British Airways Offer Free Flights at London Victoria

“British Airways is challenging commuters to win plane tickets every 15 minutes on a flying simulator at London’s Victoria station this week.”

From Event Magazine, “the airline commissioned advertising agency BBH to set up an arcade-style flying game on the station’s main concourse.

Consumers can ‘check in’ at an airport desk and control a virtual BA Boeing 777 aircraft to win flights to destinations such as the Caribbean, North Africa, North America and the Indian Ocean.

Players must use the controls to fly to a different destination every day. The most accurate pilot every 15 minutes wins a pair of tickets to the featured destination.”

According to Flyertalk, you need a score above 50% to stand a chance of winning.

Check the British Airways twitter feed or Facebook page to see what destination you can win on each day.

British Airways Offer Free Flights at London Victoria

Radisson Blu Champs Elysées Review

This is a review of the Radisson Blu Champs Elysées in Paris, France. I booked this through Club Carlson Gold Points that I earned through a transfer from American Express Membership Reward points. I recieved a complimentary room upgrade thanks to my Club Carlson Gold elite status. I traveled from London to Paris on Eurostar. I stayed one night and the whole cost from transport, room at the Business room at the Radisson Blu Champs Elysées cost a grand total of £60! How did I do it? I will explain…

Step One – Book Eurostar

I took advantage of the Eurostar sale to book a return trip (outbound Saturday morning, inbound Sunday evening) for £60. The first advantage of the Eurostar is quicker city centre-to-city centre travel. Getting through immigration control and security check is much quicker, as well as from the waiting area to train. I would estimate it took no more than 15 minutes, including wait time, from checking-in to sitting on the train. The second advantage is the central location of both Gare du Nord in Paris and St. Pancras in London. The journey from Gare du Nord to Radisson Blu Champs Elysées was around 20 minutes. We went to the nearby La Chapelle Metro stop and took line M2 to Charles De Gaulle then there is a short yet thoroughly pleasant walk in the shadows of the Arc De Triomphe. The Eurostar itself is relatively similar to an aeroplane for comfort with the obvious advantages of more walking space and a section to buy food and drink. One tip for new travelers, the Eurostar section of Gare Du Nord is surprising difficult to find. It is upstairs and can be found by following signs saying “hello London” which contain a Union Jack, and non-EU citizens should fill out a landing card but only when travelling to the United Kingdom (don’t ask me why).

Step Two – Book Hotel Room

American Express Membership Reward points can be transferred to a variety of different airline and hotel partners. One of those is Club Carlson, the frequent traveler reward scheme with brands such as Radisson Blu and Park Inn.

1 American Express Membership Reward = 3 Club Carlson Gold Points

Radisson Blu Champs Elysées is a top tier hotel and therefore a standard room (called Deluxe – again, don’t ask me why) costs 50,000 Club Carlson Gold points per night. I transferred 16,667 American Express Membership Reward points for 50,000 Club Carlson points and booked one night at the Radisson Blu Champs Elysées. The transfer took around 2 weeks as I first needed to register Club Carlson as a transfer partner with American Express. Any future transfers should be completed much quicker.

A deluxe room at the Radisson Blu Champs Elysées would have cost £240 for my night of travel. Therefore my American Express Membership Reward points were worth 1.4p each.

Step Three – Upgrade Room with Free Hotel Status

I am Gold Elite with Club Carlson but have not stayed even one in their property in the last 18 months. How have I done it? It’s a little complicated but bear with me and I’ll try to explain. First, I opened a Le Club Accor loyalty account via a Platinum status link. These links pop up every now and then. I recommend following LoyaltyLobby as that site is usually first with a new link and the links don’t last long due to overwhelming demand. Once I had Platinum status with Le Club I emailed Club Carlson with screenshots and asked for a status match. Within 48 hours they emailed back with the good news that I had been matched as a Gold Elite. There are four tiers to Club Carlson and Gold Elite is the second-highest. Two of the benefits of Gold Elite are room upgrades and early check-in with both being subject to availability . I was traveling during off-season so a quick email the night before resulted in an upgrade to a Room with a view of the Arc De Triomphe as well as early check-in, whether it would be this easy at the height of tourist season I doubt.

