Bits: AirPortr, new Global Entry dates in London, Finnair increases Asia frequencies

News in brief:

AirPortr to launch revolutionary ‘home to destination’ luggage handling service

AirPortr, Europe’s first same day and on demand luggage collection and delivery service, is about to launch a unique ‘door to destination’ baggage check-in service in conjunction with British Airways.

We have covered AirPortr before.  It originally launched in May 2014 in London City Airport, expanded to Gatwick in July 2015 and to Heathrow in December 2015.  The original service allowed you to leave your luggage with AirPortr at the airport and have it delivered to your home or office, or to have it collected from your home and left for collection at departures.

From 26th October AirPortr is offering a new service exclusively with British Airways.  Your luggage will be picked up at your home, tagged and checked in for you. This way you can travel without luggage all the way until your final destination. 

This is an innovative service, and seems to be a genuine improvement to the British Airways service offering.  If BA can integrate the marketing into their pre-departure emails it could be very successful.

When you arrive at Heathrow, City or Gatwick you can head straight to security as you have nothing to check in.  This service can be used for pick ups from your front door, hotel lobby or office.

AirPortr check-in can be booked on this page of the AirPortr website. Prices start from £30 for the first bag and £10 for each additional bag within Central London.

More appointments for Global Entry released

CBP seems to have added more appointment dates for the Global Entry interviews at the US Embassy in London.

We ran our article on Global Entry interviews in London last week but we didn’t know at the time that there was very little availability left.

It now looks like some Thursdays and Fridays have been added to the calendar, giving more people the chance to take advantage of going for a Global Entry interview in London rather than having to travel to the US.

Finnair increases frequencies to Asia

Finnair has announced an increase in their Hong Kong and Tokyo flights from summer 2017.

As part of their joint business operation with British Airways, Iberia and Japan Airlines, Finnair will offer 4 additional flights per week from Helsinki to Tokyo.

The service that will run between 5th June and 27th October using the new A350.  It wiill increase the number of weekly flights from Helsinki to Tokyo from 14 to 18.

Other non-stop destinations during summer 2017 from Helsinki include Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. This makes a total of 35 weekly flights to Japan!

Between 6th June and 28th October there will also be three additional flights per week from Helsinki to Hong Kong.  This takes the route to 10 flights per week and adds an afternoon option from Helsinki.  All Hong Kong flights are operated with the A350.

Redemption seats on these flights can be booked with Avios via ba.com.  Cash tickets will earn Avios and British Airways tier points as Finnair is a oneworld alliance member.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous 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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

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.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.