‘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.
This week’s top travel news stories:
Oman Air finally joined oneworld this week ….
…. and could Oman Air be the next Avios airline?
British Airways drops three European routes
Norse Atlantic launches flights from Manchester to Bangkok, with fares from £265
Waldorf Astoria will take over the excellent The Hotel Maria in Helsinki
The next oneworld lounge could open in 2026, CEO says
SAS orders 45 new Embraers, its largest aircraft order since 1996
Hilton is opening a new Curio Collection hotel in the City of London
Iberia launches its impressive 2030 Flight Plan, with new aircraft, cabins and lounges
Hyatt expands in Mallorca with a new beachside opening
Turkish Airlines launches flights to Stansted, taking it to 170 weekly flights from the UK
Huge 50% off Eurostar sale for Eurostar Plus and Premier
The Hilton sale has been extended across EMEA
ANA is the 2nd airline to install no-recline business class seats, and they look great, image below
Stories we recommend from other sites:
citizenM Dublin St. Patrick’s marks brand’s entry into Ireland (Business Traveller)
Malaysia Airlines doubles Airbus A330neo order (UK Aviation News)
ESTA fee to almost double as federal funding for Brand USA slashed (Travel Weekly)
Air France-KLM will take majority stake in SAS (Business Traveller)
Our latest reviews:
Sinead heads to Leeds where we take a look at the new Hyatt House aparthotel
Rhys tries out KM Malta Airlines, one of Europe’s smallest scheduled airlines. How does its business class compare? Image below
The latest UK travel loyalty news:
What’s happening with easyJet’s Flight Club? Memberships have been cancelled
Sydney: LOTS of Avios seats in Club World showing for April to June 2026
Is the Turkish Airlines ‘one million miles for six continents’ challenge worth it?
What are the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer sweet spots?
Beware of Hotels.com OneKeyCash expiry coming up if you got a lump sum last year when the scheme launched
What are the best hotel promos this month?
Hilton for Business ‘new employee’ bonus extended
ENDS SOON: Get 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card
Until 15th July, so you have 10 days left, you can get a huge sign-up bonus of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. You can apply here.
This is the biggest bonus you ever see on this credit card, and is TRIPLE the standard amount.
This is worth roughly £300 of free Marriott stays, based on our 0.5p per point valuation, or 25,000 Avios or other airline miles if converted.
There are four good reasons to hold this card long term, and not just for the sign-up bonus:
- you get 15 elite night credits EVERY YEAR in Marriott Bonvoy – this means, for example, that Platinum only requres 35 nights instead of the usual 50. Even better, these nights count towards Lifetime Status.
- you get Silver Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy every year, because it is triggered automatically by the 15 elite night credits
- you get Gold Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy if you spend £15,000 on the card in a membership year
- you get a free night voucher worth up to 25,000 Bonvoy points if you spend £25,000 on the card in a membership year
There is an annual fee of £95 per year. The on-going earning rate is 2 Bonvoy points per £1 spent.
To learn more, click here for our full article on the offer. Please read the bit about whether you qualify for the sign-up bonus. The offer ends on 15th July.
Head for Points receives a commission if you apply via our link – thank you.
You can apply here.
The representative APR is 53.7% variable, including the annual fee. The representative APR on purchases is 30.0% variable.
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 July 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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