Bits: 50% off Avios redemptions from Birmingham, new Regus lounge in Heathrow Terminal 2

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

News in brief:

50% discount on Avios redemptions from Birmingham

British Airways has launched a 50% discount on the ‘regional Cityflyer’ services which run at weekends from Birmingham International, using the small Embraer 190 aircraft which operate from London City during the week.

The discount is valid in Euro Traveller and Club Europe. If you are considering Club Europe, remember that the Embraer planes are 2 x 2 seating throughout so there is no ’empty middle seat’ in business class. You will benefit from lounge access and improved food and drink. Snacks and drinks in Euro Traveller are still free as the M&S ‘buy on board’ range has not yet been launched on these aircraft due to logistical issues.

The Birmingham routes on offer are:

Birmingham – Florence
Birmingham – Ibiza
Birmingham – Malaga
Birmingham – Palma Majorca

The 50% discount is available on both one-way and return bookings.

You need to book by 30th June for flights before 25th November, although not all routes will operate until that late in the season.

New Regus Express business centre opens in Heathrow Terminal 2

Serviced offices group Regus has opened a new Regus Express business centre in Heathrow Terminal 2.

This follows on from the existing Terminal 5 landside facility, which I have used a few times, and the two centres at Gatwick. There is also one at Birmingham International.

It appears to be very similar to the Terminal 5 site, with a co-working area and meeting rooms. Entrance is free to anyone with a Regus Businessworld Gold or Platinum card. I’m not sure if non-members can book meeting rooms or not.

The lounge is landside so you do not have to be flying anywhere in order to use it.

Regus is also a partner with airport lounge card DragonPass and if you have one of those it should also be valid at Terminal 2 – it is accepted at Terminal 5. These Regus centres are not really suitable for ‘lounging’, however – the co-working spaces mainly consist of shared table where everyone sits with their laptop. You will get free coffee.

Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, here are the three options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge card:

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Plaza Premium, Delta and Eurostar lounges. Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

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

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20. You get two more free visits for every year you keep the card.

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus. Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey network. Guests are charged at £20 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer. Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Category

British Airways and Avios, Iberia and Iberia Plus

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

simmo says:

6 Jun6 June 11:51

Balls! – Booked BHX-PMI last week using avios (and an expiring 2-4-1!)

Quite looking forward to a ‘new’ airport and ‘new’ plane for me!

Anybody interested apparently BHX uses the Aspire lounge for CE passengers.
- Wondering says:
  
  6 Jun6 June 11:54
  
  What saving does that equate to, using a 241 for that itinerary?
  - simmo says:
    
    6 Jun6 June 14:22
    
    Pretty much!
    No availability to re-book without cancelling!
Wally1976 says:

6 Jun6 June 14:08

OT – I booked airport parking back in January using a BA Amex (the free one) which I cancelled not long after. The amount of the parking was required to meet the spend requirement for the card. Any idea what will happen if I cancel the parking? Presumably the money will make its way back to me via Amex but will they claw back the points? Thanks.
- Wally1976 says:
  
  6 Jun6 June 14:53
  
  Scrub this – just looked at the terms and realised I can just pick up the car a few hours late for a £10 charge rather than the £37.96 Holiday Extras wanted for extending the booking (presumably they’re just deducting what we’ve paid from the current price). So I don’t need to cancel it any more. Might still be useful to know the answer for future reference though!
  - Genghis says:
    
    6 Jun6 June 15:20
    
    If the card has been cancelled, nothing will happen. I’ve done it a couple of times for genuine refunds. You can then call up Amex who can then send the credit to you by bank transfer / cheque / transfer to another Amex account.
    - Wally1976 says:
      
      6 Jun6 June 15:30
      
      Thanks Genghis
Anna says:

6 Jun6 June 16:11

OT – I stayed up till the small hours to bag 4 x RFS from Manchester to Nice for May half term 2018, but needn’t have bothered as there is still loads of availability in both WT and CE! Still happy though, as I’d be looking at around £800 return for 4 seats on Ryanair plus horrific baggage charges.

What are people’s views on whether they will still be serving refreshments on Cityflyer this time next year? On my booking it says I can order a meal, but it also says, “Charges may apply for food and drink. Please check operating carrier website for details”. Hedging their bets?
- Genghis says:
  
  6 Jun6 June 16:28
  
  Have FR released availability for May 18?
  - Anna says:
    
    6 Jun6 June 18:04
    
    FR? The Cityflyer flights are available up till May 26th.
    - Anna says:
      
      6 Jun6 June 18:13
      
      I should have said EasyJet, no they haven’t released their May 2018 prices but I have flown with them Sat-Sat in half term hols (May and October) a number of times and the prices compared with term time and/or weekday dates would make you weep if you thought too much about it!
      - Genghis says:
        
        6 Jun6 June 18:27
        
        Does the flex ticket trick still work?
      - Anna says:
        
        6 Jun6 June 18:59
        
        I don’t know, it sounds like a lot of faffing about!
Brasov says:

6 Jun6 June 16:18

OT What’s a Eurobonus SAS point worth for a UK-based person?
- Rob says:
  
  6 Jun6 June 17:04
  
  You can use them for Radisson hotels at an OK rate, I think (I used some for a May Fair Hotel stay once). Flight redemptions are generally seen as expensive (in miles terms) vs the competition so probably less than you’d value an Avios.
Donald says:

6 Jun6 June 23:35

What is the best option for Regus now? My A3 Gold partner card has expired. I’m thinking of a Gold membership out of one of the cheap countries if I can’t find a free Gold.
- Lady London says:
  
  8 Jun8 June 01:34
  
  I would like to know this too. I think finding out where top level Dragonpass can be had may be the answer.
Ian says:

7 Jun7 June 17:39

It is unusual for the 2,000 Avios package to be sold out immediately.
- Rob says:
  
  7 Jun7 June 18:04
  
  Someone posted the other day that Groupon messed up and failed to restrict the 2k package to 1 per person. People jumped in and ordered them in huge quantities.