Bits: 10% off 16-25 Railcards, will Monarch go bust today?, a HfP reader wins big

News in brief:

10% off a 16-25 Railcard until tomorrow

If you are in the right age group or are a full time student of any age, or have one in the family, you can get them a 16-25 Railcard with a 10% discount until the end of the month.

You need to enter code SAVE10OCT on the Railcard website here.  The price will be £27 instead of £30.

Alternatively, you can also redeem Clubcard vouchers. 

Monarch in trouble?

Low cost airline Monarch, now run by the ex-Avios Group CEO Andrew Swaffield, may reach the end of line today if it does not receive a cash injection from its 90% shareholder Greybull Capital.

All airlines have to convince the Civil Aviation Authority on a regular basis that they have the required funds to operate.  Monarch’s license expires tonight and press reports suggest that it does not currently have enough liquidity to meet CAA requirements.

Monarch transitioned from a charter airline into a low cost carrier in recent years and appeared to be making a decent job of it.  Competition is clearly fierce, however, and it may not have had the financial discipline or cost structure needed to compete.

If the airline does collapse it will be interesting to see if it is acquired by IAG – who could merge it into Vueling – or potentially Eurowings which is in the process of buying chunks of airberlin.  I would be surprised if easyJet or Ryanair would be interested given that they already have the assets required to take over the most attractive routes if Monarch disappears.

Monarch is an Avios redemption partner but only when you book via avios.com.  Details of that relationship are in this article.

A HfP reader wins big

Finally, I was delighted to receive this email from a reader this week:

Hi Rob,

I just thought I’d drop you a note to say that I have heard that I won the Hilton World Tour competition that you mentioned on headforpoints back in June:

https://www.headforpoints.com/2016/06/11/hilton-concert-tickets-competition/

[The prize is two tickets to a concert ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD of your choice, with travel and accommodation thrown in!]

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that 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.

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points. You can apply here.

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 (40,000 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.)