Can I use two BA Amex Companion Vouchers to book three people?

Congratulations. You've earned two Companion Vouchers from your BA Amex, or you're thinking about pushing for a second, and let's say that you want to book three seats for you, your partner, and a child (other groups of three are available).

The logical solution seems obvious: use one voucher for two people (you + partner), use the second voucher for solo travel at 50% off (the child). Three seats, two vouchers, sorted.

Except British Airways explicitly prohibits this.

You cannot do 2-for-1 and solo traveller on one booking

From BA's terms: "If using a Companion Voucher as a solo traveller, no other Companion Vouchers can be used in conjunction with the solo traveller Voucher."

Meaning you cannot use your two vouchers like this in a booking:

• Voucher 1: You + partner (2-for-1)

• Voucher 2: Child (50% off as "solo" traveller)

You can't be both "travelling solo" and "travelling with a companion" on the same booking.

Okay, that's fine you think, I'll make two separate bookings. Except, if you earned both of the vouchers yourself this will not work because the person who earned the Companion Voucher must be in the booking. You can't be the solo traveller on one booking if you're already the voucher holder on the other.

Your only options with two vouchers earned by the same person are:

• Use one voucher for two people (2-for-1)

• Use two vouchers for four people (both as 2-for-1)

• Use one voucher solo for one person (50% off, no other vouchers)

Meaning three people doesn't really work.

What actually works for three people

Both parents earn their own voucher

Each parent gets a BA Amex and earns their own voucher in their own name. Then you make two separate bookings:

• Parent A + child (2-for-1 using Parent A's voucher)

• Parent B solo (50% off using Parent B's voucher)

This works because they're separate bookings. Parent A is travelling on their voucher booking with the child. Parent B is travelling solo on their voucher booking. Each voucher holder is on their own booking, satisfying the rules.

Cost: If you picked the Premium Plus card that would be £600 of annual fees, and regardless of which BA Amex you have that's £30,000 combined spending to trigger both Companion Vouchers.

Book two with one voucher, third person separately

Use one voucher to book two people (2-for-1). Book the third seat separately as a normal Avios redemption on a different booking reference.

This in my opinion is the simplest option, even though you're managing separate bookings, and might not get seats together unless you pick your seats in advance.

Use different card products

If you already have a BA Amex earning a Companion Voucher, you could also get a Barclaycard Avios Mastercard or Avios Rewards with Barclays Premier Banking, which offers upgrade vouchers.

These work differently as you book a ticket with Avios and then the voucher upgrades it at the time of booking (there must be Avios availability in the cabin you are upgrading into). Another difference with these vouchers is that the cardholder doesn't have to be one of the passengers travelling, provided that the person travelling is in your household account or friends and family list.

Here's our full guide to the Barclays Cabin Upgrade Voucher.

You can't mix vouchers used in the booking, meaning it'll still take two separate bookings, but you'll be saving Avios overall.

Bottom line

Groups of three fall into the gap which British Airways could fill, but they haven't.

If you consistently travel as three people here's a round-up of your options:

• Two Premium Plus BA Amex cards, one per parent. £600 in annual fees combined, £30,000 in combined spending. Two bookings: Parent A and child on a 2-for-1, Parent B solo at 50% off. The most Avios-efficient option, and the most expensive in fees.

• One BA Amex Companion Voucher, third seat booked as a separate Avios redemption. The simplest option. You pay full Avios for the third seat but skip the second card and the second annual fee.

• One BA Amex Companion Voucher plus a Barclays upgrade voucher for the third seat. It'll still take two separate bookings, but you'll pay less in annual fees, and the cardholder doesn't have to be the one in the booking.

Sam

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