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American Express Offering Largest Points Bonus Yet
American Express has introduced a limited-time promotion featuring its largest points bonuses yet for new Platinum and Gold Cardmembers. Running until 14 January 2025, these offers provide significant upfront rewards, adding extra value to both cards.
Platinum Card Offer
New Platinum Cardmembers can earn a massive 80,000 bonus Membership Rewards points—worth £400—by spending £10,000 within their first six months. This is a 30,000-point increase over the usual offer. Platinum Card perks include access to airport lounges, travel insurance for the family, and credits, such as the £50 Harvey Nichols credit and a £400 restaurant credit launching in January that we spoke about here. Altogether, the benefits are valued at over £3,000.
Gold Card Offer
The Gold Card now offers new members 30,000 bonus Membership Rewards points (up from 20,000) upon spending £3,000 in the first three months, worth £150. The Gold Card, free for the first year, includes four Priority Pass lounge visits, £120 in annual Deliveroo credits, and enhanced points earnings on airline and foreign currency spending.
Refer a Friend Bonus
Through the Invite a Friend referral program, existing Platinum and Gold Cardmembers can earn extra points when referring friends who apply by 14 January 2025. Platinum Cardmembers earn 18,000 points per referral, while new referrals get 100,000 points when spending £10,000 in six months. Gold Cardmembers can earn 14,000 points, with new members receiving 40,000 points upon spending £3,000 in three months.
Marriot Bonvoy Buy Points Bonus
Following on from yesterday’s article, we have another points bonus to tell you about. Marriot Bonvoy are offering a bonus on purchasing points again. This offer is member specific and has three parts to it.
Logging in to my account, I have been offered 35%, but we have seen others that have been offered 45%. You need to purchase 2,000 points or more to qualify.
They have increased the annual purchase limit to 150,000 from 100,000 and the third and final part of the offer is that members can receive 1,000 bonus points if they purchase 20,000 or more points.
Depending on what offer you receive, there is definitely a chance to cash in on some decent bonus points. Like we said yesterday, if you have your eye on a specific hotel, it may be worth comparing the cash price versus points spend to see if you can make a good saving.
I thought I would use the example from yesterday of the St Regis in Venice to see how a points purchase may compare.
For a three-night stay in May, the cash price is €3,591. The full points price will be 257,300, but buying that many points in one go won’t be possible. Looking at the cash plus points option, the estimated cost will be €1,844 plus 148,500 points. With a 35% bonus, purchasing that many points should come to around €1,269.26, resulting in a saving of €477.74.
Even greater savings could be possible, especially if you manage to get the 45% bonus and or have points banked ready to spend.
You can buy Marriot Bonvoy points here.
New Apple AirTag Feature Can Share Location with Airline Staff
We have used AirTags in our luggage since they first came out, and it does give us a nice peace of mind to have a quick check when we get to a destination that our bag actually made it with us. There is a new feature on the AirTag that allows you to share its location with anybody. With the absolute turmoil that BA went through at Heathrow T5 at points over the last 18 months, this new feature on the AirTag could save some headaches moving forward.
The update appears in the latest beta release of Apple’s iPhone iOS 18.2 software. A new ‘Share Item Location’ option in the Find My app creates a temporary link that can be sent to anyone, not only your trusted contacts. The recipient can either open Find My or a webpage for non Apple devices to track the AirTag. An additional Show Contact Info option lets you share your phone number and email address so the person who finds your missing item can contact you.
We have heard many stories of people spending months looking for missing cases, and some are never to be seen again. Hopefully, the Airlines will be receptive to using this feature and it can help in the future but I am skeptical as I cannot see someone from BA actually doing this as part of their job but I am happy to be proven wrong.
