Urgent Advice Needed

[jjbayley]

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to get some advice from those more knowledgeable about American Express and British Airways Companion Vouchers, as I’m in a tricky situation for a planned trip in mid-July 2026.
My Current Situation:
* I currently hold the free British Airways American Express Credit Card.
* I have about 70,000 Avios available.
* I’ve just made two significant purchases yesterday (Wednesday, June 18th) which, once posted, will push me over the £15,000 spend threshold to earn a Companion Voucher.
* If this voucher is issued on my current card, it will be the 12-month version (Economy cabin only), valid for 12 months from its unlock date. Assuming it unlocks around June 20th, 2025 (when the transactions post), it would expire on June 20th, 2026. This means it cannot be used for my July 2026 trip.
The Dilemma – My Goal:
* I need a Companion Voucher that is valid for 24 months to cover my July 2026 trip. This would be the voucher from the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card.
* I’ve confirmed with Amex that the spend threshold for the Premium Plus voucher is also £15,000.
* Crucially, I will NOT be able to spend another £15,000 to earn a new voucher later on the Premium Plus card if I get the 12-month one now.
My Question to Amex (and their response):
I asked Amex if I upgrade to the Premium Plus card now (before my current pending transactions post), would those pending transactions (which meet the £15,000 threshold) trigger the 24-month Premium Plus voucher instead of the 12-month one?
Amex’s response was that they “don’t know” / couldn’t confirm due to the transactions still being pending. They couldn’t guarantee how their system would attribute that spend across the card upgrade.
My Urgent Decision Point:
My pending transactions from yesterday (June 18th) are likely to post today (Thursday, June 19th) or tomorrow (Friday, June 20th).
My question to the forum is:
Given that I cannot spend another £15,000, and my pending transactions will soon trigger a voucher, what is the most recommended strategy to maximize my chances of getting a 24-month Companion Voucher that I can use for my July 2026 trip?
* Should I take the gamble and upgrade to the Premium Plus card immediately (today, before transactions post) and hope the pending spend triggers the 24-month voucher?
* Or is it more likely that the pending spend will simply trigger the 12-month voucher on my current card no matter what, meaning I should just accept the 12-month voucher and then use my 70,000 Avios and cash for the July 2026 trip?
Any insights from those who have navigated similar Amex upgrade/spend situations, or who have deeper knowledge of their systems, would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

[KFC_hot_wings]

Curious how you got on, but my understanding (I don’t know with 100% certainty) is that the spend only counts to your threshold once the transaction clears, not while it is pending. When I upgraded my Amex, it was instant.

So, if it were me, I’d upgrade. But it’s extremely tight

[travelmonkey]

I thought the spending target reset if you upgraded the card, meaning of you upgraded the card you’d reset to zero rather than trigger the better voucher?

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

You are rather making the assumption that AMEX will let you upgrade in the first place and even if they do whether it happens a quickly as you need it to happen.

This is the risk of doing this sort of thing actually at the last minute hoping one thing happens (a potential card upgrade) before another (spend posting)