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Im sorry as I know there are threads on this, but I’m a total rookie and have heard different things.
Looking at a certain route, flight costs c. £2k club world per person.
Flight cost in Avios is 200k. I have 60k.
Trying to redeem my BA Premium Companion Voucher, the price I’m quoted is 61k Avios plus £4k (for two people, including the voucher).
I was surprised. Seems to be no benefit in the voucher. I called BA and was told I won’t see any benefit in the voucher unless I fully redeem in Avios.
Q: Is that correct? Need to have the Avios for 1 ticket to see the benefit?
There are more pricing options available when you get to the summary part of a booking on BA.com – this allows you to change the combination of Avios and cash. As you only have 60k Avios, it’s probably suggesting the last option which would require a large cash payment as you have pointed out. See an example below.
Ideally when redeeming a companion voucher you would want to be using option 1 (max Avios) as you are effectively getting 200k Avios free (190k in my example). So yes, if you want to maximise the value of your Avios and voucher then you would need closer to 200k Avios available. Rob’s article may help as not all options are equal (depending on what you value an Avios) https://www.headforpoints.com/2025/06/09/best-avios-and-cash-combination-to-book/
Example of options for a LHR-CPT return in J for 2pax using the companion voucher:
Avios required Cost taxes/charges
1 190,000 900.00
2 160,000 1,182.04
3 137,500 1,472.10
4 112,000 2,216.00
5 87,000 2,975.60
6 61,250 3,301.70You are not comparing like with like. The cash ticket is non changeable, non refundable. The Avios ticket can be changed / cancelled / whatever up to 24 hours before departure.
Thank you David for confirming. Also very good point Rob – I did not think about that but should have
Depending on how fast you collect avios, and how flexible your plans are, (and when your voucher expires), you might be better postponing the avios booking until you have enough avios to get the best value from them.
You don’t say what your collecting strategy is, but could you, for example, refer your travel companion for an Amex with a decent sign up bonus like the BAPP or Platinum card? The gold card might be another option if they don’t meet the salary requirement for the other two. You may have a referral offer currently (though this may be the last day to action it) which gives you 12k avios if they are accepted, and them 35k MR points (convertible to avios) for the SUB.
Have a look at how to set up a Household Account if you don’t already have one. And read Rob’s “avios university” article series.
If you’re looking for the best value redemption for Avios spend vs cash value, personally, I’d save your CV until you have more Avios. You get best value by booking long haul business, and this is where you’ll really see the benefit of collecting points. If you have a long time left on your CV I’d potentially wait a while to make a booking.
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