Big redemption savings: Hilton properties in Turkey and Iberia Express flights to Spain

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Two interesting savings which could make your next miles and points redemption go a lot further have turned up.

Big savings on Hilton HHonors redemptions in Turkey

The political situation in Turkey has had a major impact on hotel bookings. Hilton has responded by making some massive reductions in the number of Hilton HHonors points required for some hotels.

From 12th October – so you can’t book today – some hotels have been reduced to just 5,000 Hilton HHonors points per night. As Hilton offers five nights for the price of four to elite members, this means that you could pay as little as 4,000 points!

Click here to see the full list – you need to scroll down to ‘Hotels With Category Decrease’.

The Hilton Garden Inn at the main airport drops from Category 5 to Category 1 (5,000 points) as does the Garden Inn at Erzincan. The DoubleTree in Van drops from Category 5 to Category 2 (10,000 point per night). The DoubleTree Istanbul Sirkeci drops from Category 5 to Category 3.

In total, 26 hotels in Turkey are reduced.

PS. There is one other interesting reduction. The Hilton Garden Inn at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai – photo below – is dropping from Category 6 to Category 4. The hotel is next to – not connected to – the mall but this is a very decent price for central Dubai at peak times. This price cut takes effect from 12th October.

50% off Iberia Express redemptions from the UK

Iberia Plus is offering selected flights from the UK to Spain at half the Avios price until the end of November.

These deals can ONLY be booked on the Iberia Plus website so you will need to use ‘Combine My Avios’ to move points across from avios.com or ba.com.

You cannot join Iberia Plus today and book. You must be a member for 90 days AND have earned at least 1 Avios point in your Iberia Plus account (do an American Express points transfer or credit a flight, hotel or car booking) before you can transfer. This is why I always recommend that HFP readers open an Iberia Plus account as soon as they can and get it activated – you never know when a good redemption will come along.

Here are the Iberia Express routes on offer. You can check out timetables etc on the Iberia Express site here.

Gatwick to Madrid – 3,250 Avios one-way

Heathrow to Oviedo – 3,750 Avios one-way

Birmingham to Madrid – 3,750 Avios one-way

Edinburgh to Madrid – 3,750 Avios one-way

Manchester to Madrid – 3,750 Avios one-way

Heathrow to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria – 5,000 Avios one-way

You book must book and fly by 30th November although some routes may end in October for the Winter. Only ‘Blue Class’ economy redemptions on Iberia Express count.

Remember that Iberia does not have Reward Flight Saver so you will be paying the full taxes and charges – Manchester to Madrid is £55 for example.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus: