Bits: Kimpton Amsterdam on points, British Airways dropping and starting routes at City

News in brief:

Amsterdam’s forthcoming Kimpton bookable on IHG points

OK, if you’re not a bit of a hotel geek the headline above might not mean much.  However, fans of Kimpton Hotels – the cult US boutique hotel brand now owned by IHG – have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the first European site in Amsterdam.  This will be a conversion of the Crowne Plaza in the city centre, pictured below.

Kimpton has now been owned by IHG for two years.  IHG has been very wary of messing with a successful formula, however, which is why Kimpton has retained its own loyalty programme and the hotels do not allow you to earn or spend IHG Rewards Club points.

Except … Kimpton Amsterdam (home page here) IS now available for IHG Rewards Club redemptions.  It is due to open on 26th June and is pricing at 50,000 points per night.

As a trade off, you will NOT earn Kimpton Karma Rewards if you stay here.  This may not go down well with Kimpton fans in the USA.

50,000 points is a little toppy, given that cash rates for the opening period are around €260 – €280, but I would still redeem at that level.  In fact, I will be redeeming at that level because I want to check it out as soon as I can!

Note that the hotel cannot be booked on the Kimpton website, either for points or cash – you need to use ihg.com. 

Changes for British Airways at London City

British Airways has announced some adjustments to its London City services.

Flights to Hamburg, currently 3 x daily, will be suspended from 27th March

Flights to Angers, due to operate 3 x weekly during the Summer starting from 27th March, will not now happen

If you are booked onto either of these routes you will be transferred to a Heathrow service.

Instead, BA is launching a new route to Skiathos in Greece.

The timings are a little odd.  There will be three flights per week, but those days are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only.  The service runs from 26th June to 6th September.

BA will also offer an extra flight to Mykanos from City.  This will operate on Fridays from 30th June to 8th September, adding to the existing Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday services.

Avios and cash seats for these new routes are already available at ba.com.

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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.