The new HFP chat thread – Monday 6th April

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• Vit says:

  6 Apr6 April 13:49

  Anyone with upcoming flight to Bangkok — CAAT just announced that it will extend the current ban entry of any international flight to 18th April. Therefore if you have any flight booked, you can expect flight cancellation and claim full refund etc.

  https://www.facebook.com/caat.thailand/posts/1563351527160877?__tn__=K-R

• blenz101 says:

  6 Apr6 April 14:02

  Nice email from Accor –

  “We consider it a privilege to have you as a guest in our hotels and an honour to count you as one of our loyal members of ALL – Accor Live Limitless. We want to show our appreciation by crediting your account with 50% of the necessary Status points and Status nights required to maintain your elite status.

  As a Gold member, we will be crediting your account over the next three weeks with 3,500 Status points and 15 Status nights. Your points balance will reflect this once completed.”

  Just checked and the points and nights are already there pushing me into Platinum until Dec 2021 and noticed two suite upgades in the account to boot!

  • N says:

    6 Apr6 April 14:18

    Marriott looking worse and worse by the day!

  • Lady London says:

    6 Apr6 April 15:03

    Hum. Interesting that they selected 3500 and not 4000. Does this look suspiciously like 210. Perhaps I should not have been deleting every email I receive from them as usual.

• N says:

  6 Apr6 April 14:14

  I was supposed to travel to Albania for an event in June. Event in question has been postponed to September due to Covid-19. My outbound was with BA on points (cancelled – fully refunded), and my inbound with Air Serbia (cash). Flights have not been cancelled yet, and Air Serbia are offering a refund of taxes/fees only – about 20% of my ticket.

  I can’t seem to find language around event cancellation/similar in my HSBC Premier travel insurance docs. Also hold insurance with Nationwide and have an Amex Plat (tickets bought on my SPG Amex).

  I am happy to do the legwork of sifting through insurance docs, but any pointers as to what sort of language/words I’d be looking for? Trip in vain? Event cancellation?

  Is it even reasonable for me to be looking for coverage under travel insurance? The amount I’m claiming for in tiny in the grand scheme of the trip considering the event tickets, hotel, car hire and one way worth of flights have already been ‘sorted’.

  • Joseph Heenan says:

    6 Apr6 April 14:26

    The technical term is “disinclination to travel”.

    HSBC definitely don’t cover it. I doubt the other policies do.

    For others in a similar position, I’d advise NOT cancelling any flights yourself (until much closer to the deadline for cancelling), as you stand a higher chance of travel insurance paying out if an airline cancels one of your flights or the government is still advising against travel.

• Always_flying says:

  6 Apr6 April 15:10

  Should I use my AVIOS now?

  I have nothing to base this on, but I had the thought that BA might devalue what an avios is worth to reduce their exposure/liability. I have a LOT of avios and am wondering whether i should tie them up in flights for me and family for say march next year, they clearly cant devalue a flight once its booked! Then if avios are not devalued and i wanted them back to go on a different holiday i’d only loose the cancellation cost of 35GBP!

  Thoughts?

  • Lady London says:

    6 Apr6 April 15:11

    Correct.

  • J says:

    6 Apr6 April 15:48

    Earn and burn is the safest approach.

  • Rob says:

    6 Apr6 April 16:12

    This is hugely unlikely. It will take a long time for BA to fill its long-haul aircraft again and in that time there will be a lot of spare seats which can be offered up for Avios.

    The only risk, in my mind, is that if Virgin Atlantic goes under BA may decide that the lack of competition means that it can shaft everyone. I’d still see this as unlikely.

    We ARE due some sort of reshuffle, irrespective of corona, since it is 5 years since BA last changed the scheme.

    Of course, if there are redemption seats available for dates you want then you should book them ASAP anyway – that’s common sense even in normal times.

    • JP_MCO says:

      6 Apr6 April 18:46

      Unlikely that BA shafts everyone or unlikely that VS goes under?

      • Rob says:

        6 Apr6 April 19:11

        Unlikely that BA shafts everyone whilst Virgin is still around.

    • melonfarmer says:

      6 Apr6 April 19:36

      Rob, re the concern that VA goes under: are the points not managed by Virgin Red Ltd now (formerly VGLC)? Your original post when the scheme was announced said VA had no shareholding in the VR company.

