What is a "Companion Voucher"?

callum9999

jumperabv3 wrote: »

Yes, I've done some purchases before with the AMEX card & Moneybookers, you do get Avios and the purchases do count towards the 20k requirement. That is 100% based on my experience.

I am expecting to make some purchases with this card and not only with Moneybookers but I was thinking of using Moneybookers just to meet the 20k requirements ... just not sure if this voucher is worth it or not .... I think it would be a good thing to treat my wife nicely and I should have with this voucher over 50,000 Avios which is enough for Business class for some BA flights etc.

You need to decide exactly what you'll use it for before deciding how much extra to spend in order to get it. If you want a business class flight on BA then it's possibly worthwhile to spend that extra money but as the fees are so expensive (£540 each for a return to New York) then paying for a business class ticket with cash could easily be better value. Especially in the sales - a business class ticket from Dublin to the US was about £800 each last week for example - and you'll earn avios on that.

jumperabv3

callum9999 wrote: »

You need to decide exactly what you'll use it for before deciding how much extra to spend in order to get it. If you want a business class flight on BA then it's possibly worthwhile to spend that extra money but as the fees are so expensive (£540 each for a return to New York) then paying for a business class ticket with cash could easily be better value. Especially in the sales - a business class ticket from Dublin to the US was about £800 each last week for example - and you'll earn avios on that.

Thank you callum9999, you're very much helpful.

budgetflyer

If it costs you £300 to reach the £20k trigger for the 2 4 1 voucher, then you would be just as well upgrading to the Premier card @ £150.The bonus is bigger, the Avios rate is 1.5 per £ spent and the 2 4 1 trigger is only £10k so you get the voucher twice as fast.

jumperabv3

budgetflyer wrote: »

If it costs you £300 to reach the £20k trigger for the 2 4 1 voucher, then you would be just as well upgrading to the Premier card @ £150.The bonus is bigger, the Avios rate is 1.5 per £ spent and the 2 4 1 trigger is only £10k so you get the voucher twice as fast.

Makes sense to do that .... thanks for the tip!

budgetflyer

Tesco club card is the fastest way to earn high amounts of Avios.
The BA Tesco thread on Flyer Talk, Head for Points and Paid to Shop have lots of info on earning massive amounts of club card points that can be converted to Avios at (currently 2.4 Avios per point)
GIFT CARDS is my favourite for consistent earning. 150points per £50 + MR points for Amex spend. With the BA Premier that would be per £100of gift cards- 300 x 2.4 (720) + 150 = 870 Avios
If you shop in B&Q,Homebase,Argos,Next,ToysRUs,Primark,JD sports,Costa Coffee, Nandos and many more, then with planning you can stack up thousands of Club Card points/Avios
Christmas is coming up and these are all popular shops for gift buying.

Look at ways of your household bills etc being paid with 3Vs. My local Flaming Grill pub has gift Cards available via TopGiftCards. ASDA/Sainsburys cards are available via High Street Vouchers. Buy these online using 3vs.
100 000 Avios is quite easy to achieve if you are focused. (And possibly obsessive, like me )

lutonlagerlout

we are aiming for at least 150,000 to get 4 business class return flights anywhere in the world (near enough)
my brother in law seems to think that the fees are the same as economy so its best to go that extra mile for business

I have around 80,000 now 15 months in with referrals and bonuses

but we are treating it like a long game

Caz3121

lutonlagerlout wrote: »

we are aiming for at least 150,000 to get 4 business class return flights anywhere in the world (near enough)

as long as you have no expectations about being able to find 4 redemption business seats easily. Flexibility it key - redemption seats tend to be released 11 months out or a couple of days before, some routes are very hard to get award seats on and you can only use the 2-4-1 on BA metal

callum9999

lutonlagerlout wrote: »

we are aiming for at least 150,000 to get 4 business class return flights anywhere in the world (near enough)
my brother in law seems to think that the fees are the same as economy so its best to go that extra mile for business

I have around 80,000 now 15 months in with referrals and bonuses

but we are treating it like a long game

150,000 isn't going to get you very far in business - it's not even enough to get the 4 of you to New York and back in economy (you need 160,000 or double that for business - though you could possibly top it up with cash).

The fees are more than in economy. Using my New York example, the cost is 80,000 avios + £540 in business or 40,000 avios + £365 in economy.

The reason why people say business is better value is that business class tickets cost a lot more than £540 in cash whereas economy tickets don't cost a lot more than £365 in cash. You can therefore save thousands of pounds by redeeming for business - but on the proviso that you would have considered paying the full price.

I wouldn't pay for business class so I don't save anything at all. I'd get a much better product of course, but I'd be paying a lot more than I normally do (I just booked a flight from Dublin to New York via London (it was a special fare, partially because Irish departure taxes are tiny compared to the UK's) and then Los Angeles to London for £370). So don't ever go looking for business class tickets thinking you're saving yourself money, go for them if you want to experience the comparable luxury at a reasonable rate.

slinga

callum9999 wrote: »

So don't ever go looking for business class tickets thinking you're saving yourself money, go for them if you want to experience the comparable luxury at a reasonable rate.

If your company pays for Business Class then all well and good.
When you pay for yourself, as we do, then imo the extras you get, so called comfort, food, fast tracking, use of lounge, really doesn't warrant the extra cost.

Not to say we won't continue with Business, mind but imo it's not value for money.

callum9999

slinga wrote: »

If your company pays for Business Class then all well and good.
When you pay for yourself, as we do, then imo the extras you get, so called comfort, food, fast tracking, use of lounge, really doesn't warrant the extra cost.

Not to say we won't continue with Business, mind but imo it's not value for money.

Oh I fully agree, I'd never pay for business (unless the price difference was negligible). I also can't see myself using airmiles for business because my strong desire to travel exceeds my available funds so I'd get further in economy.

If you're someone who doesn't travel that much (or you get loads of air miles free from business travel etc./are well off) though then I can see why a business class redemption would be worthwhile.