Earn 250 Avios and more with Red by Dufry
We wrote about Red by Dufry before, which is a loyalty program that gives you discount at duty free stores and other perks at airports worldwide.
In the Red by Dufry app, go to My Profile, scroll down to the bottom where you have the option to add a partner account. If you link your Iberia Plus account, you will 1 Avios per £1 / €1 spent at Dufry stores, and 250 bonus Avios on your first purchase.
It seems that British Airways is also a partner and the same earning rate / promotion applies. My account was already linked to Iberia Plus. I was trying to unlink and relink but I couldn’t see either Iberia or BA in the partner dropdown list anymore.
Historically Red by Dufry had some promo codes that gave away points or even Platinum status. Give them a try but I doubt any of them work anymore:
- RED300POINTS
- HAPPYBIRTHDAY2020
- REDPLATSMART0821
- AegeanMilesPlatinum
As a Red by Dufry member you get a guaranteed discount at many duty free shops and earn Avios with every purchase, so it makes sense to create an account.
Earn 8,500 bonus miles with Cathay Pacific’s Mini Goal offer
Cathay Pacific launched an interesting offer for additional bonus miles if you make any qualifying earning transaction in the next few months. There are many ways to trigger the bonus, including flying and transfer from Cathay’s partners.
You can check your tailored Mini Goal offer here. Somehow I’m redirected to a page in Chinese after signing in, but it’s definitely not targeted at the Chinese market only. My account address is in the UK and I can sign up successfully.
My offer is as follows:
- Have one qualifying earning activity to get 500 bonus miles
- Earn 2,000 miles to get 1,000 bonus miles
- Earn 5,000 miles to get 2,500 bonus miles
The maximum bonus I could earn is 4,000 miles. Another popular version of the offer is:
- Have two qualifying earning activities to get 500 bonus miles
- Earn 5,000 miles to get 2,000 bonus miles
- Earn 12,000 miles to get 6,000 bonus miles
Where the bonus could total to 8,500 miles.
Besides flying, miles transferred from Cathay’s partners also count, including for example Marriott Bonvoy and American Express Membership Rewards. Depends which offer you get, you can transfer 5,000 Amex points into 9,000 Cathay miles, or 12,000 Amex points into 20,500 Cathay miles.
You have until January 31st to accomplish the task and the bonus miles will be deposited by March 31st.
15% off reward nights at IHG new hotels
IHG started a new hotel promotion last year, where you get 15% when redeeming reward nights at participating new hotels. The hotel list is refreshed every three months and the new one just came out.
Simply book and stay at any of the participating hotel by February 29th, and the price shown is already reduced.
Here are some hotels that are worth a mention:
- Austria – voco Vienna Prater
- Portugal – Convent Square Lisbon, Vignette Collection
- Spain – voco Madrid – Retiro
- China – Kimpton Qiantan Shanghai
- Japan – Hotel Indigo Tokyo Shibuya
- Nepal – Crowne Plaza Tashkent
- UAE – Holiday Inn Dubai Business Bay
15% off is a good deal if you plan to visit these places within the next three months. Some hotels have virtually zero reward availability though, and I’m not sure whether it’s slow integration and they are being “smart”.
My review of Global & Mera Lounge, Cancun T3
My four-day vacation in Cancun has come to an end and I’m heading back to London. The last stop would be the airport lounge, and I do have some expectations since Cancun relies so heavily on tourists.
British Airways uses Terminal 3 of the airport, where all airlines as well as Priority Pass share the same lounge: The Lounge by Global Lounge. It is a landside lounge located at the departure hall, before security, which is not commonly seen.
It looks quite trendy from outside, but the indoor area appears tiny.
It has all the functions though: meeting room, work desks, bar and kids’ club.
And then I found out about the first floor, which is larger and bright.
There are some small plates for you to take, but you mostly order from a menu. All items are local Mexican food, including tacos, chicken soup and cheese pie.
I appreciate the effort they make. Many airport lounges, for understandable concerns, offer only “safe” options such as fried chicken, pasta and salad, and it’s a treat to be able to enjoy something local and special. The quality is quite good by the way – all the tacos I’ve had in Cancun are amazing.
The menu for cocktails shocked me!
As many as 35 different cocktails are on offer and prepared freshly by the bartender. I don’t expect this level of experience even in first class lounges!
We ordered one Sunrise and one Sunset to pair, which would cost around $15 per glass in the hotel zone. Although the facility here isn’t great, food and drink options are impressive.
There’s actually an airside lounge as well – Mera Business Lounge. It is part of the Plaza Premium group – they don’t take Priority Pass but Amex Platinum is fine.
Although slightly bigger, the furnishing is dire with zero natural light. It’s just about to closing so no longer taking any orders. I had a quick look at the menu, which is mainly the kind of pasta and sauteed vegetables etc. Alcohol is free but no cocktails.
So it’s a wise choice that the airlines pick The Lounge over Mera. If you like cocktails, reserve plenty of time before your flight from Cancun! But don’t get too drunk to board. As it is a landside lounge that accepts Priority Pass, I suspect that arriving passengers are admitted too.
