Bits: Marriott UK weekends flash sale, British Airways scrapping ‘unaccompanied minors’ service

News in brief:

Marriott launches a UK flash sale

Marriott has launched a flash sale which is running until 5pm next Monday 29th.

It covers 50 hotels across the UK for weekend stays before 10th April.

The headline entry price is £49 but its not clear how many rooms at how many hotels are available at that price.  The special booking page is here.

Brownie point for the first reader to recognise the UK Marriott below ….

British Airways dropping ‘unaccompanied minors’ service

BA announced yesterday that it closing its ‘unaccompanied minors’ service, a move which will cost it a lot of business in ferrying overseas boarding school children to and from the UK.

Here is the announcement:

Despite the overall growth in our customer numbers over the last decade, demand for our Skyflyer Solo (Unaccompanied Minor) service has declined.

Having conducted a thorough review of the service, we have concluded with regret that we can no longer offer this service.

British Airways will honour all bookings that have already been made for unaccompanied minors, but new bookings will cease from today (Wednesday February 24, 2016). In line with existing policy, the airline will continue to take bookings for 12 to 18 year-olds who wish to fly independently. However, children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult aged 16 years or over.

Existing Unaccompanied Minors may have changes made to their bookings provided all travel is completed by January 31, 2017.

Following today’s announcement, any customer with an existing booking for an Unaccompanied Minor may cancel their booking and receive a full refund.

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.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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:

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

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

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

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

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

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

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

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

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

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.

American Express Business Platinum

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

American Express Business Gold

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

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.