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Bits: Virgin Atlantic and Flybe to codeshare, Business Traveller auction

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News in brief:

Virgin Atlantic and Flybe to codeshare to Heathrow

As I covered a couple of weeks ago, Flybe is to launch flights to London Heathrow from Edinburgh and Aberdeen in March.  These will use the slots previously given to Virgin Atlantic for its Little Red services.

Virgin Atlantic and Flybe have announced an extension of their codeshare deal to cover these routes.  This will allow customers to book connecting flights under a VS flight number via the Virgin website and to check bags through to their final destination.  Passengers will need to change terminals from 2 to 3, or vice versa.

I am guessing that you will earn 25 Virgin tier points each way for Flybe bookings made under Virgin flight numbers but that has not yet been confirmed online.

You can find more details on the Flybe website here.

Business Traveller charity auction ends today

Our friends at Business Traveller have been running a charity auction over the Christmas and New Year period which ends at lunchtime today.

Here is a list of the lots – note they are priced in US$.  Most are fully priced but a few did seem to be good value, and all of the money goes to a good cause.

I’m looking for a Dutch-speaking HfP writer

One bit of feedback from my recent reader survey was a desire for more Flying Blue (Air France / KLM) coverage on Head for Points.

In my little London bubble it is easy to forget about Flying Blue.  If you live outside the M25, however, taking a KLM flight from your local airport to Amsterdam and then onwards is generally less trouble than connecting in Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

The problem with Flying Blue is that I don’t know much about it.  I am therefore interested in hearing from you if you would like to write the occasional Flying Blue article (no more than one per week) for the site.

These are the criteria:

  • you can read Dutch, since there are deals posted on Dutch-language frequent flyer sites which will otherwise be missed by an English speaking audience.  This is non-negotiable.
  • you have a good understanding of Flying Blue, as I will want a few introductory articles on the good and bad points of the scheme
  • you can use WordPress
  • you think you can write in the HfP ‘house style’
  • you can dig out your own content – I won’t be telling you what to write, you need to tell me what is worth covering.  My plan is that your articles will arrive, unprompted, in our inbox whenever you find something interesting to write about.

The content you produce will need to be from a UK perspective.  I’m not bothered about earning miles from Dutch or French supermarkets, from Dutch or French credit cards or subscribing to Dutch or French newspapers.

I don’t mind if you already have your own blog or write for another one, although if you write for another site in English on Flying Blue it will be a problem.  You don’t need to be living in The Netherlands to apply.

Drop me a line at rob at headforpoints.com if you’re interested.  Payment would be per article and at a decent rate.


How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards

How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Air France and KLM do not have a UK Flying Blue credit card.  However, you can earn Flying Blue miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Flying Blue miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Flying Blue mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.

Comments (67)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Andrew says:

    Good News about the codeshare arrangement.

    The Flybe hold luggage maximum is 20Kg, the Virgin maximum is 23Kg. It’s not going to be an issue for outbound trips to the US. But what happens on the inbound after I’ve stocked up in American Eagle, Macy’s and Target?

    • danksy says:

      you get clobbered for VAT and import duty baboomtsssh 😛 😛

    • CV3V says:

      How does baggage reclaim work at EDI for international passengers who have connected onto a domestic?

      At GLA if you arrive on a domestic flight after connecting off an international flight your bags are on a separate international baggage belt, next to the domestic belts. You then have to pick up the phone to customs to make any declarations. Obviously if you arrive into GLA on a direct international flight you still have to go through customs (the Emirates flights always seem to be the interesting ones).

      • Fraser says:

        Same way, belt 6 at Edinburgh contains the bags originating abroad, although there’s no customs channel so they depend on your honesty if you want to declare anything.

      • Andrew says:

        Well, it’s all out in the open at the front of airport…

        It’s a bit naughty, but when I’m being picked up by family and as EDI baggage handlers can be very quick when they want to be, more often than not they’ve collected my luggage and are waiting for me with it.

        (There are barely noticeable signs at low level that say “passengers only” beyond this point but nobody seems to bother).

  • Rob says:

    I am nervy about pushing Alaska, they have been known to make changes to the programme overnight without notice and I’m not sure the average HFP reader would want their miles to be so far away!

    • tony says:

      I think the AS sweet spots are something that those who use the system to their advantage at the moment would be quite happy it’s kept quiet.

  • PAR says:

    Oh that’s a pity as I can speak/read French.
    Also I could do it the same thing for Japan Airlines(JL) and ANA(NH) as I’m a Japanese blogger 🙂

  • Caro says:

    I currently live in Amsterdam and am keen to hear of FB earning/shopping opportunities. I read this site every day, thanks Rob. ik spreek geen Nederlands (I do not speak Dutch).

    • Sussex Bantam says:

      That’s about the only sentence of Dutch I learned when I lived there too !

    • Pol says:

      Just about to move to Amsterdam so would also love to hear of FB earning and redemption opportunities.

  • Ben says:

    O/T but I have just stopped my virgin money ISA direct debits after making 8 payments so I need to close the ISA to get next years sign up bonus?

  • Marc says:

    For everyone interested in collecting FB miles, there’s an interesting promotion with Avis: 4000 miles for any 3 day rental or more (it’s not as attractive as the famous 18000 Avios) but if you need a car and already collect FB it’s a good way of topping up you FB account.

  • George says:

    Hi Rob

    Just dropped you an email with some ideas and Qs about this. Let me know what you think when you have a minute

    George

  • Bob says:

    You cannot earn Flying Blue miles in a “à la Tesco” way in France, and I guess in the NL when buying at supermarkets.

    One reason why Tesco fails in France was that Tesco prices were too much high compared to competitors.
    The UK consummers still pays much more than continental europeans consummers for day-to-day basic products from supermarkets.

    • the real harry1 says:

      might have been ‘more true’ 8 months ago (actually 3 years ago it WAS true) but not now

      so give some current examples of basics where you think your point is valid…

      not including wine or booze

      • Callum says:

        Baguettes?

        I certainly find pretty much any European country south or east of Germany to be noticeably (but not anyways significantly) cheaper than the UK. Doesn’t remotely mean we’re being “overcharged” though – different countries have different living costs.

      • Bob says:

        I bought today 2 kilos of carrots for 1 euro.

        Do you find any carrots in a UK supermarket for £ 0,46 the kilo?

        I mean I ask because I have always been amazed by London prices in supermarkets.
        But I have not been in one of them for 4 years now, so things may have changed.

        • the real harry1 says:

          sure, that’s a common price these days, there is a fruit & veg war going on

          if you’ve been away for 4 years you won’t have seen the march onwards in terms of gaining mkt share by Aldi/ Lidl

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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