News you may have missed at Points Well Made - 13th September
Hello, hello, hello. And welcome back to another "News you may have missed."
It's been a big one for launches this week, so buckle in. First up, Currensea and the Lufthansa Group have finally pulled the curtain back on their new Miles & More debit card, the fourth co-brand in that stable after Hilton, Marriott and United.
Qatar Airways are back with round two of their monthly Avios sale, 25% off across 21 destinations, Avios Balance Boost has also made a reappearance, 400% and 500% options live now until Wednesday, though the rules have quietly changed since it last ran in January, so don't assume it works the way you remember.
TUI's Smiles Rewards Club had gone live on the UK site, and then we didn't want easyJet holidays to miss out on some love, so we've written up a great way of turning Tesco Clubcard points into an easyJet holiday at double their normal value. Sam has also written an interesting piece on loyalty, in the face of the Currensea x Lufthansa card.
Lots to get through, so let's get into it.
Helena
Currensea and the Lufthansa Group have launched the Miles & More debit card for UK travellers today. This is the fourth co-branded card from Currensea after Hilton, Marriott and United.
We've had an early look ahead of launch, and here's everything the Lufthansa Group Miles & More debit card (catchy name) includes.
You can read our full breakdown of this new card right here.
Round two of Qatar Airways' monthly Avios sale has kicked off, and if you're not sure what I'm talking about, here is Helena's take on round one last month.
The short-ish version is that each month Qatar Airways knocks 25% off the Avios price for certain airports, and you get ten days to book. Because Avios move freely between British Airways Club and Privilege Club, this is relevant even if you've never been on a Qatar plane (it is nice, would recommend).
The important bit, and this is the reason to keep reading even if none of the cities below are where you want to go: the discount applies to your whole journey as long as it starts or ends in one of the listed cities. Start you trip in Bucharest, finish in Sydney, and the entire trip is 25% off, even though Sydney isn't on the list.
The 400% and 500% Balance Boost options are back on avios.com from today until 23:59 on Wednesday 16 September.
If you read our piece in January when a version of this offer last ran, you'll remember the big draw was being able to go back and boost anything you'd earned in the last year. This time it's the bog standard window of only Avios credited to your British Airways Club account in the 30 days that can be boosted.
Funnily enough, we had a question in our last Instagram Q&A asking if this offer would come back!
Back in May TUI announced something exciting. They were launching a rewards club and later in 2026 it would be coming to the UK.
Well, hold on to your hats. Fast forward to last night: Sam and I are sitting on the sofa when we discover it's now live on the UK website. When we went live on Thursday there had been no press release, or news coverage, no fanfare that we can find.
We would say it's a pretty big moment for TUI, so we were surprised they weren't shouting about it more! So. Dear readers. Allow us to be the first to tell you all about TUI Smiles Rewards Club, simply click here.
Don't forget, exclusively for Points Well Made readers, sign up and become a paid Travel Smarter subscriber in September and get 30% off the Premium subscription, helping you reach frequent flyer status faster, earn more points towards free flights, and, from early September, get hotel commission back when you book hotels through Travel Smarter (applies to bookings made in 2026 but can be for 2027 travel). Simply use this link, and enter promo code "POINTS30"
You'd be forgiven if you didn't know Tesco Clubcard points could pay for your easyJet holiday.
Most people treat Clubcard vouchers as a way to knock a few quid off the weekly shop, or maybe stretch to a Pizza Express meal if they've been saving hard. Completely fair, I'm never going to judge anyone on food.
But the fact is that those same points can be turned into a decent dent in the cost of a package holiday, at double the value, through their partnership with easyJet holidays.
The new Lufthansa Group Miles & More debit card is challenging the status quo, and that's fine by me
This article has been sponsored by Currensea. All words and opinions remain my own, and Currensea have not had advanced copy.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that the card game was shifting from purely points to include some element of status. This was in the wake of Amex lowering the Avios earning potential, but quietly swapping in an ever so slightly better way to earn tier points on the BA Premium Plus.
Points Well Made is a passion project from Sam and Helena. If you've enjoyed this and want to help us keep the lights on, please consider buying us a Ko-fi or subscribing monthly. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for more of the same. Thanks for reading.
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