Bits: 1000 Avios from Marriott posting, British Airways to launch Nashville?

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News in brief:

1,000 Avios for joining Marriott Rewards posting

Two months ago I published an article, see here, showing how you could get 1,000 Avios points simply for joining Marriott Rewards – no stay required.

This was obviously very generous, and if you had a family British Airways account it made sense to sign up everyone in it who was not already a member. Unfortunately Marriott found the response too overwhelming and the deal was pulled shortly after.

The good news is that Marriott seems to be honouring the deal. You may already have 1,000 Avios in your account. If you don’t, go to the Marriott site here and log in.

In the corner, you may see this:

…. which means that the points are on their way and will be with Avios soon.

British Airways to launch Nashville?

Reports in the US media state that British Airways is about to launch a new route to Nashville, potentially as soon as this week.

Interestingly, “incentives are likely to be included”. This is likely to involve discounts on airport fees or a payment to BA to be spent on jointly marketing Nashville and British Airways. If you see a sponsored post of HfP soon discussing the joys of Nashville, you’ll know where the money came from.

The good news for Avios collectors is that, on the day tickets go on sale, the usual two Club World and four economy Avios seats will be opened up on every flight.

If you were thinking about a US holiday but couldn’t get Avios redemption seats on the dates you needed to travel, this could be a solution. Availability is virtually guaranteed if you choose Nashville and book as soon as the announcement is made.

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:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Category

British Airways and Avios, Marriott Bonvoy

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

Andrew* says:

6 Aug6 August 04:23

Hello from NYC!

Yes, I can see these on my family members’ accounts…
Scallder says:

6 Aug6 August 07:09

If Nashville does come about, I really hope it’s successful. Was there for 4 days earlier this year as part of a road trip around the deep South and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
- Rhi says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 12:01
  
  Agreed. Nashville is a brilliant city to visit too. It’s in my top 5 US cities. I had such a blast there. And that’s despite being stranded for an extra 48 hours virtually entirely spent at the airport due to a snowstorm in NYC.
The Original Nick says:

6 Aug6 August 07:30

Sorry, O:T. Do IB accounts have the same expiry as BAEC and Avios accounts? 36 months?
- Rob says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 08:49
  
  Yes
  - The Original Nick says:
    
    6 Aug6 August 09:49
    
    Thanks Rob.
Ruth Findlay says:

6 Aug6 August 08:38

I don’t see any mention of the bonus 1000 miles from Marriott. I definitely joined before they pulled it.
- fivebobbill says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 13:22
  
  Mine have not appeared in BA.com yet, but as Rob says, log into Marriotts and drop the tab in the top right hand corner – both mine and the missus 1,000 avios are now in there and pending as of 31/07/17
  Thanks Rob for the heads up
Anna says:

6 Aug6 August 08:55

No Marriott avios for us yet either.

OT – can the Lloyds upgrade voucher be used on the LCY – JKF route, not sure if this is classed as a CityFlyer?!
- Genghis says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 08:58
  
  When I tried a few months ago it appears to price up despite “Flights from London City airport are excluded.”
  - The Urbanite says:
    
    6 Aug6 August 17:20
    
    I used a Lloyds upgrade voucher on BA1 from LCY in June this year, think it was 26k Avios.
- Alan says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 09:07
  
  Specifically excluded in T&Cs, presumably as no WTP to ‘upgrade’ from.
- Nick says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 09:19
  
  LCYJFK is NOT a CityFlyer service. It’s a mainline service (technically operated by a company called BA Limited but this is just a fudge for mortgage purposes) crewed by pilots from Heathrow and cabin crew from Gatwick.
  
  CityFlyer is the subsidiary that flies the Embraer fleet and maintains its own pilots and crew who have no interaction with BA mainline whatsoever.
- gomigo says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 09:25
  
  Yes you can now use Lloyds upgrade voucher on LCY – JFK route but pricing will be normall as other routes. Even though this route doesn’t have premium economy your avios will be priced at PE and upgraded using voucher. I have tried and it worked.
  - Anna says:
    
    6 Aug6 August 10:37
    
    Thanks all, worth having a look then. It has a lot of selling points and now there are a limited number of connecting flights between MAN and LCY might not throw up too many logistical problems.
- Will says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 12:07
  
  I’ve used it on this route, despite what the terms say.
  - Alan says:
    
    6 Aug6 August 12:29
    
    Interesting, Will and gomigo – sounds like if you get the right agent they can be flexible around the T&Cs, sounds promising – I’ve still not tried it myself as when I was last booked to travel on it the aircraft went tech 🙁
- the_real_a says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 13:24
  
  If you telephone up, the voucher is added as a “manual discount of points”. Hence, anything that you can persuade the agent to do can be processed…
Briandt says:

6 Aug6 August 09:44

OK, today’s daft question. How, where, do you turn your Marriott points into Avios ? Where is the necessary page on the Marriott site ?
- Rob says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 09:56
  
  The 1,000 will have gone across automatically. Airline redemptions are here – https://headforpoints.com/hfp/marriott-airline-partners/
  - gomigo says:
    
    7 Aug7 August 22:42
    
    You are right Rob, they started arriving slowly. I may be the odd man out to give my Etihad guest account for 1000miles credit and it arrives on 7 Aug at 13:15hrs. Avios credit may be major junk hence taking some time… bottom line is Marriott is honouring their commitment.
  - molly says:
    
    25 Aug25 August 00:18
    
    I see in my Marriott account 1000 points but it does not appear yet in my BA account when will be transferred?
- Alex W says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 10:19
  
  Or wait until you have enough for a Marriott Hotel & Air travel package! A few Amex signup bonuses & referrals and you’re there.
  - Kathy says:
    
    6 Aug6 August 10:30
    
    You can’t do that with these – you had to sign up to miles earning, not points.
Katy storie says:

6 Aug6 August 10:44

OT but if I use avios to upgrade through BAEC on an AA flight how many avios am I charged as there is no WTP cabin so would it be an upgrade from Economy straight to Business?
Chris says:

6 Aug6 August 12:07

I never did the whole ‘Activate your account’ thing after the 1000 bonus enrolment. Should I have? Will this preclude me from obtaining the bonus?
- xcalx says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 12:49
  
  No need to, I have the 1000 points in BA accounts and did nothing but sign up.
  - Chris says:
    
    6 Aug6 August 12:58
    
    Thanks xcalx – i just activated the account and can see
    
    Last Activity
    2017 DOUBLE MILES – 1K BONUS
    1,000 miles
    Posted
    Aug, 01 2017
    Type
    Bonus
    
    but nothing yet showing on ba.com ?