‘The Travel Brief’, the weekly Head for Points travel trade newsletter
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Welcome to The Travel Brief, your weekly trade round-up of UK business travel and travel loyalty news as well as the latest reviews and features from the Head for Points team.
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.
The latest UK business travel news:
Virgin Atlantic unveils its new Los Angeles Clubhouse, image above
British Airways increases frequencies to six North American cities for next summer
Get free Disney Dining & Drinks at Walt Disney World Resort in 2025
Wizz Air to launch Gatwick to Jeddah flights with A321XLRs
Cosmopolitan Hotel in Leeds to re-open under IHG’s Hotel Indigo brand in 2025
See the list of airlines switching terminals at Manchester Airport in October
Get 20% cashback at 1,300+ restaurants for 3 months with American Express Gold and Platinum
Malaysia Airlines adds a second European destination – Paris
Get 25% off Virgin Atlantic redemptions in all cabins in a flash sale, ends Tuesday
Good long haul business class fares to Asia in the latest Finnair sale – and they earn BA tier points and Avios too
American Express Platinum adds an annual cap to Priority Pass lounge visits in Germany
IHG launches special ‘Night On My Own’ promotion for solo travellers
Get 20% off the Accor ALL PLUS Voyageur subscription card
A very generous £350 United cashback offer has landed on American Express cards, requiring only a £700 minimum spend
The St Regis Muscat hotel is now open
Stories we recommend from other sites:
Turkish Airlines launching Sydney flights (Business Traveller)
Air France plans Manila return after 20-year absence (Aviation Week)
Air Canada avoids strike by reaching tentative agreement with pilots (Simple Flying)
Staycity opens Wilde aparthotel close to Liverpool Street station (Business Traveller)
Our latest reviews:
The reviews section slowly bursts back into life after the summer as Rob takes a look at the Avanti West Coast First Class lounge at London Euston. Image above.
Does it help justify the £70 each way price premium over a Standard Premium ticket?
The latest UK travel loyalty news:
Register now: IHG launches its Autumn bonus points promotion – click here to register
Accor Diamond status members now get access to Fairmont Gold lounges
You can now upgrade or downgrade your Virgin Atlantic credit card online – with a twist
Get 15% off reward nights at selected new IHG hotels
What else does Barclays Premier offer, apart from Avios?
Earn 10 Miles & More miles per $1 with IHG hotel stays if you don’t take IHG points
You can now transfer Avios to IHG One Rewards – but you really shouldn’t
Dive into the world of Virgin Points redemptions with our introductory series:
- What’s the difference between Virgin Red and Virgin Flying Club?
- How many Virgin Points do you need to fly to….?
- How to redeem Virgin Points on Virgin Atlantic flights
- How to redeem Virgin Points for SkyTeam flights
- How to redeem Virgin Points on ANA and other partners
Get 40,000 or 80,000 points with Amex Business Gold or Platinum
American Express has brought back big sign-up bonuses on its small business cards.
Interestingly, as we cover in more detail in a separate article, all restrictions on receiving a sign-up bonus have been removed.
If your application is successful, you qualify for the bonus. Full stop.
- Already got one of these two cards? No problem – if you are accepted for the other card as well, you will get the bonus
- Got a personal Gold or personal Platinum Amex card? No problem – if you are accepted for Business Gold or Business Platinum as well, you will get the bonus
- Got the British Airways Accelerating Business SME card? No problem – if you accepted for Business Gold or Business Platinum as well, you will get the bonus
With no bonus restrictions based on any other American Express cards you have or recently had, personal or business, anyone with a small business should seriously think about applying.
You can read more about the bonuses and the offer here.
Remember that 1 American Express Membership Rewards point = 1 Avios, amongst other things, so these bonuses could get you up to 80,000 Avios.
You can apply for Business Gold here (free in year 1) and Business Platinum here.
Head for Points receives a commission if you apply via our links – thank you.
Thank you for reading
Please drop me a note at rob@headforpoints.com with any feedback. See you next Monday.
Rob, Rhys and Katie @ Head for Points
PS. If you were forwarded ‘The Travel Brief’ by a colleague, you can sign up for a free subscription by filling in the form here
