What you missed on Head for Points last week

Welcome to our weekly newsletter.

Whilst we encourage email readers to sign up to our daily emails so that you don’t miss out on any short-notice deals or offers, we offer this weekly summary as an alternative. It also runs on the website every Saturday.

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PARTIALLY ENDING TUESDAY: Which of the FIVE special credit card sign-up bonuses currently available should you get?

Time is running out on a number of aggressive American Express sign-up bonuses across airline and travel rewards cards right now, including:

• 30,000 Membership Rewards on the Amex Gold card (ends 9th November)
• 60,000 Membership Rewards on the Amex Platinum card (ends 2nd November)
• 10,000 Avios on the free British Airways Amex (ends 2nd November)
• 40,000 Avios on the British Airways Premium Plus Amex (ends 2nd November)
• 60,000 Avios on the BA Business Amex (ends 15th November)

This article compares all of the bonuses and will help you decide which card(s) to apply for.

The latest travel and aviation news:

Air Passenger Duty has been shaken up in the latest budget delivered by Rishi Sunak. The longest flights will get more expensive whilst the APD on domestic flights will be cut in half.

The US finally published its vaccinatiion and testing requirements for travel from the 8th November.

Marriott Bonvoy is following Hilton and IHG by introducing dynamic pricing and scrapping its awards chart. We will have to wait and see for the full impact of the changes from next year but it could mean massive price increases. The good news is that Marriott is extending Bonvoy status and vouchers for another year.

British Airways is out-growing Heathrow Terminal 5 and has announced which short haul routes will run from Terminal 3 from 9th November.

Credit card news:

A new £100 American Express cashback offer has landed for Amex Travel.

Plus, you have until Tuesday to get 10,000 Avios with the free British Airways American Express card.

British Airways news:

On the hunt for super cheap Avios redemptions? Finnair has just slashed taxes to £30 in business on many long haul routes, saving you hundreds of pounds.

Did you know about the secret walkway and BA’s Terminal 5? It can often be a faster (and far less crowded) way of moving between T5, T5B and T5C.

Still waiting for your BA Holidays double tier points? Don’t worry, they’re coming soon!

Hotel news:

Looking for some winter sun? We’ve just reviewed four Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Dubai, including:

• W Dubai – The Palm
• Sheraton Grand Dubai – one of the first to showcase the new Sheraton style
• Le Royal Meridien Dubai – Rhys’ personal highlight
• The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai – a great downtown option

Here’s a guide to the Marriott Bonvoy free breakfast benefit. With 30 brands, the rules are complex.

Radisson Rewards joins Marriott and Hilton in extending status another year. IHG Rewards is looking increasingly isolated in its choice not to – but a line on its website implies it is coming.

This guide to hotel mattress runs explains why you might want to do one and how you can maximise your status.

The InterContinental Barcelona, formerly a Crowne Plaza, has now opened following a comprehensive refurbishment.

Get 5,500 Avios or Virgin Points with your first Rocketmiles booking.

Other interesting bits:

United is planning to operate 22 flights to Heathrow next summer as it expands its operations.

We review the Plaza Premium lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5, which benefits from an abundance of natural light.

If you have a spare 20 minutes this YouTube video is an excellent film about frequent flyer miles and the community that collects them.

Offers you missed:

We covered the release of a chunk of business class Avios seats to the Maldives and Mauritius for October-January, including Christmas and New Year – readers snapped them up quickly.

Work in loyalty? We have away free tickets to join Rob at the Loyalty Summit on the 18th November, alongside many of Europe’s top travel loyalty practitioners. The free ticket offer is now over but you can still come for the bargain rate of $199.

You can see a list of other offers closing soon here.

See you next Saturday.