Bits: Concorde Room side door reopens, LATAM deals to Latin America, IHG 15-year bonus

News in brief:

The Terminal 5 Concorde Room magic door reopens

When British Airways opened The First Wing at Terminal 5 earlier this year (review here), they simultaneously closed the direct entrance into The Concorde Room by the South security channel.

(The Concorde Room – reviewed here – is the lounge for ticketed First Class passengers, Gold Guest List members with 5,000 tier points and Premier Executive Club members only.)

The First Wing actually made life harder for Concorde Room visitors as they had to use the First Wing, walk through Galleries First, leave Galleries First and then walk down to the Concorde Room side entrance.  Staff have been saying that a group of senior BA executives, who have Concorde Room access, visited recently and were unhappy with the new arrangement, so the side door has returned.

New LATAM business class deals to Latin America

LATAM has launched some attractive business class fare to Latin America.

Remember that LATAM in a oneworld member.  This means that you earn British Airways tier points and Avios when you fly with them as long as you add your BA number to the booking.

Headline prices are (all flights involve changing in Santiago or Sao Paulo):

• London to Rio, £1560 return
• London to Sao Paulo, £2020 return
• London to Buenos Aires, £1650 return
• London to Salvador Bahia, £1560 return
• London to Curitiba, £1560 return
• London to Porto Alegre, £1560 return
• London to Santiago de Chile, £1620 return
• London to Asuncion, £1630 return
• London to Montevideo, £1630 return

Here is our review of LATAM’s Boeing 787 business class, when we flew it from Madrid to Frankfurt earlier this year.  You are likely to be on a 777 which has similar seats.

These deals can be booked here.  You must be 9th July, book at least 31 days before you travel and stay at least 5 nights or a Saturday night.  Blackout dates apply to each route.

IHG giving out bonuses on your 15th anniversary

Finally, a reader sent me an email he had received from IHG Rewards Club to thank him for being a member of the programe for 15 years.

It’s good to see this sort of data being tracked.  As a present, he was offered triple base points on a selected day during the next three months.

What was good about the offer was that it did not activate until the reader clicked a link.  This means that he can hold it back for a higher value stay rather than being stuffed if his next trip is a £39 overnighter at a Holiday Inn Express.

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IHG One Rewards update – July 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is currently running TWO global promotions. You can register for both.

Promo 1: IHG One Rewards will give you your choice of either 2,000 bonus points for every two nights or 8,000 bonus points for every four nights you stay.  The offer period is 20th May to 31st August. Click here to register and learn more.

Promo 2: IHG One Rewards is running a promotion aimed at five brands – Crowne Plaza, voco, Vignette, Candlewood and Garner.  You will earn triple base points for stays at these brands until 30th September. Click here to register and learn more.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

IHG One Rewards is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points by 17th July 2025. Click here to buy.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.