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Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
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Airline credit cards can be overlooked at times in favor of more popular travel rewards cards that earn transferable points. However, there are many fantastic airline credit cards that can provide a lot of value to travelers, especially if you fly fairly often with that airline.
In fact, many airline cards offer valuable and unique benefits that you are not likely to find on many other travel rewards cards. The British Airways Travel Together Ticket, offered as a perk of the British Airways Visa Signature® Card, is one such benefit.
In this ultimate guide to the British Airways Travel Together Ticket, we will detail what it is, how you can earn it, and how you can redeem it for maximum value on British Airways flights.
How the British Airways Travel Together Ticket Works
In order to earn the British Airways Travel Together Ticket, you must be a cardholder of the British Airways Visa card and make $30,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year. The Travel Together Ticket effectively functions as a companion voucher, allowing you to get a buy-one-get-one international award ticket.
Once you’ve met the $30,000 spending threshold on your British Airways Visa card, the Travel Together Ticket will post to your British Airways Executive Club account in 4 to 6 weeks and is valid for travel up to 24 months from the date of issue.
Before we dive into how you can maximize the value of the Travel Together Ticket, there are a handful of rules and restrictions that define how it can be used that you should be aware of:
The Travel Together Ticket is only valid on British Airways award tickets, and cannot be used on any British Airways partner airlines
You must still pay any taxes and fees due for your companion’s ticket
All tickets must originate in the U.S.
The ticket can be round-trip and is valid for any fare class
Your companion must fly the exact same itinerary, in the exact same fare class, as you
There must be award space available for 2 passengers in the fare class you want to fly in order to redeem the Travel Together Ticket
You can book stopovers (this can be especially helpful in reducing fuel surcharges from certain cities)
You must redeem the Travel Together Ticket 24 months from its issue date
For solo travel, the Travel Together Ticket can be used for 50% off of 1 award ticket
Now that we’ve covered the rules on how you can and cannot use the Travel Together Ticket, let’s dive into how you can get the max value out of it, and when it makes sense to use it.
How To Redeem the British Airways Travel Together Ticket
Enjoy British Airways’ first class for a fraction of the price when using your Travel Together Ticket! Image Credit: Alex Miller
Before we cover how to maximize your Travel Together Ticket, let’s take a quick look at the British Airways award chart since the Travel Together Ticket can only be applied to award bookings.
British Airways Award Chart
The British Airways award chart is distance-based and divided into peak and off-peak pricing. Award flights are priced by segment, and the number of points required will depend on the season in which you’re traveling.
Zone/Distance
Economy
Premium Economy
Business
First
Off-Peak
Peak
Off-Peak
Peak
Off-Peak
Peak
Off-Peak
Peak
Zone 1 1 to 650 miles
(Not available in North America)
4,000
4,500
5,750
6,750
7,750
9,000
15,500
18,000
Zone 2
651 to 1,150 miles
6,500
7,500
9,500
11,250
12,750
15,000
25,500
30,000
Zone 3
1,151 to 2,000 miles
8,500
10,000
12,750
15,000
17,000
20,000
34,000
40,000
Zone 4
2,001 to 3,000 miles
10,000
12,500
20,000
25,000
31,250
37,500
42,500
50,000
Zone 5
3,001 to 4,000 miles
13,000
20,000
26,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
68,000
80,000
Zone 6
4,001 to 5,500 miles
16,250
25,000
32,500
50,000
62,500
75,000
85,000
100,000
Zone 7
5,501 to 6,500 miles
19,500
30,000
39,000
60,000
75,000
90,000
102,000
120,000
Zone 8 6,501 to 7,000 miles
22,750
35,000
45,500
75,000
87,500
105,000
119,000
140,000
Zone 9 7,000+ miles
32,500
50,000
65,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
170,000
200,000
Redeeming for Economy Tickets
Now let’s compares some airfare examples to see how you can make the most of your Travel Together Ticket.
Image Credit: British Airways
Starting with an economy booking, we can see that the above roundtrip flight between Chicago (ORD) and London (LHR) would cost us 26,000 Avios and $650.32 in taxes and fees. So when making this booking for 2 people using our Travel Together Ticket, you will still use just 26,000 Avios, but will still need to pay the taxes and fees for your companion, bringing the total to 26,000 Avios and $1,300.64 for your 2 tickets.
Now is this a good deal? Well considering that a cash ticket for the exact flights on the same dates would cost $836 a person, or $1,672 for 2 people, it is not exactly an amazing deal. In this example, you’re effectively using 26,000 Avios to save $372. This gives you a value of about 1.4 cents per Avios, which is better than our 1.25 cents per Avios valuation, but you can definitely do better.
If you were to fly business class on this flight, the charge would now be 100,000 Avios and $1,789.05 in taxes and fees. So using your Travel Together Ticket would cost 100,000 Avios and $3,578.10 for 2 round-trip business class tickets.
That might sound steep, but when you consider that the retail price of these tickets is $2,684 each, booking 2 tickets would set you back a cool $5,368. So using your Travel Together Ticket this way saves you over $1,790 for your 100,000 Avios, giving a value of almost 1.8 cents per Avios!
If you weren’t sold already on the business class booking, surely you will be after you see how much you can save on a first class booking. One caveat, though, is that first class availability, especially at off-peak pricing, can be sparse at best. So if aren’t able to be flexible with the dates you travel, then you might have a lot of difficulties trying to book this.
