News you might have missed at Points Well Made - 15th November
If you blinked this week, you may have missed half the news in the points world. Here’s what’s been going on.
First up, and it’s a time-sensitive one: Virgin Atlantic is running another status match, but only until Monday 16 November. British Airways Club Silver members can match straight to Flying Club Gold, which is the same prize as February’s brilliant offer, just with a much narrower way in. If you’re a Silver member, it’s worth a look before it closes.
We also have an exclusive first look at the next big upgrade to Avios’ Reward Flight search, which now shows connecting flights, along with an updated app. If you live outside London, in Scotland or the north of England for example, this is a big deal, as you no longer need to piece together availability leg by leg.
On the shopping front, Avios Black Friday 2026 is here, with up to 3x Avios on selected retailers through the Avios eStore until 21 December. Black Friday itself is 27 November, but the offers run well beyond it, so there’s no need to panic buy. There’s also a 1,000,000 Avios prize on offer, and we’ve got the details on that too.
Planning ahead for next year? We’ve put together British Airways’ Avios peak and off-peak dates for 2027, so you can see exactly when flights will cost fewer points. And speaking of making flying easier, easyJet is finally adding Wi-Fi to its aircraft and will cover the cost of a newborn’s first passport for families booking a holiday with them.
Last but not least, we have a guest post from Mairi (you may know her as @moneywithmaz) on how she and her partner afford big trips, from Boston to the Bahamas, without giving up their other savings goals. Avios play a big part, alongside one wonderfully simple budgeting method.
Helena
Today's post has been kindly written by Mairi, or you may know her from Instagram as @moneywithmaz. Mairi's goal is to help you save smarter, not harder, and Avios form a big part of her travel strategy, along with another gloriously simple method of saving.
I have two passions in life - travel and money. I love planning our next adventure as much as I love seeing our savings grow. Unfortunately, making room for both isn’t always easy. But it is doable.
We’re a couple with full-time jobs, a mortgage and all the usual bills to pay. But in the past two years we’ve been from Boston and Maine to the Bahamas, San Diego and Las Vegas. We also got married and bought and fully renovated our forever home.
We’re already planning our next big trip to the Canadian Rockies, and in the meantime, we’re saving for an extension, which is another huge (and scary!) financial goal. So where’s our secret pot of money, you may ask?! Well, there isn’t one. This is all down to a simple budget, with the help of some Avios points! You can read through Mairi's brilliant strategies here.
Back in February, Virgin Atlantic ran what we called the best airline status match you'll see. BA Silver members walked away with Flying Club Gold, Bronze members got Silver, and Virgin even waived the rule that normally stops you matching more than once every five years. All because BA made huge changes switching from the Executive Club to the Club, and Virgin fancied being a bit cheeky and tried to poach a few of you.
Nine months on, they're doing it again. Sort of.
Until tomorrow, Monday 16 November, British Airways Club Silver members can match straight to Flying Club Gold. The prize is the same, it's just that the way in is a lot narrower this time. Here are all the details you need to know.
A few months ago, we brought you the news that Avios had significantly upgraded its Reward Flight search tool. The headline feature was that you could search using a Companion Voucher, even if you didn’t have one yet. That meant you could finally see the extra availability released for British Airways Premium Plus American Express voucher holders, without trawling the BA website day by day hoping to stumble across it.
Now Avios has given us an exclusive first look at the next upgrade: you can search for connecting flights.
If you live outside London, in Scotland or the north of England for example, this is a big deal. You no longer need to find availability on each leg separately and piece it together yourself. Just enter where you’re starting and where you want to end up.
There's a few other updates as well, so allow us to show you what’s new, and how it all works.
If you are already planning some Christmas shopping, or have a few things on your wish list regardless, Black Friday is often a great time to make your money work a little harder for you.
Until 21 December, you can collect up to three times the usual Avios with selected retailers through the Avios eStore, so all your Christmas shopping can help you rake in those Avios.
Black Friday itself lands on 27 November this year, but the offers run well beyond it, so you can take your time. Gifts, winter wardrobe updates and the odd treat for yourself can all earn some Avios on the way.
Want to know more about the 1,000,000 Avios prize that is also going on? Simply click here.
If you use your Avios on British Airways, understanding peak and off-peak dates is one of the simplest ways to stretch your points further. British Airways publishes its Avios pricing calendar well in advance, so you know exactly when flights will cost fewer points.
Today we’ll guide you through the British Airways peak and off-peak dates for 2027, explain what they mean for your redemptions, and show you how much Avios you can realistically save by planning around them.
So regardless of whether you’re booking a short-haul European hop or a long-haul business class flight, you can check out those dates right here, and what they mean for your travels.
easyJet has had a busy couple of weeks.
On 22 October it announced it will cover the cost of a newborn’s first passport for families booking an easyJet holiday. Four days later, it confirmed that Wi-Fi is finally coming to its aircraft. The two stories are unrelated, but both are about making flying easier, and both affect everyday travellers.
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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