The new HFP chat thread – Monday 6th April

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• Will says:

  6 Apr6 April 09:59

  Have not been keeping up with comments recently but the Marriott amex that I took out just before it officially switched to bonvoy from SPG is paying 3 points per £ for now as advertised.

  No change of terms letter received yet.

  • Harry T says:

    6 Apr6 April 11:09

    They are instituting changes in June and will write to card holders then.

• tony says:

  6 Apr6 April 10:02

  Has anyone with a Partner Plus benefit account tried to log in of late? Am getting a message saying my user name has been blocked…

  Thanks

  • N says:

    6 Apr6 April 10:18

    I just logged in OK

• Joseph Heenan says:

  6 Apr6 April 10:11

  British Airways suspending all Tokyo flights from Wednesday 8th April:

  https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/british-airways-to-suspend-direct-uk-japan-flights-22274

  (to be honest I’m amazed this didn’t happen sooner, I think BA has been operating 3 flights a day LHRHND as recently as last week)

• KK says:

  6 Apr6 April 10:23

  Do we have to wait for Anika to respond for writing the hotel articles, or shall we fire away if we are not repeating with someone else in which case Anika shall let us know?

  • Cat says:

    6 Apr6 April 11:44

    I’d wait, they may not need 150 articles!

  • Rhys says:

    6 Apr6 April 11:51

    Anika will be in touch if she wants you to write a piece!

    • KK says:

      6 Apr6 April 16:52

      thanks rhys!

• Optimus Prime says:

  6 Apr6 April 10:23

  IATA pushing to do away with cash refunds:

  https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/ceoblog/passenger-tickets-refunds/

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Apr6 April 11:15

    So the airline survives but the customer gets shafted…

    If the airlines don’t want to refund you offer you an incentive to take a voucher.

  • Lady London says:

    6 Apr6 April 12:14

    Is anyone surprised? see my other comments.
    I really, really hope the airline business sectional interests don’t get away with this. Airlines are a business like any other. They already get away with enough egregious behaviour and try not to provide customer’s rights wherever they can.

    Even though current circumstances are unusual they are still a business risk and the airlines should not be allowed to remove customers rights in order to push the consequences into that customer who could need the money he has the right to receive back for the service the airline did not provide, in order to live and support his family.p

    Shame on the airlines.

    • Genghis says:

      6 Apr6 April 12:20

      As I posted the other day, relying so much on cash you receive today relating to future revenue is never a good idea.

• Boris says:

  6 Apr6 April 10:27

  Any thoughts on any potential impact to the data class action given current situation ??

• Binks says:

  6 Apr6 April 10:38

  Hi Rob, I have seen a number of comments over the past few days re people transferring Virgin points to IHG /Hilton. I have 200k Virgin – any thoughts on whether to keep with Virgin or otherwise? What are you doing with yours? I saw a week or so ago you had no plans to transfer. Thanks

  • SteveD says:

    6 Apr6 April 11:05

    For those who seem certain Virgin will (or should) go bust, I have a thought experiment. Not trolling, genuinely interested in perspectives:

    CV never happened. But Branson drops dead of heart attack. His beneficiaries decide they have no interest in owning an airline and sell his share to the highest bidder. That bidder is BA (or IAG, it’s semantics).

    The CMA takes an interest. Would this takeover be waved through or would it be prevented, or other conditions attached? If prevented, then what is the difference between preventing a takeover on ‘market’ grounds and preventing an insolvency (apart from the money, obviously)?

    • Rob says:

      6 Apr6 April 11:26

      Fair point. BA would argue that if Virgin collapsed it would only pick up 65% of their traffic (United, Delta, Norwegian taking the rest) compared to buying the airline and getting 100%. The CMA also isn’t in a position to stop companies going bust in order to stop a pseudo-monopoly / oligopoly being created.

    • Doug M says:

      6 Apr6 April 11:34

      Who knows. 51% (still owns 51% right? AF/KLM never happened) of something 49% owned by Delta, the biggest rival of their best buddy AA. It would certainly be interesting. Virgin ethic is completely different to IAG, it may be why they don’t consistently make money. A VS run by IAG would likely be unrecognisable quite quickly.

      I’m not sure CMA would allow BA getting an even more vice like grip on cash cow Atlantic routes. But then if VS folds is that an inevitable consequence.

      • SteveD says:

        6 Apr6 April 11:53

        That’s why I don’t think insolvency is a foregone conclusion. The political optics will demand that HMG steps in only if the current shareholders are wiped out. If it can be made to look like Virgin, not Branson/Delta, are being saved, it could happen, if there’s an ideological aversion to BA gaining more power. Faced with losing the lot, the current owners may decide they can find some extra funding.

        Stelios has decided an Easyjet bailout would threaten his shareholding so seems to be thinking on similar lines.

        • Lady London says:

          6 Apr6 April 12:19

          I like Rob’s idea very much that buying Virgin would make sense for Lufthansa Group.

          Really not sure how the Delta/Skyteam thing would work – but I suspect there is a way to deal with Delta’s shareholding in these troubled times.

    • marcw says:

      6 Apr6 April 12:27

      But Virgin Miles are not owned by Virgin Atlantic.

    • ken says:

      6 Apr6 April 13:30

      How much interest does Branson really have in it? Yes its a bit of a vanity asset that he may have some emotional attachment – but its a loss making business.

      Emotion never stopped him selling his record business, or agreeing to sell 31% stake to AF/KLM (bullet dodged there !).

      I’m sure he would actually be really happy getting rid of the whole lot (even before Covid-19) if annual payment for brand use was big enough.

      Personally I feel sure it will slip into administration if this goes on beyond June.
      IAG won’t buy it out of administration as CMA then subsequently likely to force them to give up slots at Heathrow.

      Free of at least some leasing obligations (or re-negotiated) someone else will buy it out of administration.

      We (the taxpayer) won’t be able to save every non-viable business.

      Certainly when wealthy non resident, aggressive tax avoiding shareholders are shy of putting up money.

• Alan says:

  6 Apr6 April 10:48

  Hi all! I had a flight with a companion voucher due to be flow earlier in March, and BA have sent me one of their “vouchers”. I’m curious to know if anyone else have discovered what their vouchers are worth compared to the original booking? I don’t know the value of mine, so if anyone knows how to find out, I’d also be interested in knowing.

  • Rhys says:

    6 Apr6 April 10:49

    Nope, unfortunately this is problem – you can only find out by calling up. https://headforpoints.com/2020/03/27/how-do-british-airways-evoucher-work/

  • AG says:

    6 Apr6 April 13:09

    Prior to learning about the Javascript work around, I requested a voucher for a cancelled avios RFS booking I had made for £30+9k avios.

    Last week I had to call BA (about another booking) and asked about the value of the voucher since it was an avios booking and the rep said the voucher “would have a value of £30 and 9,000 avios”.

    Today I received the voucher confirmation email, but I also received the avios back into my account… so either that’s a mistake and voucher is still worth £30 + 9k avios or the voucher is only for the cash portion (which would make sense).

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