Bits: did you win our IHG competition?, M&S off Gate 365, Amex / Harvey Nichols promo

News in brief:

Did you win our IHG Rewards Club competition?

Thank you to everyone who entered our IHG Rewards Club competition last week.  There was a fantastic response and IHG was very impressed by the level of interest.

The winner was Jean H.  Well done Jean.  I have the codes you need to add the 50,000 points to your IHG account and I will be emailing them to you later.

Don’t forget that the IHG Winter Sale continues until 7th February.

You can save up to 30% on stays at 600 InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo hotels across Europe.  The sale rates are valid for sale until 29th February 2016 and full details of the IHG Winter Sale can be found at this special website.

Marks & Spencer leaves Gate 365 and the Avios e-store

M&S is no longer available on the British Airways shopping portal, Gate 365, or the Avios e-store.  This means that you can no longer earn Avios points for starting your M&S shopping at one of those site.

Oddly, M&S is still available on TopCashback albeit with a minimum non-food spend of £100.  Remember that TopCashback is still offering a bonus of 500 Avios if you sign up this week.  Thanks to Helen.

£20 cashback when you spend £100 at Harvey Nichols

Finally, Harvey Nichols is offering £20 cashback on a £100 American Express spend.

You need to go into the ‘Offers’ tab of your online Amex statement to register, where it should hopefully be showing.  It is NOT on the cardmemberoffers.co.uk site yet so you cannot register via that route.

Lloyds, MBNA, TSB and Barclays Amex cardholders can register via the Amex Connect site.

The offer runs until 6th March and is restricted to the first 15,000 to sign up.

A less glamorous but more practical offer for ASK pizza restaurants is also available to most people!

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 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – May 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review