What you missed on Head for Points last week

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:

This week we broke the news that British Airways is planning to quit Gatwick short haul flying, to be replaced by a yet-unknown subsidiary. In our article Rhys looks at the possibility of Vueling or LEVEL taking over the operation or whether BA will launch an own-brand subsidiary.

Another travel list update puts Thailand and Montenegro on the Red list whilst Canada, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Azores have been added to the Green.

We also had our first look at the brand new Terminal 2 extension at Manchester Airport. Reviews of the new Escape and 1903 lounges are to follow next week.

Credit card news:

This weekend is your last chance to get Gold Elite status and 40,000 points when you sign up to the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. Your application must be approved by 31st August.

Amex boosted the Platinum card signup bonus to 60,000 points last week. This week we looked at all the different ways you can redeem 60,000 Membership Rewards points for maximum value. You can apply for the card here.

A new spend bonus has appeared on British Airways American Express cards. You can get up to 10,000 Avios for spending £5,000 by the end of November.

We now have confirmation that HSBC is offering a 25% bonus when you convert HSBC Premier card points to Avios.

British Airways news:

Ready for autumnal vibes? From September British Airways will bring back roast dinners in Club and First, Yorkshire pudding and all.

BA continues to fly a number of long haul aircraft on short haul routes, giving you the chance to enjoy a ‘proper’ business class seat for normal Club Europe prices. The list of 787 routes is here.

Having status is good, but having status longer is better. We explain how you can get British Airways status for almost two years with only one splurge of travelling.

Hotel news:

Hilton has launched its new Autumn double points promo. You can earn double base points on stays until 31st December. Click here to register.

Accor Live Limitless experience redemptions continue at pace, this time with Chelsea Flower Show tickets. For 18,000 points you get access to an evening package at the show (with far smaller crowds) as well as a hotel stay and a drinks reception. It is genuinely excellent value.

After revealing IHG’s plans to launch a new ‘collection’ brand to rival Marriott’s Autograph Collection or Hilton’s Curio Collection we now know what it will be called and where the first hotels will be. ‘Vignette Collection’ will launch in Australia and Thailand.

Radisson has opened the Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort in Santorini in September.

You probably haven’t heard of Point A Hotels, but their ‘A List’ monthly subscription is surprisngly compelling ….

Our quest to value all the different hotel points continues as Rob tries to put a value on what a Hyatt point is worth.

Ex-Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca is back as a redemption after Hyatt acquires the management company for $2.7 billion.

Other interesting bits:

Since last year it has been possible to redeem Virgin Points on Air France and KLM flights. Here’s everything you need to know about making the redemption.

Get 2,020 free miles when you sign up to Emirates Skywards. Plus, Emirates is returning to Newcastle Airport.

This weekend is your last chance to transfer points into Etihad Guest and get a 20% to 40% bonus. Transfers from Amex, HSBC, Accor and Marriott have all been boosted.

Offers you missed:

This week was your last chance to enter our competition to win 255,000 Virgin Points, enough for a variety of redemptions including several return Upper Class flights. Unfortunately it closed last night.

Last weekend, British Airways launched a flash sale where you could redeem Avios for a discount on your next booking. The rate was an excellent 2p per point.

You can see a list of other offers closing soon here.

See you next Saturday.