Bits: £1300 business class to Bogota, Harvey Nichols meal deal, Larnaca lounge closure

News in brief:

Get a £1,300 business class deal to Bogota on LATAM

Rhys has literally just reappeared in the HfP office after a trip to Bogota in Colombia, trying out the new Iberia A350 business class seat. This review, and a Four Seasons hotel review, will follow in a couple of weeks.

Iberia isn’t the only airline to fly from Madrid to Bogota, however. LATAM also operates on this route, and is currently offering a bargain fare of £1,300 in business class.

For example:

This appear to be valid for most of 2024.

They are not, as far as I can tell, ‘light’ tickets in any way and come with lounge access, 2 x 23kg suitcases and free seat selection.

Whilst LATAM is no longer in a major airline alliance, it is partners with British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic amongst others. You should do the maths to work out which scheme is most attractive for your flight. Virgin Atlantic is the only partner from this list which offers elite status credit.

As a quick summary:

• Iberia – no tier points, 1.25 Avios per mile flown if your business class ticket books into Z, C, I, D or J (click here for more)

• British Airways – as with Iberia (click here for more)

• Qatar Airways – as with Iberia (click here for more)

• Virgin Atlantic – 75 tier points per sector (2,000+ miles), 1.25 Virgin Points per miles flown if your business class ticket books into Z, C or I, or 1.5 Virgin Points per mile in D or J (click here for more)

Frustratingly I couldn’t see anywhere on the LATAM booking site which showed the exact fare class you were buying.

You can look up dates and pricing on the LATAM website here. Hat-tip to Luxury Flight Club.

Use your Amex Platinum credit for a Harvey Nichols meal deal

If you have The Platinum Card from American Express, your £50 Harvey Nichols credit for the first half of 2024 will now be available to claim.

Reader Sarah dropped me a note about a £30 three course special set menu currently being served at Harvey Nichols Knightbridge, Leeds, Bristol and Edinburgh as well as the OXO Tower in London (£40 or £45).

Each meal comes with a drink – an Absolut Spritz, Elyx Sour or Espresso Martini in Knightsbridge – so a couple could get out with a bill of £60 plus service, offset by the £50 credit.

You can find out more on the Harvey Nichols website here.

Larnaca airport lounge to close

According to the Priority Pass website, the Aspire Aphrodite Lounge at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus will close permanently on 29th January.

As well as being used by Priority Pass customers, this is also the lounge for British Airways flyers.

There is a dedicated Aegean / Star Alliance lounge at Larnaca but I think that may be it, which would leave British Airways and Priority Pass holders in a pickle. Oddly the airport operator website does not mention the closure.

Thanks to Denis for this.