News: BA NYC lounge, play a PGA Pro-Am with Hilton, Virgin codeshare with Middle East Airlines
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
News in brief:
British Airways reopens its lounge at New York JFK
British Airways has followed Virgin Atlantic and will today partially reopen its lounge facilities at New York JFK airport. The lounge have been closed for the last 16 months.
In the first stage, the Galleries Club lounge will open. The Galleries First area and the separate Concorde Room will not reopen yet.
As at Heathrow, the lounge will be using the ‘Your Menu’ digital system for food and drink orders. This allows you to bring up a menu by scanning a QR code on your table and then place your order online. Your food and drink will be delivered directly to your seat.
The Premium Zone check-in facilities are also open for passengers in First and Club World.
Play in the BMW PGA Pro-Am tournament with Hilton Honors
If you are a decent golfer – which counts me out – Hilton Honors has something very special on offer.
Here is your chance to join the European Tour Circuit. It is auctioning, for points, three places in the BMW PGA Pro-Am tournament in September.
Even better, the tournament is being played at the iconic Wentworth Golf Club on 8th September.
There are two packages up for auction. EACH package consists of three places, so you will need to have two golfing friends to join you.
All three of your team will also receive a free night at the DoubleTree Woking hotel on 8th September.
Unsurprisingly there is a handicap requirement. Men must have handicap of 18 or better & women must have a handicap of 24 or better.
There have been no bids in the few days that the offer has been live. The minimum opening bid is just 60,000 Hilton Honors points which, given that I’d value those at £200, is laughable. You can find out more, and bid, here. The auction ends on 13th August.
Virgin Atlantic launches codeshare with Middle East Airlines
Virgin Atlantic has announced a new codeshare arrangement with Middle East Airlines. This will see a VS flight number placed on MEA’s flights from Heathrow Terminal 3 to Beirut.
The strategy is to allow Virgin Atlantic to sell ‘one ticket’ flights from the United States to Beirut, and vice versa, with Virgin Atlantic flight numbers. With both airlines using Terminal 3 at Heathrow it should be a seamless transfer process.
MEA flights with a VS flight number should qualify for Virgin Flying Club tier points and Virgin Points. However, this will only be possible as part of a connection to a US-bound Virgin Atlantic service.
It isn’t yet clear if the new arrangement with include the ability to redeem Virgin Points on Middle East Airlines. The airline is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, alongside Virgin’s partners Delta, KLM and Air France.
It also isn’t clear if MEA premium passengers who are not travelling on a codeshare ticket will have access to the Heathrow Clubhouse lounge. I would lean towards ‘no’ in both cases but we need to wait and see.
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.
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard
3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review
You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.
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.
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
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.
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.
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.
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
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.
TripRep 
Matthew 
rowpott 
Graham 
Rob 
JohnT 
Andrew 
Tariq 
JDB 
Lord Doncaster 
ianM 
Save East Coast Rewards 
Lady London 
Yvo 
Chris M 
Comments (20)