The new HFP chat thread – Friday 10th April

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We have decided to run this new daily chat thread on Head for Points.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the defacto repository for random comments and questions. It is unlikely that the news flow will be so big over the next few weeks that we will need many ‘Bits’ articles, however.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind. At this tricky time, and given that many of you are stuck at home self-isolating, we want the HFP community to have a place to chat.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article. This has long-term benefits as its keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

By default, HFP shows the last page of comments under the article. If you want to see the first page of comments and read them all from beginning to end in order, click here: https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/04/10/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-friday-10th-april/comment-page-1 The page will refresh with this article but the comments will now show the first page and not the last page.

We will continue to monitor how this is working:

we could potentially split it into a daily travel and non-travel chat thread

we may install some basic forum software

we may start suggesting potential topics for daily discussion

Let’s see how it goes. Take care!

Category

General

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Secret Squirrel says:

10 Apr10 April 10:57

Any recommendations for cheap parking at LHR T5 (Feb 21)?
- Clive says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 11:05
  
  I typically go through MSE when searching for parking
- Rob says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 11:28
  
  I presume you can just park directly outside the door and leave it 🙂 Unlikely to be busy.
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 11:59
    
    Next Feb?
    Blimey, if that is your forecast Rob there will be no airlines in busy!😭
    - Rob says:
      
      10 Apr10 April 12:36
      
      Missed that bit 🙂
- the_real_a says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 18:57
  
  Ive always had good pricing from NCP – either offsite at T2 if you have a decent amount of time (very, very cheap) or the NCP at the Hilton T5. You get a free hopper ticket included in the price (visit concierge desk at reception). Granted not onsite, but the price difference made it a no brainier. I also preferred a coffee in the Hilton lobby on a comfy couch if arriving very early.
  - Lady London says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 19:56
    
    @the_real_A how cheap are we talking for that off-site T2 parking?
  - Anne says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 22:36
    
    Another vote for the T5 Hilton via NCP, used it a few times and it works well plus usually very competitive pricing, especially since Good to Go parking went. Good tip I picked up on here before – you can ask for 4 hoppa bus tickets per car even if there are less of you travelling, hotel desk won’t be interested and spares might be useful in the future. I used two extras when we parked at the Marriott via Just Park when flying out of T3 in Dec.
    - Rob says:
      
      11 Apr11 April 00:39
      
      Covered here – https://headforpoints.com/2018/09/13/ncp-parking-heathrow-hilton-terminal-5/
Princess says:

10 Apr10 April 11:03

Hi! Sorry if I’m asking somenthing that has been shared before, I just want to be sure I got it correct.
BA cancel a flight to Italy I have in June. This is an Avios booking.
BA is still flying at a different time (my flight was in the evening, but the flight scheduled for the morning seem to be still bookable, but not Avios availability)
I will not ask for a refund now and wait to see how situation develop.
Am I right thinking that if by that time the restriction are lifted and I want to fly I can call BA and ask them to move me on the other flight even if there aren’t Avios seat available? Or I got this wrong?
- Lady London says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 19:59
  
  Theoretically yes they should not be able to insist on rebooking you only to a flight that has avios seats available. You will have to hope it’s not full though?
  
  Are you not sure you will want to travel in that day the ? If you are sure then why not try now to get the seat? Otherwise wait, as you say.
  - Princess says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 21:03
    
    Thanks Lady London for the reply! Yes I’m concerned that if I wait the other flight could be fully booked, but I’m also worry there will still be limitation to travel, then if I have already rebooked I loose the chance to cancel…
Andy S says:

10 Apr10 April 11:06

Sorry me again, still pondering Amex Platinum dilemma.

If I did cancel it and switch to the new rewards credit card mentioned elsewhere, can I reapply for platinum again when things calm down? Is there a “can’t have held it for 6 months” type clause ?
- Rob says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 11:28
  
  You’re fine. There is no rule about reapplying, there is only a rule about getting the bonus. If you were rejected I’m sure if you got in touch and explained that you’d had it but needed to conserve cash for a few months they would understand.
- Harry T says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 18:25
  
  You can also ask to downgrade to the Green Amex Card and then upgrade to the Platinum again later to receive an upgrade bonus (theoretically this is targeted but both my girlfriend and I have done it this year successfully and were not targeted).
Hugh says:

10 Apr10 April 11:17

Our trip to the states in May is obviously not happening. I need to cancel an IHG Points and Cash booking. Ts and Cs state I will get refunded in points. Is there any possibility of somehow getting the cash element back as cash as it is a COVID 19 cancellation? I doubt it but thought it worth asking in case anyone has had any success.
- Andy S says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 11:24
  
  I doubt it too. A “points and cash” booking is actually a points booking, where you buy the points and then immediately use them. So that’s why you only get points back, you can’t sell them back for cash.
- Lady London says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 20:02
  
  No all reports are that IHG has been very hard on this. It works as the other poster says.
  
  Maybe talk to the hotel direct, ask what can they do to help? Even if they won’t budge on giving back you might be able to persuade them to give you a date change.
Pray4patrick says:

10 Apr10 April 12:03

Anyone got any expirence of the BA voucher.

