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Norwegian short haul flights to return to the UK

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Whilst Norwegian has ditched long haul flying until 2021, it is preparing to restart some flights from the UK.

From 1st July it intends to operate flights to Oslo and Copenhagen from both London Gatwick and Edinburgh.

This is far earlier than the planned 2021 resumption for European flying and a small boost for Gatwick Airport.

Norwegian 787

Norwegian was already flying a limited number of domestic and cargo routes in Scandinavia using eight aircraft. These will be joined by a further twelve planes to help support the slow ramp up to 76 European routes in July.

Everyone over the age of six will be required to wear a mask and all hand baggage that is too big to fit under the seat in front will have to be checked in. There will be no catering on board and middle seats will be allocated last to maximise distancing.


best credit card to use when buying flights

How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

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Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

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Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

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Comments (18)

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

  • Roberto says:

    Shangri La does not care enough to stop my Golden Circle points from expiring this year. Using them has been impossible with covid and it would be simple to extend thier shelf life as other brands have done.

    • Jake says:

      Shangri-La Group is now extending tier status and benefits for members of its loyalty programme Golden Circle around the world in light of the recent Covid-19 outbreak.

      With this extension, all Golden Circle Diamond and Jade members will be able to maintain their current tier status and benefits until December 31, 2021.

      The hotel group said the updated status validity will be reflected in members’ profiles “with immediate effect”.

      • roberto says:

        True- status is maintained but my points still expire at the end of the year despite being unable to use them due to the pandemic.

        • Kevin says:

          They couldn’t care much nor bother to provide any response when I email them about the problem to use the points if they set to be expired by 31/12/2020.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    Thought they’d be more generous than 30% bonus at the current time.

  • Tony says:

    Arent both Norway and Denmark borders closed to UK residents? It seems a bit crazy to restart flights under those circumstances. Unless they know something we don’t

    • Rob says:

      Denmark is open, I think.

      • SammyJ says:

        I understood that Denmark is still closed to most people, unless they can prove that they have an essential reason from a fairly strict list? Sure I recently read they were closed until end of August for Brits.

      • SammyJ says:

        Noted the addition of ‘I think’! Pretty sure it’s still closed. VisitDenmark and the U.K. .gov sites both say it is – got flights booked in Aug and hoping EasyJet will cancel them so I’ve been following it fairly closely.

        • SammyJ says:

          Although saying that, LoyaltyLobby have just posted an article saying most EU countries will be allowed in from 27th June. So it’s anybody’s guess!

      • Euan says:

        Denmark is closed to UK residents. It’s open to Nordic citizens and German citizens.

        Norway is closed to UK residents, It’s open to Nordic (except Swedish) citizens.

        For those allowed to visit there are specific conditions… you work, have a holiday home there, grandparents or in a relationship with a Dane.

        We are due to visit Norway in August hence I’ve been keeping an eye. Norway will confirm by 15 July the position for tourists this summer.

  • Optimus Prime says:

    There’s also a 50% bonus when buying Avios from Iberia.

  • mutley says:

    Has Hyatt ever offered more than 30% bonus, I seem to recall 40% in the past, perhaps i’m just getting old!

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

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