British Airways American Express cards compared: Blue vs Premium Plus

There are two British Airways Amex cards, and choosing between them is one of the first real decisions you make as a UK points collector. One is free. The other costs £300 a year. Both feed the same currency into The British Airways Club, and both hand you a 2-4-1 Companion Voucher once you spend enough — but the voucher you get is very different depending on which card sits in your wallet.

This is a straight head-to-head: earn rates, the voucher differences, the spend threshold they share, and the annual-fee maths that decides which one actually pays for itself.

Why it matters

The card you carry does two jobs. It builds your Avios balance every time you spend, and it determines the quality of the Companion Voucher you unlock. Get this choice wrong and you either overpay £300 a year for a card you can't use to its potential, or you leave the free card on the table when a modest fee would have doubled your reward output. Because both cards draw from the same £15,000 annual spend to trigger their voucher, the comparison is unusually clean — the fee buys you a better voucher and a faster earn rate, nothing more, nothing less.

How it works

The free card: British Airways American Express Card

• No annual fee.
• Earns a base rate of Avios per £1 spent — the lower of the two rates.
• Unlocks a Companion Voucher after £15,000 of spend in a card year.
• That voucher is economy only (Euro Traveller short-haul or World Traveller long-haul) and is valid for one year.

The paid card: Premium Plus

• £300 annual fee.
• Earns a higher base rate of Avios per £1 — roughly double the free card.
• Unlocks a Companion Voucher after the same £15,000 spend in a card year.
• That voucher works in any cabin, including Club World business class, and is valid for two years.

What both cards share

• A Companion Voucher (also called the 2-4-1) lets a second person fly on a reward booking while you pay the Avios for one traveller and taxes and charges for both. Both must travel together on the same booking.
• The voucher applies to BA, Aer Lingus and Iberia Avios reward flights.
• Both cards are American Express charge/credit products, so acceptance is the usual Amex caveat — useful, but not universal.

Because the trigger is spend-based, the practical question isn't "can I hit £15,000?" but "which voucher do I want when I do?" For the full mechanics of the voucher itself, see our guide to the{' '} BA companion voucher.

Strategies

Match the card to the trips you actually take

The free card's voucher is economy-only. If your reward flying is short-haul Europe — a few days in Rome, a long weekend in Lisbon — economy is fine, and the free card gives you a 2-4-1 on those trips at zero annual cost. The Premium Plus voucher only earns its keep if you intend to fly premium cabins or long-haul, where the cash value of a second business-class seat dwarfs the £300 fee.

Use the two-year validity as breathing room

A common reason people waste vouchers is the clock. The free card's voucher expires in a year, which is tight if you're chasing award availability in a specific cabin. Premium Plus gives you two years — enough to wait out a quiet booking window and still redeem well. If your travel is unpredictable, that extra year has real, if hidden, value.

Push earn rate where the fee is justified

The Premium Plus earns roughly twice the Avios per £1. Over £15,000 of annual spend that difference alone claws back a meaningful chunk of the fee before the voucher is even counted. Pair the card with the other{' '} ways to maximise Avios — shopping portals, dining, transfers — and the paid card's higher base rate compounds faster.

Time your spend to the card year

The £15,000 resets each card membership year, not the calendar year. Front-load large planned purchases into a single membership year to guarantee you cross the line and mint the voucher, rather than spreading spend and falling just short.

A worked value example

Say you spend £15,000 on the card in a year and use the voucher on two long-haul reward seats.

• Free card: two World Traveller (economy) seats to, say, New York. You pay the Avios for one seat plus taxes and charges for both. A second economy seat that might sell for around £450 costs you only the taxes portion. Net gain: roughly £350-£400, at no annual fee. Add the Avios earned on £15,000 of spend and you're comfortably ahead.
• Premium Plus: the same £15,000 spend, but now the voucher opens Club World. A second business-class seat that might retail near £2,500 costs you the Avios for one traveller plus taxes for both. Even after the £300 fee, and even valuing Avios conservatively at around 1p each, the second premium seat is worth many multiples of the annual cost.

The pattern is clear: the free card wins for economy short-haul flyers; the £300 fee is almost trivial once a premium-cabin voucher is in play.

Common mistakes

• Paying £300 for a voucher you'll only use in economy. If you never fly premium cabins, the free card's voucher gives you most of the benefit for none of the fee.
• Holding the free card and letting the voucher expire. One year goes fast when you're waiting for reward availability — book earlier or consider upgrading.
• Assuming the voucher covers the taxes. It doesn't. You still pay taxes and charges for both travellers; the voucher removes the Avios cost of the second seat, not the cash.
• Splitting spend across cards. The £15,000 threshold is per card, so hopping between products mid-year can leave you short of any voucher at all.

Key takeaway

Choose the free British Airways Amex if your reward flying is mostly short-haul economy — you get a genuine 2-4-1 at no annual cost. Step up to Premium Plus if you fly, or want to fly, premium cabins and long-haul: the any-cabin voucher and two-year validity make the £300 fee easy to justify, and the higher earn rate helps pay for itself.

Let the Travel Smarter advisor find your best-value Avios and companion voucher use, fees included →

FAQ

What is the difference between the free BA Amex and the Premium Plus?

The free British Airways Amex has no annual fee and gives an economy-only Companion Voucher valid for one year. The Premium Plus costs £300 a year, earns roughly double the Avios per £1, and gives an any-cabin voucher valid for two years. Both unlock the voucher after £15,000 of spend in a card year.

How much do you need to spend to get the BA Amex companion voucher?

You need to spend £15,000 on the card within a single card membership year to earn the Companion Voucher. This threshold is identical on both the free card and the Premium Plus. The difference is the voucher you receive: economy-only on the free card, any cabin on Premium Plus.

Is the BA Amex Premium Plus worth the £300 fee?

The Premium Plus is worth it if you fly premium cabins or long-haul. A single any-cabin Companion Voucher used on two Club World seats can be worth many times the £300 fee, and the higher earn rate recovers part of the cost through Avios. For economy-only short-haul flyers, the free card is usually the better choice.

Can I earn Avios on both BA Amex cards at the same time?

You can hold both cards, but the £15,000 spend threshold applies to each card separately, so splitting spend risks earning no voucher at all. Most people concentrate spend on one card to guarantee the voucher, then decide which product matches their travel. See our{' '} 2026 Avios guide for how the balances combine.

Does the companion voucher cover taxes and charges?

No. The Companion Voucher removes the Avios cost of the second traveller's seat, but you still pay taxes, fees and carrier charges for both people. Both travellers must be on the same booking and fly together. The voucher applies to BA, Aer Lingus and Iberia Avios reward flights.

Which BA Amex card should a first-time collector get?

A first-time collector who flies mostly short-haul economy should start with the free British Airways Amex — it carries no fee and still delivers a 2-4-1 voucher. If you already know you want long-haul business-class trips, the Premium Plus makes sense from day one thanks to its any-cabin voucher and faster earn rate.