‘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:
Alaska Airlines and IndiGo announce the launch of their first flights to London Heathrow, Alaska’s new livery pictured above
Emirates increases the number of flights to Gatwick
Vueling will transition to an all-737 MAX fleet as IAG allocates its order
UBS downgrades IAG shares, partly based on the Avios changes
Get £200+ Virgin Atlantic cashback with the latest American Express offer
Explore multiple historic hotels with London’s Open House Festival
British Airways adds Brewdog beer taps to its London Gatwick lounges
Consistency is (not) key: should airline lounges look and feel the same globally? We discuss
Stories we recommend from other sites:
Chiltern Railways to relaunch first class (Business Traveller)
Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur opens in Merdeka 118 skyscraper (Hotel News Resource)
Emirates bans power banks on its flights over safety concerns (Simple Flying)
The Shelbourne Dublin to undergo year-long £43m refurbishment (Boutique Hotelier)
Our latest reviews:
Rhys stays at the renovated London Marriott Grosvenor Square hotel in Mayfair, image above
…. and also visits the new-ish W Sydney hotel at Darling Harbour, image below
The latest UK travel loyalty news:
REGISTER NOW: IHG offers double points in September, but not to everyone – click here to register
NEW: Spend Avios on Apple products via the new Avios Shop – but should you?
Earn double points at Bicester Village with an Accor Live Limitless promotion
How does Marriott Bonvoy Moments work and what can you redeem for?
Is there any point having the free British Airways American Express Credit Card? Whatever your reason for keeping it, there is a better choice
How to use Avios for ‘The NinetyThird’ club at The O2, including a £400 bar tab!
Get a 100% bonus buying Hilton Honors points – click here to buy
Get 5,000 Virgin Points for activating Tesco Clubcard auto-convert
What Rob learned about Ascott Star Rewards after an afternoon at Wimbledon
What are the best hotel promos for August?
Save 10% on select home rentals with Marriott Bonvoy Homes & Villas
FINAL DAYS: Get 30,000 Hilton Honors points with the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card
Last year Hilton Honors launched two UK debit cards (yes, debit and not credit).
One costs £150 per year and gives you Hilton Honors Gold status (free breakfast!) for as long as you keep it. The other costs £60 per year and gives you Hilton Honors Silver status for as long as you hold it.
Both cards earn Hilton Honors points on your spending with an extra bonus for spending in Hilton properties. These are also the only travel rewards cards with 0% or 0.5% FX fees, instead of the usual 3%.
Hilton has been running a special offer on both of the cards but you must apply by Thursday. It is the first time there has ever been an improved deal on the ‘Plus’ card.
Until 14th August:
- there is a bonus of 30,000 Hilton Honors points when you apply for the £150 Hilton Honors Plus debit card – this is the one which gives you Hilton Honors Gold status (free breakfast!)
- there is a 50% fee discount when you apply for the ‘was £60, now £30’ Hilton Honors debit card – this is the one which gives you Hilton Honors Silver status
You can find out more about the deal here. You can apply here until Thursday.
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 August 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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