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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Big changes to the Avios programme are announced:
There have been some substantial changes to the Avios scheme this week and I strongly recommend reading the following articles in full.
BA Reward Flight Saver comes to Club World. British Airways has made some big changes to how long haul flight redemptions are priced, introducing new rates that cap surcharges but increase the Avios required.
It’s good news for anyone with an American Express companion voucher. Anything that increases the Avios element whilst decreasing the cash required means savings when you are getting 2-4-1 – in this case, you save up to 15%.
It’s bad news if you live outside the UK or US, however. That’s because you can’t get Reward Flight Saver if you don’t live in the UK or US but the Avios you need for a long haul flight have risen by 45% to 60% – and over 90% in some cases.
At the same time, you can now also use your Amex 2-4-1 companion vouchers on Iberia and Aer Lingus. The change opens up a raft of low-tax redemptions to Americas, bypassing BA and the UK’s high taxes and surcharges. This is genuinely good news.
Latest travel news:
WestJet is launching flights between Edinburgh and Calgary. It replaces a service to Toronto as WestJet consolidates operations in Calgary.
Travel strikes: rail workers and Border Force staff are both staging strikes over Christmas. You will want to check the affected dates if you have travel plans. Rail strike dates are here whilst the Border Force dates are here.
Santa: if it ain’t Boeing I ain’t going. A retired 747 that has become a museum piece at Cotswold Airport offers the ‘world’s first grotto experience aboard a jumbo jet’.
King Charles enjoys a joy ride on Luton’s DART train. The DART will offer a better connection between the train station and the terminal when it finally opens – but when?
Air India and Vistara to merge, as India’s aviation industry consolidates. Now that Tata owns both airlines, it is hoping it can combine the quality of Vistara’s offering with the scale of Air India’s network.
Nouvelair is boosting flights between Gatwick and Tunis following a successful first Summer season. Flights will also run through the Winter.
Other British Airways & Avios news:
Did you know there are baths in the British Airways arrivals lounge at Heathrow? In the spirit of public service, Rhys gives them a try!
BA Euroflyer finally gets CAA approval. The British Airways subsidiary at Gatwick has finally got approval to operate its own fleet of aircraft.
How to book domestic QantasLink flights in Australia with Avios. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it should be.
How to earn and spend Avios on low-cost airline Vueling. The rules are slightly different for Vueling…
Get 1 month of Paramount+ free if you have BA status. A new partnership means you’ll also be able to watch Paramount+ shows on board.
You can donate spare Avios to BA Better World charity projects with your donations being matched £1 for £1 until 31st March.
Hotel news:
The InterContinental Cannes is becoming a Regent. Whilst still in the IHG family, that means it will no longer be part of the Ambassador program.
Rob reviews the Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T4. For the price, it is exceptional value.
Want something more upmarket? Rob has also reviewed the Crowne Plaza at Terminal 4 this week which shares the same building.
Radisson has launched a new sale with an extra 1,000 bonus points per night on top.
Hilton’s ‘secret’ Christmas gig at the Hilton London Metropole was by Stormzy, if you had thought about redeeming 35,000 points for tickets but decided against it. We were there.
Other interesting articles:
Heathrow is giving away 10,000 presents this Christmas. Whilst Christmas travel is likely to be disrupted by rail and Border Force strikes, your pain may be eased by receiving flights, lounge access, perfume, champagne etc.
Go behind the scenes at TAP’s maintenance hangar in Lisbon. Ever wondered what it takes to keep aircraft flying? It’s a lot more complex than you can imagine.
Review: Iberia’s flagship Velazquez lounge at Madrid Terminal 4S. It’s a surprisingly good lounge!
You can use Emirates Skywards miles on Qantas, Japan Airlines and even easyJet. Despite not being part of an airline alliance, Emirates miles can often be useful.
Get up to 12% off Qatar Airways flights with a new discount for American Express cardholders.
What you missed this week:
IHG One Rewards was offering European rugby tickets for just 11 (yes eleven!) points per pair. They obviously sold out incredibly quickly.
Last minute Avios availability to the Maldives, Caribbean and Cancun popped up before our readers booked it.
Points bargain: Virgin Red was selling Virgin Atlantic Wilbur and Orville salt and pepper sets. HfP readers snapped them all up by 9am.
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.
