Sunday Roundup: Star Alliance, Amex Shake-Ups & Some Cracking Hotel Deals

Good morning and happy Sunday!

Hope you're having a lovely start to the weekend - whether you're nursing a cup of tea and ignoring the April showers or already plotting your next escape somewhere sunnier. It's been a genuinely busy week in the UK points and miles world, with Amex making some significant behind-the-scenes changes, a brand new Star Alliance card landing on these shores, and a couple of hotel deals that are well worth your attention before they disappear.

Let's dive into this past week's biggest stories from the UK points and miles world.

If you hold an Amex Business Gold or Business Platinum, this is the story of the week - full stop. From 1st April, American Express quietly overhauled how spend bonuses work across both cards, and the changes are meaningful enough that you'll want to revisit how you're using yours.

The core issue is that Amex hasn't exactly been shouting about these changes from the rooftops. For some cardholders, the new structure is genuinely better - particularly those whose spending naturally falls into the newly favoured categories. For others, especially those who were strategically optimising around the old bonus tiers, this is a meaningful step backwards in earning potential. The key is understanding exactly where your own spending sits and whether the revised structure works in your favour.

What makes this especially worth paying attention to is the timing. April is often when people review their card setups ahead of summer travel planning, and if you're holding a Business Gold or Business Platinum as your primary Membership Rewards earner, a change to the spend bonus structure can have a real impact on how many points you're accumulating before your summer flights. Knowing the new rules now gives you time to adapt.

Bundled into the same piece are two bonus deals also worth flagging: IHG One Rewards dropped a rare flash triple points promotion and Hilton Honors launched a 100% bonus on bought points - making it a genuinely stacked post for anyone juggling multiple loyalty programmes.

Key takeaways:

Read the full story here.

The week kicked off with a genuinely surprising announcement: United Airlines launched the UK's first Star Alliance-branded debit card, giving UK consumers a brand new way to earn miles within the alliance. It's an intriguing arrival, but whether it stacks up against the established Amex and Marriott Bonvoy routes to Star Alliance miles is a different question entirely - and one this post answers head-on. There's also a Hyatt points deal flagged that was ending that same day, so if you missed it, file that one away for next time.

Read more here.

With all the Star Alliance card chat this week, Wednesday's post arrived at exactly the right moment: a proper breakdown of all four UK cards that can earn you Star Alliance miles, from Amex transfer partners to Marriott Bonvoy and beyond. If you've ever been confused about the best route to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles or United MileagePlus from the UK, this is the reference piece you've been waiting for. Bonus: there's also a 10,000-point Radisson offer and a triple Avios Wine Flyer deal to catch before it ends.

Read more here.

With bank holidays on the horizon and the Great British Staycation season approaching, Thursday's post was perfectly timed: Amex Stays is offering up to £75 back on select UK hotel bookings, representing a 25% return that's hard to ignore if you're already planning a weekend away. The offer runs until June 2026, so there's time to be strategic - but not so much time that you can afford to sit on it. Well worth bookmarking if you've got any UK travel planned between now and early summer.

Read more here.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and here's to a great week ahead.

Cheers,

Smart With Points