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.

KR says:

25 May25 May 09:37

How’s Sheremetyevo since the redevelopment? Aeroexpress makes choice of airports much of a muchness from a convenience perspective but DME was usually more pleasant airside.

Is the new route expected to have the long-haul Business Class layout?
David says:

25 May25 May 10:34

OT: JAL Redemptions

I am looking to use avios on JAL given the great value it provides.

However, I am having an issue with finding flights to redeem on through BA. When searching for certain routes I can find flights (TYO-PEK), however on much more common routes (TYO-KIX/ITM) there are none showing.

Are there any known issues with searching for JAL availability on BA.com? Is there a work around? Given there are >20 flights from Tokyo to Osaka per day I would expect to see some availability at any point in the next year!

Thanks for any help.
- New Card says:
  
  25 May25 May 10:52
  
  Are you looking for Business class? AFAIK you can only redeem for Economy class intra-Japan flights. (Also, query if a bullet train might be better from Tokyo to Osaka!)
  - David says:
    
    25 May25 May 11:01
    
    We’ve just come back from Japan, and whilst we did some non-Shinkansen routes on dirt cheap redemptions (HND-CTS; CTS-HND-KOJ) where there’s a Shinkansen link I’d take it over the flights for the convenience, calm, and efficiency.
    
    We made much use of the takkyubin too to make life easier, packing 3-day bags or so and catching up with luggage every few days!
    - David says:
      
      25 May25 May 11:09
      
      Only looking for economy tickets which is why I was very confused about there being no Tokyo-Osaka tickets.
      
      We have done the Shinkansen before, which is fantastic although expensive. 4,500 avios vs. ~£150 makes the redemption attractive for me (if I can find it).
- meta says:
  
  25 May25 May 15:22
  
  I think I saw a thread on FT recently about changes to the way JAL domestic awards are released with OW partners. They are apparently now 60 days out instead of 330 days.
Craig says:

25 May25 May 10:39

OT: My eRewards account is linked directly to Avios only, anyone have an idea what will happen when my Avios account closes?
the real harry1 says:

25 May25 May 10:42

FYI the Tesco credit card I used to pay for a funds transfer via HIFX—>foreign bank account treated my currency purchase as a purchase not a cash advance. There’s also £25 up for grabs for first time users @ HIFX.
Fred says:

25 May25 May 10:45

On these McLaren dos, I do not suppose the price will be going back down again …
- Rob says:
  
  25 May25 May 12:10
  
  Not unless it doesn’t sell out ….
Tracy says:

25 May25 May 10:49

O/T I want to book a marriott 7 day travel package for a trip next july. I need 7 nights in a category 9 hotel. I have the 270k marriott points for the basic package and will have to save more marriott points for the hotel upgrade. I know the Marriott/SPG program is changing massively so my question is should I book it in July or between Aug-Dec or wait until after Jan.
PAL says:

25 May25 May 11:12

O/T – Does anyone know how much the taxes/fees are redeeming emirates on JetBlue…thanks!
- PAL says:
  
  25 May25 May 11:16
  
  not to worry the emirates website is working again!
john says:

25 May25 May 11:40

On the subject of cookies.. the website no longer remembers my name and e-mail on the comment form. Is that just me or is it due to cookie/gdpr changes? 🙁
- Rob says:
  
  25 May25 May 12:08
  
  This is an issue. WordPress has added a new option whereby a tick box appears in the Comments form saying ‘please remember my name and email’. Tick that and all is well. However …. for some technical reason our ‘theme’ is not showing that. We are updating a bit of software next week which may fix it.