The early May Bank Holiday in 2020 has been moved … book (or rebook) your flights now

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• Stu says:

  9 Jun9 June 10:47

  OT:

  A few weeks ago there were some posts relating to a link or app that gave you a discount (£5 or £10 I think) off train bookings.

  Can anyone remember what they were?

  • Shoestring says:

    9 Jun9 June 14:08

    sure – go to HUKD, search ‘megathread’ and the rail offers come out first/ on top

  • Andrew says:

    9 Jun9 June 17:59

    LOCO2 is the site that was doing the £5 offer.

    They are doing a link with some major employers, so if you are PAYE, take a look at your internal site for special offers. Mine is still giving a fifth back in points, brother’s is getting a tenth.

    Absolute bargain given that I got a full refund on a delayed first class KGX-EDI journey by the TOC and still got the points!

• Harry T says:

  9 Jun9 June 11:57

  I’ve been looking at Avios flights to mainland Europe from Newcastle for the new Bank Holiday weekend… I’m not honestly sure how Avios can be useful for anything other than long haul redemptions on partner airlines. The price of taxes and Avios for flying to say, Budapest, means that my partner and I will get nowhere near 1p per Avios flying from Newcastle or Edinburgh, as we have to go via London. Even the Aer Lingus route from Newcastle to Dublin isn’t good value compared to Ryanair cash flights.

  Do any of my fellow Northern residents have advice for finding good value Avios redemptions, or have better suggestions for where Membership Rewards points might be invested?

  • Dave Barron says:

    9 Jun9 June 12:16

    Like you I use Newcastle airport with limited options in terms of short haul. Personally tend to do long haul to USA or Canada (with BA via LHR) because in such cases the connection from NCL to LHR is free.

    The Avios fare for a city break etc with BA via LHR is a poor use of points unless you have a 241 voucher and use Club Europe. A shame the short call connection to LHR isn’t free (or even reduced) in the same way as it is for long haul.

    Personally I’m intrigued to see what options may open up with a Virgin Flying Club / KLM&AF Flying Club merger so for now am keeping my Amex points where they are.

    In the meantime stick with Jet2 or EasyJet etc as a cash fare for Europe.

    • Dave Barron says:

      9 Jun9 June 12:18

      Haul not call!

  • David says:

    9 Jun9 June 12:42

    Any advice? Move to London, of course!

    • Freddy says:

      9 Jun9 June 13:07

      Might be easier to dump avios points unless your London based, the options are limited. Not everyone wants to live in London

      • Shoestring says:

        9 Jun9 June 14:19

        4 hr drive for us and I’ve no problem with LHR, still far cheaper/ much better frequency than some LCC alternatives – LCC from Bristol means losing day/s of holiday & is not exactly cheap either

        LCCs around London airports might be better frequency/ sometimes cheaper in cash terms – to our regular destination – but obvs you can’t pay with cheaply acquired Avios!

        travelling time by car Newcastle to LHR is 4.5 hrs so not that much worse – though sure you might live closer to Edinburgh which really would start to be a longish car journey

        • Harry T says:

          9 Jun9 June 16:43

          @Shoestring: I do live in Newcastle. Not too keen to drive 4.5 hours down south for a city break in Europe, but I see your point. For long haul it probably doesn’t matter as much, if I can get enough leave to factor in travelling to and from London. My OH is from Edinburgh so we can stay with her parents if we fly out of Edinburgh. I’m more bemoaning my lack of redemption options for a quick weekend getaway without sacrificing any of my leave. Would be much nicer if I could spend 9000 Avios for a cheeky return to the Continent.

          Concerning long haul Avios redemptions – I’m not sure I can earn enough Avios to redeem now AMEX has changed the rules. I’ve come to similar conclusions to Dave Barron regarding long term opportunities – thankfully I’ve just been approved for the Virgin Reward+.

          I’m doing my specialty training in the North East (my preferred choice, could’ve gone to London), so moving down south isn’t an option for another five or so years (in reply to people who suggested moving).

        • Shoestring says:

          9 Jun9 June 16:54

          South West of LHR is quite useless for airports & routes, Bristol is great but you have to hope it covers your destination, which in our case it doesn’t do a good job. Exeter / Bournemouth/ Cardiff etc are just pot luck as to whether they have your destination. Newquay is 15 mins away but completely useless for Europe. Plymouth closed down.

          I think London, the Midlands and the North have enough population for the LCCs to be able to offer decent choice.

        • Shoestring says:

          9 Jun9 June 19:50

          Let’s hope Exeter stays strong after flybe problems

  • Anna says:

    9 Jun9 June 16:51

    Going via LHR on SH is a pain now the novelty of CE has worn off and connecting flights are now charged for the avios. I’m trying a new strategy in December- taking my sister to the Xmas markets in Vienna. She’s never flown in Club so I’ve used my Lloyds upgrade voucher to upgrade us both outbound so we can enjoy the lounges at MAN and T3, then flying back direct to MAN on EasyJet for £50 each which includes seat selection and checked bag for our Xmas purchases!

• Nick says:

  9 Jun9 June 12:52

  MR > hotels to go with LCC flights booked with cash?
  Or go to EDI or MAN and use the seasonal BACF direct flights?
  Campaign to stop your local countrymen being so cheapskate that BA decides there’s yield to be made in more direct regional flights themselves?

  • Harry T says:

    9 Jun9 June 16:45

    Thanks for the suggestions. I think hotel redemptions are a good idea.

