‘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.
We have two airline CEO interviews this week:
Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas talked us through the airline’s ‘just launched’ cabins – image below, lots more in the article
The latest UK business travel news:
Global Airlines is taking bookings for its launch flights, seriously!
Virgin Atlantic ends its partnership with Hawaiian Airlines
The brand new Clubrooms lounge opens in Heathrow Terminal 3
Is flying Premium Economy worth it? We look at the pros and cons.
US rideshare group Lyft buys FREENOW
Oman Air goes double daily from Heathrow to Muscat – and will soon be redeemable on Avios
Book Air India’s new A350 business class from London to Delhi for £1,631 return
Why do Virgin Atlantic points upgrades on cash tickets not earn more tier points?
Get 30% back, up to £100, at WorldHotels worldwide with American Express
Excellent £75 and £100 Hyatt / American Express hotel cashback deals launched
Which long haul destinations can you fly from London Gatwick airport?
Stories we recommend from other sites:
SAS to reintroduce European business class from 1st October (Business Traveller)
Vueling adds more flights on UK summer routes to Spain (Simple Flying)
Floating hotel planned for Cardiff Bay (Business Traveller)
Wizz Air UK postpones Airbus A321XLR launch on Gatwick-Jeddah route (Simple Flying)
Our latest reviews:
Virgin Atlantic and Los Angeles:
In Los Angeles, Rhys visits IHG’s Kimpton La Peer hotel, a smart spot in West Hollywood. Image above.
On the way back, he reviewed Upper Class on the Virgin Atlantic A350 fleet. It’s six years since this seat was launched (and since our last full review) – how has it aged?
Air India:
Whilst in India to interview its CEO (see above), Rhys reviewed Air India’s new A350 business class from London to Delhi and called it ‘a world-class experience’.
Great Western Railway:
Last week we reviewed Great Western’s Night Riviera Sleeper, from Paddington to Devon and Cornwall
On the way back we experienced GWR’s Pullman Dining – the last proper meal on Britain’s railways. Image below.
The latest UK travel loyalty news:
Get a 25% bonus when you transfer Nectar points to Avios – worth it?
How to ‘top up’ a Marriott Bonvoy hotel free night certificate
How to collect Avios from a current account with Barclays Premier Banking and Barclays Avios Rewards
IHG One Rewards has ‘buy it now’ Champions League Final packages – for 1.3m points!
STILL ON: Get a 30,000 points bonus (converts to 30,000 Avios) with ‘free for a year’ Amex Gold
American Express has brought back a special sign-up bonus on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold – apply here.
Remember that this card is free for your first year!
The bonus is increased from 20,000 to 30,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to:
- 30,000 Avios
- 30,000 Virgin Points
- 30,000 Etihad, Flying Blue, Asia Miles, Delta, Qantas or SAS miles
- 22,500 Emirates Skywards miles
- 20,000 Singapore Airlines miles
- 60,000 Hilton Honors points
- 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
- 90,000 Radisson Rewards points
- 2,000 Club Eurostar points
…. and many other non-travel rewards.
You receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points after spending £3,000 in three months.
Even better, you get:
- four passes for any airport lounge in the Priority Pass network
- 24 x £5 credits to spend at Deliveroo (max one per order and two per month)
- up to 12,500 bonus Membership Rewards points each year based on your spending (2,500 points per £5,000 spent)
The card is free for the first year. If you keep it beyond the first year there is an annual fee of £195. You receive a further four airport lounge passes and more Deliveroo credits on renewal.
Our main article on the 30,000 points bonus is here. Make sure you read the bit about whether or not you qualify for the bonus.
You can apply for American Express Preferred Rewards Gold with the special bonus on this page of the Amex website.
The offer ends on 27th May 2025.
The representative APR is 87.3% variable, including the annual fee. The representative APR on purchases, and in the first year which has no fee, is 30.0% variable.
Head for Points receives a commission if you apply via our link – thank you.
Thank you for reading
Please drop me a note at rob@headforpoints.com with any feedback.
If you are booking a hotel this week, click here to read our summary of the best bonus points offers for April from the big chains.
See you next Monday,
Rob, Rhys, Sinead and Katie @ Head for Points
PS. If you were forwarded ‘The Travel Brief’ by a colleague, you can sign up for a free email subscription by filling in the form here.
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