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Bits: good Hilton Auctions deal, 1200 Avios with LEGO, 375 Avios with Now 97

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News in brief:

Good Hilton St George’s Park auction deal available

Another interesting package has appeared on the Hilton Auctions site.  It isn’t getting a lot of love at the moment but that is because people haven’t read the small print.

Long-term readers will remember my very positive review of Hilton St George’s Park in Staffordshire – home of the National Football Centre – a couple of years ago.  The hotel website is here.

Because the hotel is used by the England football team, as well as visiting squads who train there, it was built to a very high standard.  At the same time, because Staffordshire is not exactly the centre of the universe, it is excellent value for money when not required for football duties.

The Hilton Auctions site is offering, on a date of your choice before 30th September:

  • Two night stay in a family suite at Hilton at St. George’s Park, including breakfast
  • Dinner at The Restaurant
  • Goody bags for the children upon arrival
  • Passes to Alton Towers theme park (2 adults and 2 children)
  • Family tour of the FA’s National Football Centre
  • Passes to the National Memorial Arboretum, including activity packs for the children

The minimum bid to win is just 125,000 Hilton Honors points.  There have not been any bids so far, so a cheeky bid of 125,000 points could secure it.  The bid deadline is 28th July.  You can see more details here.

Get 1,200 Avios with £30 of LEGO

Tesco Direct is running another LEGO deal this week which could earn you some cheap Avios.

If you spend £30 on selected LEGO Disney Princess, you will receive 500 bonus Clubcard points, worth 1200 Avios or 1250 Flying Club miles.

You can also earn 150 Clubcard points (360 Avios, 375 Virgin Flying Club miles) when you pre-order NOW! 97 on CD for £13 – or just £11 if you use coupon code TDX-YMPN.  This offer closes today.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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 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 card

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

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Capital on Tap Pro Visa

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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.

Category

British Airways and Avios, Hilton Honors, Tesco Clubcard, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (36)

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

  • John says:
    20 Jul20 July 07:41

    Wonder what they’re going to do for NOW! 100 (apart from making me feel old).

    • Oh! Matron! says:
      20 Jul20 July 08:10

      I have Now! 3 on LP! 🙁

      • Andrew says:
        20 Jul20 July 09:15

        Now 1 on LP…

        (Also have first The Hits! on LP too).

        Everything after that is on tape cassette or CD, I gave up around NOW! 50. It’s the early CDs that are sought after by collectors.

      • Wally1976 says:
        20 Jul20 July 09:18

        You’ve trumped me – I have Now! 4 on cassette (I think). My sister has Now! 2 on LP though. Anyone got Now! 1 (presumably just called “Now!”)?

    • Following from behind says:
      20 Jul20 July 08:10

      NOW 26 was my first one.

  • Steve says:
    20 Jul20 July 08:14

    A cheeky bid has been made. New bids in 10k increments.

  • Anna says:
    20 Jul20 July 08:19

    This is where I wish I was in HH, my son wants to go to Alton Towers for his birthday in September!

  • Anna says:
    20 Jul20 July 08:20

    Lol, my first compilation album was Chart Hits 81 – the forerunner of the NOW albums! I was a very trendy child….

  • JamesB says:
    20 Jul20 July 08:23

    OT Hilton: On previous Hilton reward stays I have received myway benefits as diamond but on my most recent Hampton stay I received nothing. Is this correct or should I have received 250 points or a drink and snack? I’m now confused whether reward stays count for my way bonus points etc or not?

    • John says:
      20 Jul20 July 09:24

      Yes award stays should receive same benefits as paid

      • JamesB says:
        20 Jul20 July 09:36

        Thanks John, I thought so, I will give it another couple of days days as sometimes points appear later. There was no recognition at check in hmmm. Not complaining though as 5 nights in Newport for 20k booked before price hike. Was a good place to explore Wetlands, Brecon Beacons and Cotswolds , Cardiff and Bath.

  • Matthew says:
    20 Jul20 July 08:38

    I recently managed to bag the Honda Maclaren VIP experience for the Formula One practice day in KL for the starting bid of 150,000 Hilton points. So it does happen if you get lucky. Very much looking forward to it. Any reader tips for KL as we will be there for 3 days. Thanks 🙂

    • Following from behind says:
      20 Jul20 July 08:48

      I found KL a bit hard to walk around so took a lot of Ubers. If you’re going to Batu Caves there is a train station next to it and it’s pretty simple and cheap to use. There’s a decent concert hall under the towers if you have an evening spare.