A Room with a view of the Arc De Triomphe would have cost £300 (minus the breakfast which is not included in a room upgrade but can be purchased at check-in) so my American Express Membership Reward points can be revalued to 1.8p. The details for my room are:

• 25 square metres
• Bathrobe and slippers
• Free broadband and in-room NESPRESSO coffee machine
• View of the Arc De Triomphe

The room had two baloneys, a large one with two chairs and a table and a small one with enough room to stand. Both baloneys have a gorgeous view of the Arc De Triomphe as they are located on the seventh and top floor of the hotel. The room itself was a reasonable size, though nothing spectacular. The desk would be entirely inappropriate for business work due to its small size. I measured the wireless internet at over 10MB download speed, which was appropriate for my leisure purposes. Overall, I was not amazed by the room but the view was simply outstanding.

Radisson Blu Champs Elysées Review

25% Avios Discount at Iberia Plus!

Iberia Plus is part of the Avios family, the other partners being British Airways Executive Club and Avios.com. You are able to transfer Avios between the three schemes at any time. However, there is one important caveat with Iberia Plus. To receive an Avios transfer your Iberia Plus account must have been opened for at least 90 days.

So, with that in mind, Iberia Plus have launched a discount on their Avios redemptions. Iberia are Spanish-based so to enjoy the discount you will have to either start your journey in Spain or book a positioning flight. You are able to book a Reward Flight Saver from London to Spain for 9,000 Avios return and £30 in economy (18,000 Avios and £40 in business). You could even incorporate a stopover in Spain as part of your trip; a few days in Barcelona sounds pretty nice to me.

What is the Offer?

25% discount on Avios redemptions. For example, a redemption that would normally cost 100,000 Avios will cost only 75,000 Avios.

Iberia Plus works in the same way as British Airways Executive Club. The world is divided into distance-based zones with each zone costing a set number of Avios. The direct distance between the two points of travel determine which zone a journey comes under. More details on how the Avios scheme works can be found here.

Assuming you’re departing from Madrid then here are the destinations available and their Avios zones.

Zone 1:

Alicante, Almeria, Asturias, Badajoz, Barcelona, Bilbao, Burgos, Ciudad Real, Granada-Jaen, Ibiza, Jerez, La Coruna Leon Lleida, Logroño, Madrid, Malaga, Melilla, Menorca, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, Salamanca, San Sebastian, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid, Vigo, Algiers, Bordeaux, Casablanca, Geneva, Lisbon, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Oporto, Oran, Tangier, and Toulouse .

Zone 2:

Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Tenerife, Marrak, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Bologna, Catania, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Dusseldorf, Munich, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Funchal, Geneva, Glasgow, London , Manchester, Milan, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Paris, Pisa, Prague, Rome, Turin, Venice, Vienna, Zagreb, and Zurich.

Zone 3:

Athens, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Corfu, Istanbul, Stockholm, Heraklion, Mykonos, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, and Dakar.

Zone 4:

Cairo, Lagos, Malabo, and Tel Aviv.

Zone 5:

Boston, Chicago, Luanda, New York, and San Juan de Puerto Rico.

Zone 6:

Bogota, Caracas, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guayaquil, Johannesburg, Havana, Lima, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Panama, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, San Jose, Costa Rica, Santo Domingo, and Sao Paulo.

Zone 7:

Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Montevideo, Santiago, and Chile

Now, there are two distinct advantages of the Iberia Plus scheme over the British-based Avios schemes. First, there are ridiculously lower taxes and charges applied to an Avios redemption for Iberia Plus. An Avios redemption from London could cost you in excess of £300 in taxes and charges. If you book a redemption to the same destination but depart from Madrid the taxes and charges could be less than £50; a significant savings. The difference is particularly sharp for economy long haul flights, where the taxes and charges often rival the price of a paid ticket. You could even book a positioning flight to Madrid then a one-way to your destination and return back to London as the taxes and charges are applied on UK departures only. A one way Avios award is simply half the number of a return flight. There are a few creative Avios redemptions available here.

Second, Iberia is a gateway to South America from Europe. British Airways has only a limited number of direct flights to that area of the world. If you want to fly from London to a South American city then you will often find yourself routed through Madrid. So, if you were planning to visit that continent then this offer may be very useful to you.

