News: listen to Rhys on the Simple Flying podcast, Finnair’s new seat rolls out

News in brief:

Catch Rhys on the Simple Flying podcast

Yesterday Rhys recorded an edition of the Simple Flying podcast to discuss his trip to Abu Dhabi on the inaugural A380. You can listen to it here – it is 25 minutes long.

It is worth a listen if you want to hear a bit more of the background to the event and Rhys and Tom’s impressions from the flights.

If you haven’t already, you can also read Rhys’ article from the day here as well as a review of the Etihad Lounge in London here. We will be publishing a review of Etihad’s A380 business class next week.

Finnair’s new seat continues rollout

Finnair’s new revolutionary no-recline business class seat (pictured above) and premium economy cabins continue to roll out across destinations.

All of Finnair’s US routes, which includes Chicago, Dallas, LA, Miami, New York and Seattle will feature the new cabins by 1st September.

Meanwhile, in Asia, Tokyo Narita flights will get the refurbished aircraft, matching flights to Tokyo Haneda, whilst Seoul and Osaka will also benefit from 1st September and 13th September respectively.

You can read our initial impressions of the Finnair business class seat here, although we have yet to test it out on a long haul flight.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 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.

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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

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.

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British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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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

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Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review