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Bits: win 120,000 Avios (only 188 entries), Expedia selling rail tickets, Etihad discount code

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News in brief:

Win 120,000 Avios points (only 188 entries!)

Iberia Plus has launched a Facebook competition to give away 120,000 Avios points.

The answer to the question appears to be Madrid but I can’t personally verify this.  At the time of writing the competition has had a pitiful 188 entries despite being live for four days.  The chance of a Head for Points reader winning, once we’ve added another couple of thousand to that total, is therefore very good.

The prize will be dropped into an Iberia Plus account but you can move the points to British Airways Executive Club for free via ‘Combine My Avios’.

You need to enter by Monday. 

Expedia moves into rail ticketing

You may not have noticed, but Expedia has quietly moved into rail ticketing.  The home page for their UK ticket sales is here.

I haven’t used it yet so any feedback is welcome.  They promise no booking fees.  My major article on ‘the best way to book rail tickets’ – which is 18 months old and due for an update soon – is here.

Etihad 15% discount code launched

Finally, Etihad is running a 15% off promotion over the Easter weekend.

You need to fly from London, Manchester or Edinburgh.  The discount is only valid on the base fare, not the taxes, so it will be a better deal when used on a Business or First Class ticket rather than an Economy ticket.

The promo code required is MORE15.

You need to book on the Etihad website here by 19th April for travel by 12th December.

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How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards

How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)

Etihad Guest does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

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.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Etihad Guest mile.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it, not just with Etihad but with any airline.

Category

Etihad and Etihad Guest, Iberia and Club Iberia Plus

Comments (77)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Nick M says:
    14 Apr14 April 08:12

    Not sure if it’s the same competition but I went via the app and there appears to be 1400 comments on the picture?

    • Tony says:
      14 Apr14 April 08:21

      It is the same. I entered at 7am and the number was about 650 entries. HfP exposure has increased it to 1.5k entries

  • Brian says:
    14 Apr14 April 08:28

    Zero point in booking train tickets via Expedia – prices are no better than going direct, and there is a credit card fee – 1.5% for Visa/Mastercard and 2.5% for Amex!!

    • Ben says:
      14 Apr14 April 09:58

      Does anyone know if you get Nectar points and/or Expedia+ points on train bookings?

      • Ben says:
        14 Apr14 April 10:21

        To answer my own question, no you don’t get either. As Brian says, zero point booking on Expedia.

      • RussellH says:
        15 Apr15 April 09:53

        You get Nectar points on any tickets booked through TPE

  • the real harry1 says:
    14 Apr14 April 08:35

    yes if you pay with the Halifax card

  • Duncan says:
    14 Apr14 April 08:41

    I’ve just realised how crappy Iberia+ is online.

    They store a whole bunch of information about you, and the entire account (inc. passport info, full name, address etc.) is secured by a 6 digit number. This is pretty shocking security.

    Also a question… I have a hyphenated surname, but Iberia doesn’t allow that. Instead of Blah-Blah, I entered BlahBlah. Hopefully that will be fine for them.

    • @mkcol says:
      14 Apr14 April 09:07

      I’m hyphenated too.
      It’s standard practice in all travel bookings to just drop the hyphen & squish the names together. It’ll be fine.

      • Curious says:
        14 Apr14 April 16:24

        Have often wondered, when people have hyphened surnames (presumably by choice) do their daughters (or indeed sons) extend the hyphenation further once they themselves get married to add subsequent surnames?

        I’ve not seen three or more myself , but if two is deemed sensible, why not three or more?

        • RussellH says:
          15 Apr15 April 09:57

          We have a local not very bigwig family who sometimes style themselves with three surnames.

          Of my nieces and nephews, who were all assigned both their mother’s and their father’s surnames, joined with a hyphen, at birth, they alls seem to be gradually dropping one of the two names. Should any of them have offspring, I suspect that the cycle will reat itself.

          • Curious says:
            16 Apr16 April 00:54

            My sister in law did it once married (there was no previous double barrelling in the family)

            She now has four kids – when I posed the same query to her, she was…..puzzled!

            She genuinely had not even considered it.

  • Nick says:
    14 Apr14 April 08:56

    Anyone know if there’s a link to enter the Iberia competition without using Facebook?
    Thanks!

  • @mkcol says:
    14 Apr14 April 09:06

    Yes you do need to LIKE Iberia’s page – it’s in the T&C of the competition.

    • Clarence says:
      14 Apr14 April 10:07

      On the Facebook page does just liking the page confirm your entry

  • s879 says:
    14 Apr14 April 09:18

    So if I use this Amex link and then use the 15% off promo on Ethihad’s will that work together? Do I need to register it to my Amex card first?

  • Nick says:
    14 Apr14 April 09:55

    Expedia for trains is stupid. Train companies aren’t allowed to charge card fees or booking fees for booking direct, and they all sell each other’s tickets, so why would anyone not just use them?

    • zsalya says:
      14 Apr14 April 10:14

      Because most of their websites are difficult to use?

    • RussellH says:
      15 Apr15 April 10:01

      All rail firms websites sell most of the tickets for offered by other rail firms, but not IME all.

      I find that TPE’s special flexi tickets from MAN which make allowance for flights arriving late are only availablr from TPE

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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