What you missed on Head for Points last week
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
Welcome to the Head for Points weekly newsletter, full of the latest Avios, travel loyalty and travel credit card news, hints and tips.
If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up to this free Saturday newsletter by filling in the form here. Please forward it to any friends or family who you think may want to join our 47,000 subscribers and improve how they travel. The newsletter also runs on the Head for Points website every Saturday.
(We also offer daily emails. You would receive each article in full on the day of release, so you won’t miss any short-notice deals or offers. If you want to switch, create a fresh subscription to the daily emails via this form. You will then need to unsubscribe from the weekly email by clicking the ‘Unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of this newsletter.)
We hope you’ve managed a bit of a New Year break, wherever in the world you happen to be. The newsletter is obviously thinner than usual this week, albeit with one massive British Airways story ….
LAST CHANCE: Get a 80,000 points bonus (converts to 80,000 Avios) with Amex Platinum
American Express is currently running a special sign-up bonus on the American Express Platinum Card – apply here. The bonus is increased from 50,000 to 80,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to:
- 80,000 Avios
- 80,000 Virgin Points
- 80,000 Etihad, Flying Blue, Asia Miles, Delta, Finnair, Qantas or SAS miles
- 60,000 Emirates miles
- 53,333 Singapore Airlines miles
- 160,000 Hilton Honors points
- 120,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
- 240,000 Radisson Rewards points
- 5,332 Club Eurostar points
….. and many other non-travel rewards.
You receive 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending £10,000 in six months.
The card has an annual fee of £650. For now, you can still get a pro-rata refund if you cancel it mid-year – it looks like Amex has quietly shelved plans to remove refunds.
Our main article on the 80,000 points bonus is here. Make sure you read the bit about whether or not you qualify for the bonus.
You can apply for the American Express Platinum Card with the special bonus on this page of the Amex website. You may even see a bonus higher than 80,000 points as Amex is targeting some people with a different offer.
The special offer ends on 14th January.
The representative APR is 694.9% variable, including the annual fee. The representative APR on purchases is 30.0% variable.
In other news ….
The biggest story of the year (for 2024 and probably 2025):
British Airways moves to revenue-based status for Bronze, Silver, Gold and Gold Guest List.
From the 1st April 2025, the way you earn status with British Airways will change – and will, for many, become harder. If we’re honest, it will become impossible for most.
Our article, which has over 2500 comments to date, has all the changes.
If you do nothing else after reading this newsletter, you should read this article.
This week’s top travel news stories:
You can’t use your Amex Platinum 2025 dining credit yet
Good £49 per night deal at the Hampton by Hilton Torquay hotel until 31st March
What Amex sign-up bonuses are you still eligible for? We update our comprehensive annual overview.
Hilton’s ‘Spark’ brand continues to roll out – first Romford, now Luton
Becoming an SAS points millionaire:
A reader is taking part in the SAS Million Points Challenge and is documenting his journey for us:
- Barry’s SAS Million Mile challenge: more bad news, and Airline 12: China Airlines
- Barry’s SAS Million Mile challenge: will his Xiamen Air ticket qualify? (Airline 13)
- Barry’s SAS Million Mile challenge: Korean Air and China Southern (Airline 14)
British Airways and Avios news
How do British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers work? A full and comprehensive guide.
How does Avios Subscription work, letting you buy Avios from 0.99p?
How does Avios Balance Boost work, letting you buy Avios from 0.92p?
Credit Card news:
Reviews:
The second part of our trip to Los Angeles with Scandinavian Airlines was published:
- Review: the new Air France Lounge, Los Angeles International Airport, image below
- SAS Premium Economy review from Los Angeles to Copenhagen, image above
Hotel news:
What are the best hotel promos for January 2025?
Your cut-out-and-keep guide to the Marriott Bonvoy breakfast benefit
Accor is offering double points on hotels across Europe
Other interesting news:
‘Frequent Flyer – The Video,’ the best 20-minute film ever made about air miles
You can transfer points between Accor Live Limitless and Club Eurostar – but should you?
That’s all, folks
Our latest round-up of miles and points offers closing soon is here.
Don’t forget to visit our forum if you have any questions relating to frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programmes or loyalty credit cards.
See you next Saturday,
Rob, Rhys, Sinead and Katie @ Head for Points
