News you might have missed at Points Well Made - 25th October
It's been an interesting week for news. We've had some nice news from BA, annddd some less good news, as you will see below.
American Express have added three new benefits to the Platinum Card, some of which you could describe more as just a discount rather than a true benefit or credit.
Sam has written an interesting piece on the Barclays Avios Rewards card and a new offer for switching to them, thoroughly recommend giving that a read. And I have written a guide to all the best things to do in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Once again, I want to say a quick thank you to you, our readers. On Tuesday we were invited by Avios and British Airways Holidays to an event in London where we heard about some exciting news, two pieces of which we put out on Wednesday. We had a chance to speak to the leadership team as well, and again they were interested to hear your thoughts and issues which you are so great at telling us about. We wouldn't be invited to these things if you all weren't so engaged and so great at giving us feedback. So thank you, for your continued support of us. We appreciate it, and we will keep putting your needs and thoughts in front of the airlines where we can.
Helena
Qatar Airways is running a buy Avios sale with a bonus of up to 60%, and today is the last day. The offer closed on Monday 19th October.
If you hold an American Express Platinum Card, there are three new benefits that have been added to your card today.
lululemon: £75 back, twice a year, when you spend £150 or more
Oura: £150 back, once a year, when you spend £300 or more on an Oura Ring
Calm: a free Calm Premium subscription, normally £49.99 a year
All three of these new benefits run until 19 October 2029, so they'll at least be with us for three years.
This brings the UK version of the Platinum card into closer alignment with the US version, which gained lululemon and Oura credits last year.
If you want all of the details on these benefits, you can find that here.
British Airways adds new Avios-Only flights to Majorca and Crete for summer 2027, from £5 plus Avios
British Airways has announced its newest Avios-Only flights, and this time they’re for next summer. You can fly Heathrow to Palma, Majorca, or Heathrow to Heraklion, Crete, in August 2027, right in the middle of the school holidays.
If you haven’t come across these before, Avios-Only flights are dedicated BA services where every seat, in every cabin, can only be booked as a Reward Seat using Avios. They’re open to members of The British Airways Club.
The most important thing to note is that seats went on sale tomorrow mid morning UK time, 22 October.
Let’s face it. One of the best perks on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card was the 3 Avios per £1 rate for spend with British Airways. This was annoyingly scrapped earlier this month for a 1.25 Avios earn rate. We know how many of you were disappointed by this.
But, in exciting news, and straight from BA Holidays themselves, we can tell you that from 24 November, members of the BA Club will be able to collect 6 Avios for every £1 spent on BA Holidays packages. This is a huge upgrade from the current 1 Avios per £1 rate on a British Airways Holidays booking.
For all of the details on these changes, head over here where I explain it all.
When British Airways changed how you earned tier points last year, it went from a per-flight basis, to an amount based on how much you spent, promising that the new way would be "simplifying the way we reward your loyalty."
Well, they've gone and muddied the waters again. Only a day after some good news, BA has updated its tier point requirements and bonuses for 2027/28.
We've detailed everything you need to know on this right here.
A reader got in touch with us after our Barclays Avios Rewards piece with a simple question.
(If you missed it, here’s the quick version. Barclays Premier is Barclays' premium current account for higher earners. New customers who switch can get up to £600: £450 up front, then up to five payments of £30. Once you’re in, you can add Barclays Avios Rewards for £12 a month. That gets you 1,500 Avios every month, a 25,000 Avios joining bonus, and an anniversary reward each year of 7,000 Avios or a cabin upgrade voucher.)
He earns right around £75,000 before deductions, which is the minimum for Barclays Premier. To get the £600 switch offer, when they say you need to pay in £5,000 of salary, does that mean before deductions, like the Premier requirement, or is that post-deductions, aka the amount that you receive in your account?
He rang Barclays, and then just to double check, he went into a branch (I'm shocked one existed near him). He was told the same both times, that it’s £5,000 paid into the account. Barclays has since confirmed this to us too.
If you want to read about the disparity between the messaging, click here for Sam's commentary on this.
Anyone who knows us is well aware that our three week New Zealand adventure last year was quite possibly out best holiday ever. We absolutely loved it – and Queenstown quickly became one of our favourite places in the country, if not the world.
This lakeside gem, tucked among dramatic alpine peaks, is equal parts adrenaline, beauty, and brilliant food. Whether you're here for the thrills, the eats, or just the views, Queenstown delivers in every possible way.
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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