Bits: Heathrow protest today, Etihad sale, update on the 40000 Nectar points deal

News in brief:

Heathrow anti-expansion protest today may cause delays

British Airways has issued an advisory warning due to a protest against Heathrow Airport expansion which will take place today, Saturday.

To quote:

A peaceful demonstration against airport expansion is expected to take place at Heathrow Airport on Saturday 1 October.

Heathrow Airport is working with the Metropolitan Police who will manage any protest activities in and around the airport or terminal facilities.

Roads around Heathrow may see a period of disruption around the middle of the day and customers travelling to/from the airport may wish to allow extra time for their journey.

Etihad launches a 96 hour sale – with bonus miles

Etihad is running a sale this weekend which runs until Monday evening.

As well as some decent prices in Business Class, the airline is offering 15,000 bonus Etihad Guest miles for every Business Class flight.  Economy flights will attract a 5,000 mile bonus.

Whilst Etihad Guest was devalued sharply last year, the ability to top up your account via American Express Membership Rewards, the UK Etihad credit card, the HSBC Premier credit card and Heathrow Rewards makes their miles flexible.  You can also redeem across the full Etihad Airways Partners alliance.

Here are some headline business class fares from London.

• Abu Dhabi £1,500
• Bangkok £1,550
• Mumbai £1,552
• Johannesburg £2,191
• Perth £2,600
• Melbourne £2,600

Whilst these are not the cheapest deals seen this Winter, you need to remember that I rate the Etihad A380 Business Class Studio as the best seat on the market.  Heathrow will be operating a 100% A380 service from November.

These deals can be booked for travel until June 2017.  Full details are on the Etihad website here.

Update on the ‘40,000 Nectar points’ credit card deal

Yesterday I wrote an article about the attractive American Express Nectar credit card promotion which launches today.  If you are targetted via the Nectar app or website, you will receive a whopping 40,000 Nectar points for signing up.

Full details of the card are here although you should not sign up via this page.

This is worth at least – in the worse case scenario – £200 to spend at Sainsbury’s, easyJet, Expedia etc.  However, if you use your points wisely during special offers, you could get as high as £400.

I missed out a key point in the early version of the article yesterday which was the version emailed out.

Anyone who is targetted will receive the 40,000 points as long as they have not had a Nectar credit card in the last six months.  That statement was correct.

However … the terms and conditions state that you only receive the first year of membership for free if you have not had any Amex-issued Amex cards in the last six months.  That will disqualify 95% of HfP readers, who will have a BA Amex, Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, Starwood Amex or similar.

You WILL still get the 40,000 points but you need to be resigned to paying the £25 fee.  This is still very small in contrast to the sign-up bonus, however, and is refundable pro-rata if you cancel the card.

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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