    Am I right in saying you can’t get Reward Flight Saver for the seasonal flights out of Manchester or Edinburgh? Apologies, still quite new to all of this.

    • Anna says:

      9 Jun9 June 16:55

      All the regional flights can be booked as RFS if there is availability. We went to Nice last year on Monaco GP weekend for half term, cash price for 4 of us would have been £1700!

      • Harry T says:

        9 Jun9 June 17:28

        Thanks, that’s very helpful. Do you know when they release regional Avios availability for Manchester and Edinburgh?

        • Anna says:

          9 Jun9 June 18:19

          T-355 the same as all redemption seats with the possibility of more being added at a later date. You just have to bear in mind that they are weekly and seasonal so you don’t get loads showing up all the time. One option is to do BA on avios one way and LCC the other if you don’t want to go somewhere for a whole week.

      • Harry T says:

        9 Jun9 June 23:49

        Thanks for the heads up on the RFS flights out of Edinburgh and Manchester. Just booked a return for my OH and I from Edinburgh to Florence next May. Only got about 1p per Avios when compared with the BA cash price (the best for that route) but I’m happy with the flexibility and value I’m getting. I can leave my car at my OH’s family’s house and stay there overnight. Much better than driving to Manchester or London and paying more for fuel, parking and maybe a hotel.

  • Harry T says:

    9 Jun9 June 16:47

    Not sure if the locals round here are really cheap skates when it comes to holidays; I’m from the South originally. I do wonder why BA doesn’t have a bigger presence in Manchester.

    • Anna says:

      9 Jun9 June 16:57

      I know, it’s crazy. Most people I know do between 2 and 5 foreign trips per year, we are always desperate to get away from our (generally) abysmal weather!

      • Anna says:

        9 Jun9 June 17:06

        BA would finds tons of demand for direct flights to New York, Orlando and Miami (at present there are none at all to MIA). Bonkers that you can fly direct to DBX and the Far East but not to MIA, IAD, BOS, ORD and so many other US cities!

        • Harry T says:

          9 Jun9 June 17:24

          Exactly, Anna! I’ve flown to Australia from Newcastle with Emirates (via Dubai), but there’s very little on offer to go mainland Europe or North America. I think the market would be there if BA wanted to expand.

        • Andrew says:

          9 Jun9 June 18:55

          There is clearly demand in “The North”. I’m flying from EDI to BOS direct on Delta’s new route in a few weeks time.

          On the midweek day I’m outbound – the plane is full. The days around it are showing as a handful of seats available. One full plane doesn’t make a business case, but that’s one full plane of passengers that aren’t on Oneworld or Star Alliance connecting services.

      • Harry T says:

        9 Jun9 June 17:25

        I feel you on the weather. I lived in Australia last year and I have found it hard to readjust to the perpetual dark and rain.

        • Anna says:

          9 Jun9 June 18:21

          Oof! My GP told me that most people in the North West are vitamin D deficient through lack of sunlight 😱

        • Harry T says:

          9 Jun9 June 23:50

          Your GP is right! As a doctor in the North East, I’ve come across many patients with vitamin D deficiency or borderline levels. Good excuse for a few holidays in the sun a year 😉

        • Rob says:

          10 Jun10 June 08:34

          I recommend Boots childrens chewable Vitamin D gummies instead, very tasty 🙂

      • David says:

        9 Jun9 June 22:26

        Is 2-5 international trips a year meant to be a lot or not very many? I’ve done 5 since January, excluding work travel, number 6 coming next weekend…

• KirtjE says:

  9 Jun9 June 16:36

  OT: Is there anything at all that you can do with a small (c. 12,000) Miles & More miles that are due to expire? I know you were once able to move them to Heathrow Rewards, but I think that has stopped. Any help would be appreciated!

  • Rob says:

    9 Jun9 June 17:43

    You can check HR. If not you might need to part-pay a hotel room or buy some tat from WorldShop.

• Tilly71 says:

  9 Jun9 June 19:25

  Anybody know what VF2011 charge on the VA credit card is?

  • Tom1 says:

    9 Jun9 June 20:47

    Harry got you hooked on Sun Bingo?

    • Dan says:

      9 Jun9 June 21:00

      Ha! That’s definitely what it is!

      Unfortunately my cash back tracked at £10 rather than £25 🙁

      • Tilly71 says:

        9 Jun9 June 21:11

        Same here, it better uplift as I lost and that’s what the VF2011 charge was & not a cash advance fee! 😎

        • Freddy says:

          9 Jun9 June 21:13

          Would have thought virgin would have put it through as a cash advance, do they apply cash advance fees for gambling transactions?

        • Shoestring says:

          9 Jun9 June 21:25

          hang on you guys – I said no good on credit cards

      • Tilly71 says:

        10 Jun10 June 10:55

        Better put in a claim as today the offer finishes.

  • Harry T says:

    9 Jun9 June 23:51

    Best to use a debit card? Perhaps Curve linked to VS cards?

    • Tilly71 says:

      10 Jun10 June 08:09

      VF2011 payment now dissapeared from my VA?

• Tilly71 says:

  9 Jun9 June 21:52

  Whoops!
  Couldn’t find your first post from this morning, was it removed?

  • Rob says:

    9 Jun9 June 23:11

    3rd article was the Amex Plat reminder which is now pinned to the top, so it sits there to remind people tomorrow.

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