Bits: Sofitel leaves Priority Pass, error with BA’s two year status extensions?, LEVEL launched

News in brief:

Sofitel Terminal 5 hotel lounge leaves Priority Pass

Last July, the five star Sofitel hotel at Heathrow Terminal 5 became a surprise new nember of airport lounge card Priority Pass.

Priority Pass cardholders were able to use the executive lounge on the ground floor of the hotel, Club Millesime, as well as the showers in the gym.  It was a surprisingly decent experience as I reviewed here.  A photo of the lounge is below.

(Because it was a hotel lounge, you also had the odd situation where hotel guests who had not paid for a club room could still use the lounge by showing their Priority Pass.)

Club Millesime has now withdrawn and has disappeared from the Priority Pass website.  It has also gone from the Lounge Key website, used by World Elite MasterCard holders.  The hotel is claiming that the decision is ‘terrorist related’.

Given the lack of an independent arrivals lounge in Terminal 5 – and the fact that the British Airways arrivals lounge closes at 2pm – this is a real loss.

Is this why the 2-year status extensions aren’t happening?

I wrote on Saturday about the 2-year extensions to British Airways Executive Club status which are being given to people who travelled on the Saturday, Sunday or Monday during the recent IT outage.

Some people, however, did not receive an email informing them of their status extension.  This includes Anika here at HfP.

A picture is now emerging.  Whilst we cannot be 100% sure of this, it seems that some (all?) people whose flights were booked by someone else are not receiving the extension.

This explains why this problem has mainly affected couples, because one person would have booked tickets for both travellers.  In Anika’s case, I booked her flight using Avios from my account because it was a HFP business trip.

I can’t believe that BA has done this on purpose.  I hope, ironically, it is another IT screw-up.  It would be ludicrous even by BA standards to give one half of a couple extended status purely because that was the person who booked the tickets.

LEVEL premium economy reviewed

LEVEL, the new long-haul budget airline owned by BA’s parent company IAG, launched last week.  It is initially flying from Barcelona to

• Los Angeles
• San Francisco (Oakland)
• Buenos Aires
• Punta Cana

….. using two brand new A330 aircraft.

This is the first review I have seen of the Premium Economy offering on the aircraft, if you’re interested.  This will be the most luxurious seat available on the plane.  This is also the same Premium Economy seat being introduced by Iberia this year.  It will be interesting to compare it with Norwegian’s premium offering which we are testing out in a couple of weeks.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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