Virgin Atlantic to end all flights to Dubai next year

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• S879 says:

  28 Jun28 June 06:16

  OT: Could someone please advise about the medical cover offered by American Express (Platinum or Gold). Visiting USA in the summer and wondering if I should get additional medical insurance. Just need cover for 2 adults and 2 kids in case we need to see a doctor, have an accident etc. Won’t be going skiing. Is it worth getting extra insurance if I have Amex? If yes, could someone recommend a company? Thanks.

  • Genghis says:

    28 Jun28 June 06:40

    I suggest you read the insurance docs. Plat cover for medical is very good. No medical cover with Gold

    • Callum says:

      28 Jun28 June 08:06

      I’d second this. If you don’t understand the policy enough that you need to ask others, it’s a sign you need to read it again. Especially if you’re going somewhere like the US where a simple accident could bankrupt you.

      Very boring I know, but it’s pretty simple.

  • Matt says:

    28 Jun28 June 06:40

    I’m not an expert but I believe plat offers comprehensive travel insurance. Gold doesn’t – it just offers coverage if your travel plans are disrupted as long as that travel was paid for on that card.

    If you don’t have plat I recommend nationwide flex plus current account – £13/month gets you and your family worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and European car breakdown cover.

    • Roger1* says:

      28 Jun28 June 08:42

      Seconded, and if you keep a balance of £2,500 or more, the net cost is only £6-7 a month at current interest rates.

      Pre-existing (existing?) conditions can be covered and unlike AmEx they don’t stop coverage for anybody over 70 (+£50 p.a. for 75+).

  • Rob says:

    28 Jun28 June 07:12

    Amex Plat is fine.

    • S879 says:

      28 Jun28 June 12:39

      Thanks all.

  • Pangolin says:

    28 Jun28 June 12:38

    Be aware that Amex confirmed to me recently that the insurance on the Platinum is only valid if your trip originates in the UK. I tend to fly ex-EU mostly as I spend a lot of time on the continent. However, if your ex-EU flight is preceded by a positioning flight you wouldn’t have any issues (you could easily show that the actual trip started in the UK).

• guesswho2000 says:

  28 Jun28 June 07:15

  $220 is incredibly expensive for a hotel in Vietnam, although I’m not familiar with Phu Quoc specifically. Looks nice though, and there’s a shortage of chain properties in VN in general.

  • Genghis says:

    28 Jun28 June 07:24

    We toured Vietnam in 2015. Those prices are indeed expensive for Vietnam as a whole but seem comparable for Phu Quoc top end hotels (we stayed at Peppercorn Beach Report and Salinda at the time).

    • Crafty says:

      28 Jun28 June 08:14

      Genghis, we are planning a several months trip to Vietnam. Would you be happy to share some reflections and recommendations from yours, particularly if you may have already written them up elsewhere? If so, perhaps best by email as too far off topic for here. Thank you.

      • Memesweeper says:

        28 Jun28 June 09:51

        https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293925-d8139865-Reviews-Lief_Hotel_Saigon-Ho_Chi_Minh_City.html

        Great place

      • Genghis says:

        28 Jun28 June 12:45

        Happy to help. genghis1232 on Twitter.

  • Jeff says:

    28 Jun28 June 08:57

    We have just booked to go to Phu Quoc next March and had looked at a few other places like Nha Trang or Hoi An and at US$220 a lot of the places look quite dodgy when you look at them a bit more closely.

    The rate Rob gives is for September which is still the monsoon season…in March the rate with tax is US$260 for the smallest room without sea view etc. The rates at good hotels with some outside space etc. are much higher.

    • Phil Gollings says:

      28 Jun28 June 11:12

      Vietnam is getting more expensive as popularity increases.

      Which airports can you get to Phu Quoc ?

      • ankomonkey says:

        28 Jun28 June 17:46

        Hanoi, HCMC, Bangkok, direct from UK on charter.

  • Gary Colclough says:

    28 Jun28 June 09:45

    Phu Quoc is expensive (especially Dec to Feb), we have just paid £180 per night for La Veranda

• Chelseafi says:

  28 Jun28 June 07:51

  O/T looking for a one night break, booking with points, I’ve got Amex Plat, so Gold Marriott, I’m looking at Hanbury Manor looks nice but not sure how good restaurants are, also Lingfield Marriott (both 30k) any comments thanks

  • Charlie says:

    28 Jun28 June 10:17

    Lingfield is unusual in that you can get rooms that overlook the racecourse as it’s built into it. Not sure if they can be booked on points but in a nice area.

  • Cat says:

    29 Jun29 June 23:55

    Hanbury Manor is lovely, I really liked the food there, as well as the grounds and the spa!

• What's the Point says:

  28 Jun28 June 08:10

  The prices quoted are inline with the JW Marriott we stayed at in Phu Quoc, and very top end for Vietnam in general. The food costs on site were also quite pricey

• Samuel says:

  28 Jun28 June 08:47

  How will passport control work on the Dublin-Edinburgh flights? Or does everybody go through border control in Edinburgh? On LATAM’s MAD-FRA flights, the flight is classed as a non-Schengen so everybody has to go through border control. On the other hand, British border control is not allowed to check passports for passenger from Brussels to Lille (the so-called loophole for illegal immigration supposedly).

  • Gerry says:

    28 Jun28 June 10:00

    I was at Edi again on Sunday. Signs in Chinese (sorry, don’t know which) and English explaining that Pek-Dub pax go through border control, walk through baggage without stopping and go to Hainan desk to be directed through security again to get to departure lounge.
    Intrigued by the Edi/Dub sector. Would it be as delightful as my £13 flight on the same route last year with Ryanair?

    • ADS says:

      28 Jun28 June 10:30

      i just did a search on skyscanner to see how Hainan compare … it took page 8 of the results to get to the Hainan return flights – 3x the price of the flights on page 1 (EI and FR already compete on the route)

  • abc says:

    28 Jun28 June 18:03

    I guess you could have everyone go through border control in Edinburgh (I assume they’ll have to leave the plane anyway?) and it would also allow people to save time when arriving in Dublin). This would be more difficult to organise in Madrid as airports in the Schengen Area usually have separate gates for Schengen and non-Schengen flight departures while UK airports usually don’t.

• DTB says:

  28 Jun28 June 08:52

  another non US route closed for virgin. Assumed they struggled to compete with the loss leading middle east airlines in this case.

• Nick says:

  28 Jun28 June 09:02

  Gutted about the Virgin Dubai Flight having used it a couple of times as a BA alternative. Especially as i’ve just dumped my marriott travel package airmiles portion into my account!

• Alan says:

  28 Jun28 June 09:15

  Presumably VS will still need to use the London slot for something? Or doesn’t it work like that?

  • Rob says:

    28 Jun28 June 09:26

    Yes they will – or lease it out. Use it or lose it is the rule.

    • Lumma says:

      28 Jun28 June 10:07

      The departure time would be better for something heading east presumably? Or is that just wishful thinking?

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