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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REMINDER: Exclusive HfP offers on the new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard coming soon

First up, we wanted to remind you (again!) that Head for Points will – at the end of March – be running an exclusive sign-up offer on two new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard credit cards.

Don’t worry about missing out – we will send an extra email to our Weekly Newsletter subscribers on the day.

If you want to try your luck now, perhaps because you have some spending coming up which you need to trigger the sign-up bonus, you can apply for the free Barclaycard Avios credit card (5,000 Avios bonus) here. You can apply for the Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card (25,000 Avios bonus) here.

The first of our three introductory articles on the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards is here.

ONE WEEK LEFT: Get 100,000 points with American Express Business Platinum

As a reminder, here are the – frankly a little bit crazy – limited time credit card sign-up bonuses on the two American Express small business payment cards.

American Express Business Platinum

Until 31st March, you will receive a crazy 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points with American Express Business Platinum. Those would convert, for example, into 100,000 Avios or many other interesting things. Click for our full article or apply here.

American Express Business Gold

Until 31st March, you will receive 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points with American Express Business Gold. Those would convert, for example, into 50,000 Avios. Business Gold is free for your first year too. Click for our full article or apply here.

The latest travel and aviation news:

England has dropped all travel restrictions, including the Passenger Locator Form, as of yesterday.

This week, British Airways announced it would no longer require face masks on its flights. Unfortunately, it quietly appeared to reverse its policy on the day it was meant to start, causing a lot of confusion and consternation. It has now updated its guidance saying that you can only take your face mask off on flights to certain countries – without providing a list ….

British Airways and Avios news:

British Airways has launched a new luxury sale. Don’t expect rock bottom fares – prices, across the industry, are higher than they have been for some time – but you may be able to find some deals.

BA has further increased the taxes and fees it charges on business class Avios redemptions by another £100. Higher oil prices are starting to bite.

What happens when British Airways accuses you of selling Avios and closes your account?

Comair, BA’s South African franchisee (picture below) was forced to suspend all flights when its air operator certificate was suspended on safety concerns. Since publication, the issues have now been resolved and the airline is flying again.

Here’s how you can earn Avios with NH Hotels and nhow.

Credit card news:

Amex has brought back an exceptionally generous sign up bonus on the personal Platinum card, with 60,000 points up for grabs. These would convert into 60,000 Avios amongst other things. You qualify for the bonus as long as you haven’t had a Platinum, Gold or Green Amex card in the last 24 months.

Here’s a quick review of the Santander World Elite Mastercard, which comes with lounge access.

Hotel news:

Hilton Honors devalued redemptions at some of its top resorts. 95,000 points is no longer the price map at a number of places.

How does the IHG Business Rewards scheme work?

Other interesting articles:

Norse Atlantic is rising from Norwegian’s ashes and has secured slots at Gatwick with an eye to launch long haul flights over the summer.

TUI followed Jet2 as the second UK airline to drop the mask requirement.

Virgin Atlantic appears to have copied (and exceeded) BA’s redemption surcharges with taxes and fees on a New York Upper Class redemption now almost £1,000.

Get double Virgin Points when booking train tickets – offer ends on Sunday.

When, if ever, does it make sense to use Virgin Points for a Virgin Holidays discount?

You may not have noticed its absence, but the Gatwick Express rail service returns next month from London Victoria.

Speaking of Gatwick, Qatar Airways has announced its return to the airport. This will be alongside the daily British Airways flight from Gatwick.

Loganair is launching two new Isle of Man routes to London.

Interesting threads from our forums this week:

• Are BA redemptions being unfairly targetted for downgrades and seat bumps?
• This reader has had his Avios stolen from his BA Executive Club account
• If you’re concerned about the price hike in redemption fees you can discuss alternative strategies here

The full forum index is here.

See you next Saturday. Look out for two bits of news – the reborn Flybe is due to reveal its first batch of routes on Tuesday, and we are also expecting full details on the new Qatar Airways / Avios partnership.