Bits: BA returns to Birmingham, £4.20 off a train ticket, new Hyatt status benefits
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News in brief:
British Airways to return to Birmingham
According to press reports – although the flights are not timetabled yet – Sun-Air of Scandinavia, the small airline which operates as a British Airways franchise, is taking over the Birmingham to Gothenburg route which bmi Regional is dropping in March.
Sun-Air planes operate in BA livery and the flights will be available on ba.com for Avios redemption. They will be included in Reward Flight Saver.
Other Sun-Air routes include Manchester to Billund (home of Legoland), Manchester to Gothenburg, London City to Billund and London City to Hamburg.
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Get £4.20 of value back on a train ticket
Here is an interesting one. As you will know from recent articles, after February 28th your East Coast Rewards points will be turned into Nectar points at the rate of 6 to 1 (ie 3p each).
You can still join East Coast Rewards via their refer-a-friend link here – you must be logged in to the East Coast site to see this. You can use this to make yourself a decent return on the next train ticket you buy.
If you need to book a train ticket, refer a family member with a Nectar account and open an East Coast account in their name.
Book your ticket via the new East Coast Rewards account in that name. You get 40 bonus points for referring them and they get 100 points with their first transaction. Those 140 points will convert to £4.20 of Nectar points.
Remember that you need to book by February 28th when East Coast Rewards closes.
New Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond benefits
Hyatt Gold Passport is the smallest of the major hotel loyalty schemes. You shouldn’t ignore it, however, because it is very clear that there is an inverse relationship between the size of a hotel chain and the generosity of its loyalty scheme.
Hyatt Gold Passport and Starwood Preferred Guest are far more lucrative than, say, Marriott Rewards because these companies know that you have to go out of your way to find their hotels.
The new Hyatt benefits for Diamond members are not mind blowing but should be welcomed.
Firstly, they guarantee that if you use your points to book a room for someone else, they will receive your Diamond privileges. This often happens at other hotel chains by accident but with Hyatt it is now guaranteed.
Secondly, Diamond members will receive two entry passes for United Airlines lounges each year. This is unlikely to benefit anyone who does not fly United in economy and has no Star Alliance status.
Finally, when a hotel has a premium and standard level of wi-fi available, Diamond members will now receive the premium version without charge. This was often not the case previously.
As I said above, there is nothing here to get excited about but it does show that Hyatt is continuing to make an effort. Full details of Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond status can be found here.
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World of Hyatt update – April 2025:
Get bonus points: Hyatt is not currently running a global promotion
New to World of Hyatt? Read our overview of World of Hyatt here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on what we think World of Hyatt points are worth is here.
Buy points: If you need additional World of Hyatt points, you can buy them here.
Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from Hyatt and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.
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