Get a 40% bonus when you buy Hyatt points

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• Anna says:

  24 Jul24 July 11:45

  Just noticed something interesting when checking which CW seats are still left on our GCM flights in a couple of weeks. On the return leg, there are just 4 seats showing as still not reserved in the CW cabin. Just done a dummy booking and all these seats are available to book as cash fares! So presumably this means BA are willing and prepared to downgrade pax to WTP. So my question is – my OH is on a cash booking and my son and I are on the 2 award seats BA make available on this flight using a 2 4 1. My son is 13 – BA won’t know that his other parent is on the flight as they are 2 separate bookings, so how likely is one or both of us to be downgraded if they oversell this flight? Hopefully it won’t come to this, but thanks to HFP I will be fully prepared if it does!

  • Anna says:

    24 Jul24 July 11:47

    Apologies, it’s not a 2 4 1 booking, I used 2 Lloyds upgrade vouchers, so also where would I stand with these if we were downgraded?

    • SimonW says:

      24 Jul24 July 11:51

      Anna, do you ever believe you overthink potential bad things happening to you? Catastrophising is not healthy, helpful or rational.

      • Anna says:

        24 Jul24 July 11:57

        Well that response certainly isn’t helpful, but there’s nothing wrong with knowing your rights and being prepared, especially when there’s clear evidence that BA is trying to oversell your flight!

        • SimonW says:

          24 Jul24 July 12:01

          Maybe some of the reserved seats will open up nearer departure and the cabin actually isnt full yet. Could they be blocked off for Golds, cabin crew etc etc.

        • Genghis says:

          24 Jul24 July 12:02

          “4 seats showing as still not reserved” doesn’t mean only 4 CW tickets left to sell. What’s expertflyer saying?

        • Lady London says:

          24 Jul24 July 12:56

          And you can be bumped in the other direction too! If there’s a First Class on the flight.

    • Lady London says:

      24 Jul24 July 12:52

      Could you phone BA and ask them to put a note on each PNR? Normally i would suggest asking them to do a “TCP” (To Complete Party) for this case but am a bit doubtful you can TCP a mix of cash and Avios Brookings. Defo would ring them though if you’re a bit anxious.

  • BJ says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:42

    Given your son is over 12 I think I think it is unlikely that BA would be persuaded by arguments that he could not sit by himself. So if it did come to downgrades it’s possible only one of you might be affected. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, it’s never happened to me in my life, and to my partner only once. That’s despite the fact almost all flights I have flown are have been close to full. Also, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if BA manipulated available seat maps to encourage increased revenue from seat selection fees.

  • meta says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:02

    If it helps ease your mind, I had a similar thing on my 241 F flight to Hong Kong, even though there was only 1 seat left, BA was selling 2 seats for cash a day before. Expertflyer was showing 1 seat. We did not get downgraded, but F was full. It does not mean anything. Even if something happens, you can’t do anything about it until the day and then it’s usually just knowing eu261 rights.

  • Kai says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:25

    A seat being empty doesn’t mean it can be reserved. Flyertalk has a lengthy thread about BA’s theoretical seating system.

• John says:

  24 Jul24 July 12:30

  Sums things up pretty well.

  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/business/airport-lounges-alaska-airlines-seattle.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top

• John2 says:

  24 Jul24 July 12:31

  BA amex referral advice. My OH is thinking of cancelling but has offer of 9000 + bonus 9000(18000 total) by referring someone to a BA amex. Is it worth her referring me even though I won’t get a sign up bonus? or should I wait until July 2020, get sign up but OH won’t get Referral?

  • Michael says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:34

    The sign up bonus will be more if you wait out. Do you need 18k avios in the short term?

    • sean says:

      24 Jul24 July 12:55

      No guarantee that the sign up bonus will be more.

      • Michael says:

        24 Jul24 July 13:03

        Well it’s currently 25k, but that’s the risk you take.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          24 Jul24 July 16:15

          Two years between cards is too long. Referral is the way forward.

          4x 9k = 36k if you did it every 6 months or so.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:59

    Is it specifically to a BA AMEX or to any Amex?

