Bits: BA ‘Upgrade to First’ promo returns, Accor buys onefinestay, triple PPB points on Air Canada

News in brief:

British Airways ‘Upgrade to First’ promotion returns

British Airways has brought back its regular ‘Upgrade To First’ promotion.  This allows anyone purchasing a flexible or semi-flexible Club World ticket in J, C, D or R classes (this excludes the cheapest I-class fares) to receive a one-way upgrade to First at the time of booking.

This deal only applies to full fare tickets.  If your employer has a negotiated deal then you can not take part.

American Airlines flights can be upgraded if booked as a BA codeshare.  You need to book via a travel agent or by telephone, not online.  The number of seats available for upgrade is restricted.

You must book by 14th June for outbound travel by 28th August.  All travel must be completed by 8th September.

The following routes are excluded: Bermuda, Chengdu, Bangkok, Seoul, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Full details can be found at ba.com here.

Accor acquires onefinestay

French hotel group Accor, owner of the Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis, Pullman etc hotel brands, bought ‘posh Airbnb’ company onefinestay yesterday.

Based in London, onefinestay lets “leisure and business guests stay in hand-picked distinctive private homes with made-to-measure, personal service from a personal welcome on arrival to a team on call 24/7”.  It currently has 2,600 properties under management in  London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Rome.

Accor paid £117m for the company and has committed a further £50m to speed up its expansion.

This may well be a good long-term investment for Accor.  Marriott, whose $14bn revised bid for Starwood is now looking excessive, may be wondering if this wouldn’t have been a better bet.

Whilst there are no plans to test out onefinestay on HfP at the moment, there will be some coverage of Airbnb on Head for Points soon.  Anika is currently out in LA and I challenged her – as someone who has never done anything like this before – to download the app and give it a go.

Triple PartnerPlusBenefit BenefitPoints with Air Canada flights

PartnerPlusBenefit is the Star Alliance equivalent of the British Airways ‘On Business’ programme for small companies in the UK and Ireland.  I wrote a full introduction to the scheme here.

If you fly with any of the 11 Star Alliance airlines who take part – Air Canada, LOT, Lufthansa, germanwings, Eurowings, Austrian, ANA, SWISS, Brussels Airlines, United and TAP Portugal  – you would be crazy not to sign up your business, large or small.

If you are heading to Canada before 31st July, you will earn triple BenefitPoints on all Air Canada or Air Canada rouge (the AC leisure arm) operated flights from the UK and Ireland to Canada.  This applies to all bookings in International Business Class, Premium Economy and Premium rouge.

You need to pre-register for this offer via the ‘Special Promotions’ page of your PartnerPlusBenefit account.

If you want to join PartnerPlusBenefit, details are in this HfP article.  There is a sign-up bonus available which is good for 3 x one-way Heathrow Express tickets or various other benefits.

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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)

None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.

There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card. 

The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.

There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.

The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review