Bits: UBS downgrades IAG over Avios, good Accor / Bicester deal, 100% bonus buying Hilton points

News in brief:

UBS downgrades IAG shares, partly blames Avios changes

We will have a longer article on Monday about the discussion on IAG’s recent financial conference call regarding the changes to British Airways Club.

I thought it was worth dropping this little titbit in now. As summarised here:

British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA shares have been downgraded to ‘Sell’ by UBS, which has set a new price target of 350p.

Analysts at the bank said that while IAG remains the strongest European long-haul network operator, it sees the balance of share price risk skewed to the downside.

UBS cited four concerns: slowing profit growth, North Atlantic yield trends, the UK economic backdrop, and changes to the Avios loyalty programme.

Hat-tip to bhbloke on Flyertalk.

Good Accor Live Limitless deal at Bicester Village

If you have a shopping trip to Bicester Village coming up, you may – perhaps oddly – find that hotel programme Accor Live Limitless is your best travel rewards partner.

The standard earning rate at Bicester is 2 Accor Live Limitless points per £1 spent. As 1 Accor point = 2 Eurocents off your next hotel stay (albeit redeemed in chunks of 1,000 points) you’re getting roughly 3.5% back.

Until 31st August, the earn rate is doubled. If you spend £500+ (in your entire shopping trip, not necessarily in one transaction) you will receive double points. This means 4 Accor Live Limitless points per £1, so roughly 7% back.

It’s a decent deal, but I’d only do it if you already have an Accor Live Limitless points balance which this would be topping up. If you’re not already active in ALL then you may end up with points you never spend.

You CAN’T double up with Accor points (or indeed any other non-Avios travel partner points) and the ‘in-store’ card based Avios partnership.

As we covered here, you earn 1 Avios per £1 spent (rate recently dropped) when you register your credit cards on the Avios website and use them at Bicester Village. If you do this, however, you won’t earn points if you submit your receipts to another travel partner – Bicester will reject the claim. I know, because I tried it!

Details of the Accor offer, including special benefits for Platinum and Diamond members of Accor Live Limitess, are on the Bicester Village site here.

PS. If you spend £250+ in a single transaction, Avios has a ‘triple points’ offer running at Bicester until 31st August. This means 3 Avios per £1 spent instead of the usual 1 per £1.

The Accor deal is more generous but the Avios deal is less bother if you don’t already collect Accor points.

Get a 100% bonus when you buy Hilton Honors hotel points

Hilton Honors has launched a new 100% bonus for buying 5,000+ Hilton Honors points. The offer runs to 25th Septemnber.

If you’ve never bought hotel points, it can be a great deal. There’s an example below of how you can save 55% on a break in Sardinia next week, 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. I’m assuming at such short notice you’d book a non-refundable rate which is €860 per night for a King Deluxe room, so €4,300 for five nights.

For points, five nights would 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 €1,903.  You would save 55%.

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 25th September.

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 – the annual fee is currently halved for the first year.