Bits: Club Eurostar competition winner, free Wilbur & Orville from Virgin, 30% ‘buy Avios’ bonus

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News in brief:

Are you our Club Eurostar competition winner?

Last week we ran a competition in association with Club Eurostar to celebrate the launch of their new loyalty program.

One lucky reader got to win 5,000 Club Eurostar points – enough for two Standard Premier tickets to any destination, with GUARANTEED availability via the new ‘Anytime’ reward – plus top tier Carte Blanche status for one year.

We can now announce that this lucky person is:

Gokyar B.

Congratulations! Club Eurostar will be in touch to sort out your points and status upgrade.

Free Wilbur and Orville from Virgin Atlantic this Christmas

Somewhere in our kitchen is a Virgin Atlantic ‘Wilbur and Orville’ salt and pepper set.

I stole this from a Virgin Atlantic flight in, I guess, 1997 when I was doing some banking work in Johannesburg. The fact that we still have it, and that after 20 years I still think of Virgin Atlantic whenever I see it, shows the value of smart marketing.

Anyone flying Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic between 21st and 26th December will get their own ‘Wilbur and Orville’ salt and pepper set to take home. These come in ‘festive red’ which may or may not be an improvement on the usual silver and black.

30% ‘buy Avios’ bonus

If you are in need of a final Avios top-up before the end of the year, Iberia Plus has launched another bonus.

This is not hugely generous so don’t jump in unless you intend to spend them immediately. Until 31st December:

Buy between 2,000 and 15,000 Avios, get a bonus of 10%
Buy between 20,000 and 45,000 Avios, get a bonus of 20%
Buy between 50,000 and 100,000 Avios, get a bonus of 30%

Remember that your Iberia Plus account needs to be 90 days old before you will be allowed to transfer Avios out of it and into British Airways Executive Club or avios.com.

The Iberia ‘buy Avios’ page is here. You may need to log in to see the bonus.

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: