News in brief:
InterContinental offering ‘3 for 2’ on rooms with lounge access
InterContinental has launched an interesting ‘3 for 2’ deal covering rooms and suites which come with club lounge / executive floor access. Click here to find out more.
It does not cover Europe, unfortunately, but there are a lot of participating hotels across the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Australasia and Africa. The new Robertson Quay hotel in Singapore, pictured below, is included.
You need to do the maths to see if it works for you. Remember that you’ll definitely get free breakfast in the lounge, so even if you are not around during the day or for drinks and snacks in the evening, it might make financial sense. Most hotels also put their club rooms on higher floors and offer better in-room amenities, although this is not guaranteed.
You need to book by 10th March for stays until 31st December. Full details are on ihg.com here.
Up to 35% off Hilton APAC resorts
Hilton is currently running an ‘up to 35% off’ sale for resorts in the Asia Pacific region.
Non-Hilton Honors members can save between 15% and 25% off the Bed & Breakfast rate, but Hilton Honors members save an additional 10%.
Note that the discount is not totally accurate as this is based on the Best Flexible Rate whilst rooms booked under this offer will be non-refundable. You should still make a saving on the standard Advanced Purchase rate.
The sale runs until 19th March for stays between 20th March 2019 and 2nd February 2020.
You must book your stay at least 29 days in advance.
Included in the sale for example is the Conrad Bali pictured below with nightly rates starting at £78.
New Mandarin Oriental now open in Dubai
The new Mandarin Oriental resort opened in Dubai this week.
Location-wise, this is interesting. Whilst on the beach, it is not near the main Jumeirah Beach / Burj Al Arab / Dubai Marina hotel strip. It is further up, parallel to the financial district. This means that it is closer to the airport and a short drive to DIFC, Dubai Mall etc.
The hotel website is here. If you are interested in booking, our hotel partner Emyr Thomas at Bon Vivant can get you special amenities at no extra cost as he is a Mandarin Oriental preferred partner agent. You can drop Emyr an enquiry via this page of HFP.
(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Promos’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
About Head for Points
OT – for those with the Virgin Atlantic Credit card, there is now an app available for IOS..
Yeah!
What’s the app’s name?
Never mind found it: Virgin Money Credit Card.
Anyone able to pay off their card via the app? I keep getting an error.
Thanks Paul.
Rob – is that Yeah another username, another password and another 6 digit number to remember. Why they couldn’t link it up to use the username and password I already have for my online account is beyond me…..!
EwanG:
If they aren’t linked then there’s nothing stopping you using the same user/pass anyway though is there?
Finally!
Ah well – I’m not that fussed if no Android version yet, find the website does the trick fine for me!
Just registered and the confirmation email shows the Google Play logo as well as App Store so it must be coming very soon.
Ah indeed – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virginmoney.cards
From the list of features it doesn’t seem to allow PDF statement download, in which case I’ll still have to login to the website anyway so probably won’t bother with it.
Are we likely to see the return of any other airline/hotel branded cards in the UK in the future? i.e Emirates, American Airlines? Hilton?
Hilton seems keen but may struggle to get an issuer. I think Emirates and AA would struggle UNLESS a new issuer came in and wanted to scoop up lots of small travel issuers to create a viable business.
That’s a shame. Really do wish there was more points options like the US! Although I appreciate the UK is a much smaller market.
Slightly OT: Any idea if we are we due to a Hilton middle-east sale? Looking to book a room in Dubai for July…
OT: Because of the toxic haze we want to be in and out of Bangkok quickly (1 night), and are looking for a comfortable hotel close to either the railway station or DMK (the secondary airport). I’ve seen that the Millennium Hilton and the DT Sukhumvit are both about 15 mins in a taxi from the station, but looking for even closer if possible. Any recommendations from those who’ve stayed in the area?
The haze is already in decline I’m told. If you have ever been to Berlin you can suffer anything Bangkok throws at you. Amari Airport is right at DMK.
Amari Airport is probably the closest to DMK. No idea if any good though
We stayed at the Amari DMK a couple of years ago, a little run down and past it’s best, think Thistle LHR, however has a western style pub if I remember correctly and is cheapest and certainly ok for a few hours overnight, we had a late arrival followed by a very early departure
OT, anyone interested now on BBC FOUR, JUMBO.
Many thanks to Alan, ian, Vivian, The Lord, Dev and Lev 441 for their advice on Manhattan grocery shopping yesterday.
Very useful info. The trip is on!
Amazing. Booked a suite in the Sydney intercontinental 3 for 2 for our Dec 2019 trip ! Fab!