Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Bits: no families in T5 First Wing?, new Virgin route to Australia, get 30% off Millennium Hotels

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

News in brief:

Are families and groups banned from the new First Wing?

I ran some new pictures yesterday of the dedicated ‘First Wing’ about to open in Terminal 5.  This will feed Gold and First Passengers directly into Galleries First.

One of the comments to the article posed a question so obvious that I hadn’t thought about it.  Because the First Wing takes you directly into the Galleries First lounge, Galleries First entry rules must apply.  One guest only.

This means that, as a Gold, I cannot use the First Wing when travelling on a non-First Class ticket with my family as my wife is only Silver.

I’m sure they’d let us use the First Wing check-in desks but we would be forced to use the main security lines (and double back on ourselves to get to them) as we would not be allowed into Galleries First, even if we promised to walk straight out again and head into Galleries Club.  Unless I’ve missed something?

Virgin Australia to launch Hong Kong to Australia

Virgin Australia is planning to launch new services from Hong Kong to an unnamed Australian city later in 2017.   The slots at Hong Kong are reportedly already agreed although the destination city is not fixed.

It isn’t all good new for Virgin Australia though.  A planned Abu Dhabi to Perth flight, due to start in June, was cancelled this week before it even launched.  The Abu Dhabi to Sydney service was closed last month.

With Virgin Atlantic still flying from London to Hong Kong, this opens up an option to get to Australia with a plane change in Hong Kong.  It would require two separate redemptions, and Virgin Australia redemptions need to be return flights, but it opens up a glimmer of hope for anyone annoyed when Virgin Atlantic scrapped its own Australia flights.

Get 30% off at Millennium Hotels

Millennium Hotels, which runs a range of 5-star properties with a strong London focus, including The Chelsea Harbour Hotel, emailed me about their new early booking offer.

Until 30th March, you will receive a 30% discount on flexible rates when booking direct at least 14 days in advance.  You need to be a My Millennium member to get this, but signing up is free.

Full details are on their website here.  The offer is good for stays until 31st December.

Our review of the My Millennium loyalty programme is 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.

best hotel loyalty promotions

Hotel offers update – April 2025:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points?

  • Hilton Honors is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points by 29th May 2025. The annual purchase limit is also increased to 240,000 points pre-bonus. Click here to buy.
Category

British Airways and Avios, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (81)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Gill says:
    5 Mar5 March 08:37

    OT – I’ve just completed a trip that will bump me to bronze. Flying out again on Wednesday and want to take advantage of early check in. Any point calling BA or just wait for the status upgrade online?

    • Genghis says:
      5 Mar5 March 08:56

      Early check in?

    • Gavin says:
      5 Mar5 March 09:09

      You mean choosing seats 7 days in advance? You just need to be patient!

      • Gill says:
        5 Mar5 March 09:18

        Yes, sorry I meant seat selection. I will patiently await. Thanks.

    • Peter K says:
      5 Mar5 March 10:15

      As bronze you get early exit from the plane as well… Just bring a parachute. It helps cut down on claims from late arrivals.

  • DanK says:
    5 Mar5 March 09:06

    It has been reported to Hong Kong Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Gold Coast and Cains have a very low load factor, I wonder how will Virgin doing on this route.

    • the real harry1 says:
      5 Mar5 March 09:50

      Are you sure it’s Cairns / Brisbane? Those are rather small vs Perth or Sydney

      • John says:
        5 Mar5 March 11:28

        Yes, CNS, no, not BNE but OOL.

        HK airlines is like air transat or maybe norwegian.

    • flyforfun says:
      5 Mar5 March 10:05

      Isn’t Brisbane Virgins Australia/ home hub? Might make for good timing and connections to other flights.

      Any idea what aircraft they will be flying? Not the dreaded Nightmareliner or an over packed 777.

  • Waribai says:
    5 Mar5 March 10:02

    Quick question about those fast track barriers such as at Gatwick. How do you take a guest through as presumably their boarding pass won’t scan to open the barrier ?

    • John says:
      5 Mar5 March 11:29

      Wave down a person

    • Stu N says:
      5 Mar5 March 11:31

      Just go to a manned lane or have your +1 scan and wait for the person when while they are rejected. Both work.

      • Waribai says:
        5 Mar5 March 13:51

        Thanks, Yes. I’ve noticed at Gatwick North though you often have to wait a bit for someone to come over by which the time the people behind you are less than pleased!

  • Leo says:
    5 Mar5 March 10:04

    OT: Impressed with BA lounge at Gatwick – nicer than T5 if you ask me. Flying J on Cathay. Lounge Dragon (actually very sweet) said “Is that Oneworld?” I said yes and she waved me through.

  • Roger says:
    5 Mar5 March 10:48

    OT – MBNA AA card.
    The current bonus is 5k AA miles. Any ideas when do you get bonus posted to your AA account?
    I assume it will be when the first statement points gets transferred to AA account.
    IIRC, their T&Cs suggest 6 weeks or so, but as I am longing for AA points very badly for a redemption, I am hoping for this to be posted soon.

    Any feedback welcome!

    • David says:
      5 Mar5 March 12:29

      In my experience, they will only come with a statement related transfer, they won’t come as a credit on their own between staetments.

  • Peter K says:
    5 Mar5 March 11:26

    Can you use Virgin Atlantic miles on Virgin Australia? I know they each have their own FF programmes and one is owned by Delta, the other by Emirates. It would be handy if I could however.

  • Dave H says:
    5 Mar5 March 12:58

    O/T again, a little perk with LeClub properties I didn’t know about, complimentary press reader access, just downloaded a few magazines to keep me occupied on my trip.

    • Alan says:
      5 Mar5 March 15:20

      Yep, Qantas offer this too – even on domestic trips – pretty decent selection of magazines!

  • Lewis Watson says:
    5 Mar5 March 13:18

    Banned is a bit of an exaggeration. Presumably families and groups booked in first can still use it.

    • Rob says:
      5 Mar5 March 15:41

      Obviously – but Golds will outnumber F pax by, what, 5:1? 10:1?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!