All Posts

If you hold an American Express card and you’re working towards your sign-up bonus, refunds are one of those sneaky things that can trip you up. Whether you’re eyeing up a juicy sign-up bonus, pushing towards a British Airways Companion Voucher, or chasing an annual spend perk, it’s well worth understanding how American Express treats refunds behind the scenes. Because alas, when it comes to rewards credit cards, refunds are never just “nice to have your money back”. Net spen

If you have a trip that has been, or will soon be cancelled thanks to the conflict in the middle east, you might be thinking your luck is running out. People plan their holidays up to a year in advance, and with no sign of this conflict dissipating, that trip you booked a year ago might now be in the crosshairs. But what if you booked your British Airways flight using Avios and a Companion Voucher, what happens to the Companion Voucher? What is a Companion Voucher? The Ameri

If you've signed up for an American Express card where you're eligible for a welcome bonus, you'll have a minimum spend requirement. For the Amex Gold, it's typically £3,000 in three months to get the welcome bonus. For the Platinum welcome bonus, it's £6,000. That's a fair amount to put through a card, especially if Amex isn't widely accepted where you normally shop. But lets say you're just short of hitting the amount, how about buying a gift card? This strategy works for a

United Airlines and IHG (the hotel group behind Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, and Six Senses) are both launching new cards in the UK, exciting! Full details on earning rates and annual fees are still to come, so once we hear about the actual important details, we of course will give you the full write-up. But one thing is clear about these cards, they're both debit cards. That might sound like a footnote. But I don't think it is. United and IHG are joining Hilton, and Marrio

On the morning of Saturday 28th, the United States and Israel launched air strikes targeting Iran. This is occurred whilst I was sitting at Heathrow waiting for my flight to Helsinki, before connecting onto Doha, Qatar, and then onwards to Clark, Philippines. Yes, my route was convoluted ( here is my detailed post very excitedly explaining it ), but to many of you I am "the Avios man", and I planned my route to show you how you too can use your Avios on a variety of airlines

Hello, I hope you've all had a good week! I write this from a hotel room in Helsinki, somewhere I wasn't expecting to be staying at the start of this week. Certain world events have paused my trip to the Philippines... I think I know where I'd rather be. You can read all about my planned trip at the end. In other news on Points Well Made, we've got some information on Amex only Wimbledon tickets, a free status match to Club Avolta for literally any elite status that you may h

If you're reading as soon as this is published, around 8am Saturday 28th February, I will have (hopefully) just taken off from Heathrow (AY1340, track me on Flightradar!) on a bit of a mammoth adventure. Let me explain what I am doing over the next couple of weeks, the flights I'm taking, the cabins I'll be travelling in, how many Avios I've used, and some tips along the way to help you travel in a similar fashion. Why just me, and not Helena as well? She was given the offer

Buying Avios is one of the easiest ways to increase your balance, and, in most cases, one of the worst ways to do it. That may sound blunt, and I apologise for that, but it reflects the reality of how Avios pricing works. When you buy points outright, you are almost always paying more per Avios than you would through nearly any other method of earning them. Both subscriptions, and even boosting transactions almost always deliver better value. Buying Avios isn’t useless. There

American Express has unveiled two huge sign-up offers for business owners, of 60,000 Membership Rewards points for the Business Gold, or a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points for the Business Platinum. However, in January American Express announced a series of significant changes to both cards. The welcome bonuses aren't affected but plenty else is. We'll walk you through everything. Just a quick heads-up:  Points Well Made is here to dish out the juicy details on miles an

Sponsored by Status Match If you hold status with almost ANY airline, or hotel chain - and we mean almost any - here's an easy win for you. Club Avolta, the loyalty programme behind the World Duty Free shops and Hudson News in the US and Canada, is running a status match that hands you 12 months of free Platinum membership. The headline draw 10% off in participating stores, which for anyone passing through a UK airport is worth five minutes of your time to apply. But it also

Thinking about your next trip? If you need a little top up on the points you need then Virgin Atlantic, via Virgin Red, are offering up to 70% bonus points when you buy or gift Virgin Points. This offer runs from 25th February to 31st March 2026, so you've got a decent window to decide if it's right for you. Here's what you need to know. So, what's the deal — how many bonus Virgin Points will I get? Between 25th February and 31st March 2026, here's what you'll get: Buy fewer

Twenty-five years ago, American Express and British Airways launched what would become one of the most popular credit card partnerships in the UK. A quarter of a century later, the two are marking the occasion with a year of promises: bonus Avios, exclusive prizes, experiences, and more surprises still to be revealed. But today, they've announced 25% more Avios for holders of both the free British Airways American Express and the Premium Plus cards, and teased that tier point

A reader recently asked us about booking a special trip to Mauritius for his fiancée's 41st birthday - with twin one-year-olds in tow, talk about a challenge! Mauritius was our first "big" holiday coming out of covid, and it's somewhere we'd like to go back to. This conversation had so many good little nuggets of information that I felt I had to bring it to you. You may know some of this, you may not. Hopefully you'll gain an insight into how I think when I'm trying to book a

Eurotunnel double Avios - book by 8th March Eurotunnel are running a double Avios promotion. You must book by 8th March, but you can travel any time up to 28th February 2027. So even if you're not heading to the continent immediately, it's worth booking now to lock in the double Avios rate. Use the code " 26X2AVIOS " when booking and you'll earn 6 Avios per £1 (up from the standard 3 Avios per £1) on most fare types, or 12 Avios per £1 on Flexiplus and Short Stay Flexiplus ti

Hello all, hope you're well. This has been a light news week. No bad thing, it means we've been able to put out some helpful guides for you all. You'll find time sensitive offers on the two British Airways American Express cards, and a little guide about saving your some money once you've earned your companion voucher. Even if it doesn't effect you directly, we've written a really handy post for all the upcoming changes that British dual citizens can expect to encounter when

Story-time! A couple of weeks ago, we published a guide explaining what airline status actually is , because despite how often people talk about Bronze, Silver and Gold, it’s all surprisingly fuzzy around the edges. While writing it, I was reminded of one of my favourite moments from our points journey. A genuine accident and a total fluke. The best part? It was an error that resulted in three years of high-level airline status with both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, d

Airports have become increasingly stressful places to spend time. Whether it's hunting for somewhere to sit, paying £6 for a coffee, or navigating a departure hall so crowded it tips into full sensory overload. Waiting for a flight is not as simple as it should be. These are exactly the problems Priority Pass was designed to solve. Instead of waiting in the terminal surrounded by noise, chaos and drama, members can access airport lounges around the world, offering a welcome r

Avios subscriptions are one of the quieter corners of the Avios ecosystem. Launched in 2022, they sit on the Avios website alongside buying and boosting points, but they rarely get the same attention. That’s partly because they’re slower, partly because they require steady financial commitment, and partly because for many people there’s simply a better alternative. That doesn’t mean Avios subscriptions are pointless, there is a time and a place. Here’s what an Avios subscript

If you've been sitting on the fence about applying for a British Airways American Express card, you've got just days left to grab some boosted welcome bonuses, with both the free card and the Premium Plus card currently offering enhanced sign-up offers, but only until 24 February 2026. Here's what you need to know before these offers disappear. Just a quick heads-up:  Points Well Made is here to dish out the juicy details on miles and points, but we're not your financial advi

This one may not affect you directly, but you may know someone who needs to know this! If you hold British dual citizenship, travelling to the UK is about to become a little less flexible, and potentially a lot more expensive. For years, many dual citizens were able to enter the UK using whichever passport was most convenient. Those living abroad with British citizenship often travelled on their non-British passport without issue. That informal flexibility is now coming to an