The new HFP chat thread – Wednesday 15th 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/2020/04/15/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-wednesday-15th-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.

JenT says:

15 Apr15 April 10:28

A data point for those who called BA to get a refund for a cash flight booking that had a cancelled flight – called on Monday, money on my BA PP credit card this morning 🙂
rams1981 says:

15 Apr15 April 10:28

Virgin transfer to Hilton initiated on 30th March and still no sign. Anyone else in same boat?
- Colin MacKinnon says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 10:54
  
  Yes. Wife’s and mine applied c25th March. Hers went though fine, I got the email this morning in poor English wanting all my personal details!
  - Jane says:
    
    15 Apr15 April 11:35
    
    is this the e-mail from FCSverify ? I assume it’s legit and we need to reply. I also have it on my account from a transfer requested on 27th – although the points have gone from my Virgin account – so does this mean they are on their way ?
    - Colin MacKinnon says:
      
      15 Apr15 April 11:58
      
      Yep. That’s the one! It’s legit – wife had one and I phoned and was Ok
      - Amar says:
        
        15 Apr15 April 13:30
        
        I also had this – called today and apparently the email is legit (albeit looking like it was written by a 5 year old).
        
        Personally, I would still call though.
- Anne says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 19:36
  
  Other half did hers same day as mine – March 28th. Mine turned up fine around 8th April but no sign of hers yet which is very odd as we followed exactly the same text process. She assures me she hasn’t had the email asking to verify details so no idea what’s happened there.
Chris says:

15 Apr15 April 10:31

Considering cancelling Amex Plat, but got multiple flights booked late in the year, do i still maintain a level of protection from the insurance if i cancel the card?
- Genghis says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 13:04
  
  If you’ve not incurred a loss as at today and you cancel, you won’t be covered for any future loss.
Waddle says:

15 Apr15 April 10:45

Have downgraded BAPP to fee-free version. Will my card turn blue online and in the app or will I have to manually add the card when it arrives? Also the CS agent didn’t ask about where I wanted the prorata refund so I’m assuming statement credit is default?
- Rob says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 11:04
  
  Yes, goes back onto your account as a credit.
  - Anuj says:
    
    15 Apr15 April 13:01
    
    If I downgrade to the free card from the paid one (having spent £3k on the paid card) then upgrade back to the fee one at a later point in the year. Will I need to spend £7k more or does it reset to 0 and therefore I have to spend £10k more. Thanks
    - Genghis says:
      
      15 Apr15 April 13:11
      
      £7k. But there’s no guarantee you’ll be accepted again for BAPP. Personally I wouldn’t bother with all the upgrading and downgrading and just pay the few quid in fees.
      - Anuj says:
        
        15 Apr15 April 13:32
        
        In normal times I wouldn’t but I have around £3k of fixed bills to payoff that I can payoff all at once. After that I don’t foresee spending anything substantial whatsoever for quite a long period so I didn’t see the point of effectively paying for a entire years worth of fee if I can just downgrade. Thanks for your answer though, I think I’ll downgrade and chance it working.
      - Lady London says:
        
        15 Apr15 April 18:56
        
        The only other thing to mention is, didn’t someone say Amex insurance attached to the card is still covering COVID? That cover might be hard to replace for future travel, at least for a while.
Billy Nicholson says:

15 Apr15 April 10:48

Morning everyone.
Does anyone know if/how I can get hold of Malaysians schedule? I want to know if they are going to fly a route (ADL-KUL) so that I can commit to booking it at 1am. If they are no longer flying that route (last flight showing is 28th Mar 2021), I need to put all my effort into booking another route at 1am rather than risk losing both options…..thx
- Rob says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 11:03
  
  If it’s not available for booking via their own website then I don’t see how BA can be offering it for rewards. Some airlines do 330 days in advance and others do 355 days.
  - Billy Nicholson says:
    
    15 Apr15 April 11:10
    
    Ok, shall probably have to conclude then that they are not flying it after 28th March. I believe Malaysian release all their seats 360 days in advance so should see up to 9th April IF they were flying.
    - e14 says:
      
      15 Apr15 April 11:12
      
      Seems some airlines are slow in updating their Q2 2021 timetables which might be the issue
      - Billy Nicholson says:
        
        15 Apr15 April 13:15
        
        I’ll keep an eye on it….don’t need to book the alternative reward seat until 23rd April
      - Lady London says:
        
        15 Apr15 April 18:58
        
        Could you grab it if it looks bookable and count on being switched to another carrier if later it becomes official that your booked flight is not running?
Jody says:

15 Apr15 April 12:03

Another thank you for everyone who suggested BA Refund helper over on Flyertalk – finally had my refund of avios yesterday, and money back across 2 cards today (due to paying taxes in two goes as booked outbound first then inbound a couple of weeks later).

However, the refund I’ve received is only half the amount of taxes I paid. Do they refund them separately per person, or does this sound like a cock up? I have sent a pm to BA Refund helper to ask, but just thought I’d ask the collective wisdom on here!
- Anna says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 12:32
  
  BA often charges the credit card per passenger- if you find the original transaction you will be able to see if it matches with one of the refunds applied. However, for a single booking it should all come back at the same time, so something may have gone wrong, unless you are liable for cancellation charges (did you cancel the flights or BA?)
  - Jody says:
    
    15 Apr15 April 12:57
    
    It’s half the amount I paid on each card that has come back.
    
    BA cancelled one of the flights, so should be no charges, plus it was booked using avios and a companion voucher.
- Jody says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 13:27
  
  All sorted now, just had a phone call. It was human error, only one refund processed instead of two, so second one is going though as we speak.
  
  Brilliant service from BA Refund Helper
Lady London says:

15 Apr15 April 12:16

You’ll have to call. IME Iberia could book some ridiculous reroute that suits them not you. So best phone and demand refund. Try early in shift to phone or via US number
Waddle says:

15 Apr15 April 12:24

Re: Virgin Atlantic cards
Are they upgrade/downgrade-able?
- Rob says:
  
  15 Apr15 April 13:17
  
  Only messily. You need to cancel the first card and apply for the other one ‘fresh’. You will be automatically rejected as there isn’t a 6 month gap. You then need to appeal in writing or by phone, explaining you are trying to downgrade, at which point they will approve manually your 2nd application.