When is the offer available?

The offer is valid until 28 February 2013.

 

What are the restrictions?

“Valid for direct flights operated by Iberia, except the following series: from IB3600 to IB3999, IB 4XXX, IB5XXX, IB7XXX and IB8XXX.”

 

25% Avios Discount at Iberia Plus!

Monday, 21 January 2013

1,344 Avios for £60 Tesco Finest Wine

Tesco Wine are offering 500 bonus clubcard points when you spend over £50 on their Finest wine collection. You need to use eCoupon XXHT4N at the checkout and complete your order before 31 January 2013. There is free delivery for orders over £50 as well.

Tesco Finest Old Vine Selection Tempranillo 75cl is the cheapest option available at £30 per case. 2 cases of Tesco Finest Old Vine Selection Tempranillo 75cl cost £60 and earn 560 clubcard points (60 normal + 500 bonus).

560 clubcard points = 1,344 Avios

1,344 Avios for £60 (1 Avios = 4.5p)

This valuation is well above my Avios valuation. I value each Avios as 1 pence. Therefore I do not see this as a point-earning opportunity.

However, if you would like to order some wine then this is a good reason to chose Tesco Wine for your purchase.

1,344 Avios for £60 Tesco Finest Wine

Sunday, 20 January 2013

£15 Back With £50 Spend at Shell With Amex/Foursquare

 

American Express and Foursquare have launched another cash back deal after their successful shop small campaign. I explained how their tie-up works my American Express/Foursquare post and my “How to get the best from American Express” guide.

This deal comes from the pages of HotUKDeals and HeadforPoints.

 

Check-in at a Shell petrol station with Foursquare and spend £50 in a single transaction on a synced American Express card and earn a £15 statement credit. You can redeem this deal multiple times with different American Express cards, including supplementary cards, and different Foursquare accounts.  You will have to check-in and load the special each time. This deal makes most sense for drivers but you could take advantage by doing a food shop in a Shell mini-market.

The deal will run until 18 April 2013.

£15 Back With £50 Spend at Shell With Amex/Foursquare

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

100 Tesco Clubcard Points (240 Avios) for Music CDs

Tesco Direct are offering an extra 100 Tesco Clubcard bonus points for spending £6 or more on music CD’s. Tesco Clubcard points are convertible to Avios with 100 Clubcard points equal to 240 Avios.

This means a cost of 2.5p per 1 Avios. This is well above my personal valuation of Avios so I would not recommend this for the special offer alone. However, if you have a different valuation of Avios or want to buy music on the internet anyway then this deal is something to consider.  Looks like there are over 180 music titles available with this offer so there should be plenty of choice if you’re interested.

Remember, there is Quidco cash back for Tesco Direct as well.

This follows hot on the heels of Tesco’s Blinkbox promotion of 1,000 Clubcard points (2,400 Avios) for renting two movies at a cost of £4.48.

 

100 Tesco Clubcard Points (240 Avios) for Music CDs

Monday, 14 January 2013

2,400 Avios for Renting 2 Movies

Blinkbox are offering 1,000 Tesco Clubcard points for new customers when they rent 2 movies. Tesco Clubcard points can be converted into Avios with 1,000 points worth 2,400 Avios.

What is the offer?
Sign up today, add your Clubcard to your blinkbox account and rent 2 movies before the 28 January 2013 to receive an extra 1,000 Clubcard points. You can watch movies through tablets, computers, consoles and Smart TV.

How long is the offer available?
The Promotion starts at 9.00am on 14 January 2013 and ends at midnight on 28 January 2013

How much does it cost?
You must rent 2 movies with at least 1 movie being a full price of £3.49. The other movie can be the cheapest option of 99p. So, you are able to get 2,400 Avios for £4.48 (1 Avios = 0.19p)

What are the restrictions
First 10,000 qualifying customers only, UK residents only and new customers only.

Full T&Cs available here.

15% cash back available through Quidco.

2,400 Avios for Renting 2 Movies

Friday, 11 January 2013

Current UK American Express Campaigns

American Express cardholders can take advantage of a new set of offers for extra rewards and discounts on travel, hotels and car rental.