      Thanks for your article about the EC Transport commissioner’s intervention re. EC/261. KLM have been really difficult, but will hopefully comply now. They’re morally bankrupt already (handling of bereavement) so I don’t really care if they go financially bankrupt due to folks claiming the refunds they’re entitled to.

      • Rob says:

        6 Apr6 April 20:00

        Virgin GROUP owns half of Virgin Red, not Virgin Atlantic.

        However, it’s immaterial. Virgin Red will be insolvent, almost certainly, if the airline fails. Do you seriously think Virgin Red has enough money in the bank to fund redemptions for all the Flying Club miles in circulation? As with most businesses it relies on new money coming in to fund money going out.

• Tempted... says:

  6 Apr6 April 15:44

  Thinking of getting IHG/Creation card. Any advice for how it behaves with Curve e.g. Brighton, NS etc. Thanks.

  • mvcvz says:

    6 Apr6 April 17:47

    Stay as far away from Creation as you possibly can.

    • KINGB says:

      6 Apr6 April 19:01

      oh no why so?

    • mark2 says:

      6 Apr6 April 19:54

      I consider them one of the best!

  • melonfarmer says:

    6 Apr6 April 19:30

    Creation don’t really like Curve. I have a legacy card & the free IHG one (they wouldn’t let me pay for the premium 1!) and have had to message them to say Curve is authorised by FCA so process their payments! I have a decent limit on another card so use it then transfer to Creation if £999 or less (go back in time).

    Am I the only 1 who thinks Curve sending cards without any number on it will be a pain in the rear?

    • Brighton Belle says:

      6 Apr6 April 22:00

      odd . . . my Curve metal has a number on the rear.

      • Bentoni says:

        6 Apr6 April 22:16

        The latest investor red cards will have no card number or name on them. The card numbers are on the app.

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

      6 Apr6 April 23:00

      Curve isn’t authorised by the FCA…

      • melonfarmer says:

        7 Apr7 April 18:57

        Yes it is. Reg. no. 825777

        • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

          7 Apr7 April 21:22

          That register entry shows them as an Appointed Representative. They don’t hold any authorisations, their principal does.

• Clive says:

  6 Apr6 April 16:35

  Anyone that has asked for a charge back on an Amex CC do you have a result as yet and how long did it take?

  • Vit says:

    6 Apr6 April 16:41

    Filed in 4 disputes all of them against travelup. Got money back in a couple days. Was advised that the case is normally open for the merchant to response back within 6-8 weeks. However in this crisis, I would expect even longer.

  • Erico1875 says:

    6 Apr6 April 18:54

    Result in around a week for a cancelled Indigo flight. They only offered a 6 month voucher which was no use to us

• Aleks says:

  6 Apr6 April 16:50

  Hello,
  I’m looking to pool our Virgin miles into one account but every time I click on ‘gift or transfer miles’ when logged into my Virgin account it’s taking me back to the landing page. Anyone else had a similar problem? I half expect they’ve done this on purpose but I’m loathe to call up Virgin if I don’t have to…
  Thanks!

  • Clive says:

    6 Apr6 April 17:10

    Do you have status with Virgin?

    • Aleks says:

      6 Apr6 April 17:14

      Hi Clive, I’m only a red member but that shouldn’t stop me transferring miles should it?

      • Matt B says:

        6 Apr6 April 17:32

        Yes it will, you will have to pay if you want to transfer to someone

      • Clive says:

        6 Apr6 April 17:49

        Hi Alex,

        As mentioned to transfer you will have to pay unfortunately. I believe only Gold members is Flying Club can create a family account.

        • Aleks says:

          6 Apr6 April 17:55

          Thanks both for the guidance – I had no idea! Looks like I’ll abandon that idea then…

        • tom1 says:

          6 Apr6 April 20:28

          Not sure of the reason why you want to pool them… but if it’s only to have enough points for a redemption, so long as both people are flying, the FC will take points out of more than one account to make the reservation. (it’s easier for them than making two reservations from diff accounts)

• mart says:

  6 Apr6 April 17:02

  just had flights cancelled lhr-ncl 15 th june?

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