    • John2 says:

      24 Jul24 July 14:30

      Email says only BAPP. And also the link only allows BAPP

  • Lady London says:

    24 Jul24 July 14:47

    I would do the referral now, grab the 18,000 as it appears 9,000 of it is a short term bonus, and then, if i was already going to, close.

    Who knows what will be on offer next year? A sure 18K now, with possible further opportunities to come, beats assuming signup will still work the same next year.

    • John2 says:

      24 Jul24 July 16:04

      Thanks all

• Sal says:

  24 Jul24 July 13:18

  If you book a Hyatt hotel with points. Is it cancelable for a points refund or free to change dates if my plans change?

  • Rob says:

    24 Jul24 July 15:58

    You get all the points back if you cancel, yes, subject to the usual cancellation terms (usually 24-48 hours before arrival).

• George says:

  24 Jul24 July 15:59

  OT: Anyone got a working telephone number for Iberia Plus? Every time I call their UK number I get told they aren’t able to do anything with Plus, and the Spanish number just rings out. I’m trying to modify an existing booking I made online.

  • Leigh says:

    24 Jul24 July 17:27

    I used 0034 917742607, select the option (2 if I remember correctly) for English. Good luck as Iberia plus customer service is the worst I’ve ever experienced.

    • Lady London says:

      24 Jul24 July 18:20

      You haven’t ever had to call Accor, then, @Leigh, have you? 🙂

      Although i will admit Iberiaplus runs Accor close, for poor service.

      • Cat says:

        24 Jul24 July 20:57

        They are both equally awful! Having dealt extensively with both, I wouldn’t even know how to begin, choosing between them for the lesser of two evils!

      • Leigh says:

        24 Jul24 July 22:06

        I’ve never had to call Accor. But my last experience with Iberiaplus was appalling. They emailed me to say that they had to change my hotel booking, claiming the original hotel had gone bust (I later found out this was not true). I replied to say this was fine, and requested updated booking confirmation. No confirmation was received 4 weeks after the original email, so I called Iberiaplus to chase them up, only to be told no change had been made. Called both original and replacement hotels and found neither had a booking in my name. Called Iberiaplus a dozen times but no one seemed to be able to help. I had to send a couple of complaint emails to finally receive the new booking confirmation. However, when I arrived at the hotel after a long flight journey, I was told at the hotel check-in that they weren’t able to find my booking. Phoned Iberiaplus again and was told to go to the original hotel! I was desperate and posted a question here and someone advised me to ask the hotel to check Expedia bookings, which did the trick. My mobile phone bill for making those calls (while at check-in) exceeded £50!

  • Steve says:

    24 Jul24 July 22:32

    Last time I called (020 3684 3774) and ended up connected yet again to the general reservations line instead of Iberia Plus, they gave me the following instructions which worked: at the voice prompt for the reason for your call, say “Iberia Plus”. You’ll then be asked to be more specific – simply say “Avios” at the second voice prompt and you get transferred through to Iberia Plus.

• Michael says:

  24 Jul24 July 17:13

  OT: Is there an actual purpose to member since on an amex card?

  • Rob says:

    24 Jul24 July 17:22

    Nope!

  • Sandgrounder says:

    24 Jul24 July 20:41

    It demonstrates your loyalty to the brand. Choosing a financial services provider isn’t all about hoovering up sign-up bonuses, after all. It does however prevent you from lying about your age beyond ‘Member Since’+18…..

    • Navara says:

      24 Jul24 July 22:09

      Not in my case they have my DOB as the date I applied for my first card

• TM says:

  24 Jul24 July 21:51

  OT- slightly confused by the new Amex changes, would appreciate some guidance:

  I cancelled my SPG Amex just over six months ago- can I now self-refer from my platinum and get the 12k MR points and 35k Marriott points?

  If not, what should I self-refer to?

  • Alex W says:

    24 Jul24 July 21:59

    12k yes. 35k no. Only signup bonus available is BAPP if not held BAPP or BA Free in last 6 months.

    • Cormac says:

      24 Jul24 July 22:15

      Are you sure – from AMEX website for BAPP…
      I understand I will not be eligible for any Welcome Bonus award if I hold or have held any personal British Airways American Express Card product in the past 24 months.

      • MarkH says:

        24 Jul24 July 23:50

        24 months is correct

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