What you missed on Head for Points last week

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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We have a bumper crop this week with two weeks’ worth of articles. You can catch up on all our 2022 flight and hotel reviews here. Enjoy!

HfP reader exclusive:

Earn up to 30,000 Avios with Capital on Tap’s exclusive HfP credit card offer for SMEs. You need a Limited Company or LLP to apply.

Latest travel news:

British Airways has, finally, revealed its new Ozwald Boateng uniforms. After being delayed by covid, the new uniforms will start rolling out over the coming months. We take a closer look.

New Norwegian airline Flyer is launching flights from Gatwick to Oslo. It will face stiff competition from Norwegian and Norse Atlantic.

British Airways announces five new European routes from Gatwick. The new flights will have good Avios availability.

British Airways launches Heathrow to Florence. Find out why this route never existed before.

Other British Airways & Avios news:

Get up to 13,750 Avios with Sainsbury’s life insurance. Insurance policies can be a surprisingly good source of Avios – and Sainsbury’s isn’t the only one.

BA’s ‘Upgrade Using Avios’ pricing remains the same despite recent Avios pricing changes. Does the maths change on using Avios to upgrade flights?

BA Holidays has extended its Double Tier Points offer. It is now valid to the end of 2023.

Is using Avios at Nectar Hotels better value than using them at BA Hotels? You may be surprised to hear that it is ….

You can now convert Reward Gateway points into Avios. The popular employee rewards programme has added Avios as a partner.

Credit card news:

What Amex sign-up bonuses are you still eligible for? The rules are complicated, and it is worth re-checking as you may still be eligible for a big bonus.

New to Amex? Here’s how a couple can make 186,875 Avios. By optimising the order you apply for credit cards you can ensure you earn the maximum number of points.

American Express has started blocking accounts from making referrals. The issue may be affecting accounts who refer low value customers. We investigate.

How do refunds affect American Express card bonuses and vouchers? Be careful – both are calculated on net, rather than gross spend.

Get 10,000 Nectar Points (or 6,250 Avios) with the free Sainsburys Nectar credit card.

Hotel news:

2023 new openings roundup:

• 10 new Marriott Bonvoy hotels opening in 2023
• 10 new Hilton Honors hotels opening in 2023
• 10 new World of Hyatt hotels opening in 2023

Hyatt poaches another IHG hotel in London. This time, it will take over the Crowne Plaza London Albert Embankment.

Hilton Glasgow has decided to start charging for pool use. The hotel is now charging £10 for adults, but will it capitulate like the InterContinental O2 did?

Today is your last chance to select your Marriott Bonvoy Annual Choice Benefit. Not sure which one is best? We take a look.

Marriott Bonvoy appears to be offering soft landings for anyone with status. With travel still down, it may keep some customers within the brand’s orbit.

Other interesting articles:

Rob’s travel highlights (and lowlights) of 2022. Catch up with all of Rob’s travels last year.

You can also read Rhys’ 2022 highlights here.

What is the best hotel promo for January 2023? As it turns out, Hilton Honors is the only programme with a live offer.

Which hotel loyalty schemes let you use points to pay for food, spa treatments and more? Even if you don’t have enough points for a full stay, you may be able to treat yourself.

Not all IHG One Rewards points count towards status. We take a look at which do, and which don’t.

Sinead heads to Dublin to review the Shelbourne Hotel. It is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection.

How does Marriott’s ‘Points Advance’ feature work? The scheme lets you book hotel rooms even if you don’t have enough points yet.

Is Virgin Atlantic’s ‘Points Plus Money’ feature a good deal? Part pay a cash flight with points – a great option if you don’t have enough for a redemption.

What tier matches can you get from your existing status cards? Status Matcher is a useful website telling you how and where you can convert status in one programme to another.

Why you should use Award Wallet to track your miles and points. Lost control of all your different miles and points pots? Award Wallet can help.

What you missed this week:

The final batch of 2022/2023 Arsenal tickets were released to Emirates Skywards members this week. They didn’t last long!

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. Happy New Year!