Bits: Virgin Azuma trains named, 0% balance transfers and no fee with Post Office credit card
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
News in brief:
Virgin Trains names its new trains Azuma
Virgin Trains has announced the name of its new train fleet for the East Coast line – Azuma.
Currently being assembled by Hitachi in County Durham, they are due to come into service from 2018. The trains will have the same 1-2 seating layout in First Class, pictured below, as the existing fleet.
The top speed will remain at 120 mph until line upgrades are completed, albeit that improved acceleration is expected to reduce London to Edinburgh journey times by 20 minutes.
A variant of these trains will debut first, in 2017, on the Great Western line.
Get 0% fee and 0% interest for 18 months on the Post Office Money Platinum MasterCard
There are a handful of credit cards which are both FREE and have no foreign exchange fees on purchases abroad – Nationwide, Halifax Clarity etc – plus the Post Office Money Platinum Mastercard.
Whilst the Halifax Clarity card is marginally better than the Post Office one – because Clarity also has no FX fees on overseas cash withdrawals – there is a new reason to take a look at the Post Office card at the moment.
For a limited period, it is offering:
0% interest for 18 months on balance transfers, and
0% fee on your balance transfer
This means that you can move an existing balance from any other credit card, fee free, to the Post Office card and pay no interest until Autumn 2017. You should definitely clear your balance at that point, however, as the representative APR is 17.8% variable. This is NOT a card where you want to be paying interest.
More details of the Post Office Platinum card and this offer can be found here.
PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
John 
Peaceful Waters 
Matt 
Andrew (@andrewseftel) 
Tilly71 
Oyster 
Raffles 
Liz 
Gavin 
Jordan D 
Nick Burch 
Andy 
Barry 
Alan 
Comments (27)