‘The Travel Brief’, the weekly Head for Points travel trade newsletter
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
Welcome to your weekly trade round-up of UK business travel and travel loyalty news as well as our latest reviews and features.
This newsletter is the successor to Malcolm Ginsberg’s Business Travel News which Head for Points acquired. If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up here to receive this free newsletter in your inbox every Monday. Please forward it to any colleagues who you think may be interested.
Malcolm’s new monthly forward-looking Travel News Update is available at travelnewsupdate.co.uk.
Special report:
Virgin Atlantic heads to the Maldives, and we were onboard. We look at two resorts and check out the new seaplane terminal, as well as looking at how the Virgin Atlantic flights operate.
The latest UK business travel news:
BA Cityflyer launches two new routes from Edinburgh, image above
Hawaiian Airlines to become an Avios partner as Alaska buys the airline for $1.9 billion
Which? magazine slams the state of independent UK airport lounges
easyJet to open its new base in Birmingham early
Ryanair launches Norwich flights
IHG opens a new InterContinental in Bangkok
Virgin Atlantic launches its own line of merchandise
Eurostar Standard Premier vs Business Premier: what’s the difference?
All 11 UK Aspire lounges can now be prebooked if you have a Priority Pass
Stories we recommend from other sites:
High court rules OTA screen scraping is illegal (UK Aviation News)
The Grand Brighton to auction contents ahead of refurbishment (Business Traveller)
Expression of interest in Glasgow Prestwick airport under examination (FlightGlobal)
easyJet sures up Gatwick future as it returns leased slots to BA (UK Aviation News)
Air France, Etihad and Lufthansa ads banned over misleading environmental claims (Business Traveller)
Criminal investigation into alleged unapproved engine parts leads fraud officers to raid UK site (FlightGlobal)
Our latest reviews:
Rob and his family head to Oman:
- we review the Alila Jabal Akhdar mountain resort, image above, part of World of Hyatt
In the sky, Rob tries British Airways First Class on an A380 – how does a seat launched in 2010 compare in the era of Club Suite? Image below.
In Hong Kong, Rhys checked out the tatami-style rooms at the AKI Hong Kong hotel (Accor MGallery)
The latest UK travel loyalty news:
Virgin Atlantic has increased the cost of some Delta redemptions this week
Which Hyatt brands do not upgrade Globalist members? Rob got caught out ….
IHG One Rewards now allows free points transfers for Diamond members
Get 30 Lufthansa Miles & More points per €1 you spend on Booking.com
Get a 100% bonus buying Hilton points and the annual limit is tripled (click here to buy)
What are the best hotel promos for December 2023?
Redeem your Virgin Points for alcoholic crackers!
Lots of BA First Class seats to Cincinnati are available …. or at least they were on Thursday! Up to FIVE per flight.
How to buy restaurant gift cards with your Amex Platinum dining credit
How does the Amex Gold ‘The Hotel Collection’ $100 credit work?
Is the ALL PLUS Voyageur subscription card a shortcut to Accor Live Limitless Gold status?
Thank you for reading
Please drop me a note at rob@headforpoints.com with any feedback. See you next Monday.
Rob, Rhys and Sinead @ Head for Points
PS. If you were forwarded this email by a colleague, you can sign up for a free subscription by filling in the form here
BA Flyer IHG Stayer 
Comments (1)