Bits: Heathrow protest today, Etihad sale, update on 40,000 Nectar points deal

News in brief:

Heathrow anti-expansion protest today may cause delays

British Airways has issued an advisory warning due to a protest against Heathrow Airport expansion which will take place today, Saturday.

To quote:

A peaceful demonstration against airport expansion is expected to take place at Heathrow Airport on Saturday 1 October.

Heathrow Airport is working with the Metropolitan Police who will manage any protest activities in and around the airport or terminal facilities.

Roads around Heathrow may see a period of disruption around the middle of the day and customers travelling to/from the airport may wish to allow extra time for their journey.

Etihad launches 96 hour sale – with bonus miles

Etihad is running a sale this weekend which runs until Monday evening.

As well as some decent prices in Business Class, the airline is offering 15,000 bonus Etihad Guest miles for every Business Class flight.  Economy flights will attract a 5,000 mile bonus.

Whilst Etihad Guest was devalued sharply last year, the ability to top up your account via American Express Membership Rewards, the UK Etihad credit card, the HSBC Premier credit card and Heathrow Rewards makes their miles flexible.  You can also redeem across the full Etihad Airways Partners alliance.

Here are some headline business class fares from London.

• Abu Dhabi £1,500
• Bangkok £1,550
• Mumbai £1,552
• Johannesburg £2,191
• Perth £2,600
• Melbourne £2,600

Whilst these are not the cheapest deals seen this Winter, you need to remember that I rate the Etihad A380 Business Class Studio as the best seat on the market.  Heathrow will be operating a 100% A380 service from November.

These deals can be booked for travel until June 2017.  Full details are on the Etihad website here.

Update on the ‘40,000 Nectar points’ credit card deal

Yesterday I wrote an article about the attractive American Express Nectar credit card promotion which launches today.  If you are targetted via the Nectar app or website, you will receive a whopping 40,000 Nectar points for signing up.

Full details of the card are here although you should not sign up via this page.

This is worth at least – in the worse case scenario – £200 to spend at Sainsbury’s, easyJet, Expedia etc.  However, if you use your points wisely during special offers, you could get as high as £400.

I missed out a key point in the early version of the article yesterday which was the version emailed out.

Anyone who is targetted will receive the 40,000 points as long as they have not had a Nectar credit card in the last six months.  That statement was correct.

However … the terms and conditions state that you only receive the first year of membership for free if you have not had any Amex-issued Amex cards in the last six months.  That will disqualify 95% of HFP readers, who will have a BA Amex, Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, Starwood Amex or similar.

You WILL still get the 40,000 points but you need to be resigned to paying the £25 fee.  This is still very small in contrast to the sign-up bonus, however, and is refundable pro-rata if you cancel the card.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.