Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

News: Hotel Indigo Coventry opens, Cathay Pacific resumes flights to Barcelona

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

News in brief:

Hotel Indigo opens in Coventry

IHG’s Hotel Indigo brand has carved out a successful niche in becoming the best hotel in 2nd tier regional cities across the UK.

Head to Durham, Exeter, Stratford, Chester etc and the Hotel Indigo is likely to be your best bet – and be stylish with it. It is filling the gap that Malmaison and Hotel du Vin used to occupy in their prime.

The latest Hotel Indigo opened this week in Coventry.

It is a new-build hotel, which is fairly unusual for Hotel Indigo, with 100 rooms over five floors. It is based on Friargate. The images online, and the one below, have the usual cosy feel of a Hotel Indigo.

You can find out more on the hotel website here.

Hotel Indigo Coventry opens

Cathay Pacific resumes flights to Barcelona

Finally, a quick note that Cathay Pacific is resuming flights from Barcelona to Hong Kong.

There will be three flights per week between 17th June and 26th October, departing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The existing Madrid flights will continue.

The service will use a three-class A350.

These flights can be booked on Avios and offer another alternative if you can’t find any availability from London on British Airways or Cathay Pacific.

You can check out timings and pricing on the Cathay Pacific website here.

Our guide to earning Asia Miles from UK credit cards is here.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (February 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Comments (32)

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

  • HampshireHog says:

    Perhaps a prize draw is in order? Would the Coventry Indigo or the Dubai Voco be Bully’s star prize?

  • Doommonger says:

    Look what you could have won…….

  • Gordon says:

    I’d settle for the BFH!

  • MisterE says:

    Interesting to see an upbeat assessment of Hotel Indigo in the UK. I’m planning a trip to Australia and see several interesting Hotel Indigos in some of their cities. Do we have any insights into how they compare?

  • dan_a_man says:

    Booked the Monaco Hotel for 5 nights over new years 3300 AED total, with free cancellation and breakfast. Now 2850 AED a night… Wow

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.