Bits: new American Express cashback deals, easyJet launches routes from Southampton

UPDATE – JULY 2025:  This is an old article, and the credit card information given is likely to be out of date.

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News in brief:

New American Express cashback deals launched

American Express has launched a new wave of travel-related cashback deals.  Some, all or none of the offers below will be found on the ‘Offers’ section of your online statement page, or in the Amex app.  You need to ‘save’ the offer before it is activated.

Airbnb – 2% cashback

This is an older deal but it has been extended to 25th August.

Guoman Hotels (click for website) – £50 back on £195 spend

Valid until 29th September.  Includes The Tower and The Cumberland in London.

Thistle Hotels (click for website) – £35 back on £100 spend

Valid until 29th September.  Remember that the Thistle at Heathrow allows you (for a £5 fee) to take the driverless pods from the car park behind the hotel directly to Terminal 5 – more here.

Red Carnation Hotels (click for website) – £50 back on £250 spend

This may not be a well known brand, but they own the impressive Ashford Castle in Ireland as well as a few upmarket London properties.  I wrote this article about them because they are also a Virgin Flying Club partner, so you’ll earn 2,000 miles per night as well as getting £50 back!  Ends 13th September.

onefinestay (click for website) – 10% back

This is a more upmarket airbnb.  Ends 30th September.

The existing Heathrow Express deal (£10 back on £50 spend) is still running until 23rd July.

easyJet launches flights from Southampton

easyJet is trialling flights from Southampton, albeit in a small way.  A thrice-weekly service to Geneva will begin on 14th December.

If you live in London and have never flown from Southampton, you may not appreciate how convenient it is. The train trip from Waterloo to Southampton Airport Parkway is a touch over 1 hour.  The station is directly at the airport and you will be in the terminal within 5 minutes.

When visiting the south coast, I have even rented cars from the airport in the past and travelled down by train from London.  It is quicker and less stressful than hiring a car in Central London and driving all the way down.

The airport even has an Executive Lounge – Breeze Priority – which we reviewed here.

It is worth noting that Flybe also has a huge number of routes from Southampton (list here) which you can book using Avios points.   Many of these are routes which are not served by British Airways, such as Brest, La Rochelle, Biarritz etc.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (July 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express Credit Card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review