Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

We’re nominated for some prizes

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I’m pleased to say that Head for Points has been recognised with four nominations in the 2019 Business Travel Journalism Awards.

Each member of the team has received at least one nomination.

These are:

Best Newcomer to Business Travel or Meetings & Events Journalism (Rhys)

Best Use of Digital in Business Travel or Meetings & Events Journalism 

Editorial Team of the Year (Rob, Rhys, Anika)

Features Journalist of the Year – Accommodation (Rob, for this)

Winners will be announced in early October at a gala dinner at the Corinthia Hotel.

It could go either way – we won three in 2017, including ‘Editor of the Year’ and, for Anika, ‘Best Newcomer’, but last year came away with nowt …..

Comments (148)

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

  • Frank de Jongh Swemer says:

    I though flights with Vueling from London to Amsterdam left from Luton and not Gatwick.

  • BJ says:

    Congrats on the nominatoons. A little surprised there has been nothing on the strike. I think the articles on it and associated comments have been excelent, providing more practical advice to real travellers than that to be found in other media.

    • Shoestring says:

      With the 14 day notice required to avoid paying EC261 compo on the strike-cancelled flights on 27th September, we can expect cancellation emails pretty soon – maybe tomorrow 12th?

      Not much of a window to negotiate a settlement without sending out the cancellation emails – though of course it’s feasible to reverse all those emails if settlement is reached in the next 12 days or so.

      People on long haul BA should actually perhaps welcome getting a cancellation email as you can now re-ticket on LH, AF & KLM 🙂 – so don’t hang around if you get one and fancy trying a different airline. You’ll still get your BA tier points and Avios (original routing credit).

  • Robert says:

    Does anyone know if I cancel my BAPP AmEx card, will I loose my 2-4-1 voucher?
    I would like to avoid the £195 annual charge due next month.
    Thanks, and good luck with the awards.

    • Titus Adduxas says:

      Robert; Once you’ve got your 241 voucher you don’t lose it by cancelling your BAPP card, but remember you must pay any fees with an Amex card.

      • Robert says:

        thanks, maybe they’ll charge me anyway, for the previous year, even if I cancel.
        The woman I spoke to when I rang them to make a payment said I would loose the voucher but I didn’t think that was the case. She said I can downgrade to the blue card but don’t see the point in that card.

        • Anna says:

          You pay the fee at the start of the card year, so you shouldn’t be charged again if you cancel before the start of the next one. Also, if you’re planning to use your voucher soon you could use your BAPP to pay the taxes and get a few more avios, then cancel for a pro-rate refund. I’ve done this and can confirm nothing happens to your booked tickets!

          • Robert says:

            thanks for your advice, I tend to use my vouchers last minute so probably won’t gain the extra Avios by using the BAPP again.

        • Nick_C says:

          The advantage of downgrading to the free BA card is that you (1) continue earning 1 Avios / £, which is a decent rate for a free card, and (2) in your next card year, you can spend £9k on the free card, upgrade to BAPP (if its still around), spend £1k to get another 241 voucher for a low fee.

    • Craig says:

      Cancelled a month ago, the voucher is still in the account despite what Amex said when I cancelled.

    • Jim W says:

      I also plan to downgrade/cancel the BAPP, are there any benefits of keeping it or should I go ahead and downgrade for now?

      • Benylin says:

        No benefits, unless it’s your only Amex, then you will get the Amex offers. And also longer you hold it, the longer you wait to sign up as a new customer to get the bonus

        • Jim W says:

          Thought as much, I’ve got the Amex Platinum so have offers through them. Recommend downgrading to blue or just cancel outright ?

      • Robert says:

        Currently asking myself the same question, I think only worth keeping if you are going to put a £10k spend through it and therefore pick up a 2-4-1 voucher. As Rob has highlighted many times it is the best offer of any UK credit card and well worth the £195 fee.
        I might just talk myself into keeping it and use it for the grocery shopping.

        • Alex Sm says:

          Do you do 10K grocery shopping y year? You must have a very big family or eat only caviar…

      • Nick says:

        What is the preferred method for downgrading from BA premium to the standard BA Amex card?

        By Phone? or is it cancel and apply for standard one?

        Also, when uograding – what is best process?

        I still hold an Amex plat – so would like to maximise “self” referrals if possible

        • Alex Sm says:

          Call only unfortunately, you can’t do online. When you call, tell them that you are going to up-/down-grade and they will do the rest

      • Genghis says:

        If value of points not yet transferred > pro rata fee amount saved by waiting, wait it out till next transfer date

  • Marcw says:

    Vueling flights (VY) pay Avios into IbPlus based on price. only when your Vueling Booking is an IB Codeshare, you get Avios based on distance in IbPlus.

  • Roger* says:

    I looked at Vueling LGW to Vienna using Rob’s link.. A couple of direct flights most days and others with connections at BCN, some overnight. So what is the airline for LGW-VIE direct? Is it Vueling? No, it’s Level, operated by Anisec. What’s Anisec? Apparently an IAG Austrian airline, a subsidiary of Vueling. It has a fleet of 6 aircraft – 3 ex-Air Berlin A321-200 and 3 ex-Vueling A320-200.

    I couldn’t find any €12 flights for anywhere near my preferred dates. My ideal dates produced a basic price of €275.98 return for two. Apparently using Avios could ‘save’ me up to €1,023.92. Er … (I didn’t bother to check.)

    I found my online experience frustrating. The clunky IT beat me. I didn’t buy.

  • nick says:

    I booked 4 redemption tickets with Virgin and paid the taxes and fees’s on my Virgin Premium Card (to get the bonus miles for Virgin spend)- flight is next month.

    I completely neglected to use my Amex Plat (which I always always use)

    Have I now lost out on potential trip delay, postponement insurance from Amex?

    Any way to still be covered for that? Ie pay for all my accommodation / car hire etc on the Plat?

    • Rob says:

      Yes. You are not missing much though. Virgin would sort you out in most cases anyway.

  • NICK says:

    Re: Kids APD on a Virgin redemption
    In the last 24 hours, I booked 2 kids redemption tickets to join our trip to USA. Myself and spouse already had tickets purchased a while back.

    Phone agent said APD of £70-£80 per child will be refunded to the credit card I used to pay the taxes/charges (how their system work -, they have to charge for it upfront and then refund later).

    Anyone know the exact amount to be returned and when it happens?

    • Charlieface says:

      £78.
      Considering APD was remoeved for under 12s on 1 May 2015, and under 16s on 1 March 2016, it’s ridiculous they are taking so long to make that change to the system.

  • Dan says:

    OT
    Has anyone received more than one bonus on converting Tesco Clubcard points to BA miles? (40% Shell Promotion)
    Thanks

    • Steve S says:

      I have only had one bonus.
      Second transfer was 01/08/2019 no bonus yet

    • Liz says:

      I was going to ask this as well. I should have had my 2nd bonus today. Not good if Steve S is still missing his from 1/9. I want to transfer a load more but want to get the 2nd batch before doing so.

    • Kiran says:

      No – first test batch of £2.50 got the bonus but so far a second £50 batch is yet to get a bonus

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