The weekly Head for Points business travel newsletter - 9th May

Welcome to?your weekly round-up of UK business travel and travel loyalty news?as well as?links to the latest reviews and features from?headforpoints.com .

We are now publishing our weekly trade newsletter on LinkedIn to allow more people to access it. If you would prefer to receive it by email every Monday,?you can sign up here . It's free, obviously! You can also subscribe via LinkedIn and get new editions in your feed.

The latest UK business travel news:

Virgin Atlantic lets Flying Club Gold members use the Upper Class wing. ?Image above.

Norse Atlantic launches three new routes to the Caribbean from Gatwick.

Biden scraps US vaccination mandate ?for inbound air travellers.

Egyptair adds flights from Manchester to Cairo.

Heathrow Terminal 5 security strikes continue, but disruption appears to be minimal.

The Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars is finally opening next month. ?This is old Crowne Plaza The City.

IHG has gained five Mexican haciendas from Marriott’s Luxury Collection.

The Hampton by Hilton London City hotel (off Brick Lane) has opened .

Business travel stories we recommend from other sites:

Rory Sutherland at LS CXM 2023: The Behavioural Science of Loyalty, Recognition, and Personalisation ?(YouTube?– this is from the recent Loyalty Summit CXM conference in Zurich and is worth a listen, especially if you enjoy Rory’s columns in?The Spectator)

IAG expects capacity to be at 97 per cent of 2019 levels this year ?(Business Traveller)

The battle for the heart of Qantas: Can new boss Vanessa Hudson restore faith in the Flying Kangaroo? ?(ABC News)

IHG chief to step down as group occupancy nears pre-pandemic levels ?(TTG)

SAUDIA unveils new A321 XLR business class suite ?(Business Traveller)

Our latest reviews:

Rob reviews the Hyatt Regency Palais de la Mediterranee hotel in Nice. ?Image above.

…. before dashing to the US to review the Newport Marriott hotel in Rhode Island.

The latest UK travel loyalty news:

Fly LEVEL for good value premium economy Avios redemptions.

Earn 1,000 bonus Avios with Avis car rentals until the end of June.

You can also get 1,000 Avios on train bookings with Uber.

Best Western Rewards has dropped Avios as a partner.

Get a 40%-50% bonus buying Marriott Bonvoy points. ?Click?here ?to buy.

How does Heathrow Rewards work? – our complete guide

What are the best May 2023 hotel promotions?

SPECIAL OFFER: Get 30,000 Virgin Points with the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

For the first time in a year – and for the first time since it joined the SkyTeam airline alliance –?Virgin Atlantic has launched a special offer for its Virgin Money-issued Reward+ credit card.

For a limited period you will get?30,000 Virgin Points (usually 15,000 points) if you take out?the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card .

If you are looking for a good reason to apply – apart from the bonus – this is it. Whilst you will struggle to find any mention of this on the card website,?the Virgin Atlantic cards are the?only?travel rewards credit cards which offer a partial respite on FX fees when travelling.

You pay no FX fees on spending in Euro,?Swedish Kronor or Romanian Lei. This saves you 3% on your purchases?and?you earn Virgin Points on top.

You can?apply here . Our?full article on the offer is here . It runs until 13th June.

Head for Points?receives a commission from Virgin Money if you apply via our links. Thank you for your support.

The representative APR is 69.7% variable, including the annual fee.?The representative APR on purchases is 26.9% variable.

Thank you for reading

Thank you for reading. Please drop me a note at [email protected] with any feedback. I will also be at the Airlines UK dinner next week, on the Collinson table, if you want to say Hi in person.

See you next Monday.

Rob, Rhys and Sinead @ Head for Points

PS. If you would prefer to receive this newsletter by email on a Monday morning, you can sign up for a free subscription by?filling in the form here