Bits: 50% bonus on HSBC transfers to Avios, £15 LON-EDI train tickets, 40% bonus on Hyatt points

News in brief:

50% transfer bonus on HSBC Premier points to Avios

The HSBC Premier credit cards are now the most generous way of earning Avios from a non-Amex.  The free HSBC Premier Mastercard earns 0.5 Avios per £1 whilst the £195 HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard earns 1 Avios per £1.

The World Elite card comes with a sign-up bonus of 40,000 Avios points so the £195 fee is worth paying.  Details of how the bonus is awarded are here.  You MUST have a HSBC Premier current account to get these cards and the criteria are tough as the linked article explains.

HSBC has just launched a 50% transfer bonus when you move your points to Avios.  This would mean that the World Elite bonus would be worth 60,000 Avios if you transferred it all during a similar bonus.

Transfers must be completed by 30th November.

£15 one-way Virgin Trains tickets to Edinburgh

Virgin Trains East Coast has launched a new promotion to encourage people who fly between London and Edinburgh to try the train.

Fill in the form on this page of the Virgin Trains website and you will be sent a code allowing you to book a single or return train ticket between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, Haymarket, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Dunbar, Inverkeithing, Kirkcaldy, Leuchars, Dundee, Falkirk Grahamston, Stirling, Gleneagles or Perth.

The cost will be £15 each-way in Standard Class and £30 each-way in First Class.  Bookings can be made up to one day before travel.

You need to claim your code by 3rd November and book by 10th November for travel by 16th December.

40% bonus when you buy Hyatt Gold Passport points

Until 25th October, Hyatt is offering a bonus of up to 40% when you buy Gold Passport points.  This is as good a deal as you ever see from Hyatt.

You need to buy 10,000 points to get the full 40% bonus.  Purchases of 5,000+ receive a 30% bonus.  Smaller purchases get nothing.

This is obviously worth a look if you need to top up your account.  It may also be worthwhile if considering a stay in a top tier Park Hyatt such as the ones in Paris or Sydney, where buying the points may be cheaper than paying cash.

The new Park Hyatt resort in Mallorca opened this Summer and looks very impressive, see the photo above.   Prices are a little scary in Summer (rooms from Euro 600-700, or Euro 800-900 if you want a cancellable one) so a redemption at 20,000 points per night ($360 under this offer) would be a good deal.  Even better, ‘cash and points’ is now available for Park Hyatt Mallorca.  This takes a room down to 10,000 points + €114 per night.

The Hyatt ‘buy points’ site is here.

World of Hyatt update – December 2021:

Get bonus points: Hyatt is not currently running a global promotion.

New to World of Hyatt?  Read our overview of World of Hyatt here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on what we think World of Hyatt points are worth is here.

Buy points: If you need additional World of Hyatt points, you can buy them here.

Until 30th December, you will receive a 30% discount, equivalent to a 43% bonus, when you buy Hyatt points – click here.

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