News: Crowne Plaza Kingston hotel shuts, United Airlines / Amex £250 cashback extended
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News in brief:
Crowne Plaza London Kingston hotel to close
The Crowne Plaza London Kingston hotel – formerly the Holiday Inn Kingston South until it was rebranded in 2018 – is closing for at least 10 months.
In a mysterious email to people with confirmed reservations, guests were told that “the hotel has to close unexpectedly”.
It’s not closing for one night or one week, however. It is closing until 1st August 2023. This seems a rather long term given that the closure was “unexpected”. It is also odd that it feels confident to give a specific reopening date 10 months in advance, given the “unexpected” nature of the shuttering.
At the time of the 2018 rebranding, IHG said that “the hotel is considered to be one of the top performing hotels within Europe” and was “a finalist for Hotel of the Year 2017 at the IHG Europe Conference”.
Amex / United Airlines cashback deal extended
Finally, a quick note to say that the generous United Airlines / American Express offer appears to have been extended by two weeks to 10th October. Our original article is here.
You would receive £250 cashback with any ex-UK flight booking for £500+ booked on the UK version of the United Airlines website.
The offer is no longer available for registration as far as I can tell, but if you saved it when we originally wrote about it, you should see the expiry date extended.
If you’re interested in learning how to earn United Airlines MileagePlus miles from UK credit cards, we wrote an article here.
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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
