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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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LAST CHANCE to get 3,000 Avios with the new British Airways Prepaid Mastercard

For the last month we have been running an excusive offer of 3,000 Avios when you get the new – FREE – British Airways Prepaid Mastercard.

You must apply by Sunday night to get this deal.

Click here to find out more. You need to use our promo code to apply and spend £500 on the card to trigger the bonus.

BONUS DOUBLED – Get a huge 60,000 points PLUS £200 travel credit, and great benefits, with American Express Platinum

Don’t forget that American Express has recently launched an exceptional deal on The Platinum Card. The bonus is doubled to 60,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to:

  • 60,000 Avios
  • 60,000 Virgin Points
  • 60,000 Emirates, Etihad, Flying Blue, Alitalia, Asia Miles, Delta, Finnair, Qantas or SAS miles
  • 40,000 Singapore Airlines miles
  • 120,000 Hilton Honors points
  • 90,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
  • 180,000 Radisson Rewards points
  • 4,000 Club Eurostar points

….. and many other non-travel rewards.

Even better, American Express is throwing in a £200 travel credit too. Once you have triggered the 60,000 points (£6,000 spend in six months required) you will also be given £200 to spend at Amex Travel.

Whilst the annual fee is £575, this is refundable pro-rata if you cancel once you’ve banked the bonus.

Our main article on the ‘60,000 points plus £200 travel credit’ bonus is here. Make sure you read the bit about whether or not you qualify for the bonus.

You can apply for The Platinum Card with the special bonus on this page of the Amex website.

In other news …..

Trinidad and Tobago

The latest travel and aviation news:

British Airways has loaded its 2023 schedules and launched a number of new flights to the Caribbean with Avios availability wide open ….at least, it was when we covered it! Trinidad & Tobago is pictured abvoe. The airline has also relaunched its ski routes from Gatwick, including Salzburg, Geneva and Lyon.

British Airways is also starting flights to Guyana.

Virgin Atlantic has introduced seat selection fees for some – but not all – premium economy seats. The new scheme is called ‘Preferred Premium’ with approximately 30% of the cabin reserved.

O2 has launched its open pop-up airport lounge at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal – and entry is FREE to O2 and Virgin Media customers. You can guarantee entry to reserving a slot. It will be open until 9th October.

IHG is opening a Hotel Indigo in Barbados.

Hyatt has opened a hotel in Santorini, part of The Unbound Collection. Image below.

Hyatt Magma Resort Santorini

Avios news:

Did you know you can upgrade British Airways flights with American Airlines miles? Here’s how.

Credit card news:

You may not have used Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts, but guaranteed late check-out, free breakfast, room upgrades and $100 spending money make it one of the best benefits of the Platinum Card.

Amex Platinum also gets you into more lounges than you might think, thanks to the Plaza Premium, Eurostar, Lufthansa and Priority Pass partnerships, as our article explores.

Bad news for Lufthansa Miles & More collectors, as Cornercard confirms it won’t be relaunching the UK Miles & More credit card. What’s next?

Hotel news:

You can get DOUBLE Hotels.com Rewards stamps if you book via the app this weekend, for stays until the end of October.

Great value IHG One Rewards redemptions are live for Reading and Leeds Festival VIP packages!

A second Ritz-Carlton has opened in Manhattan, 150 metres from Madison Square Park.

Amex Platinum comes with four free hotel status cards. But are they worth having?

Use Virgin Points on ANA

Other interesting articles:

Got a lot of Virgin Points? ANA redemptions to Japan – on their impressive new business or first class product – remains one of the best Virgin Points redemptions available.

easyJet has pulled new invitations for its semi-secret ‘Flight Club’. Could this mean a broader loyalty scheme is on the way?

You can pick up 2,500 free Virgin Points by setting up auto-conversion of your Virgin Points to Tesco Clubcard.

Thought you wouldn’t be able to earn Avios on JetBlue’s new transatlantic flights? Think again. The new Qatar Airways Avios partnership opens up a world of opportunity…

Heathrow Express has a reputation for being expensive, but did you know it’s possible to get Heathrow Express tickets for just £3.65 one-way with a Railcard?

After reviewing the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge last week, Rhys popped next door to take a look at the Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge in Heathrow Terminal 2.

A new Viking office supplies promo has landed, letting you earn up to 5x Avios on your purchases until September…

Plus, make sure you know the expiry rules for your frequent flyer miles. You don’t want to wake up one day and find your entire balance wiped out ….

Deals you missed:

A glitch in IHG One Rewards pricing cut redemptions prices by 50% or more for most of last Sunday – many readers were able to drain their balances for dream trips.

For the first 24 hours or so after being loaded, Avios availability was wide open on BA’s new Caribbean and ski routes. The best dates have now gone. You’ll now need to pay £3,500 if you want four Economy seats to Salzburg on BA over February half term …..

Our roundup of important offers closing soon is here.

See you next Saturday!

PS. Don’t forget that our offer of 3,000 Avios for getting the free BA Prepaid Mastercard ends on Sunday. You need to spend £500 on the card to trigger the bonus. Click here to learn more.

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This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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