Bits: Norwegian launches Buenos Aires, two Avios wine deals ending

News in brief:

Norwegian launches Buenos Aires from Gatwick

If you follow our Instagram feed, you’ll know that Anika is currently in New York testing out Norwegian’s Premium cabin.  We should get that review up in the next couple of weeks.

If it turns out well, you may be tempted to try out Norwegian’s latest route launch – Buenos Aires. 

The service is due to launch in February 2018.  There will be four flights per week on a new Boeing 787, and the lead-in economy fare is £299 each way.

This will be the second non-US route for Norwegian from Gatwick following the recent announcement that flights to Singapore will begin in late September.  It takes their total number of long-haul routes from London to nine.

Perhaps the British Airways paranoia about Norwegian is not entirely misplaced, although the airline is still losing money (albeit you would expect that as new routes take time to build up) and it remains to be seen how it would survive a return to high oil prices.

Two Avios-earning Laithwaites wine deals about to end

Both British Airways Executive Club and avios.com are running generous Avios-earning deals with wine group Laithwaites at the moment.  Both deals end on 30th June so you need to jump in now if you want to take advantage.

The deals are slightly different depending on what freebies you want.

The avios.com deal is here.   You receive:

A 12-bottle wine case, chosen from seven options between £52 and £58

2 Dartington wine tumbers worth £15

1,000 Avios points (250 Avios points if you are an existing Laithwaite’s customer)

Free delivery

The British Airways Executive Club deal is here.  You receive:

A 12-bottle wine case, chosen from seven options between £52 and £58

3 free bottles of rioja worth £36

1,000 Avios points (250 Avios points if you are an existing Laithwaite’s customer)

Free delivery

The only difference is whether you take the free rioja or the free tumblers.  Remember that you’ll need to give a BAEC number if you take the rioja and an avios.com account number if you take the tumblers.

Either way, there is one snag you need to deal with.

By ordering, you are signing yourself up to Laithwaite’s Wine Plan.  Every 8-12 weeks they will automatically send you another 12-bottle wine case.  It is very easy to stop this happening – simply amend your account online or give Laithwaite’s a call to cancel your Wine Plan membership, there is no penalty – but you must trust yourself to remember.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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.