Have a return with my family to Madrid in May which I don’t think will go ahead. Only paid approx £100 with avios and a 2 for 1.
Value my time enough that I can’t be bothered to spend ages on the phone. Can I use the voucher on any Madrid flight in the future?

Thanks
- Andy S says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 12:11
  
  In theory you can use the voucher for any flight to any destination with BA within 12 months of the original departure date.
  - Pray4patrick says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 12:15
    
    Thanks. I’ll feed back if it’s a disaster
Stu says:

10 Apr10 April 12:14

Priority Pass extending membership by 3 months, which is basically nothing.
Tim Rogers says:

10 Apr10 April 12:17

I want to book an open-jaw using my Avios and companion voucher, flowing to EZE and back from SCL.

Is it a good idea to book one way online, and then to call up to add the (open-jaw) return? I want to do this to lock in the availability, especially given that I am topping up my points from Amex MRs.
- Harry T says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 12:39
  
  You could call up immediately and get them to book the entire itinerary for you. I’ve not booked an open jaw but I understand you have to ring to do that anyway.
  - Tim says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 13:21
    
    The situation unfortunately is slightly complicated by the fact that I am waiting for a top-up of Avios to be able to afford the whole trip.
- JAXBA says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 16:01
  
  Yes, you can do that. I’ve done it twice now to South Africa, into CPT, out of JNB.
Mark says:

10 Apr10 April 12:26

Sorry, a rather long one this, but wanting some advice on the best way to book some Avios flights to put me in a good position if/when they get cancelled. Basically, I was supposed to emigrate to BNE this week but having to rebook as soon as I can as I had already ended my employment in the UK pre-lockdown so the longer I stay here the faster I will burn through my savings.

Appreciate the answer is probably not to make any plans, but since Avios flights only incur £35 rebooking fees, I don’t feel there’s much to lose if i get something speculative booked up. I would like to be in the best position for when we come out the other side too. Also, if I book too soon (say June/July), i’m thinking I might be presented with options to travel at a later date anyway?

– I can’t fly with BA15 as I need to land in QLD so the 14-day quarantine happens in BNE and not SYD
– I’m thinking HKG is probably more likely to lift transit arrangements before SIN? Or would another city be better, eg TYO / BKK / SFO?
– No availability looking forward via KUL
– Booking LON to XXX with a 2-4-1 would mean two separate Avios tickets which i guess means i’d need permission to go land side to collect bags at transit city?
– I can’t really afford a cash ticket given the circumstances and I have already earned the avios anyway

If one leg of my booking gets cancelled, would BA help me to get to BNE another way (eg via KUL)?

Sorry for all the questions, maybe i’m making this more complicated than it needs to be but I would really like Business or better as I think there’s less chance of catching Covid plus we have a lot of bags to pay for if economy.
- Harry T says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 12:41
  
  I think Qatar are still flying to Brisbane from the UK with a single stop in Doha (anyone can transit Doha, they just can’t enter). You can use Avios to book Qatar flights.
  - Mark says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 13:00
    
    Thanks, ah they seem to end the route next week and I haven’t been able to find Avios availability but will keep an eye, hopefully they schedule some more flights on this route soon as this would be a good option.
- Lady London says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 14:39
  
  QR still doing BNE when I looked last week so if you’ve got your papers I would go now for cash if you can find the readies. Check Europe departure points if you find ex Lon expensive if you’re not ready to go now. such as eastern eur ones arn got might all still be reachable. I would defo go now from UK even if it costs a bit more to save messing around and depart whichever airport I could afford. Think they still ex scotland, Cardiff? as well as England.
  - Lady London says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 14:45
    
    If you have loads of avios as I don’t know where
    would let you transit in Asia ATM try Toronto could be worth a quick look in case you can still get 2 flights to marry up as someone said YYZ T1 doesn’t force you to emigrate.
    
    Also if you can scrape cash take a look via IST perhaps TK? Not sure if anyone doing Oz from ATH.
    
    Executivetraveller.com.au IIRC has been keeping track of routes out of Oz and by implication into Oz.
- Lyn says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 16:32
  
  There seem to be a lot of factors to consider here. Do you already have Australian citizenship or permanent resident status or immediate family in Australia? If not, my understanding is that you probably wouldn’t be allowed in to Australia at all until they lift entry restrictions. Once they do that, they may also lift the restriction of immediate quarantine at your first point of entry airport. So the BA flight might actually be OK at that point as long as an internal connecting flight is available.
  
  Qantas have completely cut international flights until, I think, the end of May. Once they restart international flights I would expect London to be one of the first destinations to open up, simply because of the high number of Australians likely to still be stuck in the UK/Europe at that point. Either the London to Perth direct route or the London to Sydney route via whatever transit airport is available, perhaps even using Darwin again. So Qantas might be an option as well as BA. I’m not as familiar with other airlines like Qatar.
  
  Have you been looking at any of the Australian frequent flyer web-sites to keep up with what is happening in Australia? The old Australian Business Traveller, now renamed Executive Traveller I think, does seem to be trying to keep up to date with entry restriction / quarantine news as well as which routes are currently operating internationally and domestically as well as repatriation flights.
  
