Can I Cancel My British Airways Amex and Keep My Companion Voucher?

You've hit the £15,000 spend threshold on your British Airways Amex. Your Companion Voucher has landed in your British Airways Club account. And now you're staring at that £300 annual fee thinking: do I actually need to keep this card? Could I save myself £300?

Club World, the aim for most of us!

The voucher is yours

Once your Companion Voucher appears in your British Airways Club account, it's yours. It's tied to your membership number with a fixed expiry date. Cancelling your British Airways Amex, whether its the Premium Plus or the free version, doesn't change that.

American Express will warn you about losing vouchers when you call to cancel. It's in their script, and technically it's in the terms and conditions. But once the voucher has posted to your BA Club account, it stays there regardless of what happens to your credit card.

This has been standard practice for years, confirmed by thousands of other cardholders online who've cancelled their cards and used their vouchers without issue.

The only catch: you need an Amex

The one practical requirement you need to be aware of: when you eventually book using your Companion Voucher, you must pay the taxes and fees using an American Express.

Are you following us social media? If not, why not! Go drop us a follow on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok so that you never miss any of your favourite content!

The key word is "an" American Express card. Not "the" British Airways American Express card. Any Amex will do.

This means you have several options:

• Downgrade to the free BA American Express Credit Card which has no annual fee

• Use a supplementary American Express card

• Hold a different Amex product like the Platinum Card or Cashback Card

• Get the free American Express Rewards Credit Card

British Airways doesn't check whose name is on the Amex during payment. As long as the payment processes through American Express, you're fine.

The dangerous moment

There's one risky time you can avoid: cancelling your card before the voucher has posted to your BA Club account.

If you've hit the spend threshold but the voucher hasn't appeared yet, wait. Log into your BA Club account and confirm it's actually there before you cancel anything. Once you can see it listed with its expiry date, you're safe.

Three ways to handle this

Option 1: Downgrade to the free BA Amex

This is the safest approach, and what I've done in the past. You stop paying the £300 annual fee, you get a pro-rata refund on unused months, and you retain an American Express card ready for when you book your redemption. American Express processes this as a product change, so it's straightforward.

The downside? It doesn't reset your two-year welcome bonus clock if you wanted to apply for a different Amex card with a sign-up offer.

Option 2: Cancel completely and use another Amex

If you hold another American Express card – your partner's Platinum Card, your own Cashback Everyday card, whatever – you can cancel the BA Amex entirely. You'll still be able to pay for your Companion Voucher redemption when the time comes.

Option 3: Cancel everything and sort it out later

Don't have another Amex and don't want to downgrade? You can cancel completely and apply for the free American Express Rewards Credit Card when you're ready to book your redemption. It takes a few days to arrive, so don't leave this until you've found perfect availability and need to book immediately.

What about if I cancel a booked trip?

If you've already used your voucher to book flights, then cancel your card, and later need to cancel the flights, you'll still get the voucher back. It returns to your BA Club account with the same expiry date, even though you no longer hold the card that earned it.

My recommendation

Check your BA Club account. If the voucher is there, you're safe. Cancel the Premium Plus or downgrade to the free card, whatever suits your situation.

Just make sure you'll have access to an American Express card when booking time comes. That's the only real requirement once your voucher has posted.

Sam

Points Well Made is a passion project of Sam and Helena with a loyal following. If you like what we do, and wish to help us continue to create the content you love, please consider buying us a Kofi, or subscribing monthly. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.