Evelop to fly London Gatwick to New York for British Airways – without fully flat business class

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• Andrea says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:42

  Can I do miles booster for an infant ticket? Infant has his own FC account set up already.

• Alex says:

  22 Oct22 October 10:49

  O/T

  Anyone having issues with the Groupon Spain Avios? I did a small purchase, followed the instructions to claim and have waited the 10 working days as requested, still not showing in my Iberia account.

  Trying to use groupon Spain to contact customer service is difficult, best I could do was request a refund for the groupon and an agent is going to reach out to me.

  Doesn’t fill me with confidence that it’s a google doc where you put your details in to activate the deal. Only good thing is I did for a small amount of points.

  If anyone is in similar situation please let me know.

  Thanks,

• Matt says:

  22 Oct22 October 11:44

  OT – AirBnB Tax investigation by UK authorities.
  Whilst this is an investigation into how much tax AirBnB pay (as all the new technology firms operating in the UK – far too little), I am also expecting an announcement at some point about non-payment of tax by people renting out their flats.
  Combined with a crackdown by some cities on AirBnB rentals (Barcelona and Berlin), it really feels like changes are coming for this Business.

  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50137770

  • xcalx says:

    22 Oct22 October 13:37

    First £7500 is zero taxable (room tax relief)

• Chelseafi says:

  22 Oct22 October 11:54

  OT Has the restaurant at The Langley improved from Robs review, seems positive from few TA reviews, also as a staying guest do you get complimentary use of the Gym and all the spa facilities? Thinking of a night for spring, some nights showing as 30k which as you’ve said looks amazing value. Are there many descent pubs or restaurants within a reasonable drive for dinner as another dining option? I’ve made a note of the park cafe breakfast option mentioned in your review.
  Thank you

  • SimonW says:

    22 Oct22 October 12:06

    We stayed there last Saturday night, and walked out having waited almost 2 hours for our main courses. We had lunch at the Red Lion in Stoke Green, about 5 mins drive away, and will head there for dinner when we stay at the hotel again. The spa/pool/gym were v v v good. All included in the price, except treatments of course.

    • Peter K says:

      22 Oct22 October 12:59

      I would assume the discount applies if you charge it to your room and pay on checkout.

      The afternoon tea menu sounds nice (though at £40 per person you’d hope so!).

      It looks like there are a decent number of nice restaurants if you are willing to travel to Uxbridge, Windsor, Eton etc

      • ankomonkey says:

        22 Oct22 October 15:27

        Eton is a mess…

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      22 Oct22 October 13:01

      Got to say it again – for a hotel of that size and at that price point and this long after opening ….. that’s absolutely terrible.

      • Rob says:

        22 Oct22 October 16:42

        Can’t argue. 4-6 weeks …. acceptable. But into the Autumn?

    • SimonW says:

      22 Oct22 October 14:00

      Massages and drinks in the bar put us well over £200 spend. And got the £50 credit 2 days after checking out.

  • N says:

    22 Oct22 October 13:04

    Thoughts on Brew vs Manor house rooms?

    Heading there in a few weeks…

    • SimonW says:

      22 Oct22 October 14:03

      Brew house block of rooms is a 100 metre walk across from the main hotel and spa. You wouldnt want to be doing that in a robe. Or tbf, on a wet cold night before and after dinner. I’d def ask for a room in the main building.

• TripRep says:

  22 Oct22 October 13:03

  Sharm flights to restart, plenty of cheap Hilton resorts there for point stays…

  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50137471

• Mark says:

  22 Oct22 October 13:05

  We flew on one of those Singapore regional seats on an overnight from Singapore to Christchurch a few years ago. Not the best for sleeping, even compared to the (old) CW seat so if it’s one of those a switch to the Heathrow service (especially if you can get Club Suite) would be better.

• Grant says:

  22 Oct22 October 13:29

  OT – not sure how much apetite there will be for this, but I’m looking for inspiration and advice re Easter family holiday. It will be first time we have travelled abroad with our two children who will be aged 5 and 3 by the time we go.

  I’m looking to do it as far as possible by redeeming points / miles. The current ‘household’ balances are roughly as follows:
  – 200k in Amex points
  – 180k in Virgin miles
  – 90k Avois
  – 90k IHG points
  – 55k Bonvoy points
  – £100 in Tesco vouchers which could go to Avios or Virgin
  – £200 in a certain affiliate link site which could go to Avios

  Local airport is BHX but MAN and LHR are accessible easily enough – will happily pay for flights if need be. I have the usual hotel statuses with Amex Plat and am about to tip over to IHG Spire through card spend.

