Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

What you missed on Head for Points last week

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Welcome to the Head for Points weekly newsletter, full of the latest Avios, travel loyalty and travel credit card news, hints and tips.

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Nectar Avios light
Nectar and Avios are now transferable!

The latest travel and aviation news:

BIG NEWS: the new Avios supermarket partner is Sainsbury’s and Nectar! In a massive shake-up for Avios, you’ll now be able to transfer points freely between the two programs, opening up a whole new world of potential earning and redemption opportunities.

Rob had a look at how the partnership will change how you earn and spend points and what some of the early arbitrage opportunities are.

British Airways has launched a new flash sale with 1 million seats available from £40 one-way.

Heathrow Covid-19 testing

Latest travel corridors update:

All travel corridors are now suspended. Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been added to the travel bans list.

American Express news:

Amex Platinum cardholders get another free £175 to spend at Waitrose, Deliveroo etc.

We’ve updated our article outlining how a couple can maximise the Amex sign-up bonuses now that Nectar is an Avios partner. You can now get over 186,000 Avios if you haven’t had an Amex for two years!

Here’s how you can maximise the Amex Daily Telegraph offer and get a digital subscription for as low as £5.

Get a bonus from the Amex refer-a-friend programme.

How to use your Amex Platinum to get Star Alliance Silver status and fast-track Gold – for a limited time only.

British Airways news:

Another Avios redemption option opens as Qatar re-starts flights to Dubai.

Our updated review of the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card is here.

BA has completed the wifi rollout on the short haul fleet and offers some new codeshares with Loganair.

Here’s how BA Gold members can redeem Avios for ANY seat with the ‘Gold Priority Reward’ programme.

Hotel news:

Get €350 resort credit at select Marriott hotels when booking in the British Airways Holidays sale.

Here’s how to get Hilton Diamond with just 9 nights under the new status match.

A quick overview of the Jumeirah One loyalty scheme is here.

Heathrow Express Business First
The new trains on Heathrow Express

Other interesting bits:

Our card reviews continue with the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard and the HSBC Premier Mastercard.

Virgin Atlantic is offering additional discounts in the winter sale.

When should you hoard your miles and points and when should you spend them? Rob looks at why ‘earn and burn’ isn’t always the answer.

Heathrow Express has launched its new fleet of ‘old’ trains.

MBNA Smart Rewards, the cashback scheme, is now live.

Curve Card completes another round of funding.

Offers you missed:

The Tesco / Avios partnership reached the end of the line this week, and with it the option to convert Clubcard points to Avios.

Don’t forget to read our article about your new Avios earning and spending options under the new Sainsbury’s partnership.

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