HfP and the new data protection rules

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The new European data protection rules come into force today.

As you know, HfP collects very little directly identifiable data about readers since you do not need to register to use the site. There are four areas where you may voluntarily choose to provide directly identifiable personal data to us and I thought I would run over how we operate:

Our email list

Some readers prefer to receive HfP articles by email instead of visiting the site directly. You can read how we, actually Mailchimp, handle your data and your rights regarding it on this page.

We have not asked subscribers to reconfirm their interest as everyone on our list explicitly signed up to receive articles by email in the first place. We have never randomly added reader email addresses to our list.

When you comment on HfP

We have produced a page of information about what data we collect on comments on the site and your rights in relation to the deletion or export of comments you make. You can read that here.

Head for Points and GDPR

When you enter a competition

Future competitions will include a statement on how your entry data is treated by Gleam, our Data Processor. We have never used competition entry data for any other purpose and won’t be starting now. We are deleting all of the existing entrant data held by Gleam, so we will no longer know if you entered a specific competition back in 2015 or not! Going forward, entry data will be deleted shortly after a winner has been selected and verified.

When you contact Bon Vivant with a hotel enquiry

Our Bon Vivant enquiry page now includes details on how Emyr and ourselves handle your enquiry.

This covers all of the scenarios under which you may provide directly identifiable data to us.

You also provide indirectly identifiable data to us when you use the site, since we are obliged to use various cookies for the site to function. The ‘legitimate interest’ basis allows us to collect indirect data as long as it is bare minimum required for the smooth operation of the site.

We have made necessary changes where possible to cookie collection. There will be more to come over the coming weeks as a consensus emerges on what is and is not needed – WordPress is a patchwork quilt of products and we are reliant on a large number of people to update their code. With WordPress running 25% of global websites there are obviously many people supporting this effort.

We do not, and never have, used indirectly identifiable reader data to build behavioural user profiles or to market for any other purposes. You do not, for example, see ads for HfP popping up when you visit other websites.

We have also taken this opportunity to add a disclosure to our articles stating that HfP may receive a commission if you make a purchase using a link on the site.

Our full privacy policy can be found here. You can find this page at any time via the link at the bottom of each page on the desktop / tablet site.

Category

General

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

Melvin says:

25 May25 May 16:04

*Sorry, my terminology was wrong, I meant MCOL.
I did find an alternative carrier that was fair more convenient and got me to the correct airport on the same day. I was unaware that I had the right to be booked (by Vueling) onto another carrier and they certainly did not offer, even though I made them aware that their alternative flight was not suitable.

I thought I’d been hard done by and from what you say, it sounds like a might have a case worth pursuing via MCOL, especially as it was for a party of 7 people.

Thanks
- the real harry1 says:
  
  25 May25 May 16:27
  
  Don’t worry, you’re not alone – the vast majority of people don’t realise they can force the re-routing issue when their flight is cancelled. It sounds like you accepted the refund voluntarily, in which case you don’t have a snowball’s, sorry to say. Once you press ‘accept’, it’s case closed.
  
  To get another opinion/ several opinions! from quite expert EC261 people, some lawyers, you could describe your case on the Flyertalk British Airways EC261 thread.
@mkcol says:

25 May25 May 16:34

OT: Curve rewards no longer pay on B&Q transactions
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  25 May25 May 17:25
  
  They’ve stopped at M&S for me too
- Alex W says:
  
  25 May25 May 18:31
  
  On the flip side, I have been getting 5% back at National Express coaches, which doesn’t seem to be advertised. Have the black card.
a270 says:

25 May25 May 18:48

OT: How long does it take to transfer SPG points from one account to another SPG account (same address)? It’s been 5 working days and no luck. Also, how long doe the SPG->Marriott transfer take? I need the miles part urgently as will be purchasing Marriott Travel Package but am wondering if this will work for me at all as I thought it would be quite quick. Amex to Delta was almost an instant transfer.
- Funtime says:
  
  25 May25 May 19:45
  
  Mine took about a week, maybe a couple of days longer, recently.
- AndyW says:
  
  25 May25 May 21:13
  
  SPG to Marriott should be instant
  - S879 says:
    
    26 May26 May 03:15
    
    Thanks all.
  - Genghis says:
    
    26 May26 May 03:29
    
    Wasn’t instant last time I did it. C.30-45 mins despite logging in and out.
the real harry1 says:

25 May25 May 22:24

O/T just a reminder of a couple of tips I find useful. For non-status people like us Blueys. Out tomorrow to place in the sun for a week/ half term. 4x Avios redemptions, Dad + 3 kids, I went for the cash/ Avios option where I could ‘buy’ (or not redeem) 20,000 Avios for £160, so I effectively paid 0.8p/ Avios and kept 20,000 Avios in the bank. Lesson 1.

I checked us in T-24 hrs today and was a bit fed up because there were 3x great seats up front which I moved the kids to within about a minute – but somebody was faster and it fell through, so I just moved them up the plane to about row 16. However, knowing how dynamic it is, I checked back a few times and surprise surprise, row 5 opened up with 3 seats a couple of hours later so I grabbed them instead. I’d managed to get a window seat about row 6 for myself at T-24.

So we’re all up front. Lesson 2 here: 1. Don’t make your online check-in crystallised by printing the BP or getting the PDF if you’re not entirely happy with your seat. Otherwise it’s done & dusted. If you just check in but nothing else (eg choose collect BP @ airport) you can go back and change seats later.

Lesson 3 – whilst I am now pretty happy with our seats all up front – kids together & me in a window seat – I’d like to get an exit seat. Currently 3 showing as available. I’m not willing to pay for that. Of course, you can ask at check in for the agent to do that. But if you go to the self check-in machines (@ LHR and elsewhere), you can do this yourself. Earlier, so you are first. Ie we have checked in already, securing our seats, we haven’t printed BPs, tomorrow I will arrive @ LHR a bit early, go to the OLCI machines, select check in again and see if I can move myself to an exit seat.
- the real harry1 says:
  
  25 May25 May 22:29
  
  Should have said self check in machines 🙂
  
  The point is: getting exit seats for free.
  - Joan says:
    
    25 May25 May 23:50
    
    Top tips thanks Harry. I have done the check-in thing you mention myself and it works well.
    - the real harry1 says:
      
      26 May26 May 05:15
      
      Anybody living near an airport with self check in machines could go there any time after T-24 hrs and use them to grab an exit seat.
    - the real harry1 says:
      
      26 May26 May 10:33
      
      Whew! or as my son says: bang! Flawless journey up the motorway, though it was getting pretty heavy going the other way towards Somerset/ Devon/ Cornwall by 9am, no exit seats remaining but happy with my 6F, no problem dumping bags T-3.5 hrs, admitted into No1 T3 with a few smiles from me with all 3 kids, despite them turning away some people in front of me, apparently 100 more reservations due to arrive in the next hour and most tables occupied or reserved! Even serving something cold, white & bubbly, not sure if it’s Prosecco or ersatz Prosecco but tastes good after the motorway 🙂