News: free £15 Uber vaccination ride, Malaysia increases LHR, BA’s French credit card closes

News in brief:

Get a free £15 Uber ride to a covid vaccination centre

Yesterday we covered a 25% discount code that Addison Lee is offering in London for rides to the main vaccination hubs.

Uber is running a similar deal. It is more generous – you get a flat £15 discount on your ride – and it is valid across the UK. The only downside is that the offer ends on 28th February.

Full details are on the Uber website here. Each part of the country is restricted to 4,000 free rides, so you may find that your area has run out even if others are still able to book.

Malaysia Airlines increases services to London Heathrow

Malaysia Airlines is planning to return to daily London Heathrow flights in July, according to plans released in recent weeks.

This will pick up the slack caused by the permanent withdrawal of British Airways from the Kuala Lumpur route.

As a member of the oneworld alliance, you can earn and spend Avios, and earn Executive Club tier points, on Malaysia Airlines flights. The only downside is that you cannot use a BA Amex 241 companion voucher.

There are also plans to increase its Australia service to daily from July, allowing an easy connection in Kuala Lumpur for anyone wanting to return to Australia from the UK. The medium term plan is to operate 39 weekly flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth by the end of 2021. There are no current plans to restart Brisbane.

British Airways closing its French credit card

For our French readers, British Airways and bank Sofinco have announced that their British Airways-branded Visa credit cards will close on 10th April.

It isn’t clear if the cards will be picked up by a new issuer. One option is American Express Gold or Platinum, converting Membership Rewards points to Avios, but those cards carry a far higher fee than the €24 charged by Sofinco on its basic card.

It is not clear if the Iberia credit card issued by Sofinco is also closing. If not, this would be an obvious alternative, using ‘Combine My Avios’ to move your points across. I don’t hold out much hope, however, given that their Vueling credit card is also being shuttered.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 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 Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up 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

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review