  Suspect the preference will be for european short haul as opposed to long haul given that its the first time the kids will have been on a flight. To this end I’ve been looking at Conrad Algarve and Pine Cliffs but wonder if there is anything better?

  Thanks

  • pauldb says:

    22 Oct22 October 14:01

    You got a good stash there but unless you earns 250k+ a year you aren’t going to be able to make loads of longhaul trips, and of course the fees are £2k for 4. So I wouldn’t suggest you do a longhaul until you can utilise two Amex 241s.

    Do you want to take them to Disney World. We took ours at 4 & 1 and it was great for the 4yo in particular. But if you want to do that, you should be planning for 2021 (availability and 241s)?

    I always find Europe tricky at Easter. You’d need a heated pool and the sea will be too cold so it feels a bit of a waste. Canaries are warmer of course. Typically we tend to wait until May half-term or we do a trip in Northern Europe: city, theme parks, Centerparcs (not comparable to Conrad but if they like swimming/slides!).

  • Princess says:

    22 Oct22 October 15:14

    When our twins were 18 months we went to Japan, and it was absolutely amazing! our kids were already used to travel because before that they were in many European break, but the only issue we had was really only 2/3 nights of jet leg.
    In Japan you can organise everything in advance and there are many things interesting for them
    Without a 2for1 voucher you maybe can only get return tickets in economy, but a direct flights is a must for me with kids and even economy flight with Ba are 7/800£ So you will still get a good value for your Avios. Then Bonvoy and IHG can help you to keep hotel cost down.
    Portugal in easter can still be a bit chilly, while Japan will be already warm and you can maybe also see the cherry blossom
    I’m sure you will get different point of view about this, but I thought to share!!!

  • TGLoyalty says:

    22 Oct22 October 16:28

    its not really a 25% bonus as you can withdraw today for 16% off your local boozer or next meal out (dining out card) I’m not a buyer at those prices just withdraw as soon as it becomes payable.

  • Scallder says:

    22 Oct22 October 16:33

    We had a week at the Westin Costa Navarino in Greece (mainland) which was great with our 2 year old. They have a large splash park and also a nursery (surcharge) which is great if the two of you want some time to yourselves!

    Unfortunately it seems you’d be slightly too early for BA’s direct flight to Kalamata (which is 45 mins away) so it’s a 3 hrs 15 drive from Athens airport.

    We booked a standard room on points and got what turned out to be a 9 level room upgrade to a 1 bedroom suite with an Infinity pool and I’ve got Gold Bonvoy status through the Platinum card.

    As an alternative, i’d suggest looking at Club Robinson – it’s a German/Italian brand that have a number of resorts across the Med and is an all-inclusive with a full kids club program and huge number of activities all in the price. Not available on points unfortunately, but it can be booked through Hotels.com meaning you get some rebate on your outlay. Can then do the flights on points. We’ve booked for their Puglia resort for a week next year.

  • Grant says:

    22 Oct22 October 20:04

    Great. Thanks for all the suggestions. I’d love things like Disney and Japan with the kids but not until they are old enough to remember how lucky they are!

  • Nick M says:

    22 Oct22 October 20:53

    We’re currently at the Malta Westin with a 5yr old & 2.5 year old… using a travel certificate but I think it’s 30-40k Bonvoy/night which you should be able to get sufficient with your Amex points… hotel is decent, the town within walking distance is probably not the ideal style, but lots of nice villages within a short drive.

    Standard redemptions include 2 queen beds, I asked for an upgrade at check in – unfortunately suites aren’t an option without paying €1000/night… but they did find a Jr Suite which is working well for us.

  • Genghis says:

    22 Oct22 October 21:56

    I recommend you use that £200 quickly. It has a habit of disappearing.

    • Darren says:

      22 Oct22 October 22:26

      I have £100 pending from Feb and was hoping this would become active soon, its from LI. Any pointers to how much longer it will take?

• TK-Max says:

  22 Oct22 October 14:34

  Anyone that’s been downgraded from WT+, give BA a call and they will upgrade you to club world (space available).

  • Jonathan says:

    22 Oct22 October 16:14

    Will they? Never heard of them doing this before so can only assume there was a specific reason ie. Business empty & not enough space in Economy to accomodate WT+.

    • TK-Max says:

      22 Oct22 October 17:17

      This happened to me. I had been downgraded to economy and got the standard email offering to move to another service from Heathrow.

      When I rang to do just that they instead offered to upgrade me to club world. This was an offer from the agent not something I asked for.

      Fwiw I’m only a lowly bronze this year, so I don’t think I have received any special favours.

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