News: double points with Virgin Trains Ticketing, Finnair launches short-haul food pre-ordering

News in brief:

Earn double points with Virgin Trains Ticketing

In 2021 Virgin Red launched a new way of letting you earn Virgin Points – its own train ticket booking platform, called Virgin Trains Ticketing. It was originally part of the Virgin Red app but is now available as a standalone smartphone download.

It is a very simple structure:

• you earn 3 Virgin Points per £1 spent
• there are no booking fees

Until 15th December, you will receive 6 Virgin Points per £1 spent. Your ticket can be for travel at any future date.

As long as the rail company you are using does not have exclusive discounts for users of its own website, you will be getting the same price as you would pay elsewhere.

However, at the moment LNER is offering 5% to 12% cashback on many American Express cards and some Mastercard / Visa cards. You can use the LNER website to book tickets for any train company.

Most Uber users will have an offer for 10% back in Uber credit for train tickets booked via the app, and this includes Eurostar.

If you don’t have access to an LNER offer, and especially if you don’t have access to a 10% offer, Virgin Trains Ticketing should be competitive.

Finnair launches food pre-ordering in Europe

Many airlines allow you to pre-order your meal in long-haul business class (although British Airways does not, post pandemic) but it is rare to see it on short-haul.

Finnair has now launched a pre-ordering option on business class flights within Europe, Tallinn and Stockholm excepted.

Customers will be able to choose from four options for lunch or dinner, via the Manage My Booking function at finnair.com. Options include beef meatballs in a cream sauce with mashed potatoes, broccoli and lingonberries; and smoked salmon lasagne with a creamy spinach and tomato sauce topped with cheese gratiné.

Remember that Finnair flights can be booked with Avios and that at least one flight per day from Heathrow will operate with a long-haul aircraft, allowing you try out the revolutionary long-haul ‘no recline’ business class seat / bed.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2024)

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 Mastercard

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

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

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) 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.