Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Wizz Air makes a big push into Turkey from London

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We don’t cover Wizz Air much on HfP, although we do have the infamous trip review from Rhys last year on his £1.79 all-in ticket.

He survived the experience unscathed and with minimal damage to his wallet.

The airline has just launched a big push into Turkey which warrants a mention.

You will soon see:

  • Antalya from London Gatwick – 4x weekly from 26th March
  • Dalaman from London Gatwick – 4x weekly from 23rd May
  • Istanbul from London Gatwick – daily from 28th March
  • Istanbul from London Luton – daily from 28th March

Istanbul is not currently served from Luton, so this is a new route for the airport. Wizz will face competition on the Gatwick routes.

As well as the London routes above, Wizz is also launching flights into Turkey from other European bases, especially Budapest, as well as Abu Dhabi.

Fares start at £31 one way.


best credit card to use when buying flights

How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (February 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

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30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend 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

Comments (1)

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

  • Paul says:

    I’d struggle to use Wizz. Their penchant for dumping people and use of premium rate numbers to resolve even the simplest of issues, as well as their disregard for EU/U.K. 261 regs means they must be treated with caution and you really need excellent insurance.

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

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