Bits: Club Eurostar winner, free Wilbur & Orville from Virgin Atlantic, 30% ‘buy Avios’ bonus

News in brief:

Are you our Club Eurostar competition winner?

Last week we ran a competition in association with Club Eurostar to celebrate the launch of their new loyalty program.

One lucky reader got to win 5,000 Club Eurostar points – enough for two Standard Premier tickets to any destination, with GUARANTEED availability via the new ‘Anytime’ reward – plus top tier Carte Blanche status for one year.

We can now announce that this lucky person is:

Gokyar B.

Congratulations!  Club Eurostar will be in touch to sort out your points and status upgrade.

Free Wilbur and Orville from Virgin Atlantic this Christmas

Somewhere in our kitchen is a Virgin Atlantic ‘Wilbur and Orville’ salt and pepper set.

I stole this from a Virgin Atlantic flight in, I guess, 1997 when I was doing some banking work in Johannesburg.  The fact that we still have it, and that after 20 years I still think of Virgin Atlantic whenever I see it, shows the value of smart marketing.

Anyone flying Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic between 21st and 26th December will get their own ‘Wilbur and Orville’ salt and pepper set to take home.  These come in ‘festive red’ which may or may not be an improvement on the usual silver and black.

30% ‘buy Avios’ bonus launched

If you are in need of a final Avios top-up before the end of the year, Iberia Plus has launched another bonus.

This is not hugely generous so don’t jump in unless you intend to spend them immediately.  Until 31st December:

• Buy between 2,000 and 15,000 Avios, get a bonus of 10%
• Buy between 20,000 and 45,000 Avios, get a bonus of 20%
• Buy between 50,000 and 100,000 Avios, get a bonus of 30%

Remember that your Iberia Plus account needs to be 90 days old before you will be allowed to transfer Avios out of it and into British Airways Executive Club or avios.com.

The Iberia ‘buy Avios’ page is here.  You may need to log in to see the bonus.

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.