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Marriott Adds Value to Free Night Awards
Marriott has increased the number of Bonvoy points you can add to a Free Night Award. These certificates come with different point values depending on how they were earned, but until now, you could only top them up with a maximum of 15,000 of your own points. That limit has now been increased to 25,000.
There are three ways to earn Free Night Awards, including:
- The Marriott Bonvoy AMEX: A Free Night award worth 25,000 points when you spend £25,000 in a card year. When you add your own points, this can now be used for nights priced at up to 50,000 points.
- Marriott Premium Debit Card: A 25,000 point free night award when you spend £5,000 in foreign currency during your card year. Increases to 50,000 points when you spend £9,500 (which can be topped up to 75,000).
- Earning 75 Elite Night Credits: A Free Night Award worth 40,000 points as an Annual Choice Benefit. This can now be topped up to 65,000 points.
Increasing the value eases one of the main frustrations of free night awards. Previously, even after adding your own points, you could still find your voucher falling just short of the price needed for the hotel you wanted.
40,000 points can usually get you in the range of a nice airport hotel, such as the Sheraton Skyline or Renaissance Heathrow, but 50,000 – 75,000 points open up a great range of options.
But, and it’s a big but, Marriott has been gradually increasing the number of points needed for redemptions, so while the higher value gives you more options, the extra points really just compensate for the increase in reward pricing.
Search redemptions via Marriott here >>>
Iberia Avios Sale: Up to 35% Off Award Flights
Iberia has launched an Avios redemption sale with discounts of 10-35% on selected routes operated by Iberia, Iberia Express, and Iberia Regional Air Nostrum.
To get the discount, you’ll need to book by 15th March for travel until 31st May 2026.
Taxes and carrier surcharges are not discounted, so you will still need to pay the usual cash element alongside the reduced Avios price. However, Iberia often has much lower taxes and surcharges than BA.
Routes and discounts include:
| Discount | Cabin | Destinations |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Business | Algiers, Bucharest, Bordeaux, Cagliari, Catania, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Faro, Funchal, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Mykonos, Milan (LIN), Nice, Olbia, Porto, Palermo, Ponta Delgada, Santorini, Split, Tirana, Tivat, Zagreb, Alicante, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Valencia |
| 35% | Economy | Guatemala City, Panama City, Doha, San José (Costa Rica), Algiers, Bucharest, Bordeaux, Cagliari, Catania, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Faro, Funchal, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Mykonos, Milan (LIN), Nice, Olbia, Porto, Palermo, Ponta Delgada, Santorini, Split, Tirana, Tivat, Zagreb, Alicante, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Valencia |
| 20% | Business | Caracas, Athens, Bologna, London (LHR), Lyon, Rome, Toulouse, Venice, Vigo, Miami, Orlando |
| 20% | Premium Economy | Bogotá, New York (JFK), Miami, Orlando |
| 20% | Economy | Boston, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santo Domingo, Caracas, Athens, Bologna, London (LHR), Lyon, Rome, Toulouse, Venice, Vigo, Miami, Orlando |
| 10% | Business | Boston, Panama City, Dallas-Fort Worth, Doha, Montevideo, Santo Domingo, Washington Dulles, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, New York, Brussels, Budapest, Casablanca, Dakar, Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Marseille, Munich, Nantes, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Turin, Vienna, Zurich, A Coruña, Almería, Asturias (Oviedo), Bilbao, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, Pamplona, San Sebastián, Santiago de Chile |
| 10% | Premium Economy | San José (Costa Rica), Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile |
| 10% | Economy | Fortaleza, Lima, Los Angeles (LAX), Quito, Recife, San Salvador, Bogotá, New York, Brussels, Budapest, Casablanca, Dakar, Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Marseille, Munich, Nantes, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Turin, Vienna, Zurich, A Coruña, Almería, Asturias (Oviedo), Bilbao, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, Pamplona, San Sebastián, Santiago de Chile |
Some great one-way Business Class fares from Madrid include:
- Heathrow – 13,200 Avios
- Caracas for 40,400 Avios
- Miami – 59,200
Premium Economy:
- Miami – 29,400
It’s not as good as some of the previous redemption sales, but there’s still some great deals to be found. As with most Avios promotions, availability is limited, and not every flight will show the discounted pricing, so it is worth checking a few dates.
Remember, you can transfer Avios to Iberia via BA ‘Transfer Your Avios’. You can also convert points, such as AMEX Membership Rewards Points, at 1:1.
It’s a good Avios sale if you have Iberia flights or routes in mind for this spring!
Cathay Pacific Adds Extra London Flights After Some Routes Suspended
Cathay Pacific has added some extra flights between Hong Kong and Heathrow (and vice versa). This comes after Cathay suspended services to Dubai and Riyadh until at least the end of the month.
There has been a surge in demand for routes that avoid the Middle East, and Cathay has responded accordingly. There will be four one-off round-trip flights to Heathrow this month, including:
| Date | Route | Departure | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21st, 23rd and 28th March
|
HKG-LHR | 10:45 | 17:25 |
| 26th March | HKG-LHR | 10:05 | 16:45 |
| 21st, 23rd and 28th March | LHR-HKG | 19:55 | 16:35+1 |
| 26th March | LHR-HKG | 19:35 | 16:15+1 |
These additions mean Cathay will operate up to six daily flights between Hong Kong and Heathrow on selected dates. The flights are already on sale and are likely to sell out quickly, given the current capacity shortage.
Airfares avoiding the Middle East have risen massively. The Guardian even reported last week that Cathay was selling a Business fare from Sydney to London for more than £20,000! Pricing for these additional flights is also not cheap, and the flights are already beginning to sell out. For the Hong Kong to Heathrow flights, there’s currently Premium Economy at £1,990 on 21st March, Economy at £1,350 on 23rd March, and Business at £9,066 on 26th March. This is certainly not dynamic pricing at its best!
These extra flights are much needed as Heathrow flights are often relatively full anyway.
