News: free £15 Uber vaccination ride, Malaysia increases LHR, BA’s French credit card closes

News in brief:

Get a free £15 Uber ride to a covid vaccination centre

Yesterday we covered a 25% discount code that Addison Lee is offering in London for rides to the main vaccination hubs.

Uber is running a similar deal. It is more generous – you get a flat £15 discount on your ride – and it is valid across the UK. The only downside is that the offer ends on 28th February.

Full details are on the Uber website here. Each part of the country is restricted to 4,000 free rides, so you may find that your area has run out even if others are still able to book.

Malaysia Airlines increases services to London Heathrow

Malaysia Airlines is planning to return to daily London Heathrow flights in July, according to plans released in recent weeks.

This will pick up the slack caused by the permanent withdrawal of British Airways from the Kuala Lumpur route.

As a member of the oneworld alliance, you can earn and spend Avios, and earn Executive Club tier points, on Malaysia Airlines flights. The only downside is that you cannot use a BA Amex 241 companion voucher.

There are also plans to increase its Australia service to daily from July, allowing an easy connection in Kuala Lumpur for anyone wanting to return to Australia from the UK. The medium term plan is to operate 39 weekly flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth by the end of 2021. There are no current plans to restart Brisbane.

British Airways closing its French credit card

For our French readers, British Airways and bank Sofinco have announced that their British Airways-branded Visa credit cards will close on 10th April.

It isn’t clear if the cards will be picked up by a new issuer. One option is American Express Gold or Platinum, converting Membership Rewards points to Avios, but those cards carry a far higher fee than the €24 charged by Sofinco on its basic card.

It is not clear if the Iberia credit card issued by Sofinco is also closing. If not, this would be an obvious alternative, using ‘Combine My Avios’ to move your points across. I don’t hold out much hope, however, given that their Vueling credit card is also being shuttered.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

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 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

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

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

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

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review