‘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:
Aer Lingus receives its first two A321XLRs, image above
British Airways pulls Abu Dhabi flights for next Summer (& your rebooking options)
Lost luggage? You can now share your Apple AirTag with BA, Virgin, Iberia, Aer Lingus & more
JAL’s A350 will fly daily to London in the New Year
No1 is opening a new lounge at Jersey Airport in 2025
BA has gone back to charging £35 (or the taxes paid, if lower) to cancel short haul redemptions
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Heathrow has reopened following refurbishment
What is the best Mastercard or Visa card to get for travel rewards?
Hyatt adds The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas
Get top-tier Radisson VIP status for 2025 from your airline or hotel status – a VERY good deal
Thank you for supporting the BA Community Fund New York competition – see how much is being raised
The O2 tickets: Virgin Red and Marriott release new VIP tickets: 63 concerts now bookable
We thought we’d found an Upper Class sweetspot for Virgin Points, but we were wrong
YOTEL opens its first hotel in Japan
Stories we recommend from other sites:
Stansted Airport to introduce barrierless forecourt drop-off system (Business Traveller)
Festive season airline capacity up 5% on pre-pandemic highs (Travel Weekly)
Robin and Judy Hutson prepare to retire after 50 years (Boutique Hotelier)
KLM completes Premium Comfort conversion across Boeing 777 and 787 fleets (Simple Flying)
Our latest reviews:
Conny heads to Scotland to try out the brand new The Resident Edinburgh hotel, image above.
The latest UK travel loyalty news:
A reader is taking part in the SAS million points challenge and is documenting his journey for us. Here are the latest instalments:
- “I’m doing the SAS million points challenge – here’s why” (a reminder)
- Airline 8: Aeromexico (and Air France again)
- Some reflection, some BA, then Airline 9: Saudia
Register today:
REGISTER NOW: IHG One Rewards launches its spring bonus points offer – click here to register
In other loyalty news:
NEW: Transfer Avios to someone else for just €10
Viking is halving its Nectar points earning rate
Get 3,000 bonus points if you or your partner is a new Hilton Honors member
Get a 25% bonus when buying Hyatt points (and your limit doubles & renews in January) – a couple could pick up 550,000 points between them. Click here to buy.
Get 0.85p per Avios when you spend points at Qatar Duty Free this Christmas
Is it worth buying IHG One Rewards points to retain your Diamond status?
Which hotels don’t give Avios but do earn Virgin Points?
Get 3,000 bonus Radisson Rewards hotel points with your first app booking
Thank you for reading
Please drop me a note at rob@headforpoints.com with any feedback. See you next Monday, and enjoy your Christmas break.
Rob, Rhys, Sinead and Katie @ Head for Points
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