All Signature – buy Accor points at half price
Accor Hotel Group, confusingly, has many membership programs that apply to different hotel brands and different regions. The All Signature program which was originally available to Brazilian residents is now open to all, and it creates some interesting options.
The homepage is here. There are three plan tiers that offer monthly Accor point deposit along with other benefits. You can choose to pay monthly, quarterly or annually.
- Discover: R$119 / R$357 / R$1,428 & 1,000 monthly points
- Explorer: R$345 / R$1,035 / R$4,140 & 3,000 monthly points
- Absolute: R$560 / R$1,680 / R$6,720 & 5,000 monthly points
You received double points on the 4th, 8th and 12th month, which means you’ll collect 15,000 / 45,000 / 75,000 bonus points per year in each plan respectively.
You will also earn 200 / 600 / 1,000 status points per month with each plan. You earn enough status points to become Accor Gold (7,000 status points) after being Explorer for 12 months or Absolute for 7 months. 12 months of Absolute sets you only 2,000 points short from Accor Platinum (14,000 status points.)
Until November 30th, you can apply promo code BFALLSIG23 for 50% off a monthly or quarterly plan, and BFALLSIG15 for 15% off an annual plan. Note that the discount applies to the first payment only.
There are many possible combinations. For the annual Absolute plan, you’ll be paying R$5712 (€1,065) for 75,000 points – equivalent to €1,500 when used towards Accor stays, and that’s a very respectable 29% discount.
I don’t think everyone needs that many points though, and the deal actually becomes more interesting for monthly and quarterly plans, as you get a larger 50% discount.
The quarterly Absolute plan costs R$840 (€157) and comes with 15,000 points worth €300, so that’s almost 50% off! I’m not sure whether I can cancel the subscription after just three months though or if it’s minimum one-year commitment. I asked my Brazilian friend to go through the offer page and there doesn’t seem to be any related term, so I assume it’s the former.
Even if I end up having to undertake one year, the price difference is only R$168 (€32) which is fine. I made the purchase and the 5,000 points are deposited to my account within a couple of minutes:
I already have the All Plus membership and there’s no conflict. We know the following:
- You can hold All Signature, All Plus and the Chinese All Plus cards at the same time
- For Accor Plus there are mixed data points – some people have succeeded in purchasing All Signature
Note that the transaction could by blocked by your credit card as the charge is in BRL. I tried my U.S. Amex card first but it was declined, and changing to Chase solved the issue.
The Absolute subscription comes with some additional benefits:
- 10% transfer bonus from select partner programs (mostly South American)
- In the 4th month and then annually, Diamond members can gift an Accor Gold card; Platinum and Gold members can gift an Accor Silver card
- Executive Lounge access at Pullman Guarulhos Sao Paolo Airport, 5 visits per year
- Early / exclusive access to Accor Experiences and Dream Stays offers
It does indeed seem to be a very good offer to me – you can buy cheap points, upgrade to a higher status level more easily, plus enjoy some additional perks. Note that however their customer service is still Brazil-based so it might pose challenges when you need help.
As a reader has pointed out, you could cancel the subscription online yourself.
Accor points are valid for 12 months from the last time any point is credited to your account. They could be used towards your hotel stays both online and in-store.
Black Friday Flight & Hotel deals roundup
Etihad
- Book by November 27th
- Travel between January 15th and June 12th
- Use promo code WHITEFRIDAY20 or BLACKFRIDAY20
- Save 20% on economy and business class fares
Note that the 20% discount applies to the base fare only, which means in reality the savings will be much less.
Aegean
- Book by November 27th
- Travel between January 15th and October 26th
- No promo code needed
- Save up to 50% on all tickets across the network
The actual discount depends on your travel date.
ITA Airways
- Book by November 27th
- Travel between December 1st and December 31st
- Use promo code BLACK
- Save 30% on all tickets except Economy Lite
The offer is available to many markets including UK, Europe and US (20% off).
Cathay Pacific
- Book by November 26th
- Travel between December 1st and June 28th
- Use promo code UKBLACKFRI for flights departing from the UK
- £100 off business class and £75 off economy / premium economy
Similar deals are available for France and Germany etc.
Air China
£100 discount on UK flights to China / Asia. Claim your voucher on Trip.com – they have other Black Friday offers as explained in this blog post.
TAP Portugal
London – Boston in business class for ~£1000 return, and the cost can be further reduced if you add a stopover (>24 hours) in Lisbon to avoid the UK APD. Example:
Use Google Flights and Skyscanner to find cheap date combinations. Book by November 28th.
Virgin Atlantic
- Book by November 27th
- Travel by September 30th
- Pay 30% fewer points for all reward flights
This is an incredible deal for flying to/from Shanghai:
Redemptions for US destinations are unfortunately bundled with outrageous fees, so they might not be a great deal even with the 30% discount.
