Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Bits: American Express Platinum adds new lounges, Hilton’s Japan hotel flash sale

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

News in brief:

American Express Platinum adds new lounges

If you have an American Express Platinum charge card, you can benefit from a new deal signed with ‘Escape’ lounges, the small airport lounge company owned by Manchester Airports Group (MAG).

As well as the ‘Escape’ lounges in its UK airports, MAG also operates Escape-branded lounges in the US.  These are at Minneapolis, Oakland and Bradley International (Hartford).

Effective immediately, these lounges can be accessed – with up to TWO guests – with an American Express Platinum card issued in any country.

Oakland will be of interest if you are looking at the Norwegian or British Airways services from Gatwick.  Aer Lingus is now serving Hartford.

Conrad Tokyo sign

72 hour Hilton Japan flash sale launched

I wouldn’t normally mention a niche sale like this, but given the large volume of Japan coverage on Head for Points in recent weeks I thought it tied in.

Until 19th May (sale ends 2pm UK time), Hilton is offering 50% off Best Available Rate for various hotels in Japan.  This includes the Conrad Tokyo pictured above which I reviewed here.

Stays must be completed by 30th December.  Bookings are non-refundable so the discount is not genuinely 50% (a non-refundable room is always cheaper than Best Available Rate) but there will be some decent savings to be had.

Full details can be found on the Hilton website here.


How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (February 2025)

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

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

NEW: Hilton Honors Plus Debit

10,000 bonus points, Hilton Gold status and NO FX fees Read our full review

NEW: Hilton Honors Debit

2,500 bonus points, Hilton Silver status and 0.5% FX fees Read our full review

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

and for small business owners:

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.

Comments (45)

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

  • Fraser says:

    I looked at the IHG offer but am well off for points with them now, and to be honest the rate is not that good at the high end. I paid £750 cash for 4 nights at the Intercontinental in Sydney last month, but at 60,000 points per night, it would still be over £1000 in this offer – you’d need either a really expensive hotel or a really cheap one for it to make sense. I bought last year (for £475) but was then saving anywhere from £25 to £120 per night v the cash rate during Euro 2016 in France.

    One word of warning re the IHG Accelerate promotion. I completed ALL my targets last quarter, but for my final hotel night, the stay didn’t post. After I rang them, it posted after a couple of weeks – but the other targets (including a “bonus package” stay which this was) still didn’t post…despite the “bonus points” appearing on the account. They then disputed that I had made two bookings via the App and claimed they were via a mobile web browser, so do be careful – I did use the app but it seems some devices or mobile OS do not recognise as App stays and you may need to have a vigorous debate with them. They didn’t even recognise my F&B stay and needed me to scan and send the receipt from the hotel to prove I had completed this spend too.

    These promotions are great when they work, but having to spend a long time on the phone to get them to provide the points once you’ve done the required spend makes me rethink if it’s really worth the hassle versus my usual preferences of Hilton, Radisson or SPG where the upgrades are all better.

  • Fenny says:

    Given my Accelerate targets for the quarter, I’m more interested in buying the points than trying to fit in with the requirements. I’ve not got any stays planned and most of my Accelerate targets require 2 weekend night together. I’m Gold to the end of the year anyway and will retain status if I go for the new CC, so unless I decide to go anywhere for my birthday, I CBA to manufacture stays just to hit the targets.

  • Genghis says:

    IHG related. Has anyone stayed at the IC in Porto? Opinion? What’s recognition of SE and AMB?

    • LB says:

      Genghis, we stayed at the IC Porto (using points) and received an upgrade of one level to a nice room overlooking the square. Unfortunately, there was a rock concert on the Saturday night (think it was the festival of St Joan). The hotel was small for an IC and service/ location was ok. We spent another 2 nights at the Crowne Plaza which was further out of town but were upgraded to the “Diplomat Suite”, possibly the best upgrade I’ve had on points. Give the IC a try but check for festivals…

  • Jake says:

    Does buying IHG points count towards activity to keep the account alive? Need activity on the account before the end of June, but not likely to get a stay in before then.

  • Aliks says:

    OT , but does anyone know if JAL restricts avios redemptions on routes to Seoul (ICN)?

    I can see Narita NRT to Seoul ICN for 15,000 avios plus £45 return, but nothing available, ever for Kyoto KIX – ICN

  • Graham Walsh says:

    Damm, missed this 100% Bonus. Need points to part pay for room in August. Not sure how much I can max out my CC card spend. Any idea how often they do the 100% bonus? Not used one this year, so could max it out for IC stay.

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.