Here follows a list of the current offers:

The Landmark London, Lancaster London and K West Hotel & Spa are offering 30% discount on best available rate, late 2pm check out, a room upgrade and 20% off food from the hotel restaurants (not including beverages, room service, brunch or breakfast). Offer valid between 1 January to 8 April 2013. To redeem this offer, simply call the hotel you wish to book and quote Amex24 at the time of booking when you pay in full with your American Express card.

Book a Milestone Hotel Suite package from £342 per night for two people, your two night stay will include a complimentary English breakfast each morning, a glass of Champagne on arrival, afternoon tea, tickets and a souvenir book for Kensington Palace, and complimentary room upgrade (subject to availability). Offer valid for bookings from 1 January to 31 March 2013.

Receive an extra £5 discount when you spend £70 or more in-store at any UK World Duty Free store. To redeem, visit here and print off the voucher to present at any UK World Duty Free, Alpha Airport Shopping or Biza store when paying with your American Express Card between 1 January and 31 March 2013.

South Place Hotel London is offering a complimentary third night if you stay on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Offer valid from 1 January to 31 March 2013. To redeem this offer, call 0203 503 0000 and quote Amex 3 for 2 and pay using your American Express Card.

When you set sail with P&O Cruises, you can earn bonus Membership Rewards points on your next journey. Offer is valid for bookings between 1 January 2013 and 28 February 2013 for cruises N309 & E309, priced from £599pp, and their scheduled travel dates. To redeem this offer, simply register your Card online here and book with P&O Cruises and pay with your registered Card.

When two guests stay for a minimum of two nights at selected Taj Hotels, you will receive complimentary hotel credit to use on food and beverages, the business centre, laundry and internet charges. Plus, enjoy complimentary late check out (subject to availability). Offer valid for bookings from 1 January to 31 March 2013 for USA properties and 1 January to 30 June 2013 for India properties. To redeem, quote promo code NIX2 and click here and pay with your American Express Card.

Stay at Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel with up to 20% off bed and breakfast, 25% off dining and 25% of spa treatments. Offer valid on stays between 1 January and 31 March 2013. Book online here and pay in full with your American Express Card 10 days in advance of your stay.

You can enjoy up to 35% off when you stay at one of Guoman’s 4 and 5 star luxury central London hotels. Offer is valid on bookings from 1 January until 31 March 2013 and stays must be completed between 8 January 2013 and 7 April 2013. To redeem book online here quoting TTT37 at time of booking when paying in full with an American Express Card. The offer is based on two adults sharing a standard/double twin room.

Enjoy an exclusive £50 discount per person on an Inghams Ski holiday. Offer valid for bookings from 1 January to 1 April 2013 for travel from 7 December 2013 to 30 April 2014. To redeem, call Inghams on +44 (0) 1483 79 11 11 and quote AMEX50 when paying in full with your American Express Card.

Receive 20% off car hire with Holiday Autos in Spain, France, Italy, USA and UK. Offer valid for bookings made from 15 January to 15 February 2013, and for selected rentals and collections until 30 June 2013. To redeem, enter promo code HAAMEX20 here when booking your vehicle and paying in full with your American Express Card.

Book your hotel and flight together with ebookers and you can save £50. Offer valid between 1 January and 31 March 2013, for travel until 31 December 2013. To redeem, visit ebookers.com book a flight and hotel with a minimum of 5 nights stay and quote HOLIDAY50 when paying with your American Express Card.

Earn bonus Membership Rewards points when booking train tickets at thetrainline.com. Offer valid from 1 January to 28 February 2013. To redeem, register your Card here and purchase your tickets from thetrainline.com with your registered Card.

Current UK American Express Campaigns

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

£15 Off Opodo Flights

Courtesy of moneysavingexpert, get £15 off flights booked through Opodo.

How does it work?
Book a flight through Opodo that worth over £250 and earn a £15 discount. Enter code MSEOP15 in promo code box.

When do I need to book by?
Wednesday 16 January 2013.

When do I need to travel by?
No restriction.

Any restrictions to the offer?
This offer is limited to 10,000 so you may need to act quickly to advantage. The discount is per booking not per person so if more than one person is travelling and the cost per person is over £250 then it would make sense to book separately.