    • JamesB says:
      20 Jul20 July 09:10

      Take a taxi someplace out of twon and if you get (un)lucky you might get a second F1 experience 🙂

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
      20 Jul20 July 09:52

      We found KL a bit dull (compared to, say, Bangkok and Singapore), but entirely pleasant, with great food (and shopping if that’s your thing). You need to book Petronas Towers in advance if you want to go up to the observation deck. Ubers are indeed very cheap but traffic is also quite bad so check google maps before booking. The metro system in KL is very easy to use and modern. Airport express from KLIA is a bit expensive but quick and easy (particularly if you are staying near Sentral) – I think there’s a discount if you pay with Mastercard.

      If you’re staying at the KL Hilton Sentral, would definitely recommend getting a park view room. Lounge is great and also a really decent breakfast with a very diverse range of cuisines.

      • Genghis says:
        20 Jul20 July 11:40

        We were in KL for two nights at end of April. I hadn’t been for about 8 years or so. I found it a right dump, well past its 90s heydays. The DT at 10k HHs per night x 2 less a 5k rebate for a promo at the time = 15k HHs for two nights in a suite upgrade. Decent room but service was poor. We went to the top of the Petronas Towers, which was OK but nothing spectacular. There’s nothing much to see in KL. Nevertheless, have a good time!

      • JamesB says:
        20 Jul20 July 14:14

        You folks were both lucky, on our last trip we were stuck indoors due to the pollution. First time I was there I think I went up a TV tower or something on a hill which was more fun than the towers. I don’t dislike KL and Singapore but prefer Bangkok or Hong Kong any day.

    • the_real_a says:
      20 Jul20 July 14:34

      You can easily take the bus from KLIA to Sentral for a couple of pounds. Only marginally slower than the train and arrives at exactly the same place.

      Get a contactless metro pass as soon as you arrive. So much easier than paying in cash for each journey.

      Also GrabCar generally has more cars than uber and is cheaper. They also have a huge amount of offers. Prices are fixed regardless of route or traffic.

    • jtz says:
      21 Jul21 July 08:57

      I’ve been KL and Bangkok too and preferred KL a lot more.
      For views, visit the KL tower, cheaper,less crowded and amazing views.
      Loved the food scene in KL and the bird park is worth a visit.

  • Nick M says:
    20 Jul20 July 08:47

    We’re due to stay here to break up a long journey in a couple of weeks and looking forward to it. Seemed good value for our dates- £83 for a “compact family room” and £40 F&B for £30 (+ children eat free).

    Does anybody have recent experience of likely Diamond upgrades?

    • JamesB says:
      20 Jul20 July 09:06

      Doubletree is only 10000 points per night and good status recognition. Genghis recently got a suite IIRC. Free shuttle bus to various city locations. Metro is under 5 minute walk from hotel for return journeys.is

      • Genghis says:
        20 Jul20 July 11:42

        I think Nick M might be on about St Georges. But yes, as I said above, we got a suite upgrade at DT KL for net 7.5k HHs a night.

        • Nick M says:
          20 Jul20 July 12:54

          Yes, St Georges for me…

          Would much rather we were headed to Malaysia though!

          • JamesB says:
            20 Jul20 July 13:56

            Oops, sorry, was connecting KL with long journey and missed the thread progression too.

    • Peter K says:
      20 Jul20 July 22:47

      It’s a lovely place to stay but the prices can be VERY steep for F&B. Obviously you’ll get free breakfast. Can’t comment on upgrade chance as when I went it was full due to an event so no spare rooms (100% full).

  • AVM says:
    20 Jul20 July 11:40

    In case someone is collecting answers with excuses from Marriott on why the BAEC promohas not been honoured yet, here is another one:
    Dear AVM,
    Thank you for contacting Marriott Rewards regarding the 2017 Double Miles with 1,000 Miles Promotion.

    I apologize that our Marriott Rewards office has been made aware of system issues which have prevented the miles from posting. We do not have an estimated fix date yet. We apologize for any inconvenience.

    Thank you for choosing Marriott.

    Sincerely,

    Jim McGowan

    • Genghis says:
      20 Jul20 July 11:43

      Completely different to the answer that we got this morning!

      • Anna says:
        20 Jul20 July 12:51

        I got another saying they didn’t know what I was talking about! I copied and pasted the original confirmation email into my reply.

        • Mzungu says:
          20 Jul20 July 14:06

          I didn’t even get a reply! Not been quite 24 hours yet, so I guess that may be a bit unfair. I forwarded the email that said I was registered, and due 1000 points 🙂

    • JamesB says:
      20 Jul20 July 14:04

      Just sent mine off this lunchtime, directly questioned whether they treat their members fairly and if they were falling short even in comparison to accor. Will see what answer I get.

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

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