Bits: 2400 Avios with £50 of toys, fly to Barbados from Heathrow, Hilton’s APAC resorts sale

News in brief:

Get 2,400 Avios with £50 of toys

Tesco Direct is offering 1,000 Clubcard points when spending £50 on Nerf, My Little Pony, Play Doh and Hasbro Gaming this week.  This means you get the equivalent of 2,400 Avios or 2,500 Virgin Flying Club miles for £50 plus a pile of toys.

My favourite of all the toys included in this offer is Pie Face. The showdown version costs £27.54 and the regular version £18.99.

Fly to Barbados from Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic is gearing up to launch the only direct route from Heathrow to Barbados.

From 12th December (just in time to escape the English Winter) Virgin Atlantic will fly to Barbados on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  The service will use an Airbus A330 with 33 Upper Class, 48 Premium Economy and 185 Economy seats.

Currently the airline is operating to Barbados from Manchester and Gatwick.  British Airways only flies the route from Gatwick. With the added Heathrow route, Virgin Atlantic will be offering 11 flights to Barbados per week – and passengers on the new route will able to check out the excellent Heathrow Clubhouse lounge we reviewed here.

Tickets are on sale from Monday 27th February and can be booked on the Virgin Atlantic website.

Up to 25% off Hilton APAC resorts

Hilton is currently running an ‘up to 25% off’ sale in the Asia Pacific region.

The Millenium Hilton in Bangkok for example costs $149 instead of $198 (selected nights only).  The Hilton Tokyo can be booked for $330 instead of $412 (selected nights only).

Note that these prices are Hilton Honors member rates – non members have to pay slightly more.  The ‘25% discount’ is not totally accurate as this is based on the Best Flexible Rate, but rooms booked under this offer will be non-refundable.

You need to book by 14th March for stays until the end of the year.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (September 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 and they come with generous sign-up bonuses. 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)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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.)