if you live by LHR or LGW), does it warrant the Amex fees and opportunities lost on another card when you may be able to get a good cash fare elsewhere? Food for thought.
A lot of people, myself included, have let vouchers lapse because we can’t get where we want when we want and I am not prepared to let availability dictate my travel plans. I have also got great value from them when the stars align. It’s just a case of being pragmatic about their use to you.
LON-TYO
LON-HKG…. both fairly easy if using a new BAPP 241 and starting in Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh etc.
For example, booking 3 months ahead (so 9th July departure):
MAN-TYO – 6 x Club on the AM flight, 3 x Club on the PM flight
TYO-MAN a week later – 8 x Club on the 8.50 flight
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