Originally Posted by
JessicaB
I don't think you need to have all the Avios when using the companion voucher. I booked return flights for 2 last week using mine and it gave me the various options of paying more cash and less Avios. For the Barclays Upgrade voucher, yes, you need to pay using the full amount of Avios required, but for the Amex voucher you get the various combinations as usual. I think.
I wasn't talking about the options for different cash\Avios mix, but about whether you needed to book a full price Avios return (not halved by the voucher) before joining them.
You are correct that you have options to not use the maximum number of Avios when using the Amex voucher but to substitute some cash instead, just as you would for normal redemptions, but unlike a normal reward I believe it is usually going to be a good idea to use the maximum Avios option if booking for two people as that way you also get two bites at the reduction in required cash for the price of one.