What you missed on Head for Points last week

Welcome to our weekly newsletter.

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The latest travel and aviation news:

British Airways has unveiled its final, final, final status extension. This time it’s for certain Gold members only, whilst certain Silver members get a 50% tier point reduction. All other BAEC members still benefit from a 25% tier point reduction for 2022.

What happens when British Airways leaves your luggage behind? Rhys found out last weekend on his trip to Germany ….

Mandatory masks on planes and trains to and from the US have been scrapped following a surprise court ruling in Florida. Whether you wear a mask or not is now down to personal choice.

Meanwhile, you can get 20,000 Virgin Points for opening a (free) current account with Virgin Money.

British Airways news:

British Airways finally returns to Manchester Terminal 3 when it reopens next week. The lounge (above) will not be reopening, however.

You can get a 25% bonus when converting hotel points to Avios – but is it worth it? Possibly for one hotel scheme, yes.

Is it possible to book a return flight with a ‘new style’ Amex 2-4-1 Companion Voucher before booking the outbound flight? We don’t know, so we’ve asked you!

Credit card news:

Bizarrely, Amex is offering a 30,000 Membership Rewards point sign-up bonus on their Gold card if you accept cookies when going to the website. You are not told this until after you’ve accepted cookies, however ….

Good news for IHG One Rewards members as we discover that UK credit card spend will still count for status.

Amex is currently offering a 60,000 point sign-up bonus on the Amex Platinum Card, but what can you do with 60,000 Membership Rewards points?

Here’s how you can keep your Amex Membership Rewards points alive with a free alternative card if you choose to cancel The Platinum Card after receiving your 60,000 points bonus.

Hotel news:

Rob visits the Grand Hyatt Berlin to try out his new Hyatt Globalist status for the first time. Is Hyatt status worth having?

Hilton Honors has just launched its next promotion – register now for double and triple points this summer.

The Jurys Inn hotel chain is being rebranded later this year after the Israeli owners decided to rename all 35 hotels. Here is what Jurys Inn’s new name will be.

Which of the four free hotel status cards that come with Amex Platinum are worth having?

If you need to book a hotel and hold an Amex Platinum card, then the Fine Hotels & Resorts benefit is well worth a look.

Marriott Bonvoy is offering VIP tickets for Celine Dion, Dua Lipa, Bryan Adams and many more in their box at the O2 in London. They start at 45,000 points for two people.

Other interesting articles:

Rhys reviews the new Aspire Lounge at Belfast City Airport, formerly the British Airways lounge, as well as the new(ish) No1 Lounge at Birmingham Airport.

In Amsterdam, Rob reviews the KLM Crown Lounge – open to anyone who did the ITA Airways status match to SkyTeam recently, as he did!

You can book Queens Club tennis tickets, standard and VIP, using Emirates Skywards miles.

Our list of important offers expiring soon is here.

Interesting threads from our forums this week:

• Has anyone tried the Heathrow Zipcar drop-off post move?
• Is chasing Hilton Diamond worth it?
• What happens when BA downgrades you?

The full forum index is here.

See you next Saturday.