News you may have missed at Points Well Made - 18th June

Hello all,

Aer Lingus has announced its own Avios-only flight to New York, with every seat on the plane bookable in Avios alone. Economy starts at 23,400 Avios return and business at 90,000. That's two Avios-only transatlantic flights in two weeks, after BA and Amex did theirs last week.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has quietly made it nearly impossible to book Avios flights for friends and family (thank you to Marcus on Instagram for the tip), and we've published our review of the Yonder Full Credit Card. Helena has been using it for a few months and it has a unique approach to travel rewards. No overcomplicating things, no impossible-to-use benefits. It's worth a read.

Elsewhere, Finnair had a buy Avios sale running until Wednesday that was actually cheaper than last month's 50% bonus (a 40% discount beats a 50% bonus, and yes I've done the maths), Marriott Bonvoy has boosted its debit card welcome bonuses to the highest we've ever seen, and the Foreign Office has lifted Middle East travel warnings, which means your insurance is valid again and we can take a look at BA Avios availability to the region. Oh, and if you're holding the Amex Platinum, use your dining credit before 1 July or it's gone.

That's enough about what happened this week, but looking forward to next week...

I'm writing this from the Occidental Hotel in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where we will be enjoying a week touring around the country, starting in Ljubljana, before heading to Lake Bled, before finishing our holiday in Piran. And provided nothing truly monumental happens in our little niche (I'm looking at you BA and Amex, behave!), then we will not be actively posting to the website.

If you follow us on socials, or are subscribed to our daily emails, then we will be re-running some of our favourite past posts we have written, from guides, to airline reviews, and Helena's famous rants. Next Sunday we will post the usual compilation email featuring all of next week's "posts".

We will continue to post to our Instagram over the next week, so if there are any deals, offers, breaking news etc, that is where we will likely be posting to.

I do hope you don't melt in the ensuing heatwave. We'll be thinking of you with an Aperol Spritz in hand.

Sam

Marriott Bonvoy debit card welcome bonuses are boosted again, up to 40,000 points!

Marriott Bonvoy has boosted the welcome bonuses on both of its Currensea debit cards to the strongest levels we've ever seen. The Premium card now earns 40,000 points, the base card 15,000, and you've got until 15 September 2026 to apply.

We covered the cards in full at launch: how they work, how they link to your bank, how they compare to the Hilton Honors debit cards, and how to turn the points into Avios or Virgin Points. If any of that is new to you, start there and come back.

And if the whole concept of points debit cards is alien to you, then this post could help you understand their current popularity.

For all the details, you can read more here.

Finnair is giving you up to 40% off when you buy Avios, making it cheaper than last month's 50% bonus

Finnair has launched another buy Avios sale, with discounts of up to 40%, running from 15 to 18 June 2026. Last month they ran a sale which reached 50%, so at first glance this one looks worse.

It isn't. Last month was a bonus, where you pay full price and get extra Avios on top. This one is a discount, where you just pay less for the same Avios. And a 40% discount beats a 50% bonus. Sounds like a terrible game of rock, paper, scissors.

All the details can be found here.

Aer Lingus announce their own Avios Only flight to New York - ON SALE NOW

New York is the Avios destination of the moment. Last week it was British Airways and Amex announcing their cash-free Avios-only flight from Heathrow. Now Aer Lingus has answered with its own first ever Avios-only flight across the Atlantic, Dublin to New York, every seat on the plane payable in Avios alone.

This is a 10 year celebration of the Aer Lingus AerClub, and these flights have been discounted 10% from the usual amount, meaning that economy starts at 23,400 Avios return, and business is 90,000 Avios.

All you need to know about this one can be found here.

Qatar Airways quietly locks most people out of booking Avios flights for friends and family

After rightly updating their policies to crack down on fraud within Avios, Qatar Airways have snuck in a new change that could render Avios flights on Qatar virtually unobtainable if you want to book for friends and family.

Thank you Marcus (@m.aspell) for tipping us off to this one on Instagram.

See what they've been up-to here.

The Yonder Full Credit Card: Travel rewards without the faff

You will be forgiven if you haven't heard of Yonder. So, allow me to introduce them.

Yonder launched in 2022 as a debit and credit card provider, and has since quietly built a following of travellers drawn to real-world rewards, a well-designed product and a more flexible approach to earning points. They're rated Excellent on Trustpilot, and took Best Newcomer at the British Bank Awards in 2023.

I think we can all agree that the travel rewards industry has a habit of overcomplicating things. And if it isn't overcomplicating them, then it's just makes it impossible to actually utilise the benefits which they offer.

Yonder is very much trying to fix that. There are four products in the range: the Free Debit, the Full Debit, the Free Credit and the Full Credit, so there is an entry point for most people. This article focuses on the Full Credit Card, the flagship paid tier at £15 a month, which is what I've been putting through its paces for the last few months, and I am pleasantly surprised.

This one's worth a read.

UK lifts Middle East travel warnings: what it means for your insurance and flights

Yesterday, the Foreign Office decided to lift their travel warnings for much of the Middle East with the agreement of a memorandum of understanding towards lasting peace between the US and Iran.

This effectively reopens travel to, or via, the region for many of you who heed the Foreign Office warnings for "all but essential travel". This change in advice also re-validates your travel insurance policy, as a standard restriction within a travel insurance policy is that if the Foreign Office says do not go, we ain't covering you.

For all you need to know, and a run through of BA Avios availability, click here to read more.

Remember to use your Amex Platinum dining credit before 1 July, or you lose it

Quick one if you're holding the Amex Platinum.

Have you used your dining credit this half of the year?

If you have, lovely, carry on.

If it's slipped your mind, consider this your nudge, because on 1 July it resets.

Every six months the Amex Platinum gives you £200 in dining credit to spend at participating restaurants. You get £100 to spend in the UK and £100 abroad, so £400 across the year.

We used ours last year at The Ivy in Guildford as we may have left it a bit late to use it properly...

The current half runs until 30 June, and nothing carries over into the next one, so it's use it or lose it, basically.

For how to register, the restaurants you can use it in the UK, and the full list of other Amex Platinum perks, can be found here.

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.