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French ATC strike
If you read my review of EasyJet, you will have seen I got caught up in the last French ATC strike. Unfortunately, they are due to go on strike again on 18 and 19 September. Even if you are not travelling to France, you are likely to be affected if you are flying across Europe. There will be a large reduction in the number of aircraft overflying France’s airspace, which will lead to delays. As aircraft get delayed, crews begin to work out of hours, and cancellations occur, which is likely what happened to my aircraft, as it was originally delayed by nearly 3 hours and then cancelled.
Usually, France still accepts some arrivals, but any cancellations for those that won’t operate should be notified in advance.
There is still a chance the strike could be cancelled at the last minute, so make sure you keep an eye on any further developments if you are travelling on those days. I recommend the Flighty app for situations like this. As soon as the flight is cancelled in the system, you should get notified. This gave me a 45-minute head start on the EasyJet notification, so I was able to grab the last seat on the flight the next morning. You can pay by the week starting at $4.99, which is worth it when you are travelling. You also get notified of delays and things like gate changes as well.
GHA Discovery Hotels (loyalty for Anantara, Kempinski etc) status match
The GHA Discovery Loyalty program has a lot of high-end brands included, such as Capella, Pan Pacific, and Viceroy. If you are planning a stay at one of the hotels, it could be worth considering their new status match.
After a successful match, you will be upgraded to elite Platinum or Titanium status in GHA DISCOVERY with a gift of DISCOVERY Dollars (D$50 or D$75), which you can use towards your next stay at any GHA DISCOVERY hotel across 100 countries. D$1 is equivalent to USD 1. The GHA DISCOVERY Status Match upgrade is valid until the end of the subsequent calendar year.
Plus, you’ll get double-tier nights from January 1st to June 30th 2026.
You can match your airline, cruise, or hotel status to get Platinum or Titanium status. As an example, if you hold BA Gold or above, you get Titanium. Marriott Platinum and above, plus Hilton Diamond, also get Titanium.
There is a fee which is $100 for Platinum and $150 for Titanium. Personally, I probably would only be interested in Titanium as the free breakfast on a stay, plus the Discovery Dollars would offset the cost.
What do you get with Platinum?
- Earn D$: Get 6% back in rewards currency
- Spend D$: Apply rewards currency on your next visit
- Room Upgrade: Receive an enhanced room, subject to availability
- Late Check-out: Enjoy your room until 3 PM, subject to availability
- Welcome Amenity: Enjoy a locale-inspired gift upon arrival
- Partner Benefits: Unlock D$ cruise gifts, exclusive rewards, and more
- Complimentary Wi-Fi: Enjoy an unlimited internet connection
- Member Rates: Member rates at participating hotels
- Local Offers: Enjoy member-only access to hotel amenities
What do you get with Titanium status?
- Earn D$: Get 7% back in rewards currency
- Spend D$: Apply rewards currency on your next visit
- Room Upgrade: Receive a double room upgrade, subject to availability
- Complimentary Breakfast: Available at participating hotel brands
- Early Check-in: Enjoy your room from 11 AM, subject to availability
- Late Check-out: Enjoy your room until 4 PM, subject to availability
- Welcome Amenity: Enjoy a locale-inspired gift upon arrival
- Brand Benefits: Get additional perks from our brands
- Partner Benefits: Unlock D$ cruise gifts, exclusive rewards and more
- 48hrs Availability: Rooms guaranteed up to 48hrs prior, subject to availability
- Complimentary Wi-Fi: Enjoy an unlimited internet connection
- Member Rates: Member rates at participating hotels
- Exclusive Offers: Access member-only savings
- Experiences: Purchase immersive member-only adventures
- Local Offers: Enjoy member-only access to hotel amenities
There is a charge for the
You can find the status match page here.
New 36k Virgin Reward+ credit card bonus
Virgin Atlantic has a new deal on its Reward+ Mastercard. I have one of these, which I like for several reasons. Firstly, it is great when you can’t use an Amex, and it is also useful when travelling, as there is no conversion fee on Euro spend. If you join Virgin Red, you can spend your points on a wide variety of redemptions, not just flights. For example, Virgin has a private box at the 02, which you can redeem for events as well as cruises. The card has an annual fee of £160.
The bonus comes in two stages:
Earn 18,000 welcome bonus points: With your first card purchase, made within 90 days of taking out the card.
Get an extra 18,000 bonus points: Apply before 13 October 2025 and spend £3,000 within 90 days of taking out the card.
You get 1.5 Virgin Points for every £1 spent on purchases. Plus, you earn double points when you spend directly with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays.
When you spend £10,000 or more a year on purchases, you earn an upgrade or companion ticket. However, this does come with a catch: it is only worth 75,000 points, which is not a significant amount given Virgin’s new dynamic pricing. For example, I’m looking at New York in Upper Class and the cheapest “Saver redemption ” is 59,000 points for one person, ONE way.
There is also a free Reward card that offers a 3000 point bonus when you open the card and make a purchase within 90 days, and another 3000 when you apply before 13 October 2025 and spend £3,000 within 90 days of taking out the card. This requires you to spend £20k to get the companion voucher.
