News You May Have Missed at Points Well Made - 15th Feb
- Helena
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
It's time for your weekly Points Well Made round up! Welcome welcome welcome!
And what a week of news it has been! Seriously, it has been a full time job just keeping up with it all!
We've seen AirAsia announce they're return to London Gatwick, a gorgeous 50% bonus on Avios hotel stays, two new Avios-Only flights from BA, plus the most insane Status Match from Virgin Atlantic which we haven't seen since 2024!
We also produced an in-depth guide to boosting your Avios, and also a deep dive into the American Express Gold Card.
As always, if you want to get in touch to change your subscription to a weekly only email, or from weekly to daily, then please do email sam@pointswellmade.co.uk. Or if you have anything else you want to ask us, tell us or request for us to cover, we love to hear from you so feel free to email helena@pointswellmade.co.uk.
Helena
We rolled two pieces of news into article on Monday. First, Avios 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.
Secondly, AirAsia X is making a comeback to the UK market with a new route from Kuala Lumpur to London Gatwick, launching 26 June 2026. We were especially excited to see this as we love Kuala Lumpur, and it's the perfect city to transit through if you are hoping to visit Borneo, which is where we went on our honeymoon!
Virgin Atlantic are up to their shenanigans again, gesticulating at you more aggressively than an Uncle Sam poster looking for soldiers during wartime.
If you hold Bronze or Silver status with the British Airways Club, Virgin Atlantic will not only match your status, they're going to upgrade it, for free. Yes, you heard me.
BA Silver gets you Flying Club Gold, and BA Bronze gets you Flying Club Silver. Normally, they'll only match like-for-like, but this goes one better than that, and it's only available until 23rd February 2026. We actually benefitted from this exact offer when it last ran in 2024, more on that in the coming weeks.
Do not sleep on this offer if you hold status with BA, head on over here to read all about it.
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British Airways has revealed its 50th and 51st Avios-Only flights, with new services departing from London City Airport to Madrid and Toulon Saint-Tropez this summer. For those unfamiliar, British Airways runs a number of Avios-Only flights a year where 100% of the seats onboard these flights are exclusively available to book as Reward Seats using Avios.
The flights went on sale 12 February, exclusively to British Airways Club members, with seats starting at just £2 plus 21,500 Avios return to Toulon, or £2 plus 28,000 Avios return to Madrid. This pricing is the Reward Flight Saver option which means more Avios, less cash.
Off the back of the 500% Avios Boost offer which appeared recently, we decided to create a full on guide to boosting your Avios.
Balance Boost lets you multiply recently earned Avios from your British Airways Club account for as little as 0.92p per point, up to 62% cheaper than buying Avios outright.
If you're short on Avios for a redemption, need points quickly, or can't earn enough through flying and credit card spend alone, boosting Avios can bridge the gap faster and cheaper than most alternatives.
But Balance Boost isn't right for everyone. Used strategically, it's one of the best ways to top up your account. Used carelessly, you're just converting cash into points you might not actually need.
This is such a great tool to know about and to have in your kit, so please do go and give this a read.
Well, this isn’t good.
American Express has announced a series of changes to its Business Platinum and Business Gold cards coming April 2026.
From April 2026, Membership Rewards spend bonuses will disappear, sole traders will no longer be able to apply, and a new Flexible Payment Option will allow balances to be carried with interest. Business Platinum holders will see some small benefits added to their cards, but these are not enough in our opinion.
We’ll admit, as Points Well Made is growing, we have started to investigate business cards for our own needs, and American Express’ cards are an obvious landing pad for us. But when we add up all these changes together, this represents a clear shift, and not one that obviously improves value for most users.
This one proves to be a very interested read, which you can find here.
If you're new to the world of points collecting and wondering where to start when it comes to a credit card, there's one card that stands head and shoulders above the rest: the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card.
This is not to say there is a wrong-way. Hell, I started with the free British Airways American Express!
But this is the card that strikes the perfect balance between accessible entry requirements, value, and flexibility that makes it ideal for beginners. Whether you're looking to fly to New York in Club World or fancy a weekend break in Europe, the Gold Card gives you the chance to make it happen without overwhelming you with complexity.
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 advisers. Any decisions you make regarding products featured on this site are your own responsibility, and you should always consider whether a product suits your personal circumstances. While we chat about all manner of lender goodies, we’re not a lender ourselves. Remember, you know you best.
That's all folks!
Helena
Points Well Made is a passion project of Sam and Helena with a loyal following. If you like what we do, and wish to help us continue to create the content you love, please consider buying us a Kofi, or subscribing monthly. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
