How to get a 'free' British Airways or Virgin Atlantic companion voucher

Spend enough on a specialist airline credit card and you could bag yourself a 'free' companion voucher to use on British Airways or Virgin Atlantic.

In this article we're going to explain how this is possible by taking a closer look at four airline credit cards.

What is companion voucher?

A companion voucher is a type of airline ticket that allows you to bring a second person with you on a flight for free, though taxes and charges will still need to be paid. In the UK companion tickets are typically earned by accumulating points through credit card spending and there are two UK-based airlines that offer them — British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Let's take a look at how you can earn a companion voucher with these airlines.

How to earn a free companion flight with British Airways

To earn a British Airways companion voucher you need to sign up for either the BA Amex or the BA Amex Premium credit card.

One big difference between the BA Amex and BA Amex Premium credit cards is the annual fee. The BA Amex is fee-free, while the BA Amex Premium comes with a hefty £250 annual fee. Here's a closer look...

BA Amex

With the fee-free BA Amex, you'll earn yourself a companion voucher if you spend at least £12,000 on the card in a single year. If you manage to hit this spending trigger you'll be able to treat a friend or family member to a free flight. However, you'll need to pay for your own flight solely with Avios.

It's worth knowing that with BA's fee-free card, the companion ticket must be for the economy cabin. Taxes and charges are also payable, though this applies to BA's Premium card too (see below).

In addition to the companion voucher you'll earn a 5,000 points bonus if you spend £1,000 on the card within three months. You also earn 1 Avios point for every £1 you spend. The card has a representative APR of 27.2%, so it's important that you clear your balance in full every month to avoid this high rate of interest.

Note: BA has recently relaxed its companion voucher rules. Instead of taking a companion, solo travelers can instead get 50% off the cost of a flight when booking with Avios.

BA Amex Premium

The BA Amex Premium comes with a £250 annual fee. Unsurprisingly, however, the card is more generous than BA's fee-free offering.

The BA Amex Premium offers a 25,000 Avios points bonus if you spend £3,000 on it within three months. You also earn 1.5 Avios points for every £1 you spend on the card.

Importantly, the trigger spend to unlock the free companion voucher is just £10,000 — less than the £12,000 required on BA's free card.

Under the terms of the companion voucher you can take a friend in the same cabin class as you — it doesn't have to be economy. So, if you fly Business, so will they. Just bear in mind that you'll have to stump up for the taxes and charges on both tickets. The representative APR on this card is 106%, including the annual £250 fee.

How to earn a free companion flight with Virgin Atlantic

The Virgin Reward and Virgin Reward+ credit cards are targeted towards frequent Virgin Atlantic flyers. Here's how they differ from one another...

Virgin Atlantic Reward

The Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card comes without a fee. It offers a free economy or premium companion voucher if you spend £20,000 a year on the card. Similar to BA's offering, taxes and charges are still payable on the free flight.

If you don't want a companion voucher then you can get a cabin upgrade instead. Alternatively, you can choose a Virgin 'Clubhouse' airport lounge pass.

Virgin's Reward card gives 0.75 points for every £1 you spend on the card, and the representative APR is 22.9%.

Virgin Atlantic Reward+

If you're happy to pay the £160 annual fee, then the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card could be for you. It gives a 15,000 points bonus if you use your card within 90 days, regardless of how much you spend. You also earn a free companion voucher for spending just £10,000 annually on the card — half the amount that's required on Virgin's free Reward card.

Like Virgin's fee-free offering, you can choose to forgo your companion voucher if you'd prefer a cabin upgrade or a lounge pass.

The representative APR on this card is 63.9%, including the £160 annual fee.

How to redeem a companion voucher

To redeem a free companion voucher on BA or Virgin Atlantic, you must first ensure you've enough Avios or Virgin Flying points to fly to your chosen destination.

Both BA and Virgin have redemption calculators on their websites, which can help you roughly calculate how many points you need to fly to specific destinations. However, as a rule of thumb, you'll need at 25,000 Avios to fly BA to New York (return) from London, or at least 18,000 Flying Points for an Economy Classic return flight with Virgin.

It's worth bearing in mind that prices can change depending on the time of year. You won't be surprised to learn that off-peak dates are cheaper than peak dates, though dates that as classed as 'off-peak' can vary between destinations.

Also, not all flights have generous availability, especially on popular routes. So, if you want to cash in your companion voucher and you're set on a destination, it's best to book as early as you can.

Are you looking for an airline credit card? Take a look at our best airline credit cards guide.