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:
It’s been a quiet week as the nation mourns the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, with very few news announcements. We will be taking a break from posting on Monday due to her funeral.
United Airlines and Emirates finally confirmed their partnership, although details still remain thin on the ground. We will have to wait and see whether it involves a broader frequent flyer partnership to allow cross-partner redemptions.
Speaking of partnerships, African airline RwandAir has said it is interested in joining the oneworld alliance. RwandAir already has a strong relationship with Qatar Airways, whose CEO Akbar Al Baker is the current oneworld chairman.
Avios and British Airways news:
British Airways has scheduled further ski flights to Grenoble (image above) and Lyon, which were wide open for Avios redemption earlier this week. If you’re lucky you might find some peak date seats left.
How does British Airways lounge access work when you’re flying Aer Lingus, Vueling, Loganair or Air Baltic codeshares? It’s more complicated than you think.
Got plenty of Avios? Here’s how you can get a £500 discount on the new iPhone 14 at Argos thanks to the Nectar partnership.
You can now earn and burn Avios with Virgin Australia thanks to the new partnership with Qatar Airways which is now live (image below).
Credit card news:
We’re mid-way through the latest American Express bonus promotion for the Platinum Card, with 60,000 Amex points – worth 60,000 Avios – and £200 in travel credit up for grabs. You can find out more in our article here.
American Express has dropped the Addison Lee credit for Platinum cardholders. Whilst cutting benefits is never good, in reality the Addison Lee credit was incredibly difficult to use due to a shortage of cars and drivers.
Have you used your Amex / Paypal cashback offers yet? Some odd quirks are emerging over how cumulative spend is treated, depending on which variation of the promo you have.
Got questions about the current Capital on Tap business credit cards exclusive HfP offer? We’ve got the answers – and, if you’ve got a limited company, we’ve also got 50,000 Avios with your name on them!
A new Amex offer has appeared, offering £70 off when you spend £200 or more at Copthorne or Millennium Hotels.
What are HSBC Premier credit card points worth? Rob endeavours to find out.
Hotel news:
Hyatt is opening its first Thompson Hotel in Europe in Madrid, image above. This isn’t Thompson’s first foray into Europe, though. It previously had a hotel in London, Belgraves, which did not go well and rebranded shortly after opening.
There’s an easy way to earn 500 bonus Accor ALL points by linking your account to Flying Blue and completing just one stay.
What is a Marriott Bonvoy point worth? Here’s our guide.
And what about the value of IHG One Rewards points?
Sinead reviews the Wyndham Grand Residences Costa del Sol, a new adults only luxury apartment complex.
Closer to home, Rob takes a look at the Hampton by Hilton hotel at Stansted Airport.
Other interesting articles:
ANA, the Japanese airline, has committed to flying its flagship Boeing 777 daily to Heathrow, which should mean that redemptions for the incredible THE Room and THE Suite business and first class cabins are more widely available.
Flybe is launching flights between Birmingham and Geneva in December, in time for the ski season.
Deals you missed:
Our latest roundup of miles and points offers closing soon is here.
Don’t forget to visit our forum if you have any questions relating to frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programmes or loyalty credit cards.
See you next Saturday.
