The new HFP chat thread – Sunday 19th April

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Sorry for the delay in getting the Sunday chat thread live!

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/2020/04/19/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-sunday-19th-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.

mark2 says:

19 Apr19 April 09:50

Is everyone else still asleep?
- Kev 85 says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 09:58
  
  It’s Sunday (I think)
  - Rob says:
    
    19 Apr19 April 10:45
    
    It’s not that. We messed up the back-end so the chat thread didn’t appear until 9.30!
The Lord says:

19 Apr19 April 09:52

Anyone got a number they are having success getting through to BA on for a refund?
- marcw says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 10:39
  
  Use the FlyerTalk tip. It has come up lately quite often on the chat thread.
- Yasmin says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 10:58
  
  Yes – the 0203 number on the cancellation email. Took a while to get into the queue but but got through on the same day. When I got allowed into the queue was on hold for less than 10 minutes
Bentoni says:

19 Apr19 April 10:10

Re Tesco Club Card voucher exchange for Hilton stays: It says that the vouchers cannot be used in conjunction with any other scheme. Does that mean the hotel status won’t be honoured?

Is there any other restrictions that I should be aware of?

Thanks 🙂
- Tom1 says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 10:34
  
  Search on here – I’m sure rob has done an article about best uses for CC vouchers and the pros/cons of the Hilton scheme. Iirc you can only use them for UK hotels against the best flexible rate (?) – which can often be higher than the cheapest therefore you’re not getting the full value.
  
  I think hotels.com was better – but also seem to think that has been suspended for now.
  - Rob says:
    
    19 Apr19 April 10:42
    
    https://headforpoints.com/2020/01/05/how-to-use-tesco-clubcard-points-for-hilton-hotel-rooms/
- Rob says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 10:44
  
  Status should be honoured. You’ll even earn points as well. I think the hotel sees it as a cash stay.
- the_real_a says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 17:00
  
  Just ensure that taking 3x at hotels.com doesn’t work out cheaper, even paying for breakfast as many of the hiltons are in the consolidator inventory. This is particularly the case at the lower end hotels.
Josh says:

19 Apr19 April 10:12

Is it possible to cash out virgin miles to wine vouchers using the WhatsApp number? Or do you need to call for this?
- blenz101 says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 12:54
  
  Can’t see why it wouldn’t be possible – no harm in asking. I am abroad at the moment and the text service doesn’t work from my UAE number, I asked their Twitter team if they could do my transfer to HH and they were happy enough to do this for me given the the text and call centres are so busy.
Craig says:

19 Apr19 April 10:22

You could book both and consider the £35pp cancellation cost with BA an insurance policy?
- Tom1 says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 10:35
  
  And also pay the fees on credit card and you’d be covered if you want to cancel (£35) or if airline went bust (section 75).
J says:

19 Apr19 April 10:28

I know the Hilton policy is currently until end June. Any thoughts on whether this will extend? Perhaps it will vary by country? I have a booking in Cologne for early July I don’t think I will want – a refund would be nice but Hilton credit would also be OK.
Rob says:

19 Apr19 April 10:43

If you don’t mind paying extra cancellation fees (and being out of pocket for a year for 2 sets of taxes) you could book both and cancel BA nearer the time if needed.
James says:

19 Apr19 April 10:50

it seems odd that Rob has pinned the bankruptcy piece without amendment. While it was probably right at the time, a lot of changes have happened in the last month, including IAG ratings downgrades. It doesn’t seem to take account of CAPA’s predictions (noting that BA had liquidity for just 132 days of groundings). I haven’t seen a thorough analysis of IAG’s liquidity and how reliable it is and given the challenges VA is facing with accessing credit card receipts and its knocked-back attempt to obtain government support, I should have thought the piece would warrant a refresh before pinning.
- J says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 11:06
  
  VA is Virgin Australia, and it sounds as though they have even bigger problems than VS, Virgin Atlantic. I don’t think anything major has changed with IAG; bankruptcy is still just as unlikely.
- Rob says:
  
  19 Apr19 April 11:13
  
  Had to do it quickly, but you’re right – I will add in a link to the BA downgrade report.