Amex Companion voucher v Barclaycard upgrade voucher

[clarey]

I think I’m being a bit dim here but is the following correct?

With an AMEX premier plus companion voucher you can book a return redemption and the companion does not pay any miles.

With a B/C upgrade voucher you upgrade ‘One person for a return journey; or two people on a one-way journey’.

Does this mean that you can’t use the B/C for a return for two and that the AMEX is superior if you want a return redemption for two people?

Thank you

Clare

[George K]

Correct. If you had two B/C vouchers you could theoretically do it, however Amex 241 is indeed still the better product. I also think it’ll cost you fewer avios with Amex 241, which effectively halves the cost of a two person redemption, as opposed to the Barclays one which reduces the avios cost to the one category below the one you want to fly in.

[clarey]

That’s really helpful. Thank you.

I should get the B/C upgrade this year, so I was thinking of cancelling my AMEX now that I have got the joining bonus because I don’t need two, but actually the AMEX is far better because you get the return. I nearly missed that.

[baec_newbie]

The B/C upgrade voucher is far less valuable than the Amex 2-4-1, in almost all respects:

1) The B/C can only be used for one person for a return journey, or two people for a one-way journey. The Amex can obviously be used for two people on a return journey (in addition to the aforementioned options).

2) The B/C can only be used on BA-operated flights and on bookings departing from the UK. The Amex can be used on BA, Iberia or Aer Lingus operated flights and can now be on bookings from any airport these carriers operate from.

3) The B/C can only be used in conjunction with the most Avios/least cash option, unlike the Amex which can be used with any of the options. This is rarely the best value option, and simply doesn’t make a redemption possible in the first place unless you have a lot of Avios sloshing around – something that most UK customers don’t, as Avios SUBs aren’t ten a penny as they are in the US.

4) In general the saving through the Amex voucher (50%) will be more than the saving through the B/C (variable depending on cabin, distance and peak/off-peak, typically 30-40% but rarely more than 45%).

5) The B/C cannot be used to upgrade to F, the Amex can. That being said, last year’s RFS rollout means that F redemptions are now comparitively worse value and in any event, Club Suites reduces the value proposition of F.

In essence, the only thing that the B/C voucher has going for it is that it is easier to achieve. Holding Avios Rewards for 12 months is obviously trivial (although the qualification criteria for Barclays Premier aren’t), and it’s easier to put £10k through a Mastercard than an Amex.

That being said, if you do earn a B/C voucher it is worthwhile spending some time to make sure you obtain good value from redeeming it, as it is still possible to save 6 figures’ worth of Avios with it.

[polly]

Interested to know what route might save a 6 figure sum? Lon Syd J ? That would be a real winner. Obvs if you had a 241, that’s better for return. But BC good if you are country hopping on the way home using a lot of avios etc.
good comparison of points there, thanks. Haven’t got ours yet since mid Feb, interesting trying to use it then.

[tontoro]

Just booked business return to Cape Town, price 180k avios. With 241 it’s 90k, upgrade voucher 95k. Maybe the is the best case scenario, but upgrade voucher pretty valuable.

[clarey]

Can you help with another question around this please. If you use the Amex companion voucher and the Barclaycard upgrade at the same time can you use different pricing options (ie, use less miles and pay more cash)?
I’m asking because the Amex offer allows you to use different pricing options but the Barclaycard upgrade doesn’t.
Thank you

[NorthernLass]

You can’t use the two vouchers on the same booking. So you’d have to make one booking with the 241, choosing your preferred option of avios plus cash, and a second booking with the upgrade voucher, paying the max avios/min cash option.

[clarey]

Thank you Northern Lass. I didn’t know you couldn’t use them on the same booking.

[baec_newbie]

You are always forced to use the highest Avios/least cash option for the Barclaycard voucher, unfortunately. This means it provides very little value for short haul redemptions (as here this option is priced punitively compared to the other options).

[Aston100]

Am I doing it right?

LHR to HKG one way
Business Class
Peak date
2 adults

Qatar (no vouchers) = 150k + just under £800 – 15 hours 5 minutes
BA (no vouchers) = 220k + £550 or 180k + £770 – 12 hours 40 minutes
BA with a Barclays voucher = 155k + £550
BA with a companion voucher = 110k + £550 or 90k + £770

If I got that right, the Barclays voucher (and to a degree the BA flight) isn’t particularly stand-out on this route.

[NorthernLass]

It’s not because you’re only getting one class of cabin’s worth out of it, whereas with the 241 you’re getting an extra 100% of the avios cost free. Where it comes into its own is if you specifically want a one-way trip ex-UK where cash prices are high. Even short-haul routes can be £600+ one way in CE at peak times. You’d be wasting half a companion voucher if you used it like that.

[Aston100]

NorthernLass wrote:

It’s not because you’re only getting one class of cabin’s worth out of it, whereas with the 241 you’re getting an extra 100% of the avios cost free. Where it comes into its own is if you specifically want a one-way trip ex-UK where cash prices are high. Even short-haul routes can be £600+ one way in CE at peak times. You’d be wasting half a companion voucher if you used it like that.

Given the options listed, would you choose the Barclays option?

[gustavo]

I redeemed a Barclays voucher to Brazil before the RFS changes and because it used the mid price, and it was a good option for me. Now that it uses the most avios, I don’t generate enough avios to always redeem with most avios options. And since the 241 can also be used solo I think it’s much better value.

I get my barclays voucher via the barclays account so I’m considering just taking 7k avios instead.

[NorthernLass]

@Astonn100, it would depend on things like whether the BC voucher was near to expiry, I had other plans for any 241s etc. I’ve used a BC voucher for one way to DXB, for example, in December, because my 2 x 241s are destined for GCM trips in 2024 and we’re returning from DOH on QR. It’s part of the planning strategy!

[Gary]

Sounds like you leaning towards BA anyway, but would rule out most ME flights to Asia as waking middle of the night to change planes slightly defeats the purpose.