Moneysavingexpert has a good warning to take heed of about the auto-selecting of insurance by Opodo.

Also, check the flight price you have from Opodo is not more than £15 available elsewhere. Do a quick comparison search using Kayak, Skyscanner, Hipmunk or ITA.

There is 3% cash back from Quidco for flights booked through Opodo.

£15 Off Opodo Flights

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

50% Hotels - 72 Hour Sale!

There a 72 Hour Sale at Hotels.com and Expedia offering up to 50% off hotels.

HolidayPirates says you can save another 10% by using code HEJAN10 or EURO10EXP.

When do I need to book by?
Book before 10 January 2013

When do I need to travel by?
Travel before 28 February 2013 for hotel.com and 8 April 2013 for Expedia.

There is 10% cash back at Quidco for the next 5 days.

50% Hotels - 72 Hour Sale!

Friday, 4 January 2013

50% Bonus for Tesco to Virgin Atlantic

Exchange your Tesco Clubcard vouchers between 2 Jan and 5 March 2013 and receive 50% more Virgin Flying Club miles.

This allows you to use vouchers for the past quarter as well. I would recommend only transferring if you have a clear redemption plan since the Delta minority purchase has brought a degree of uncertainty to the future of Virgin and therefore to their Flying Club loyalty programme. Any change may be positive if Virgin join Skyteam alliance but any change to a frequent flyer programme runs the risk of currency devaluation.

There is an additional auto opt in offer. Choose to auto exchange your Clubcard vouchers to Flying Club miles between 2 Jan and 5 March 2013 and receive 1,000 bonus miles. You can opt in for one quarter and then cancel to receive the bonus.

I will do an assessment of Virgin Flying Club programme soon but for now let me just say the fuel surcharges are similar to British Airways’ Avios; making long haul economy not very attractive.

50% Bonus for Tesco to Virgin Atlantic

Thursday, 3 January 2013

Triple American Express Points!

Just received an email from American Express with what may be a targeted offer for my American Express Preferred Gold, triple Membership Reward points for every £1 travel-related spend for January 2013.

How does it work?
In addition to the standard 1 Membership Rewards point for £1 spent and the 1 Membership Rewards point for £1 spent when on travel related items; you will also receive an additional 1 Membership Reward point when you book hotels, flights, car hire and experiences online at americanexpress.co.uk/travel

When must I book by?
The offer expires at the end of 31 January 2013.

When will the bonus points appear?
It can take up to five working days for bonus points to be awarded to your account.

Triple American Express Points!

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

New Year News Round-Up

No major travel points news after Christmas so I’ve collected a few bits ‘n pieces together from around the web.

From the Telegraph, “Eurostar to sell 150,000 seats to Paris, Brussels or Lille being sold for £59 return on Thursday 3 January 2013. Tickets are available for those travelling from January 17 to March 27. Eurostar is also offering travel from London to any Belgian station from £69 in standard class. Those booking journeys to Paris and Brussels will be able to use a ‘Eurostar Plus’ offer, which allows passengers two entrances for the price of one at many of the cities’ most popular museums and galleries.”

From HolidayPirates, “Seoul direct from London Heathrow £499 – round-trip, incl. taxes. The travel period for this fare is January to March 2013. Book by 22nd January 2013.” Part of BA’s distinctly uninspiring World Sale.

From LoyaltyLobby, “Priority Club just released a list of last minute rewards nights for this coming weekend. You need to book them on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights this coming weekend.”

New Year News Round-Up

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    • British Airways Offer Free Flights at London Victoria
    • Radisson Blu Champs Elysées Review
    • 25% Avios Discount at Iberia Plus!
    • 1,344 Avios for £60 Tesco Finest Wine
    • £15 Back With £50 Spend at Shell With Amex/Foursquare
    • 100 Tesco Clubcard Points (240 Avios) for Music CDs
    • 2,400 Avios for Renting 2 Movies
    • Current UK American Express Campaigns
    • £15 Off Opodo Flights
    • 50% Hotels - 72 Hour Sale!
    • 50% Bonus for Tesco to Virgin Atlantic
    • Triple American Express Points!
    • New Year News Round-Up

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