Avios reward – Amex Plus 241 query

[eaglesrest]

Hi All, looking to book 4 x adult CW redemptions LHR to SFO/LAX/LAS for August 2024.

I currently have 1 x Amex Premium Plus Companion voucher which expires on 020824, and will have an opportunity to get another in 05/23, which I’ll make sure is available for when we book in 08/23.

I have a few questions if anyone can help please?
– the 1st voucher expiry date is 020824 – does that mean we can book the outbound flight on 020824, or does it have to be before the 02nd i.e. 010824?
– My plan is to book all 4 outbound seats online, using 2 vouchers, on the day of release 0823. Then call up (Japan?) 3 weeks later to add the inbound when released. I’m guessing we can’t just book the inbound as 1-ways as the first companion voucher won’t be valid on the inbound date (approx 230824) and needs to be combined as a return with the outbound leg,

Is this the most efficient way to maximise the chance of getting 4 CW return to the west coast? We will be flexible with the inbound e.g. could fly back LAX/SFO/LAS or even possibly change the outbound accordingly.

Are we better calling to book the outbound considering the voucher expiry date?

Thanks ahead.

[Scottpat78]

I can’t answer re the dates for outbound travel (I think it is ‘before’ though. I also believe you are good for both applying to inbound as only the first leg needs to be taken prior to the voucher expiry.

You could book your inbound flights online, if you have enough Avios to cover all 4 flights without the companion voucher reduction. You can then call later on to have the 50% reduction applied to the inbound redemption. I’ve done this successfully in the past and am about to do it again in a week for 4 seats where the outbound is booked with 2 x companion vouchers. I have seen others say that some call centre agents won’t do the 50% reduction/refund though, so perhaps HUACA may be needed.

[eaglesrest]

Thanks.

I won’t have enough Avios to cover all 4 Inbound flights without the voucher, so I guess the only option would be to call up and add the inbound to the existing outbound flights?

Is it still suggested to call the japan BA rewards centre at around midnight to maximise chances? There are West Coast CW rewards available for this August even now, but I’d rather get them on first release so we can start planning everything else with certainty 🙂

[NigelHamilton]

eaglesrest wrote:

Thanks.

I won’t have enough Avios to cover all 4 Inbound flights without the voucher, so I guess the only option would be to call up and add the inbound to the existing outbound flights?

Is it still suggested to call the japan BA rewards centre at around midnight to maximise chances? There are West Coast CW rewards available for this August even now, but I’d rather get them on first release so we can start planning everything else with certainty 🙂

What I have done in the past, is monitor avios availability for a few days BEFORE the date you want to return. It’s a reasonable indication as to how popular your destination is and how quickly the avios seats are going. For example, CW from Vancouver seemed to go almost immediately but Montreal had plenty of seats even days after they went on sale. For my most recent trip, I was confident enough there would still be sufficient seats (and was flexible with dates in case unlucky) so I just called at a sensible, UK friendly time.