Bits: Avis opens in the Terminal 5 car park, Hilton website upgrade mess

Is there anything more painful than arriving off a flight and then having to take a long shuttle bus ride to pick up your hire car?  (Er, yes.  Obviously.  It’s not exactly the end of the world.  But you get my point ….!)

In a small step towards the making the world a better place, Avis has opened on Level 4 of the short-stay car park in Heathrow Terminal 5.  They now estimate that you can get to them within three minutes of walking out of the arrivals hall!

Avis is also offering 1,000 Avios for every rental from the new Terminal 5 location, but this offer ends on June 30th.

Meanwhile, over at Hilton ….

Just a quick note to say that, if you have seen a pile of Hilton HHonors points disappear from your account over the last couple of days, there is no need to panic!

A website upgrade over the last few days appears to have gone badly, badly wrong.  Most stays from the last week or so have been wiped from peoples accounts, whilst Flyertalk reports say that new reservations have been met with as many as 25 confirmation emails!

(Slightly bad timing, given the ‘40% off Great Getaway’ sale I wrote about on Saturday!)

Future stays are also not showing for a lot of people, as well as no sign of previous stays.

Hilton is aware of the problem and is working on it.  It may even be fixed by the time you read this.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (January 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.

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

10,000 bonus points, Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

2,500 bonus points, 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 American Express Platinum 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 Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

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

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton 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. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)