Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Get an extra 5% off Malaysia Airlines sale fares this weekend

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Malaysia Airlines is running a special promotion with Visa this weekend.

You can save an additional 5% on all tickets in both Economy and Business as long as you travel by 6th May.  You can ONLY get the discount if you book via this page of the Malaysia Airlines website.

As well as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Airlines has good connections to Australia and elsewhere in Asia.  Remember that you earn Avios and British Airways tier points when you fly with Malaysia Airlines as both are members of the oneworld alliance.

Malaysia Airlines has recently taken delivery of new A350-900 aircraft and is now operating them on the Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur route.  There are two daily departures from Terminal 4 at 10.25 and 21.25.

Full details of the new planes are on their website here.  The Business Class layout pictured above looks pretty good.  It is a staggered 1-2-1 or 1-2-2 layout, similar to Aer Lingus.  It even has two Aer Lingus-style ‘throne’ seats on the right-hand side.  On the left, one row has ‘table / seat’, the one behind ‘seat / table’ and so on, so that your feet slot under the table area of the seat in front.  The Qatar Qsuite works in a similar way.

Your best option to maximise your miles when paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.  This offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.  Our review of Amex Gold is here.

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

oneworld alliance partners

Comments (115)

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

  • Keith says:
    15 Feb15 February 14:36

    Ah-ha! I see, okay thanks all for your help. I don’t have a Platinum – will just rummage around for a discount code.

    Cheers

    Keith

  • the_real_a says:
    15 Feb15 February 14:58

    There have been some good offers on Nationwide offers.

    Currently I’m seeing 10% off £200 at UK Crowne Plaza stays in the UK
    The was £5 off £40 on BP Me (recently expired)
    £5 off various Waitrose, Boots and Co-op spends through the year.

    Customer service was always an issue. Nationwide reps had never heard of it, and it was difficult in find anyone to take responsibility for non-posting. There was a scheme email posted at some point which i used and did resolve issues.

  • Rob mc says:
    15 Feb15 February 16:31

    OT
    Amex platinum insurance – can I just confirm that partner who is a supp card holder is covered for travel insurance for illness and medical cover even though the trip was not booked using the amex card? I know smaller benefits aren’t guaranteed as the card wasnt used.

    Thanks

  • Victor says:
    15 Feb15 February 16:52

    OT: does Amex Plat car hire insurance cover damages to a dealer courtesy car?

    • Roger says:
      15 Feb15 February 17:31

      Good question.
      Do the dealer not offer insurance as part of courtesy car though?

      • Chris says:
        15 Feb15 February 17:53

        They do, but I’ve previously been told of excesses from £100 up to £1,000.

    • marcw says:
      15 Feb15 February 18:26

      The thing with the Amex insurance is, technically you are only covered when you are on holidays – so I’d say no, unless you have a hotel booking

      • Chris says:
        15 Feb15 February 20:35

        I can’t see that in the T’s & C’s anywhere

        • marcw says:
          15 Feb15 February 21:06

          Well, I shall read the policy properly. But it wasn’t like that the last time I checked (must have been before July 2018).
          Car Rental insurance is within section 1. WORLDWIDE TRAVEL INSURANCE. The following conditions apply to all claims under this Section:
          1) …
          2) …
          3) Trip Length: You are covered for a maximum of 240 days in a
          365 day period and for single Trips up to a maximum duration
          of 90 consecutive days.

          TRIP is the key. And by trip they mean: “Trip” means a journey outside Your Country of Residence which must commence and end in Your Country of Residence, or a journey within Your Country of Residence which must include a flight, or at least one night of pre-booked accommodation away from home. Trip is extended to include any journey within Your Country of Residence for Car Rental Benefits (Section 1.5) only. Trips must not exceed 90 consecutive days with a maximum 240 days during each 12 month period. The Trip length will be extended to 365 consecutive days for Your Children under the age of 25 on a Gap Year.

          So, yes: Trip is extended to include any journey within Your Country of Residence for Car Rental Benefits (Section 1.5) only.

  • Munch says:
    15 Feb15 February 19:33

    OT Strange transaction on my Curve today. I purchased a gift online and the transaction appeared 3 times on my connected virgin card across two days. The transaction has passed pending. Looking at my Curve app it shows one transaction but 3 times the value. I contacted the retailer and they sent me proof of the transaction but at the correct value. Raised a case with Curve and waiting for a response. Anybody had similar issues?

  • Jonny says:
    15 Feb15 February 21:40

    OT: My Barclaycard Hilton card was expiring next month. Just got a new one. Strangely enough, they still use the old “HHONORS” branding!

    • Andrew says:
      16 Feb16 February 07:45

      I bought Honors points this week and they appear on the Points.Com transaction as HHONORS too.

      Some things are remarkably persistent.

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

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