Bits: 10% Qatar Airways discount code, Waitrose / Virgin saga, Amex hotel deals
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News in brief:
10% off Qatar Airways business class
Qatar Airways has released a 10% discount code to selected partners, including HfP.
Code UKPREMIUM will get you 10% off the base fare of a business class ticket. You need to book by 30th August for travel by 14th June 2018.
Full details are on this page of the UK Qatar Airways site.
Waitrose / Virgin Flying Club saga continues ….
The saga of the Virgin Flying Club / Waitrose ‘in-store earning’ promotion continues. It seems that the two sides can’t go more than a fortnight without changing the rules of the offer.
Yesterday morning, the Virgin / Waitrose page online was changed to say:
Rewards only given when you spend over £85
This would be a pain if it was applied, given that our average spend in Waitrose is usually sub £50. As we carry it all home by hand, this could be the end of our in-store earning.
Yet, by yesterday evening, the line had disappeared. There is now no minimum spend requirement showing.
Virgin also continues to offer different rewards to different people. I am currently getting 3 Virgin miles per £1 whilst my wife is only offered 1 mile per £1. All very odd ….
PS. Looking at my Virgin in-store transactions last night, it seems that I earned 54 miles at Habitat recently. Except that I didn’t …. presumably my wife bought something using one of the credit cards which I have registered. This shows how odd these schemes are …. Habitat is paying money to Virgin for my miles, even though the miles literally had no impact on the purchasing decision.
New American Express hotel cashback deals launched
A couple of new hotel cashback deals have appeared for American Express cardholders. You can find some, all or none of these under the ‘Offers’ tab on your online statement page. You get different offers for each card you hold.
My new ones are:
Small Luxury Hotels of the World – £25 back on £150 spend
Offer runs until 26th January.
Melia Hotels (click for website) – £50 back on £200 spend
Valid until 26th October. Note that only a small number of hotels are participating, mainly in Spain, although ME London, photo above, is on the list. Remember that if you have an American Express Platinum card you can now get automatic Gold status in Melia Rewards.
The following offers are still running:
Airbnb – 2% cashback
This is an older deal but it has been extended to 25th August. You can also get £30 off your first stay via our refer-a-friend link here.
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 nightas well as getting £50 back! Ends 13th September.
onefinestay – 10% back
This is a more upmarket airbnb! Ends 30th September.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current 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
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee 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
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus 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
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.
Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review
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