Bits: 10% off Etihad fares with Amex, £278 J to Paris with Air France, The Railway Children tickets

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News in brief:

10% discount on Etihad flights for Amex cardholders

Etihad is offering a 10% discount on flights in all classes to American Express cardholders. You need to book via this special website here.

The last day to book is July 15th although you can travel at any point until December 31st.

lastminute.com Eurostar flash sale to Marseille and Lyon

I wrote about the new Eurostar routes to the south of France here. Until the end of today, lastminute.com is running a flash sale on Standard Premier seating to Marseille and Lyon. Take a look here for full details.

These routes are also a good way of redeeming Eurostar Frequent Traveller points as they are priced at the same level as Paris, despite it being a far longer journey.

£278 business class tickets to Paris with Air France

Air France is currently offering business class return flights from Heathrow to Paris for £278 return.

Whilst we are used to seeing low cost business fares from British Airways at weekends (you need to stay a Saturday night to get this price) few other European airlines have caught on. Indeed, Air France still wants £645 if you want to fly from Manchester to Paris for the weekend. £278 is a step in the right direction although I would have thought £199 would be a more suitable price.

You would get SkyTeam lounge access at Heathrow on this fare (reviewed here) plus lounge access in Paris. It is probably of most interest to anyone who needs to knock up a KLM or Air France flight to stop their miles expiring. Bookable on airfrance.co.uk.

RAILWAY CHILDREN TRAIN

…. and a rail deal closer to home

Finally, lastminute.com also has a special deal running on tickets to see The Railway Children. Following a run at Waterloo, it is now operating from a purpose built theatre at King’s Cross. The performance features a real steam train which plays a pivotal part in the show as you can see from the picture above. Full details here.

Category

Air France KLM and Flying Blue, Club Eurostar, Etihad and Etihad Guest

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Tom C says:

25 Jun25 June 08:23

I’ve been reading this site since the beginning of the year, and if it’s taught me anything, it’s that I should never book any flights unless a deal is on. They seem so frequent with some airliners that it’s hard to miss them, yet somehow I have. That Etihad one would have saved me a lot for our flights to Singapore. C’est la vie.
- James67 says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 09:02
  
  About a month ago EY had breaking deals and a 30% discount running at same time. I paid only £316 Y return from EDI-BKK, J was about £1200. If you can live with the restrictions on changes and cancellatiins then revenue deals are now often a better option than redemptions. I was experimenting with various upgrade options on EY, miles upgrades were best option compared to auction or cash on departure. So, anybody eith an EY flight booked and a usedul amount of EG miles, MR or SPG points might want to consider using them before July 8th devaluation.
  - Tom C says:
    
    25 Jun25 June 17:27
    
    I took advantage of the 30% discount for two flights in J to ABU in August. I just wish I knew of the frequency of the sales, as I booked full fare flights in F to Singapore for Christmas at the beginning of the year. With this deal, that would have saved a lot. Just to rub salt into the wounds, I checked etihad.com and the flights do qualify for this saving.
    - James67 says:
      
      25 Jun25 June 19:56
      
      Tom, good that you got to take advantage of the 30% off deal. Regards your SIN flight, if it is full fare F then surely cancellation is free, or low cost at worse? If so it might be worth cancelling and rebooking if right offer comes along. I’m guessing the better deals will not now re-merge until autumn, wintee.
      - Tom C says:
        
        25 Jun25 June 21:40
        
        Full Fare might not be the right wording. We’re in First Suite Saver, not First Suite Freedom, so it’s not possible to cancel and get a refund.
- R says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 09:36
  
  Small print: 10% off applies to the fare component only so in economy class it would have saved you pennies (as most of the cost of the ticket is taxes and YQ).
  - planeflyer says:
    
    25 Jun25 June 12:24
    
    And the cheapest fares are excluded, so you pay an extra ~£100 over the cheaperst Y fares, just to save ~£40 on the offer. This deal certainly isn’t worth it in Y!
Froggitt says:

25 Jun25 June 09:54

Are you testing some odd popup/overlay on this page Raffles?
- Rob says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 10:19
  
  No. I don’t see anything!
  
