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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The latest travel and aviation news:
IAG (parent company of British Airways, Iberia etc) announced its financial results for the first half of 2021. We found out that BP will join as an Avios partner whilst BA intends to fly more short haul flights this summer than it did before Covid. Our article has the full rundown on all the interesting tidbits.
Credit card news:
Positive changes are coming to the American Express British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. You will soon be able to get an Avios bonus for signing up, and the annual spend bonuses will be paid in Avios instead of OnBusiness points – and will be a lot larger too. You can find all the details in our article here.
The British Airways Amex cards (personal versions) are also changing in September. Are you ready? If you have the free BA Amex card, you are at real risk with being dumped with an ‘economy only’ 241 voucher you don’t want – and it can be avoided.
If you’re a Singapore KrisFlyer miles collector then the new Currensea travel money card tie up may interest you. It is the most generous card for earning KrisFlyer miles in the UK market.
Lloyds has launched a new cashback credit card. Rob takes a look at whether it is now the best cashback card on the market after other banks have slashed their rates. Whilst the Virgin Atlantic and IHG Visa / Mastercard products are decent, with no Avios options many people do choose a cashback Visa / Mastercard as their non-Amex fallback.
British Airways news:
A new BA sale has been launched, although it is limited in scope. Some Caribbean and European holiday packages are now on sale for dates in September.
Hotel news:
After hearing good things about citizenM we finally reviewed the citizenM Tower of London. It offers an excellent base for exploring London as well as funky (and industry leading) smart room controls.
We also reviewed The Westminster London, a Hilton Curio Collection hotel and formerly the DoubleTree Westminster. It has undergone a complete refurbishment and has now re-opened. Was the money well spent?
Three new high-end Hilton Honors redemption options have opened on Sardinia, including a super-boutique hotel with just 22 rooms.
With Hyatt offering the most generous American Express cashback offer of the Summer (£100 back on £250 spent) we thought it was worth a fresh look at Hyatt Prive, the special benefits program you can get via luxury travel agents like our partner Emyr Thomas.
A Hampton by Hilton has opened in Ras Al-Khaimah. It is amazing value for a UAE beach resort.
What are Radisson Rewards points worth? Rob pontificates on the matter.
Other interesting bits:
Don’t understand how the Virgin Atlantic credit card upgrade vouchers work? This article looks at how you can make the most of them. They can now be used with cash tickets, making them more valuable than ever.
Tesco has announced it is closing all current accounts, spelling the end to the once-lucrative points collection opportunity that came with its debit card.
The No1 Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3 re-opened, signalling the slow return to capacity at the Terminal. It will be open to Priority Pass holders who are now welcome back at No1 after the ban last year.
Offers you missed:
British Airways launched a 3-day offer letting you redeem Avios for seat selection fees. Whilst this is usually terrible value, the maths changed under this promotion and you could get almost 2p per Avios – an excellent return. Unfortunately the offer ended yesterday.
You missed our exclusive competition in partnership with Plaza Premium. A number of lounge passes were up for grabs to ten lucky winners. Don’t forget you can still get discounted lounge passes via the current summer sale, with up to 50% off. All the details are here.
Hotels.com launched a 24 hour flash sale offering double rewards stamps for all stays booked on Thursday for travel into 2022. It’s over now.
This week was also your last opportunity to enter the Nectar / Avios competition to win a share of 2 million Avios and 3 million Nectar Points ….
Don’t miss any other offers closing soon with our ‘Important dates for your diary’ round-up post.
See you next Saturday.
