Bits: 2000 Miles & More miles with a car rental, 50% bonus on Amex transfers, KLM Flight Bundle

News in brief:

2,000 Miles & More miles with a car rental

Lufthansa Miles & More is offering a generous 2,000 miles with your next car rental.  Interestingly, this offer is valid across a large number of rental companies and not just one.  More interestingly, you can earn the bonus miles once per partner so it makes sense to change companies each time you rent.

Rentals must be completed by 31st January.  Europcar has specific small print attached, the other brands do not.  Sixt is also taking part but I cannot get the link to work unless I specifically click out from the email I received.

50% bonus on Amex Membership Rewards transfers to Hilton

I was shocked yesterday to see that American Express Membership Rewards has brought back a transfer bonus to a travel partner.

These bonuses used to be very common, and still are common outside the UK.  We have not seen one actively promoted by Amex in the UK for a few years.

Unfortunately this deal is targeted.  If you were not emailed about it – and I wasn’t – you can’t take part.

People who got the email will receive a 50% bonus on transfers on Membership Rewards points to Hilton Honors before 31st January.

This is not a bad deal.  The normal transfer rate is 1:2.  Under this deal it becomes 1:3.  Because Hilton redemption prices are now directly linked to room rate – but with a top-end cap – you can get decent value here.  I value a Hilton Honors point at around 0.33p because that is now the floor value, give or take, when you use them for a standard redemption.

This means that you will get close to 1p of value per Membership Rewards point via this deal and that is pretty good.

I’ve no idea what the criteria is for being selected for this offer.  I have previously done Amex to Hilton transfers, although I have not currently claimed my ‘free’ Gold status as I am Diamond via the recent status challenge.

KLM introduces the KLM Flight Bundle

Back in August we wrote about the re-launch of the British Airways Flight Pass – see here.  This allows you to pre-buy seats in bulk on a particular route.

The product is hugely flexible.  You pick a particular route and can then choose:

• how many tickets you want
• how long or short you want the expiry period to be
• how far in advance you are prepared to book

…. to get to a price.  Once you’ve bought them, you are guaranteed ‘last seat availability’ irrespective of the selling price at that point.  Of course, if you have agreed to book 14 days in advance in return for a bigger discount then this is less of a benefit, but for people flying a route on a regular basis it can offer savings.

KLM has now launched Flight Bundle – see the KLM website here.  It works in an identical way, which is not surprising as it is being sold by the same company, OptionTown.  It is worth a look if you are a regular traveller on KLM.

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How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Air France and KLM do not have a UK Flying Blue credit card.  However, you can earn Flying Blue miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 40,000 Flying Blue miles

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Flying Blue miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Flying Blue mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.