Melia
- Book by November 26th
- Stay by December 20th, 2024 (hotel dependant)
- Save up to 50%
Remember to stack the Gold 20% off and App 5% off. The discount is genuine although not necessarily at 50% at most properties, and many of the rates are flexible.
Accor
20% bonus on digital gift card purchases. Gift cards are valid for 5 years, and can be used at participating hotels in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece and Poland.
Kimpton Hotels
The following UK Kimpton hotels are offering 20% discount of gift vouchers:
- Kimpton London Fitzroy
- Kimpton Manchester Clocktower
- Kimpton Edinburgh Charlotte Square
- Kimtpon Glasgow Blythswood Square
Gift vouchers are valid for 12 months and can be used upon hotel checkout. They work well with pay-at-hotel rates, including Amex FHR and IHG Luxury & Lifestyle.
Malmaison / Hotel Du Vin
Malmaison – rate starts at £100, including £50 dinner credit
Hotel Du Vin – rate starts at £145 for two nights, including £50 dinner credit
£100 flight / hotel discount with Trip.com
We wrote about Trip.com’s constant flight discount recently, and they’ve just revealed their Black Friday promotions which are worth a look.
The landing page is here. Note that the specs here are for the UK market, but similar promotions run for France, Germany and Spain as well.
Flight discount:
- Nov 24, 5pm – £50 off £200
- Nov 24, 8pm – £20 off £30 on flights to Spain, excluding budget airlines
- Nov 25, 12pm – £100 off £500
- Nov 25, 8pm – £30 off £40 on flights to Turkey
- Nov 26, 12pm – £15 off 100
- Nov 26, 8pm – £100 off £150 on flights to Thailand
Supply will be limited and they will probably go fast. The flight must depart from the UK, but besides that there are very few restrictions. Keep your alarm clock on if you have flight tickets to buy!
Hotel discount:
- Nov 24, 6pm – £50 off £150
- Nov 25, 6pm – £100 off £250
- Nov 26, 6pm – £20 off £100
Unlike the flight offer there’s no geographical restriction on the hotels, although they can only be applied to “selected hotels”.
My review of JW Marriott Cancun
Having spent three nights at the unusual Canopy hotel, I wanted to move to a proper resort – after all we are in Cancun right? I was very undecisive between JW Marriott, Westin Lagunamar and the Royalton Chic, and JW Marriott finally had the upper hand as it’s very close to the restaurants and snorkelling tour that I was interested in.
The JW Marriott hotel is located in the middle of the hotel strip, which is where many luxury hotels are. Although buses pass by, the hotel’s entrance is a good walk from the road, and there’s no immediate pedestrian cross.
We visited the Mayan site at the Westin Lagunamar in the morning and then took an Uber to the JW. We arrived at 1pm and the room wasn’t ready yet, so we headed to the Fred’s House for lunch first.
Unlike the Canopy, you can easily tell that the JW Marriott hotel is a massive resort, which is what most tourists expect to see in this destination.
The concierge offered us an ice lolly whilst we were waiting for checking in.
Many of the Marriott hotels in Cancun are part of the Vacation Club, implying minimum benefits for Bonvoy members, e.g. no breakfast or suite night award redemption. That’s exactly how the JW Marriott stands out – my suite night award cleared into the best suite of the hotel!
The hotel has a special club lounge, Club 91, and access isn’t complimentary to elite members. You can purchase at the daily price of $85 per person, but I wouldn’t recommend. If you intend to dine fully at the hotel, it’s better to choose an all-inclusive property instead.
My ocean view suite is located on the 11th floor.
Living room:
Bedroom:
Walk-in wardrobe and two bathrooms:
The design is simple and has got the chilled vibe, which suits a beach-side resort well. Coffee machine:
The living room and bedroom are connected to different balconies. It’s not a joy in Cancun’s summer though.
The ocean view however is impeccable, and you see people doing water sports, for example parasailing.
I’m only here for one night, so no poking around and let’s go down to the swimming pool! The outdoor pool is not so much “swimming” to be honest, more of a pretty venue to sunbathe and relax.
More photos of the pool:
You can walk down to the public beach, but remember to bring your key card as you need it to come back.
The sea is beautiful, and you can go down tens of metres yet the water is still quite shallow. The waves are not to be taken lightly though so swimming is not practical.
The indoor pool on the other hand, is absolutely empty.
The gyms:
My research suggests that elite members are entitled to free continental breakfast only, which is fine by me. When I’m in the restaurant however – what kind of continental breakfast is this?!
You can find everything you expect from an English breakfast buffet, with the addition of paella and some local specialties. There are also eggs cooked to order.
In honesty the quality is not great, and I definitely prefer the breakfast at the Canopy. But the spread is very impressive, and the only thing missing is the a-la-carte menu for the paying guests.
The hotel has many restaurants but we didn’t visit any except the pizza shop.
We requested 4.30pm late check-out, which was granted without any hassle. However as the suite was unavailable we were moved to the standard room instead.
Having a view of a construction site isn’t fun for regular guests, but we just need a room to rest so no complaints at all. I am very satisfied with the stay, and it was definitely a great decision to use my suite night award here!