Image Credit: British Airways
Taking the above New York (JFK) to London (LHR) booking, for example, which is at peak pricing. You would need to shell out 160,000 Avios and $3,567.06 in order to book your Travel Together Ticket on this flight. At first glance, this might seem like a lot of Avios and cash to shell out, until you realize that the cash price of this ticket is an eye-popping $20,036.
Image Credit: British Airways
That’s right, booking this flight for 2 passengers would set you back $40,072! So using your Travel Together Ticket saves you $36,505 in exchange for 160,000 Avios — giving you a value of 4.38 cents per Avios!
Bottom Line: While you might be tempted to use your Travel Together Ticket for economy flights to lower the total amount of cash you’ll need to pay, you can get significantly better value by redeeming it for business class or first class flights, both of which allow you to have a luxury travel experience for a fraction of the actual price!
How To Reduce Carrier Taxes and Fees
You’ve probably noticed that British Airways charges some rather large taxes and fees on award tickets compared to other carriers. Fortunately, there are some strategies you can use to help get the cost down — after all, paying north of $1,000 in fees definitely takes some of the fun out of making an award booking.
The easiest way to do just that is by paying for the taxes and fees using your British Airways Visa card. The British Airways Visa gives you a $200 statement credit for award tickets on business and first class flights, and a $100 statement credit on economy and premium economy flights, up to $600 in total statement credits each year.
You can also lower the amount of taxes and fees you’ll pay by avoiding flying home from the U.K. to skip out on paying the U.K. Air Passenger Duty tax, which on business class tickets can add up to £146 (∼$202) per person for flights departing from the U.K.
Final Thoughts
The British Airways Travel Together Ticket is certainly one of the best perks of the British Airways Visa card, and a very unique benefit for airline credit cards in general. While it does require you to put a considerable amount of spend on the card in order to earn it, doing so can be quite lucrative for British Airways flyers — especially on premium cabin award tickets.
Featured Image Credit: Prostock-studio via Adobe Stock
Frequently Asked Questions
In order to get the British Airways Travel Together Ticket, you must spend $30,000 in a calendar year on the British Airways Visa card.
Yes, the Travel Together Ticket can be redeemed for travel in any fare class. In fact, redeeming it for business or first class tickets is often the most lucrative option.
No, the Travel Together Ticket is only valid on award tickets.
You must use your Travel Together ticket within 24 months of it being issued, otherwise it will expire.
No, the Travel Together Ticket cannot be redeemed on any of British Airways Oneworld or other airlines partners. You can only use the ticket for travel directly on British Airways-operated flights.
Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.
Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.
8 comments
James
November 24, 2021
Thanks for this info! I’m trying to book the companion ticket in first, but when I click on add voucher, it takes out first as an option for booking class .. do you know if BA got rid of using the vouchers in first class?
Are you doing an award search? Once the certificate is in your account, you should see the option to redeem it every time you begin a new award search.
Cynthia Fegan
June 11, 2022
Hi Jarrod,
My reward voucher was issued right as Covid began and is set to expire at the end of this month. There were extensive travel restrictions between the US and Europe in 2020 and 2021. I was also pregnant in 2020 and was not going to travel given the global pandemic that was unfolding. Last year our oldest child had health issues so we were dealing with her treatment and surgeries so travel was out of the question. BA automatically had extended my ticket for 6mns and refused to extend it till the end of this year per my request. Do you have any tips on what I can so or am I just out of luck? Thanks!
Unfortunately, the discretion is ultimately British Airways’s. We can always hope that they’ll extend it longer as a last-ditch change. Thanks!
Chris
May 20, 2023
If I get the Chase British Airways card in June 1, 2023, do I only have until December 31, 2023 to charge $30,000 and get the companion voucher or do I have until June of 2024? Thanks.
This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.
8 comments
James
November 24, 2021
Thanks for this info! I’m trying to book the companion ticket in first, but when I click on add voucher, it takes out first as an option for booking class .. do you know if BA got rid of using the vouchers in first class?
Jarrod West
November 29, 2021
Hi James,
You can still use vouchers for first class tickets but there must be 2 first class seats available on the flight you’re looking to book.
Caroline
January 11, 2022
Hi Jarrod! I am trying to use my voucher but not sure where to put the promo code of my evoucher. Not sure if you or others have experienced this.
Jarrod West
January 11, 2022
Hi Caroline,
Are you doing an award search? Once the certificate is in your account, you should see the option to redeem it every time you begin a new award search.
Cynthia Fegan
June 11, 2022
Hi Jarrod,
My reward voucher was issued right as Covid began and is set to expire at the end of this month. There were extensive travel restrictions between the US and Europe in 2020 and 2021. I was also pregnant in 2020 and was not going to travel given the global pandemic that was unfolding. Last year our oldest child had health issues so we were dealing with her treatment and surgeries so travel was out of the question. BA automatically had extended my ticket for 6mns and refused to extend it till the end of this year per my request. Do you have any tips on what I can so or am I just out of luck? Thanks!
Stephen Au
June 16, 2022
Hi Cynthia,
Unfortunately, the discretion is ultimately British Airways’s. We can always hope that they’ll extend it longer as a last-ditch change. Thanks!
Chris
May 20, 2023
If I get the Chase British Airways card in June 1, 2023, do I only have until December 31, 2023 to charge $30,000 and get the companion voucher or do I have until June of 2024? Thanks.
Christine Krzyszton
May 21, 2023
Hi Chris. You would need to complete the $30,000 in qualifying purchases within the calendar year, which would be by December 31, 2023.
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