Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Bits: BA launching Seychelles today?, new Avios in-store shopping partners

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

News in brief:

British Airways (re)launching the Seychelles today?

According to the rumour mill, which includes tweets from BA pilots, a new route is being announced today.  There is a good chance that it will be the return of the Seychelles to the British Airways network.

If you have some Avios and potentially a British Airways American Express 241 to spend, get thinking.

As soon as the announcement is made, two Club World seats for Avios will be released for every flight.  No restrictions.  It obviously depends when the route is due to start of course – if it is launching in March then only March 2018 to early September 2018 will be available, which is not peak season.

It might not Seychelles of course.  I’ll let you know tomorrow.  We do know, for certain, that it will be a Boeing 787 route.

New Avios eStore and Virgin Shops Away in-store partners

Avios and Virgin Shops Away have added eight new in-store partners to their respective eStores.

If you haven’t linked a payment card to your eStore account yet and you like eating at places like Byron, Prezzo and Flaming Grill, you should do so before your next meal.  Do NOT link the same card to both stores as you won’t be able to control which site receives the miles.

The new places and earning rates are:

Byron 5 Avios/£1 or 4 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1

Chef & Brewer 5 Avios/£1 or 4 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1

Old English Inns 5 Avios/£1 or 4 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1

Hungry Horse 5 Avios/£1 or 4 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1

Flaming Grill 5 Avios/£1 or 4 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1

Fayre & Square 5 Avios/£1 or 4 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1

Eating Inn 5 Avios/£1 or 8 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1 (not a typo)

Prezzo 3 Avios/£1 or 2 Virgin Flying Club miles/£1

Virgin also has a long-established deal with Jamie’s Italian at 2 miles per £1.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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

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

25,000 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.

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

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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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

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

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

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, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (61)

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

  • Lumma says:
    19 Sep19 September 10:33

    My Waitrose points have tracked ok as far as I can work out and I did have my main amex registered with both virgin and avios. Not sure what happens when both companies are offering points tho. As I’ve just gotten a replacement amex due to the old one going through the tumble dryer, I’m probably gonna register the supplimentrary card I got for my “dad” for the extra 1000 points and try to remember to use that in Waitrose and collect avios on everything else

  • n says:
    19 Sep19 September 11:00

    How did the Ryanair lottery work out for HfP readers yesterday?

  • Andrew says:
    19 Sep19 September 11:40

    Slight OT, I’ve had my First Direct Visa Credit Card earnings confirmed by Visa (£10 Lidl, £3 Costa, £5 Esso so far).

    As I’ve also got a First Direct Visa Debit Card, does anyone know if the earnings are on a per card basis or per customer basis? I’m undecided as to whether to add my Debit Card to the existing log-in or create a new log-in on a different email account.

    • Nick says:
      19 Sep19 September 18:55

      Per customer. Nationwide (same Visa interface) only allows one card per customer to be validated, and FD/HSBC uses the same system.

  • mark1980 says:
    19 Sep19 September 11:52

    Slightly OT, anyone any thoughts on the best holiday destination for very young kids (toddler and baby) out of Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius?

    • Rob says:
      19 Sep19 September 13:00

      Barbados is better – proper island, proper supermarkets for supplies, proper hospitals etc. We took our boy where at 15 months.

    • Anna says:
      19 Sep19 September 16:36

      I concur – and I would never take children to the Maldives as you would need to be airlifted to hospital in the event of a serious injury or illness. You also need to be sure you are going to be able to find things they will eat!

  • Moomin79 says:
    19 Sep19 September 12:26

    Seychelles flights are available to book. March 24th first flight from LHR – BA63, BA62. 787-9.

  • David says:
    19 Sep19 September 13:46

    Snagged a pair of Club seats to SEY next April – thanks!
    What are the recommended seats on 787? Haven’t been on a BA 787 yet.
    Any hotel recommendations…

    • pauldb says:
      19 Sep19 September 14:32

      We island hopped but I liked all our hotels. It’s a shame not to see all the (main 3/4) islands as they are in easy reach and yet distinctive. Hilton Labriz great vibe but a bit isolated, Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie nice boutique on La Digue, and Constance Lemuria much larger but best food/service and Anse Georgette in its grounds.
      On the other hand you can go to 4S, Raffles, Banyan Tree, etc and never leave the resort, or the uber-expensive private islands.

      • pauldb says:
        19 Sep19 September 15:05

        If you just have a week and want to explore (rather than staying in one resort) I would focus on Praslin and La Digue, even though that complicates your movements a bit. I anyone is struggling to find 7 day availability, you honestly won’t get bored filling 10/11 nights.

    • Rob says:
      19 Sep19 September 14:35

      On a 787-9, which this is, I would take the front mini-cabin just behind First Class. Only two rows of seats.

  • Sara says:
    19 Sep19 September 14:43

    i can’t seem to find any availability on the BA site?

  • Gareth Lloyd says:
    19 Sep19 September 14:50

    Commenting for the first time to say “thanks Head for Points!”

    I’ve been reading daily and collecting for almost exactly a year. Today I used my first 2-4-1 for Club World seats to the Seychelles and win major kudos from my beach-obsessed spouse. This was something I could not have dreamed of 12 months ago.

    Thanks again!

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? EARN POINTS WORTH 10,500 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!