‘Free champagne and upgrade’ promo with BA and Conrad / Waldorf-Astoria hotels

British Airways has launched a special promotion in conjunction with Hilton‘s two luxury brands – Conrad and Waldorf-Astoria.

On the face of it, it is not a bad deal:

Free bottle of champagne

Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability

Triple Avios points for your stay

If your Hilton HHonors account is set to ‘Points and Fixed Miles’, you would earn 1,500 Avios points per stay under this promotion. If it is set to ‘Points and Variable Miles’, you would earn 3 Avios per $1.

The conditions are modest:

Minimum two night stay

Valid between 1st April and 30th September

You need to book a specific package to qualify for this offer.

I looked at a couple of examples to see if this is a genuine deal or not.

The Waldorf-Astoria Berlin (see photo, it has just opened) over the weekend of June 7th-9th is €310 per night for a King Junior Deluxe room. The cheapest non-refundable rate is €263, so this is a package worth looking at. The €310 rate is equal to the Best Flexible Rate.

The new Conrad Algarve resort, for the same weekend, comes out at €414. This is the same as the Best Flexible Rate, but there are Advanced Purchase rates which undercut this substantially. €362 gets you breakfast and dinner included, for example, as long as you are happy to pre-pay.

As usual, therefore, ‘buyer beware’ would seen an appropriate motto for this promotion.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 70,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (June 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th August 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Hilton Honors Plus debit card is TRIPLED to 30,000 Hilton Honors points. You will also receive Gold Elite status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit

30,000 bonus points (to 14th August), Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

2,500 bonus points, 50% fee discount, Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed The Platinum Card from American Express in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• The American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• The American Express Business Gold Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• The American Express Business Platinum Card (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.