NEWS & OFFERS: Surprise Change to Companion Vouchers, Riyadh Air Heathrow Flights Now On Sale & an IHG 100% Buy Points Bonus

NEW: Use Your British Airways Companion Voucher Towards Holiday Bookings

When you pay in full or as part payment for a BA Holidays package using Avios, you can now use your BA Amex Companion Voucher to receive 25% of those Avios back.

The maximum you can claim back depends on which card the voucher is from, including:

• BA AMEX: 50,000 Avios (e.g. spend 200,000 Avios, get 50,000 back)
• BA Premium Plus: 200,000 Avios (e.g. spend 800,000 Avios, get 200,000 back)

You need to make the BA Holidays booking first using the full amount of Avios required, then complete the Companion Voucher claim form within 72 hours to receive the Avios refund back into your account.

You can use companion vouchers on holidays until 31st March 2027, and bookings can be for travel after that. This makes me think BA is trialling this as a permanent option, but seeing how popular it is during the offer period first.

The Good:

• You can also book any cabin, regardless of which Amex card your voucher is from. Normally, vouchers from the free BA Amex can only be used for Economy reward flights, while Premium Plus vouchers can be used in any cabin.

• There is no minimum spend requirement, either in cash or Avios, although the voucher is still used up in full.

• It can still apply even if your BA Holidays package includes British Airways-operated flights and BA codeshares with Aer Lingus, Iberia, Vueling, American Airlines, Qatar, and Finnair.

• You will still earn tier points based on the original cash value of the holiday package before any Avios or Companion Voucher reductions are applied.

• You don’t need to find award availability – you can use your voucher against any eligible BA Holidays package where Avios can be used as full or part payment, whether this is Flight + Hotel or Flight + Car.

• Bookings can be for up to 9 people.

• Travel can be after the voucher expiry date, provided the voucher was valid when booked.

The Not So Good:

• You’ll need to have the Avios available in your account to pay the number of Avios used against your booking in full before claiming 25% back, rather than using the voucher to pay fewer Avios.

• If you cancel the holiday after the voucher’s expiry date, the voucher will not be returned.

• Using Avios for BA Holidays bookings is not nearly as lucrative as most flight-only redemptions.

• The voucher can only be used once, so using it on a lower-value holiday booking could be a missed opportunity.

• It only applies to new bookings from 20th May 2026 and cannot be added retrospectively.

If you look at this another way, a 25% discount on Avios payment is the same as 33% more value from the Avios you’re using. But that’s the same as the BA Holidays Avios sale, which has just finished, and you don’t need a companion voucher for that!

Personally, I will stick with using my vouchers for flights only, which gives a much better return per Avios than this offer. I believe this is probably targeted at those who don’t travel very often or who don’t plan far enough in advance to extract real value from the vouchers. 

That said, it’s always good to have multiple ways to spend a voucher. It’s a great fallback option after all.

View the form here >>>

Riyadh Air Heathrow Flights Now On Sale

After what has felt like a very long soft launch, Riyadh Air has finally opened full public sales for flights between Riyadh and Heathrow, with tickets available to book for flights from 1st July 2026 until 25th March 2027. This comes after the airline is set to receive its delayed Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The Saudi start-up and new national carrier have been flying daily between Riyadh and Heathrow since 24th October on spare aircraft under its operational readiness programme, but those flights were not open to the public.

The flights will operate daily between Riyadh and Heathrow Terminal 4 on the following schedule:

When booking further ahead, the timings do change a little. 

Riyadh Air’s new 787-9s have four cabin choices: Business Elite, Business, Premium Economy, and Economy and the cabins look impressive. Business elite has just four seats per aircraft, sliding privacy doors, companion seating, and 32-inch 4K screens.

Pricing is much better value for return tickets, with average return prices of £862 for Economy, £2,255 for Premium Economy, and £4,161 for Business. There are higher fares depending on the flexibility and seats you want:

For now, no alcohol will be served onboard. All cabins have a personalised audio experience, Bluetooth audio, and audio jacks at every seat.

Heathrow is an interesting first route for a new airline, placing it straight into one of the most competitive markets. They have also said other new routes will be coming soon, including Manchester, Madrid, Dubai, Cairo and Jeddah.

Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, said:

“Today marks a truly exciting milestone for Riyadh Air as we introduce our new aircraft and signature premium experience on our established London route. It demonstrates our deep commitment to delivering a truly world-class journey for our guests, one that blends exceptional comfort, cutting-edge technology and our distinctive Saudi ‘Hafawa’ hospitality from the moment they step on board.”

The next challenge is proving the actual onboard experience can live up to the enormous expectations Riyadh Air has spent the last two years creating.

Discover Riyadh air here >>>

IHG 100% Buy Points Bonus

IHG has re-launched a Buy Points bonus, and this time it runs until 6th June 2026.

The bonus starts with purchases of 5,000 points or more. The more points you buy, the less you’ll pay per point, including:

You can purchase up to 200,000 points per calendar year, but during this offer, you can purchase up to 300,000 points, giving you 600,000 for $3,000 (£2,441).

If you’re planning to make an IHG booking, it’s worth checking whether purchasing points would mean you pay less than booking with cash. Points may take up to 72 hours to be credited to your account, so you may need to wait to make the booking.

View the offer here >>>