We're bringing you three small stories today. First, Avios have launched two promotions for February, offering a bonus of 50% more Avios on hotel stays and double Avios on car hire booked through the Avios portal, and curiously they've added boosting at the cheapest rate you're likely ever going to see! We've covered booking hotels through Avios Hotels, and booking car hire through the Avios portal in the past, because it's such an easy way to get Avios for something that you were likely already booking anyway.

Avios Hotels: 15 Avios per £1

From 6 February to 27 February 2026, you'll earn 15 Avios per £1 spent on hotel bookings made through Avios Hotels. That's a 50% bonus on the standard 10 Avios per £1 earn rate.

Key details:

• Bookings must be made between by 27 February 2026

• Stays can be completed by 31 August 2026

• Must pay entirely in cash (no Avios payment or part-payment)

• Avios credited within 31 days of checkout

• Earn Avios on the total booking price including taxes and fees

• Additional costs paid at the property (if you raid the minibar for instance) don't earn Avios

A £300 hotel stay would earn you 4,500 Avios. Combined with your credit card earning (say, 1.5 Avios per £1 with a Barclaycard Avios Plus), that's potentially 4,950 Avios total. To put that into perspective, that's enough for a one-way economy reward flight within Europe.

Car hire: Double Avios with Avis and Budget

The same booking window applies for car hire, with doubled earn rates across both major partners:

• Avis: 10 Avios per £1 (normally 5 per £1)

• Budget: 4 Avios per £1 (normally 2 per £1)

The same conditions apply: book by 27 February, rentals completed by 31 August, and cash payment only.

Again, a £250 week-long Avis rental would earn 2,500 Avios through the portal, plus your credit card earning on top.

Is the Avios portal actually competitive?

This is the crucial question. The truth is that the Avios portal doesn't always offer the best base rates.

Are you following us social media? If not, why not! Go drop us a follow on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok so that you never miss any of your favourite content! I'll show you an example. Here is a search for the Radisson Heathrow on Avios Hotels, with the cost of a "Standard Room (Airport View)" coming in at £115.90.

Compare that to booking direct, and for the same room the cost is £104, a saving of £11.

Now, given that you should value 1 Avios = 1p, the 1,750 Avios from booking via Avios Hotels could be deemed a good deal. But you shouldn't just assume that the price you're being offered on Avios Hotels is necessarily the best deal.

It isn't always a bad deal though. Here's another example when you search on Avios Hotels looking at the Hyatt Place Heathrow, with a "King Room" costing £83.21.

When you go direct to the Hyatt website, and search for the same room, the cost is £87.

So for the cheaper rate via Avios Hotels, you're also getting 1,250 Avios, making this an incredible deal!

I'm sorry I don't have a simple "always do this" answer, but always compare prices to make sure you're getting the best deal possible. The same sentiment also applies when looking at car hire.

You can now "boost" your Avios Hotels earnings

If the above wasn't enough, you can now boost your Avios earned on hotel bookings up to 300%, at a value of 0.616p per Avios. This is exceptional value and will most likely be the cheapest you ever boost/purchase. You'll usually only get a maximum value of 0.92p per Avios when boosting via the conventional method (click here).

These are not Avios you'll be using in a hurry. They will be credited within 31 days after checking out. If you cancel your hotel booking, your boost will also be cancelled.

AirAsia X returns to the UK with new Gatwick route

AirAsia X is making a comeback to the UK market with a new route from Kuala Lumpur to London Gatwick, launching 26 June 2026.

Who are AirAsia X?

AirAsia X is the long-haul, low-cost arm of AirAsia, Southeast Asia's largest budget airline. They operate Airbus A330s, offering no-frills fares with everything from baggage to meals sold separately. Although they do operate a business class cabin (they call it "Premium Flatbed"), which should make this journey more comfortable for you.

AirAsia X will operate daily flights via Bahrain:

• Outbound:  Depart Gatwick 10:25am, arrive Kuala Lumpur 9:55am the next day (via Bahrain)

• Return: Depart Kuala Lumpur 10pm, arrive Gatwick 7:25am the next day (via Bahrain)

Flights go on sale 12 February. The total journey time is around 15 hours including the Bahrain stop. Timings may vary slightly on a daily basis.

This marks AirAsia X's return to London after previously serving Stansted before the pandemic. The switch to Gatwick gives them better connectivity and a larger catchment area.

More competition on between the UK and Malaysia should mean lower fares. AirAsia X typically undercuts full-service carriers like Malaysia Airlines significantly, making this useful for price-sensitive travellers and those connecting onwards on AirAsia to Southeast Asia, or Australia on a budget.

Thanks you to @SeanM1997 for this.

Sam

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