Bits: excellent £994 Club World fare to California, the Starwood Amex card may be staying

News in brief:

British Airways selling Oakland for £994 in Club World

British Airways has quietly started selling tickets to Oakland in California for £994 return for travel in January or February.

You can take a look at the Low Fare Finder tool on ba.com here.

This is clearly an excellent deal for anyone thinking of a California break in the New Year.  There is a direct rail link between Oakland Airport and San Francisco which makes it easy to get around even if you don’t want to hire a car.

Here are the fare rules:

• Both legs must be flown between Monday and Thursday
• Fly between 7th January and 28th February
• Must stay a Saturday night
• Must book by 14th December

You can book on ba.com here.  BA’s special page on Oakland is here.

If you have an Avios redemption booked to San Francisco or Oakland during this period, you may want to seriously consider cancelling – getting a full refund of the Avios and taxes less a £35 per person fee – and rebooking for cash.  As well as getting your points back, you will be earning a large number of Avios (16,142 for a Blue member) and 280 British Airways tier points per return trip.

It seems the Starwood Amex card will be sticking around

In a move which will have repercussions, Marriott has signed new agreements with JP Morgan Chase and American Express to issue partnership credit cards going forward.

Whilst this announcement – which you can read here – only covers the US market, it will have an impact here too.

Marriott has had a long and exclusive US relationship with Visa.  Many people expected this to continue, and for the American Express relationship, which was inherited with the purchase of Starwood, to be abandoned.  This would have been terrible news for American Express which is still reeling from losing 10% of its global billings after Costco moved its US credit card contract.  The SPG Amex accounts for a further 5% of the Amex loan portfolio.

Instead, Marriott has signed new agreements with both JP Morgan Chase (as a Visa issuer) and Amex.  For the US market:

Marriott expects to introduce new, co-brand products starting in 2018 with enhanced member benefits – super-premium consumer and small business co-branded products from American Express and mass consumer and premium consumer co-branded products from JPMorgan Chase. Additional details on the future products will be shared in 2018. In the meantime, both companies will retain their existing portfolio of accounts and continue to offer their current products.

Whilst nothing is certain, this makes it more likely that American Express in the UK will have the option, if it wants, of continuing to issue a ‘Marriott Preferred Guest’ (or whatever the new merged scheme is called) card from 2019.

Whether Amex wants to do this is a different question.  With the card caught under the EU interchange fee cap, subject to final appeal to the EU courts, it may not be financially viable for them.

My long article from Monday on why you should think about getting the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card (10,000 bonus Avios or other miles for a start) is here.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.