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IAG ‘to make a third €1.5bn offer for [airline] Norwegian’

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Spanish newspaper Expansion reported yesterday (see here, Chrome can translate) that BA’s parent company, IAG, is to make a third offer for Norwegian.

This will value the airline at 330 NOK per share, giving the equity a total valuation of €1.52bn.  This is a 31% premium to the share price last Friday although, as Norwegian carries a huge amount of debt, the actual premium to the Enterprise Value of the business is much lower.

IAG Norwegian takeover bid

Since the Norwegian CEO controls 27% of the company, the decision will in reality rest with him.  With the oil price remaining fairly high by recent standards, Norwegian will face increasing pressure from its lenders.

Whilst Norwegian has said that other airlines have expressed interest, I would be less certain.

As IAG is likely to be a more conservative owner of the company – and may well close down the long-haul operations entirely to free up aircraft for LEVEL, BA, Iberia and Aer Lingus – Air France KLM and Lufthansa might be happier to sit it out and reap the benefits of reduced competition without having to spend any money of their own.


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.

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.

Comments (121)

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

  • Mark2 says:

    OT
    Bad news_
    My wife received Avios on her previously defective Lloyds Avios account and has received a manual credit for points missing.

    So no more compensation!

    • Alex W says:

      If it wasn’t within the time they stated (6 months?) You may still get some compo. Think I got another £50.

    • Tom1 says:

      I complained on Sunday evening for the 3 months of missing points – I needed those points for my flight booking.

      My phone rang on Monday morning – a nice lady from Lloyds telling me that they opened a new Avios account for me (but never told me) and gave me the Avios membership number.

      So I now have my missing points 🙂 But no compensation 🙁

  • signol says:

    OT. TFL Rail have taken over running the Heathrow Connect service. As I understand it, Oyster and Contactless PAYG are now accepted on it, with a special (ie higher than normal) fare, but period travelcards and daily caps will be the standard.

    • N says:

      2 train ph from Paddington to Hayes&Harlington are the new Crossrail stock too!

  • The Original Nick says:

    O:T, Just noticed 1500 ihg points posted to my account under ‘Airline Incentive’
    Anyone have any idea what it is for?

    • Genghis says:

      Similarly, I’m seeing lots of “Offer Win” for zero points. Any ideas?

      • EwanG says:

        Nick – did you sign up for the BA promo which I think JamesB posted about 2 months ago?

        Genghis – same here (but just the one on my account) which appeared after booking a PointsBreak night to meet one of my Q2 Accelerate targets. Only thing I could think to cause it was BA promo as above!

        • The Original Nick says:

          EwanG, maybe but not sure. Also seeing “Offer Win” for zero points.

  • Alab says:

    Slightly odd question,RE: signup bonuses and BA taxes.

    Illustrative figures;

    1. I want to make a redemption in J
    2. I have just taken out a gold card
    3. I am 20k points short of the J redemption value

    Is it possible that I book one way in J and return in Y, and pay the taxes on my gold card I have just taken out? Do these taxes count towards signup bonuses?

    Once I have hit the signup bonus (from the taxes and other spending), is it possible to then change the Y leg to J with my additional avios/MR?

    • Genghis says:

      1) Is it possible that I book one way in J and return in Y? Yes
      2) and pay the taxes on my gold card I have just taken out? Yes
      3) Do these taxes count towards signup bonuses? Yes
      4) Once I have hit the signup bonus (from the taxes and other spending), is it possible to then change the Y leg to J with my additional avios/MR? Yes, only if availability in J and you’d be subject to the £35 change fee

    • Alex W says:

      @alab. Have you considered booking WTP then upgrade using Avios. Should cost you 1/3 the Avios of a J redemption (on a peak date), Plus you earn Avios and TP back.
      If you need a refundable ticket though, cheaper to go with Genghis’s full redemption option.

  • the real harry1 says:

    O/T how do I transfer points from my SPG a/c to my wife’s, please? Will the option pop up in My Starpoints via Amex log in once I get a few points?

    • Genghis says:

      Your SPG points will transfer from Amex to your own SPG acct. Then just login to your SPG account and there’s an option with something like “transfer within household”. Enter your wife’s SPG no then wait a few days for the transfer to take place.

  • Vin says:

    My Vueling flight from Gatwick to Barcelona this evening is delayed by 3.5 hours. Booked using creation but I do have Amex Plat. Could I claim compensation? Any advice would be gratefully received.

    • Rob says:

      EU261, no bother.

      • the real harry1 says:

        Bit more to it than that. Are there extraordinary circumstances? Make a careful note of what the captain tells you is the cause of the delay, record it if possible. And even with a 3.5 hrs delay on departure, you might arrive under 3 hrs late at destination vs scheduled arrival time (ie when door opens for disembarkation), which is what counts.

    • Lyn says:

      Just testing – I’ve just written a reply re EU261 compensation, twice and the comment didn’t go through either time

      • Rob says:

        Anything with two links is automatically queued because it is usually spam.

    • Lyn says:

      OK here goes again. I’m afraid I can’t help re Creation/Amex Plat coverage. As trh1 says, circumstances are key to EU261 compensation, so very important to try to find out the reason for the delay.

      I haven’t actually checked, but I have heard there might be delays in flights over French air space today due to a possible French air traffic controller strike. Regardless, the airline has certain duty of care obligations.

      I put in the Civil Aviation authority link on EU261 compensation before, and also the one from Vueling’s own website, but am omitting them now in case that was the reason my replies didn’t go through. Good luck with both your flight and compensation.

      • the real harry1 says:

        There are French ATC strikes today https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/france-air-traffic-control-strike-flights-delayed-cancelled-ryanair-easyjet-british-airways-a8362781.html

        A strike outwith Vueling’s control would be an extraordinary circumstance & you wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance of getting EC261 compo.

        As stated, you would be entitled to duty of care.

        • Mr(s) Entitled says:

          Even a Vueling strike would be deemed outside of Vuelings control. I have sufferred this before on Luft. Strikes are exempted.

        • the real harry1 says:

          Actually strikes are currently being tested in law as to whether in-house strikes are routine & to be expected or indeed extraordinary circs. EC261 specifically only says strikes outwith an airline’s control (eg ATC) are extraordinary circs – some people are of the opinion that in-house strikes are therefore to be coped with by an airline/ planned around. Therefore not a way to get out of EC261 compo. Watch this space.

    • marcw says:

      Good luck Vin, but I thing it´s all due to France´s strike. Remember that Barcelona is just south of the French border, so almost all flights have been affected. If you want to have a look at Spanish newspapers, you will read plentuy of reports like “long delays today in Barcelona due to French strike”.

  • Nick M says:

    Slight moment of panic – received an email from BA saying how they keep my details safe and then notice that they say I have 300 Avios… surely there should be another 3 zeros on the end?! Then I realise it was one of the children’s accounts…!

  • Tom1 says:

    o/t Any tips on booking eurotunnel?

    Looks like using Tesco vouchers at 3:1 is the best way currently?

    • MarkH says:

      I just did a weekend crossing for 2000pts which normally costs £60 so was great value I thought

      I had initially planned to use my points haul from the ink cartridges for avios but I seem to be using it all on Uber and now Euro Tunnel

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:

      I use Tesco for this. 3:1 is a good rate and a genuine saving on an item I would otherwise be paying cash for.

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

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