NEWS Jersey to reopen – fancy a hotel break before 17 May?, Bonus on Avios & BA raises prices of short haul redemptions

Bonus on Avios

Using Avios is one of the most risk-free ways to book travel at the moment. You can get a full refund minus £35pp at any time or change the dates for the same fee. If you need to top up your balance, there is a new promotion with at least double the amount of Avios when you shop online with selected retailers using the British Airways Avios eStore. If you haven’t used it before, you simply go to the BA shopping portal and then click through to your favourite retailer and shop as normal. The eStore features over 1,200 retailers in the UK.

Purchases must be made through the eStore by 18 April 2021.

Retailers offering double Avios, or more, per £1 pound spent include:

• ASOS – 6 Avios per £1 (up from 3 Avios)
• AO.com – 5 Avios per £1 (up from up to 2 Avios)
• B&Q – 4 Avios per £1 (up from 2 Avios)
• Currys PC World – 3 Avios per £1 (up from 1 Avios)
• H&M – 10 Avios per £1 (up from 5 Avios)
• John Lewis & Partners – up to 4 Avios for £1 (up from up to 2 Avios)
• Just Eat – up to 25 Avios for £1 (up from up to 4 Avios)
• made.com – 8 Avios per £1 (up from 4 Avios)
• Majestic – up to 8 Avios per £1 (up from up to 4 Avios)
• Nike – 8 Avios per £1 (up from up to 4 Avios)
• Selfridges – up to 10 Avios per £1 (up from up to 4 Avios)
• Wayfair – 6 Avios per £1 (up from 3 Avios)

For travel:

• Plum Guide (posh home rentals) up to 7 Avios per £1
• Hotels.com up to 12 Avios per £1
• Booking.com up to 8 Avios per £1
• VRBO (rentals) up to 4 Avios pr £1

Niall Rooney, Head of the British Airways Executive Club, said, “Those looking to grow their Avios balances to book their next trip can benefit from the latest promotion, and earn up to double the points from popular retailers, redeemable on experiences, car hire, as well as flights, when the time is right.”

BA raises prices of short haul rewards

Like most raising of prices for airline miles, the latest change to BA Avios rates has not been formally announced but instead quietly ushered in. This is a bit sneaky but given the situation airlines find themselves in, I can see why they don’t want to trumpet bad news. Luckily the changes are not huge and only affect short-haul destinations. 

Prices have risen by 750 Avios each way for all short-haul redemptions. Flights now start from 8500 Avios in Club one way off-peak for places such as Amsterdam and Paris. Longer short-haul flights such as Greece will cost from 17750 Avios in Club one way off-peak.

There are no changes to long haul flights or the cash element so far.

HT: HfP

How you can legally have a holiday in a hotel from 26 April – in Jersey!

In my previous article, I looked at how the law will be changed from 29 March for travel and accommodation. While most hotels in the UK will not be open for leisure visitors until 17 May, there is an interesting possibility with Jersey reopening. From 29 March you can legally travel within the CTA for leisure which includes Jersey. 

From 26 April, Jersey will revert to its previous entry system for the UK which categorises travellers by area even down to their London Borough! There will be three categories – red, amber and green. At the moment the system still shows everything as red so there is no way of telling what your local area will be.

This means that if you were coming from a green area you would test on arrival and only have to quarantine until the results which are usually the same day or a maximum of 12 hours. Hopefully, many parts of the UK will qualify for green status. 

I have visited Jersey several times and would definitely consider going back. Most restaurants, bars and shops are open now which would make a pleasant break from the UK. It’s only small but it has beautiful scenery with lovely beaches and great food. 

The hotels I have stayed in and would recommend are: The Grand Hotel & Spa, St Brelades Bay Hotel and you can read our review of the Club Hotel & Spa with its Michelin star restaurant here. 

Jersey falls within the UK’s Common Travel Area, along with the rest of the Channel Islands, Ireland and the Isle of Man. You do not need to complete the UK Government Travel Declaration Form for travel to the island. 

You would just need to:

• Ensure you have medical travel insurance in place. 
• Complete a pre departure registration form.

Regions within the UK will now be categorised into three bands (Green, Amber and Red) with different testing and isolation requirements when arriving into Jersey from 26 April.

• Green –  Day 0, Day 5 and Day 10 PCR tests (if still in Jersey): all passengers have to self-isolate on arrival while waiting the first negative test result. Results are currently expected to be returned within an average of 12 hours.
• Amber – Day 0, Day 5 and Day 10 PCR tests: Self-isolation until negative test result from your day 5 test.
• Red – Day 0, Day 5 and Day 10 PCR tests: Self-isolation until negative test result from your day 10 test.