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From lounge access to free checked bags, co-branded credit cards can offer cardholders numerous benefits. However, arguably one of the best benefits offered by some travel rewards credit cards is the ability to earn a companion ticket. For British Airways frequent flyers, the British Airways Visa Signature® Card offers cardholders the ability to earn the airline’s Travel Together Ticket.
To earn the Travel Together Ticket, British Airways Visa Card holders must make at least $30,000 in purchases using their card in a calendar year. On average, that’s $2,500 in qualifying spend each month. Once you earn the Travel Together Ticket, it is good for two years.
While $30,000 does seem like a lot, using your card for everyday purchases and a few larger ticket items can add up quickly. It can be well worth it for you since the Travel Together Ticket is potentially worth several hundred — or even thousands — dollars in travel on British Airways.
Here is what you need to know about the British Airways Visa Card’s Travel Together ticket benefit — including two recent improvements.
How Does The British Airways Travel Together Ticket Work?
First and foremost, as mentioned above, you will first have to meet minimum spending requirements to earn this cardholder benefit. To earn the British Airways Travel Together Ticket, you must spend at least $30,000 in a calendar year using your British Airways Visa Card.
Once you meet this spending requirement, you will receive your Travel Together Ticket in your British Airways Executive Club account 4–6 weeks after the billing cycle your Travel Together Ticket is issued. Of course, only one voucher can be earned in a calendar year.
There are additional benefits offered by the British Airways Visa Card, as well. These include 10% off flights and up to $600 back in statement credits on award travel bookings.
- Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
- Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL.
- Earn 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel. Plus earn 1 Avios per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.
- Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you'll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad.
- Simply tap to pay with your contactless British Airways Visa Signature Card. Just look for the contactless symbol at checkout. It's fast, easy and secure!
- Member FDIC
- 3X Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL
- 2X Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations
- 1X Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
When a cardholder redeems the Travel Together Ticket for award travel using Avios, they receive a companion ticket. This ticket allows a companion to fly along for 0 additional Avios. Just pay the taxes and fees on the ticket. Yes, this includes business or even first class.
The Travel Together Ticket is not entirely free. When redeeming this benefit, you will still have to pay any associated taxes and fees. This includes British Airways’ infamous carrier-imposed surcharges. Nevertheless, these taxes and fees pale in comparison to paying outright for another full-fare ticket.
However, you also can redeem the Travel Together Ticket for a solo trip. It will reduce the Avios required for your ticket by 50%. And while you could only use this benefit for British Airways-operated flights in the past, you now can use it to fly on Aer Lingus and Iberia, as well.
Related: How To Avoid Paying High Fuel Surcharges When Booking Flights with Avios
How To Redeem Your British Airways Travel Together Ticket
To redeem your companion voucher, you’ll need to be logged into your British Airways Executive Club account. Once you log in, you can begin the Avios award travel booking process.
To take advantage of your Travel Together Ticket, you have to book your award ticket using only Avios. That is, you can’t book with a combination of Avios and cash. If you don’t have quite enough Avios for your desired booking, you can purchase additional Avios to top off your account.
Related: The Basics of the British Airways Avios Program
Although there aren't necessarily blackout dates for using the Travel Together companion ticket, you will need to find two award tickets available in the same cabin for your desired flight (assuming you're taking the companion route, not the solo travel route). This can be somewhat of a challenge, especially during peak travel season.
Luckily, British Airways made another recent improvement: You no longer need to start your trip in the U.S. to redeem the Travel Together Ticket.
After finding available award seats, select the passenger(s) who are traveling. You'll have the opportunity to redeem your Travel Together Ticket when it's time to pay.
Keep track of your rewards!
It is important to know that your Avios points do expire. If you have built up a large balance of points, make sure to redeem them before the expiration — which happens after 36 months.
How Valuable Is the Travel Together Ticket?
When you redeem your Avios for flights, you still have to pay taxes and fees; the Travel Together only applies to the Avios used for the booking. While the fees can add up, it’s still much cheaper than buying a full-fare ticket.
The Travel Together ticket provides great value for someone who prefers to travel on British Airways/Aer Lingus/Iberia, makes a significant amount of purchases with their credit card annually, likes to travel in premium cabins, and has fairly flexible travel plans.
It doesn’t work out as well for someone who stretches their spending habits to hit the $30,000 threshold. It also is not well-suited for someone who does not have flexibility in their travel plans or someone who primarily travels in coach cabins, because then it might not be worth the extra spending required.
Assuming you’re the ideal traveler for the British Airways Visa Card and the Travel Together Ticket, here’s an example of how much you can save on two sample Avios award redemptions:
New York (JFK) to London-Heathrow (LHR) in economy on November 8, 2023
- Avios required: 25,000
- Taxes and fees: $100 (x 2 passengers = $200)
- Current cash fare: $582 one-way
- Total savings: $482 for travel companion
New York (JFK) to London-Heathrow (LHR) in business class on November 15, 2023
- Avios required: 80,000
- Taxes and fees: $350 (x 2 passengers = $700)
- Current cash fare: $1,982 one-way
- Total savings: $1,632 for travel companion
The Bottom Line
The British Airways Visa Card‘s Travel Together Ticket can be a highly valuable benefit for the right type of traveler.
By meeting the annual spending threshold of $30,000, cardholders can earn a companion voucher, allowing them to bring a travel partner on award flights in the same cabin of service they booked. This includes business or first class. Alternatively, it provides for a 50% reduction in Avios for solo travel.
While there are taxes and fees to pay when redeeming the ticket, these are significantly less than the cost of purchasing a full-fare ticket. For frequent British Airways flyers who make substantial purchases with their card, travel in premium cabins, and have flexible travel plans, the Travel Together Ticket can result in substantial savings.
On the other hand, it may not be as advantageous for those who spend less or primarily travel in economy. As with any credit card reward, it's essential to assess your spending habits and travel preferences to determine whether the Travel Together Ticket aligns with your travel goals and lifestyle.
Have you ever redeemed a Travel Together Ticket? Let us know about it in the comments below.
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I’ve been trying to get Chase to send me my “Travel Together Ticket” for over 5 months. I call at least every two weeks. 11 calls and 3 with so called supervisors – but still no luck. I’ve reached all of my requirements by spending way over 30k a I get a different excuse with each person I’ve talked to. The last supervisor I talked to said that “they to to have this resolved in the new few months”! BA blames Chase, Chase blames BA… so my guess is that BA and/or Chase is selling another con.
Did you log into your BA account and see if it’s there? I don’t think I received an actual voucher. But when I go to book a BA award tix- it asks me if I want to use my voucher and lists the expiration date.
Hi Michele – yes I did. I call BA and Chase every month and sometimes every week and talk to “supervisors” or at least they say they are… Still nothing. I’ve spent over 45k this year, 35k the year before and now for the 2nd year in a row, still nothing. I guess I’m just marked in the system some how or another. I’ve given up at this point.