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Bits: Irish Independent 18,000 Avios vouchers arriving, Which? names the best UK airports

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News in brief:

18,000 Avios for £146 – vouchers arriving

Last week I wrote about a great deal for subscribing to the digital version of the Irish Independent newspaper – click here.  You don’t need to live in Ireland to take part.

You would receive 18,000 Avios points for taking out a €160 (£146) digital subscription.

It wasn’t clear how long the voucher to redeem the Avios points would take to arrive.  The company running the offer was saying 21-28 days.  However, the first batch – for people who signed up on the 22nd – arrived yesterday, so it only took 8 days.

The Irish Independent deal is still running if you want to jump in now that it is clear it is working as expected, not that I ever doubted it would.

Irish Independent digital offer

Which? on the best London airports

Which? magazine has released its latest airport passenger survey.  For those people who giggled when I wrote about how pleasant I found Southend Airport last year, it has been named the ‘Best Airport in the UK’ .

The results for the London airports are actually in line with my own views, except for London City which I find overrated.  The score below is based on feedback from Which? readers across a number of categories such as staff friendliness and helpfulness, baggage reclaim, seating, toilets, and queues at security and passport control.

London Southend – 82%

London City – 68%

Heathrow Terminal 5 – 61%

Heathrow Terminal 2 – 57%

Gatwick South – 52%

Heathrow Terminal 3 – 52%

Heathrow Terminal 4 – 52%

Gatwick North – 51%

London Stansted – 38%

London Luton – 29%

London Luton was named ‘Britain’s Worst Airport’ out of 31 UK terminals surveyed, with passengers marking it down for queues, overcrowding and lack of seating.

Outside London, the top rated airport was Doncaster Sheffield.


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:

Nectar American Express

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 Platinum card Amex

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 card

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.)

Comments (81)

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

  • Alex H says:

    Avios voucher arrived yesterday for Irish Independent and points in Avios account this morning!!!

  • bsuije says:

    OT: Just seen some interesting tweets about BA airside car transfers if connecting from UK flight to Club / First (or for Silver / Gold Exec Club members) and at risk of missing connecting flight. Here’s the BA press release:
    http://mediacentre.britishairways.com/pressrelease/details/86/2017-228/8762

    • Alan says:

      Wow – potential to be a superb idea if properly implemented – I worry how well they’ll actually run it but the concept is excellent.

    • Colin JE says:

      Wonder what happens to your luggage? A good way of BA avoiding having to pay compensation and/or put you on the next flight if their inbound flight is delayed, but you might wind up waiting for your luggage to be sent on at your final destination!

  • Matt says:

    RIP Blackpool Airport… “free” parking at the terminal [all passengers paid a fixed fee regardless if they parked or not], short queues, tiny terminal, no faffing.

  • Alan says:

    Yep, that’s understandable and seems perfectly reasonable to make it a viable service.

  • Ferret says:

    Is there any downside to cancelling once the voucher arrives as opposed to waiting for the renewal date to arrive?

  • Nick M says:

    OT – Trailfinders Amex deal

    I’ve just had the email that was mentioned a few days ago re £100 off £1000 spend at Trailfinders – did people report back that this worked with giftcards?

    • Alan says:

      I’ve not had it this time but definitely worked fine on giftcard for me last time. No expiry on them either. Bought in person.

      • Rom says:

        Wasn’t the deal £200 off £1000 last time? This time only £100 off.
        Anyway, what are trailfinders good for? Any suggestions, Alan?

        • Alan says:

          They’re pretty decent at booking more complex flight itineraries, have certainly done ex-OSL to Oz for my folks before. I’m less convinced of them for hotels, better deals often available elsewhere as bookings through them don’t necessarily earn points. Their deals at more upmarket places also aren’t normally as good as FHR or Virtuoso. Some tours/train journeys aren’t bad – we’ve certainly used them for that before. Staff generally fairly knowledgeable.

          • dodge says:

            I had a brilliant RTW with them 1999/ 2000, nice & cheap, flexible dates/

      • Nick M says:

        Thanks Alan!

  • Greg says:

    Hi guys, I made my order on the 31st of August and received a confirmation email saying the offer was included in my order, but haven’t receiver any voucher code yet. Is anyone else still waiting?

    • Treefern says:

      Hello Greg

      I ordered mine on the 30 August and had the confirmation email – no voucher code yet but I guess they may have a back log. It did say it could take up to 30 days – I believe.

  • Richard G says:

    Just got my voucher code. Ordered on the 31st August. 18,000 points.

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