  It would not, however, be the first time that the advertising agency has done something that is annoying to readers without asking me first. They can basically inject any sort of ads into the site without me knowing although we have an agreement which theoretically restricts it to two of the boxes on the right hand side.
- GraemeC says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 15:43
  
  I get this ghost overlay too on my work Ultrabook…happened on other pages too…
  - Rob says:
    
    25 Jun25 June 21:52
    
    Very odd. Send me a screenshot at raffles @ headforpoints.co.uk if you see it again and I will flag it with the agency. Not seen it today on a desktop PC or iPad.
Ricardo says:

25 Jun25 June 10:32

There appears to be a BA equivalent of sorts to the Etihad offer if you go via Amex’s Middle Eastern page and follow the link on the right for the BA offer:

https://secure.americanexpress.com.bh/wps/portal/bahrain

The offer is unfortunately limited to flights starting in the Middle East so probably of limited use to the HfP readership unless you are in the region already and looking to escape the summer heat!
mikeact says:

25 Jun25 June 11:36

Re the Eurostar bit. I think I would get a one way down there and fly back. Avoid the hassle at Llile coming back, ‘everybody out, including luggage, for passport and luggage checks’. Too much hassle for my liking.
- Kai says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 11:48
  
  Did you manage you find any good price? I found nothing exciting.
- Worzel says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 12:05
  
  mikeact 11:36 am (OT-appologies to others):
  
  Assuming you’ve returned from your travels I was wondering whether all went as expected with the Supercard?
  - mikeact says:
    
    30 Jun30 June 11:53
    
    Away..again! No problems ,an accidental double transaction was immediately refunded. Great use of card.
- Rich says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 13:28
  
  Or, if you are training it back, at least look at TGV + Eurostar options, given you’ll be getting off at Lille anyway. May be cheaper or more convenient.
xcalx says:

25 Jun25 June 14:42

Bits. Way OT.

Whatever happened to RedSpottedHanky Not a single promo(game) this year.
- bob says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 16:47
  
  change in marketing strategy, coincided with them starting to charge a processing fee
  
  looks like budgets got given a hard look
- Rob says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 21:54
  
  I think, effectively, they have decided that chasing business this way was not cost effective. The strategy seemed to be to not advertise but to put money into promotions instead. They were trying to build a brand from scratch.
  
  They have either decided a) it’s not working or b) they can take it easy now. I am guessing a) given that they also brought in some sneaky fees which were not there before.
  
  I still have £5 of credit on 2 accounts so they will get two more bookings from me.
bob says:

25 Jun25 June 16:46

OT bit £10 off next Hailo London black cab trip (not just new users)
Code BLACKCAB
Terms & Conditions:
– The £10 credit is valid for one ride only and will be subtracted from the total value of the fare of your next ride.
– The £10 credit is valid for Card journeys only.
– The £10 credit must be applied to your Hailo “Wallet” before you book your ride.
– If the ride exceeds £10 the difference will be charged to your registered card.
– Code only valid for Hailo users in London. Offer ends on 30th June 2015 at 23:59 GMT.
– Hailo reserves the right to withdraw the campaign at any point should they deem appropriate to do so.

Somebody needs to check it works though
- Rich says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 17:21
  
  “Sorry. We didn’t recognise the promo code.”
  
  I’m not currently in London; there may be some geolocation stopping me from adding it.
  
  Thanks anyway
- Rob says:
  
  25 Jun25 June 21:52
  
  Not working on my account and I am very much sitting in London!
  - bob says:
    
    25 Jun25 June 21:59
    
    good job you guys checked, no Hailo round here!
bob says:

25 Jun25 June 17:47

OK I get it
For a change fee + any difference in fare
I think it’s £40
Rob says:

25 Jun25 June 20:58

OT – BA trialling new boarding process at GVA this evening. CW first, followed by gold and silver second and then bronze. Everyone still boarding through the priority lane.

Predictable chaos as gold/silver passengers had to stand aside to let CW on first.

Sigh…