Bits: Irish Independent 18,000 Avios vouchers arriving, Which? names the best UK airports
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
News in brief:
18,000 Avios for £146 – vouchers are arriving
Last week I wrote about a great deal for subscribing to the digital version of the Irish Independent newspaper – click here. You don’t need to live in Ireland to take part.
You would receive 18,000 Avios points for taking out a €160 (£146) digital subscription.
It wasn’t clear how long the voucher to redeem the Avios points would take to arrive. The company running the offer was saying 21-28 days. However, the first batch – for people who signed up on the 22nd – arrived yesterday, so it only took 8 days.
The Irish Independent deal is still running if you want to jump in now that it is clear it is working as expected, not that I ever doubted it would.
Which? on the best London airports
Which? magazine has released its latest airport passenger survey. For those people who giggled when I wrote about how pleasant I found Southend Airport last year, it has been named the ‘Best Airport in the UK’ .
The results for the London airports are actually in line with my own views, except for London City which I find overrated. The score below is based on feedback from Which? readers across a number of categories such as staff friendliness and helpfulness, baggage reclaim, seating, toilets, and queues at security and passport control.
London Southend – 82%
London City – 68%
Heathrow Terminal 5 – 61%
Heathrow Terminal 2 – 57%
Gatwick South – 52%
Heathrow Terminal 3 – 52%
Heathrow Terminal 4 – 52%
Gatwick North – 51%
London Stansted – 38%
London Luton – 29%
London Luton was named ‘Britain’s Worst Airport’ out of 31 UK terminals surveyed, with passengers marking it down for queues, overcrowding and lack of seating.
Outside London, the top rated airport was Doncaster Sheffield.
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.
Alex H 
Matt 
Alan 
Colin JE 
Ferret 
Rob 
Nick M 
Rom 
dodge 
Greg 
Treefern 
Corkyboy 
Treefern 
Comments (80)