Bits: double Avios with Avis, new Hilton ‘buy points’ bonus, Amex / Bupa Dental

News in brief:

Earn double Avios with Avis car rentals

Avis, the exclusive British Airways car rental partner (alongside its sister company Budget), has launched a new promotion.

If you book a car between now and 23rd June, for a 3+ day rental completed by 31st December, you will receive 10 Avios per £1 spent.

(Budget is also included in this offer, with the rate doubled to 4 Avios per £1.)

Your standard earning rate with Avis is usually 5 Avios per £1.

Oddly this offer is NOT bookable via the dedicated British Airways / Avis car rental site here. You must book via the avios.com car rental page here.

You will also receive 1,000 bonus Avios on your first Avis rental after signing up for the Avis Preferred loyalty programme – details on the BA / Avis site.

The full HfP guide to earning Avios from Avis car rentals is here.

It is also possible to spend Avios on Avis car rentals via ba.com although this is generally a poor deal, getting you around 0.5p per Avios.

Get a 100% bonus when you buy Hilton Honors points

Hilton Honors has launched a new 100% bonus for buying 5,000+ Hilton Honors points. The offer runs to 24th July.

If you’ve never bought hotel points, it can be a great deal. There’s an example below of how you can save 65% on an August holiday in Sardinia, for example, although you need at least Silver status in Hilton Honors to save this much.

Some people may see a smaller bonus percentage, or a price discount, as part of Hilton’s market testing. These offers are less generous.

The Hilton ‘buy points’ page is here. 

The annual purchase limit is 160,000 points pre-bonus. The cost for the maximum 320,000 points (160,000 + 100%) would be £1,320 which is 0.41p per point. This is above our target valuation for a Hilton Honors points at 0.33p but you can still do ok at this level because Hilton caps the points cost of hotels on peak dates.

Here’s an example at Conrad Chia Laguna Sardinia from 18th to 23rd August. The refundable cash rate is €1,105 per night for a King Deluxe room, so €5,525 for five nights.

For points, five nights would have cost you (if you have status and get 5-4-4 on reward bookings) 400,000 Hilton Honors points. You could buy these – you’d need your partner to buy the final 80,000 and transfer them to you for free – for £1,650 which is €1,935.  You would save 65%.

Do note that Hilton restricts new members from buying points immediately. The rule is:

“A new Hilton Honors Member may purchase Points 30 days after enrollment if the account reflects activity including a stay (as defined herein) or earning Hilton Honors Points through a Hilton Hilton Honors Marketing Partner. After 90 days of enrollment, a new Member is eligible to purchase Points regardless of their account activity.“

The page to buy points is here if you are interested. The offer ends on 24th July.

PS. If you are looking for a quick way to Hilton Honors Silver status to get ‘five reward nights for the points of four’, remember that the Hilton Honors Debit Card comes with free Silver status. Your status is updated immediately when you activate the card. Click here to apply.

American Express signs deal with Bupa Dental

Since the costs of dental treatment can be high, it is worth flagging briefly that American Express has agreed a deal with Bupa Dental.

As of last week, your Amex card will be accepted at any of the 360 Bupa Dental sites across the UK.