Bits: Delta Heathrow changes, if you need a hotel in Worcester ….

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News in brief:

Virgin Atlantic to be joined by Delta at Heathrow Terminal 3

Delta has announced changes to their London flights. Starting on 14th September all Delta flights from Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Philadelphia will be moved from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3. As Delta’s New York-JFK, Boston and Seattle services are already operating from this terminal, it will bring the entire Delta operation under one roofs.

The main beneficiary will be passengers who are connecting Delta-Virgin in London who often found that their onward flight was from a different terminal. This won’t be the case any longer and makes stopover flights with Delta and Virgin Atlantic (which is 49% owned by Delta) more appealing.

However as much as this is good news for Delta passengers, Virgin Atlantic passengers might worry about an overcrowded Clubhouse lounge. Delta will now be operating 11 flight per day from Terminal 3 to the US and Virgin Atlantic operates 31 flights during the summer. This means that the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge will have to cater for Business / Upper Class and status passengers from 40 flights throughout the day.

delta airline virgin atlantic

If you need a hotel in Worcester …..

This is slightly off-topic for HfP as this is not a branded hotel, but as it is a Bank Holiday Weekend, Rob is still away and there is a space to fill …..

I had to go to Worcester recently and, in the absence of any chain properties where I could earn or use points, ended up at the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel. This was surprisingly pleasant and a good reminder that there are many good independently run hotels still out there in the UK.

Worcester turned out to be a very pretty town. The Worcester Whitehouse Hotel is right opposite Worcester Foregate Street station on the High Street and has got a gym with pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room – which is always a huge plus for a hotel.

Parts of the building like the entrance hall with its staircase apparently date back to the 17th century:

whitehouse hotel worcester entrance hall

My room was a decent size with a double bed, sofa and large desk. Unfortunately it didn’t have aircon and even though it was rather rainy and cold outside, the room was a bit stuffy and hot. However there was a fan on the desk which made the room more bearable.

whitehouse hotel worcester room

The food in the restaurant was good and the service great. Breakfast was a decent selection of hot and cold food and was also served in the restaurant.

whitehouse hotel worcester restaurant dinner

Given that the alternatives are mainly of the Premier Inn or Travelodge style, I recommend it if you’re heading to Worcester.

Hotel offers update – December 2021:

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Want to buy hotel points? There is currently a special offer running with IHG Rewards (80% bonus to 4th January 2022) and World of Hyatt (30% discount, equivalent to a 43% bonus, to 30th December 2021).

Category

SkyTeam alliance partners, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Alex W says:

28 Aug28 August 06:51

Does this mean if you fly Delta you can use your Alitalia card to get into the virgin club house?
- James Ward says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 07:39
  
  Highly unlikely. I’m a SkyMiles Gold Medallion; that’s mid-tier status which does grant access to SkyTeam lounges when flying internationally on a SkyTeam carrier AND gives access to Virgin Clubhouses when flying DL to the UK. All clubhouses, that is, except LHR and LGW!!
  
  Here’s an excerpt from the Delta website about SkyMiles member access but it doesn’t mention anything about flyers with SkyTeam Elite or Elite Plus status:
  
  “Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge access is available at select locations to Delta One™ and Upper Class passengers and Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion members with a same-day nonstop transatlantic flight between North America and the U.K. that is operated by Delta or Virgin Atlantic. Diamond and Platinum Medallion members may access Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses in London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, New York-JFK, Newark, Washington-Dulles, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco Airports. Gold Medallion members may only access Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses within the U.S. (New York-JFK, Newark, Washington-Dulles, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco Airports). Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion members are allowed to bring one guest. While access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in the U.K. (London-Heathrow and London-Gatwick) is not available to Gold Medallion members, these members, may enjoy the No. 1. Traveller Loungeopens in a new window at LHR’s Terminal 3. “
  - Tina Hammond says:
    
    28 Aug28 August 08:32
    
    Probably bevause the VS clubhouse is full of Y and PE passengers who have chosen to pay for entry…nice littlec earner if you can get it 🙂
- avioscollector says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 08:32
  
  No. Virgin and Delta are partners, but Virgin are not part of Skyteam so the clubhouse is outside of Skyteam’s entry requirements.
- Alex W says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 10:20
  
  That Alitalia card is the most pointless piece of plastic in my travel wallet. No wonder they were handing them out like smarties.
  - Alan says:
    
    28 Aug28 August 11:11
    
    I’ve found it really useful actually. Had a couple of KLM flights it got me free luggage for, then gave the free partner card to a friend that had a great time and saved a bundle with lots of internal flights in the US with Delta.
avioscollector says:

28 Aug28 August 08:28

“space to fill…”

Pretty much sums up many of the posts on Head for points.
- LB says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 09:05
  
  avioscollector – maybe you should consider upgrading to the “Premier” Head for Points subscription for just £50.00 per year!
- Rob says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 09:17
  
  Relevancy is in the eye of the beholder!
  - Mark says:
    
    28 Aug28 August 10:47
    
    OK Rob, but as a long-time follower and huge fan of HFP, I am still a bit disappointed to see so many hotel reviews appearing now. Mainly because they are (by their nature) very specific to a particular travel plan, and so unlikely to have any relevance for me – or any other random traveller.
    Hints and advice for saving money and/or colecting Avios and other points will be directly relevant to all readers and/or points collectors.
    A minor gripe – but I hope this trend does not accelerate…
    Regards, Mark
    - Rob says:
      
      28 Aug28 August 10:52
      
      The recent reviews have been bunched because I held a lot back to run whilst I was away. All of the New York stuff from Anika actually took place in early July but I sat on it for a month as it meant 6 fewer articles to write whilst I was away.
      
