NEWS & OFFERS: Excellent AMEX Gold/Platinum Bonuses, New BA/Flying Blue to Star Alliance Status Match & Marriott Cyber Week Details

New Amex Card Bonuses Launched – Up to 95,000 Points + £250 AMEX Travel Credit!

American Express has once again launched some fantastic sign-up bonuses, which are live until 13th January 2026. This time, the offers cover the Preferred Rewards Gold card and the Platinum Card. The exact number of points offered is targeted, but I’ve been offered 95,000.

Here’s what you need to know:

Platinum Card  – £650 per year: 95,000 Membership Rewards points (worth 95,000 Avios or Virgin Points) AND £250 to spend at Amex Travel when you spend £6,000 in the first 3 months. I’ve seen offers starting at 75,000 Points + £250 credit. The value of the bonus alone exceeds £700! View the card here

Preferred Rewards Gold – Free in the first year/£195 from year 2: 50,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £5,000 within the first 6 months. Targeted offers seem to start at 40,000 points! View the card here.

Worth It?

If you’ve been considering one of these cards, now is a great time to apply. Although AMEX does run regular sign-up bonuses, these are some of the best we’ve seen, especially if you’ve been targeted with one of the higher offers.

When choosing which card is best for you, consider the cost, APR, whether you can meet the minimum spend to get the bonus and the benefits you would use.

New TAP Miles&Go Status Match – Your Chance to Get Star Alliance Gold

TAP Air Portugal has just launched a status match offer for status holders of 12 airline loyalty programmes. The cost is €49 (£42.50) for Silver and €199 (£176) for Gold.

The top options include:

• ‘The British Airways Club’ Bronze and Silver = TAP Silver – Gold and above = TAP Gold
• Flying Blue – Silver = TAP Silver – Gold and above = TAP Gold
• Aer Lingus AerClub – Silver = TAP Silver – Platinum and above = TAP Gold
• Finnair Plus Silver = TAP Silver – Gold and above = TAP Gold
• Iberia Plus Plata/Oro = TAP Silver – Platino and above = TAP Gold

Your status will include the following benefits + equivalent Star Alliance benefits:

Read our guide to airline alliances to discover the equivalent status with other Star Alliance airlines.

Note: The usual TAP Gold benefit of gifting a free Gold status to a friend is excluded for matches

Each match also includes a 2x Status Miles booster for 30 days after approval (up to 10,000 miles) – a useful extra if you’re planning any TAP or Star Alliance flights soon.

You must apply via Statusmatch.com. The application is very simple. You will also need your loyalty numbers for both programmes to hand, as well as proof of status to upload. If approved, your status will be reflected in your account within 10 business days and will be valid for 12 months from the date of approval.

To renew, you must meet the usual TAP requalification thresholds. You can earn status miles on any Star Alliance airline, not just TAP flights, when crediting to your TAP account.

This is a great offer and one of the most affordable and immediate ways to earn Star Alliance status, especially if you’re considering switching your loyalty to a Star Alliance airline but don’t want to start earning status from scratch.

To learn more about status matches, make sure you read our guide to ‘What is a Status Match‘, ‘airline status matches‘ and ‘hotel status matches‘

Match your status here >>>

Get Ready for Marriott’s Cyber Week Sale

Marriott has revealed the details of its Cyber Week sale, which will run from 25th November to 2nd December 2025.

Bonvoy members will receive 25% off when booking via the Marriott Bonvoy App for stays from 30th November 2025 until 22nd February 2026.

If you book online, you will receive 20% off instead, and non-members will receive 15% off online and app bookings.

Is this sale worth waiting for? It depends on the value of your stay – the more you spend, the more you save. For example, one of the hotels included in the offer is The Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel. A Standard room here averages £170 per night in January. For a one-week stay, that brings the total from £1,190 down to £892.50, a saving of £297.50. 

Other Marriott Cyber Week Offers

• 35% off mattresses and 20% off linens via Marriott Bonvoy boutiques.
• Points when you give back via LoveTravels. From 2nd to 9th December, Marriott will match 5 points for every 1 point donated to a variety of partners, including Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Arbor Day Foundation. International Rescue Committee and Matthew Shepard Foundation.

We will update you once the sale is live and the full terms and conditions are published. You can view the page on the Marriott site here.