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BA Amex 25% more Avios – worth it?
If you have the American Express British Airways Premium Plus card, you should see a new offer for 25% extra Avios on your spend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of BA and Amex working together. There is a hefty spend requirement to get the bonus – £4000 spend across one or multiple transactions by 8 April 2026, so is it worth pushing for the spend even if you would have to stretch yourself?
The first thing to say is that you must add the offer to your card to get the bonus. It is not entirely clear, but you will only get the 25% bonus on the £4000 spend, making the total an extra 1500 Avios on the usual 6000 Avios you would get for spending £4000 (1.5 Avios per £1 spent). While the deal sounds tempting initially, I’m probably not going to lose sleep over 1500 Avios if I don’t make the bonus. However, if you can make the spend by perhaps paying for or buying things a bit earlier than you had planned, it could be worth considering. It is always worth checking PayPal when a business does not appear to take Amex, as you can use Amex through PayPal even if the business does not accept the card itself.
It is also worth bearing in mind that Amex is repeating the same offer to get BA tier points through card spend for the next BA Club tier point collection year, so you may want to save your spending until that offer starts rather than worrying about the extra 1500 Avios. We know that it is likely to run from April, but we do not know if it will be exactly the same as the current one, which gave up to 2,500 tier points: 750 at £15,000, 750 at £20,000, and 1,000 at £25,000 spend.
Hyatt devaluation
While Hyatt has always been the gold standard for hotel loyalty programs in many ways, it has never been the easiest program for UK residents due to the lower footprint in Europe compared to Hilton and Marriott. Now, there may be another reason for not considering Hyatt as your main loyalty program, as they devalue their points redemptions.
The press release calls it “a thoughtful update to the program,” which is a very obscure thing to call something that is detrimental to many members. The only highlight is that, unlike most of the major programs, they have been upfront with members in advance.
World of Hyatt is implementing significant changes to its loyalty program starting in May 2026. While the program is keeping its award chart, the cost of many stays—particularly at high-end properties—is expected to rise.
World of Hyatt will continue its established annual hotel category review process, with yearly category changes announced in April. This year, five hotels will also shift up one category (Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach, Hyatt Centric Malta, Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort, Hyatt Place San Antonio-Northwest/Medical Center and Grand Hyatt Incheon), one hotel with shift up two categories (Grand Hyatt Grand Cayman Resort & Spa, opening in 2026). These changes start immediately.
New Award Chart Structure
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Five Pricing Tiers: Hyatt is moving from three demand-based levels (Off-peak, Standard, Peak) to five: Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper, and Top.
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Increased Max Costs: High-demand “Top” nights will see significant price hikes. For example:
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Category 1: Max price rises from 6,500 to 9,000 points.
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Category 8: Max price jumps from 45,000 to 75,000 points (+67%).
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Wider Ranges: Category 8 stays will now range from 35,000 to 75,000 points, making it harder to predict award costs.
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Universal Changes: These five tiers will also apply to All-Inclusive and Miraval Resort award charts.
- Gradual introduction: While the new chart starts in May 2026, Hyatt will limit the number of “Upper” and “Top” tier nights available throughout the first year.
- Upgrades and free night certificates are not affected.
Here is the new chart for standard hotel stays:
You can find the points + cash, all-inclusive, and Miraval charts here.
There is more bad news for UK and low-status members as well, since US World of Hyatt credit cardholders and Elite members (Explorist and higher) get one month of early access to book award nights before the general public.
So while budget travellers may find the odd bargain in Categories 1–3, where some “Lowest” tier nights will drop by 500 to 1,000 points, luxury travellers will have to find a lot more points, especially during peak periods.
“Our members tell us they value transparency and the ability to plan with confidence,” said Laurie Blair, senior vice president, global marketing and loyalty, Hyatt. “We know change can be difficult, especially in a loyalty program our members care deeply about. This update reinforces our commitment to a published award chart with fixed point thresholds while ensuring World of Hyatt remains strong, sustainable and rewarding for years to come.”
Virgin Atlantic up to 70% points bonus – does it make it cheaper than paying cash for flights?
Virgin has another promo for a 70% bonus when you buy points, which is the standard amount. They did offer 80% bonus in April next year, so if you are considering buying without a specific purpose (which I don’t recommend) I’d wait.
From 25 February until 23:59 BST on 31 March 2026, Virgin is offering a tiered bonus when you buy or gift points. The more you buy, the bigger the reward. Here is how the bonus structure breaks down:
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Under 5,000 points: No bonus
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5,000 – 24,000 points: 20% bonus
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25,000 – 69,000 points: 40% bonus
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70,000 – 124,000 points: 60% bonus
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125,000 – 300,000 points: 70% bonus
Usually, Virgin caps your annual point purchases at 200,000, but for this promotion, they’ve increased it. Between now and 31 March, the limit has been reset and increased to 300,000 points. If you’re looking to fund a big trip, buying points this could be your window.
While the bonus is generous, you still have to factor in the base costs. Points are priced at £15 (or $25) for every 1,000, but don’t forget the one-off transaction fee of £15 (or $22) that applies to every order.
To give you an idea of the math:
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Buy 1,000 points: You’ll pay £30 (includes the fee).
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Buy 5,000 points: You’ll pay £90 (and get an extra 1,000 bonus points).
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Buy 10,000 points: You’ll pay £165 (and get an extra 2,000 bonus points).
- Buy the maximum 300,000 points: You’ll pay £4,515 with an extra 210,000 bonus points, bringing your total to 510,000 Virgin Points.
The points are usually credited instantly at the time of purchase, though Virgin asks you to allow up to 24 hours for them to show up in your account.
If you change your mind, there is a 14-day cooling-off period where you can cancel and get a refund—but only if you haven’t spent any of the points yet. Once you spend even a single point, or when those 14 days are up, you are stuck with them.
With Virgin’s dynamic pricing, it is much harder to compare since the redemption prices vary wildly. One-way Upper Class flights from London to New York (JFK) during peak season typically cost between 115,000 and 350,000+ Virgin Points, with taxes, fees, and carrier-imposed surcharges of around £550 one way, but it can be more. I managed to get flights for 58,000 to New York recently, so it shows you will need to do your research before you buy points. If we take 100,000 as a baseline, here is a breakdown of the cost if you wanted a return for 200,000.
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Buy: 125,000 points
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Bonus (70%): 87,500 points
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Total Received: 212,500 points
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Cost: £1,890 ($3,147)
So with the taxes and charges it would be around £2500 return. With even the cheapest returns costing from £2000 currently but more regularly £2600-3600 it is obviously cheaper to buy points in some cases. It will all depend on how many points you need and the cash price when you want to travel. Sadly with the dynamic pricing it’s less of a bargain with Virgin than it can be with other airlines by buying points.
During their sales, the price does dip down to around £1600-1800, so that is also worth considering if you are flexible on dates, as you would earn more points back as well as tier points.