      The reviews are all chain properties where you can earn or, more importantly, redeem your points. They are not random hotels (you won’t find us in the Doubletree in Aberdeen) – they are in major gateway cities or tourist spots.
      
      We also get stuff in return – IHG offered us the double points promo, Melia has just agreed to sponsor a competition etc. Frankly, they are also good for SEO and bring in a lot of people who will not have seen the site before. This benefit carries on for literally years.
      
      There will never be more than 2-3 per month purely because (unless it is somewhere we are going anyway) they require a 2-3 day trip.
    - Charlie says:
      
      28 Aug28 August 13:26
      
      I find the hotel reviews useful. We are going to use the Aloft for a redemption weekend booking based on Anika’s review.
    - Leo says:
      
      28 Aug28 August 14:59
      
      I like the hotel reviews too – was glad to see a useful review of the IC Barclay a while back and am also shortly going to the Hilton Mallorca, so relevant to me. Actually more so than news on Etihad fares to be honest as a OW die-hard. It’s all subjective isn’t it and I’m not complaining.
      - Rob says:
        
        28 Aug28 August 15:20
        
        Hilton Mallorca should be tomorrow …..
- plastikman says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 18:11
  
  I do agree somewhat and I think it is fair to say that ‘points collecting’ or using an arbitrage strategy for additional points or status is becoming more and more difficult (unless you book premium revenue fares). There are far fewer genuine deals / loopholes etc etc than there once were. The business is shrinking but the number of articles in the HFP newsletter is fixed. So there you have it.
Thomas says:

28 Aug28 August 10:00

HFP during the summer months is like Barcelona without Messi! a little less magical, yet still very entertaining on a whole! Lionel Burgess is in the gym as we speak to prepare a great come back very soon! Now can we please go totally off topic with some 2 for 1 stuff I do not understand anyway…….
- Rob says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 10:15
  
  The page numbers don’t drop, though, because there are lots of people in the office with little to do but read HFP. I would have been well over 1m page views again this month if I’d done 3 articles per day. As it is, I will drop about 15,000 views short.
  - Alan says:
    
    28 Aug28 August 11:09
    
    Haha, oh to have a job that got quieter over the summer! We get busier during school holidays as cross-covering colleagues – same over Christmas and public holidays…
    - Genghis says:
      
      28 Aug28 August 14:03
      
      @Alan. You still, like me, find enough time to post on HfP 🙂
      It’s my equivalent of a (sometimes extended) fag break.
      - Alan says:
        
        29 Aug29 August 09:16
        
        Haha yes thankfully some gaps appear here and there that allow for a quick catch up on HfP! (like just now!)
  - harry says:
    
    28 Aug28 August 20:26
    
    I actually had a divisional FTSE100 job that sort of finished the week typically before Tuesday lunchtime lol
    
    I spent the rest of the time talking to my team about this & that
    
    I think the more senior you get, the easier it gets – as long as you recruit good people then work well with them, ie use their abilities
BillyBoy says:

28 Aug28 August 12:24

Not sure I would point the gun at Rob tbh – it feels like not much is going on bargain-wise at the moment, especially for someone like me who overwhelmingly flies Oneworld… I’ve been monitoring the Premium Fares thread on FT for the last few months and very little has made me go “ooh”…
Kinkell says:

28 Aug28 August 17:53

I like the hotel reviews, but haven’t actually stayed in any that have been reviewed! About to say in IC New York TS…with free Ambassador night.
However, if any reader has stayed in either the IC San Francisco or , in the same city, IC Mark Hopkins, which one should I choose? What are the Club facilities like in each? My son is currently saying in at the Mark Hopkins and says nice hotel, but club not a patch on Madrid or Sydney.
- Kelly says:
  
  28 Aug28 August 20:02
  
  We stayed with our free night vouchers at the Mark Hopkins SF a few years ago and got upgraded straight to The Presidential Suite…the hotel was packed as it was fleet week and we only booked the hotel the morning of our stay as we were leaving the CP in Seattle…not the most organised of travellers!
  The Club facilities are pretty pants to be honest (personally I didn’t feel that it was worth the additional cost and we use the Club facilities on most IC’s that we stay at), it’s on the ground floor and the food was very basic at best however the hotel is lovely and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The bar on the top floor has impressive floors, a great history but is a tad tired looking.
  - Kinkell says:
    
    28 Aug28 August 21:07
    
    Thanks Kelly, for your comment. Still swithering!
- Kipto says:
  
  29 Aug29 August 11:08
  
  Just come back from San Francisco where we stayed at the Inter Continental on Howard Street. This is the second time we have stayed there and this time we were given an upgrade to the club lounge as part of an ambassador upgrade. The club lounge was high up ( believe the 19th floor ) and was very good with excellent staff. we didn’t eat at the hotel apart from the lounge but the hotel is very nice and excellently situated five minutes walk from union Square. Haven’t stayed at the Mark Hopkins so can’t comment. Reports I have read say it is situated on a hill though.
  - Kinkell says:
    
    29 Aug29 August 22:02
    
    Thanks, Kipto.sounds more promising than MH. Will decide shortly
Dave Barron says:

29 Aug29 August 07:48

I always find every article or hotel review interesting even if as a lowly leisure collector the majority of them are unlikely to be of personal use to me. I like to read about what’s possible and the savings which can be made.

For what it’s worth Rob I have been to Doubletree Aberdeen a few times either redeeming or earning points and air miles! I’ve done so thanks to the Gold status this site has secured me. More than happy to review for you if ever needed (particularly the Platinum complex!) ha ha……keep up the good work Rob and Anika!
- Alan says:
  
  29 Aug29 August 09:15
  
  I offered Rob a review of the very nice Doubletree by Hilton Dundee, but he wasn’t wanting that either!