Bits: good SPG auction ends today, third runway to destroy BA HQ, new Gatwick route

News in brief:

Good SPG Moments auction ending today

There is an attractive SPG Moments auction ending today which, so far, has attracted very little interest.  It is one of those auctions where the headline used to sell it vastly undersells the value of what you will receive.

The Moments home page is here.

The auction is headlined “Get backstage passes to Five Guys Named Moe at Edinburgh’s Christmas”.  The current bid at the time of typing is 9,500 Starwood Preferred Guest points (28,500 Marriott points).

Dig into the auction and it looks a lot more interesting:

• A two-night (2-night) stay in a Club Room at Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh, checking in on 4 December 2016 and checking out on 6 December, 2016
• Two (2) 55-minute spa treatments at One Spa
• Dinner for two (2) at One Square on Monday 5 December
• Two (2) tickets for the Street of Light on Sunday 4 December, 2016 (6:00 pm showing)
• Two (2) VIP tickets to Five Guys Named Moe on Monday 5 December (show starts at 7:30 pm)
• Private backstage meet & greet with the cast of Five Guys Named Moe on Monday 5 December, 2016

As long as you are free on those dates and can get to Edinburgh, this looks like a good deal to me.  The Sheraton Grand was fully refurbished a couple of years ago and is one of only a handful of Sheraton hotels to carry the ‘Grand’ name.  The hotel website is here.  I value the package at around £700.

The auction ends at noon today although the closing time extends by 5 minutes if there are any bids in the last 5 minutes, and only ends when there are 5 minutes with no bids.

Third runway to destroy BA’s Waterside headquarters

Falling into the ‘couldn’t make it up’ category comes this article from The Guardian yesterday.

Apparently, until he saw the final draft of the Airport Commission report into Heathrow expansion, Willie Walsh (CEO of IAG, the parent company of British Airways) didn’t actually know that the third runway would require the demolition of BA’s state-of-the-art and hugely expensive Waterside HQ – photo above, I’ve been, it’s very nice.  No-one from Heathrow Airport had ever bothered to tell them …..

Whilst BA will receive 25% above its market value when the site is purchased, this is of limited benefit as the airport recoups the cost by increasing charges to airlines – 56% of which is paid by BA.

New British Airways route to Limoges

British Airways has announced a new route to Limoges in France.

Flights will operate four times a week from Gatwick, with the service commencing on 28th May 2017.

Tickets, for cash or Avios, are available for booking at ba.com.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2023)

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:

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

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 9th January 2024, you will receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 30,000 Avios) with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. You receive 25,000 points if you spend £3,000 in three months and a further 5,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive a huge 100,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 100,000 Avios) with The Platinum Card. You receive 75,000 points if you spend £10,000 in six months and a further 25,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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.

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