  There also seem to be quite a few HfP commenters based in Australia if you have any specific questions to ask them.
  - Lyn says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 16:47
    
    I should have mentioned that Qantas are running some repatriation flights, which could be options if you already have Australian residency or citizenship. I imagine these could continue for quite a while. I don’t know if they include London at the moment though, and they might also be expensive.
    - Mark says:
      
      10 Apr10 April 17:28
      
      Thanks Lyn, yes we are permanent residents. It’s a difficult balance, we will try to hang on in the UK as long as we can and hope the situation improves. If Qantas come back onto the scene then that would be very good news too.
      - Lyn says:
        
        10 Apr10 April 20:05
        
        Mark, you may want to search for availability of one-way awards from London to Brisbane on the Qantas web-site to get a sense of their current thinking on which routes might be available at various times. For instance it shows availability of Qantas flights to Sydney and Perth starting in June and BA etc. before that. Again this is just current thinking but the flights should also be available to book with Avios via BA. Their calendar is useful for searching.
        
        I think you have to be a member of the Qantas frequent flyer programme to be able to search, but you probably already are. If you aren’t already a member it would be better to join anyway while you have a UK address to avoid their joining fee. It is useful when you buy petrol or shop at Woolworths or via the Qantas on-line shopping portal if nothing else.
        
        Also, and this could be important, I’ve just realised that your concern about quarantine in Sydney versus Brisbane may be actually be a moot point. I think I have read that the current rule may be 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine wherever you arrive in from outside Australia. If this is in fact the case the only advantage to arriving in Brisbane versus Sydney would be avoiding an extra 14-day self-isolation when you arrive in Queensland from NSW. You would still have initial hotel quarantine period anyway. Hopefully this is all temporary. Again local HfP commenters in Australia could probably help with information.
- AJA says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 16:57
  
  Mark, That’s absolutely awful timing. Can you clarify how many passengers will be travelling? Also are you looking for a return ticket or one-way? You might like to buy a return ticket for the maximum stay away.
  
  I think the easiest routing London to Brisbane is on Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong. I am not sure if there is Avios availability on Cathay but given the need to quarantine on arrival it might be the easiest way. I am not sure if you can price it up on BA and use Avios to reduce the price or whether that is only a possibility on BA flights?
  
  I would avoid buying separate tickets (avios or otherwise) as the only way you will be rerouted all the way to Brisbane is if your flights are on one PNR. Also as you rightly state you would have to go landside to collect and rebook bags in for the connecting flight. Could you just travel light and use a freight company to send bags?
  
  Are you familiar with ITA matrix? It’s very good to find flights. Just had a quick look and it is pricing LHR-HKG-BNE on Cathay Pacific one-way for £718 in economy on 2 June. A return trip in business departing 1 June returning 1 Sept is pricing up at £3,703.
  
  Alternatively you could try Qantas (operated by Emirates) via Dubai.
  
  Good luck!
  - Mark says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 17:10
    
    Thanks AJA, that’s very useful. We are 2 and I will look into the Cathay options, thankyou.
- Lady London says:
  
  10 Apr10 April 19:36
  
  PS @Mark if you do get stuck here for a while if you were on good terms with your previous employer and on their payroll as at 28th February, then your employer is allowed to re-hire you and put you immediately on furlough. 80% of your salary will be paid by the government to your employer. And you can receive 80% on furlough. Employers can too you back up to 100% but that would be pushing it in your case. Apparently the government is actually encouraging employers to do this so people don’t fall through the cracks of getting support
  
  It’s capped at £2500pm I.e. that’s your 80%. Currently guaranteed for salary as from 1st March running three months who knows if it will be extended. A lifeline for some.
  
  I have an friend who left her employer in early March to go fulltime in her own massage business which she’d been doing full-time. She’d given them lots of notice and been open about her plans and her old employer took her straight back and has now furloughed her but might find some work for her in later weeks.
  
  IIRC page returns for March salaries can be filed up to 19th April or so? If you left on good terms your old employer might help.
  
  Full info on MSE – it’s very thorough and comes to them from the government.
  
  Good luck!
  - Lady London says:
    
    10 Apr10 April 19:45
    
    Page returns = the P A Y E reports your employer makes to the government. There’s time to do it after the end of the month someone was/is on payroll. I believe for people an employer is reporting as within payroll for March the closing reporting date is 19 April or so, so there could still be time if they can help you. There’s info you can give them on MSE.
- Callum says:
  
  11 Apr11 April 04:39
  
  The QR Brisbane route was due to end any day now – not sure if they plan to extend it.
  
  I’m not sure that you’ll have a significantly lower risk catching the virus in business than economy either.
  
  I’d personally grab any flight you can get to Australia at this point. Planning is pretty futile right now with everything constantly changing, and I’m not sure avoiding an additional 14 day quarantine is worth the risk of losing out on flights. The QLD quarantine also only applies if you’ve been in a NSW hotspot – I don’t know what hotels they’re using, but even if it was then it may come under the “essential purpose” exemptions anyway.