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The new HFP chat thread – Tuesday 12th May

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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/2020/05/12/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-tuesday-12th-may/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.  Let’s see how it goes.  Take care!

Category

General

Comments (316)

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

  • rj24 says:
    12 May12 May 10:19

    Hello all. A question on virgin refunds. I have one fare and 2 part payments from points redemptions I made for my wife and daughter currently in process. As it’s a 90-100 day wait (I submitted the claims at the end of March) and Virgin may not last that long, is it now worth making a section 75 claim?

    • Rhys says:
      12 May12 May 10:26

      No. You can still claim S75 if the airline goes bust, although it is looking less likely now that Branson is selling shares in Galactic to pump some cash into Virgin.

      • Rob says:
        12 May12 May 11:00

        What’s the maths on this do you think? IAG is losing €200m per week so let’s assume BA is losing €100m. Virgin would therefore be losing €20m? At most Branson is only buying three months, assuming VS doesn’t get all the cash, if there is no additional investment.

        • Chrisasaurus says:
          12 May12 May 19:51

          It’s balanced by all the redemptions I’m making for hopeful travel q4 2020 and q1 2021 – they’ll pretty well break even in May at this rate! (Yes I understand how revenue works in real life)

    • Rob says:
      12 May12 May 11:02

      No. If Virgin fails you’ll get the money eventually via S75. If it survives you’ll get it in 3 months. Why cause everyone a load of work now?

      • Genghis says:
        12 May12 May 11:53

        Cash flow! I waited the time per my contract for a refund and then submitted chargeback and won. Money is better in my pocket than QR’s.

      • rj24 says:
        14 May14 May 08:17

        It’s a fair point, but thinking out loud, this is me and countless others bankrolling the company. As Ghengis has said, is the money not better for me personally in my account? It all seems one-sided, the airlines are in business for themselves and want it both ways. Our money for flights and out money when trading is tough. Just a morning musing. I love travel and do want them to survive, for the record.

  • illuminatus says:
    12 May12 May 10:39

    Hi,

    I have a Return flight LIM-LGW on July 15 which obviously I will not be taking. The flight was booked on Avios using 241, and the Outbound leg has been used.

    What is my best option – call and request a refund to get avios and taxes back but losing £35 and 241?

    Thanks.

  • mutley says:
    12 May12 May 10:56

    I’m really concerned about whether Virgin will survive and whether I should send my Flying club points to Hilton. What does Rob think about transferring to Hilton. Anyone else done this recently, and how long did it take to get the points. In addition, do you think house prices will go up in the near future, will Boris fire Hancock, is Elvis still alive, is shoestring a real person and who kidnapped Shergar.

    • Sean says:
      12 May12 May 11:30

      best ask lord lucan

    • Chrisasaurus says:
      12 May12 May 19:53

      Hancock has literally no idea what he’s doing and is utterly, utterly inept so the one thing I can answer from that is no, Boris definitely won’t fire him and risk being surrounded by anyone with a backbone

  • Marc says:
    12 May12 May 10:59

    Would a swap have been more effective?
    Historically swapping Boris for Theresa May, Boris could have ‘sorted’ Brexit out, well sort of, and Theresa May could have dealt with the pandemic far better I think. Certainly Mrs Thatcher would have understood the science better. Just a thought…

    • J says:
      12 May12 May 11:25

      Agreed, Theresa May was at least conscientious and had an eye for detail. Boris is a lazy blagger – a journalist and sometimes amusing commentator. He’s certainly not fit to run the country in a crisis. I’ll be surprised if he makes it to the next GE – and when the public inquiry comes I’ve no doubt there’ll be some calls to prosecute him.

      • mark2 says:
        12 May12 May 12:06

        But conscientious to remain in the EU!

        • J says:
          12 May12 May 12:19

          Because she wasn’t an idiot. I think there’ll be some sort of fudge now or a soft Brexit. The UK cannot afford coronavirus and a hard brexit – and it would be humiliating 70s throwback for the Tories to have to go to the IMF. As much as the Tories might want Brexit when it comes to it will they really commit economic and political suicide?

          • Bazza says:
            12 May12 May 13:40

            We are leaving the EU! Its done and dusted!

            If you want to still be part of it there are ways you can achieve is..

          • J says:
            12 May12 May 14:06

            Of course but “leave” might end up being a fudge not so different to Norway – because the UK can’t afford a hard exit. Maybe the hard Brexiteers will still get that in which case enjoy being poor.

      • Nick_C says:
        12 May12 May 12:26

        “when the public inquiry comes I’ve no doubt there’ll be some calls to prosecute him.”

        Well, Blair got away with it, so I don’t suppose BoJo has much to worry about.

    • RussellH says:
      12 May12 May 11:28

      She ought to have been able to understand it, but whether she would have wanted to is another matter.
      Dorothy Hodgkin was not impressed with Margaret Roberts’ abilities.

    • BJ says:
      12 May12 May 12:15

      Well Boris typically blunders and May typically dithered so would not make much difference. Thatcher would likely have rounded up everybody testing positive south of Watford, transported them northwards and set them loose in working-class communities, but only after Ronnie gave his blessing. Interesting to see the Tory press today gleefully proclaiming 2000 lives would have been saved in Scotland had Sturgeon done something different from Boris and locked down two weeks earlier. Yet, strangely their English editions are very quiet on the number of lives that would have been saved in England had Boris done so too. It was only yesterday that they were crucifying her for daring to do something different. Last week it was masks, this week there is no such criticism when Boris does the same thing. The be alert and use common sense advice is a total joke, where were Boris and his buddies when they should have been alert to the impending crisis as soon as European cases hit 4 digits in a very short space of time, what common sense did they show then? When are we going to be provided with straightforward and reliable stats on the number of deaths in care homes and in the community in England? When is the government going to get a grip on PPE and testing? Don’t forget Boris said 200,000 tests a day by the end of May. Where is Hancock, hiding scrutiny with Patel? When is this Party we are supposed to trust on the economy going to grow a pair and drive a hard bargain in the interest of taxpayers when all these amazing free-market entities come trotting along cap in hand seeking help they desperately need, or don’t?

      • Josh says:
        12 May12 May 12:28

        Get a grip on PPE? All the “whistleblowers” were commies…forgive my cynicism..And there’s worldwide demand for PPE…huge lag times from order to receipt…perhaps get competent NHS procurement managers.

        The moaning whingers…I think…are just bored. So they moan.

        • BJ says:
          12 May12 May 13:00

          We might not need to be so reliant on overseas sources of PPE had the manufacturing capacity and diversity of our country not been run down for ideological reasons. There will always be room for changes and improvements in management of the NHS like any other organisation or industry. However, right now I have massively more confidence in the NHS management to better respond to this crisis than I do in the government. You should not presume that criticism of a government of one colour equates to support for one of another colour. Such tribalism is why our country is going backwards without need.

          • Lady London says:
            12 May12 May 14:07

            PPE is now being made in Scotland for the UK. Contracts have been issued (daughter of a friend is setting up a factory for her firm now they’ve got the contract).

        • davvero says:
          12 May12 May 13:05

          ‘commies’ grow up you idiot! The government vastly underfunded the NHS for many years. Some hospitals had PPE shortages, it’s a fact, not opinion.

          • Brian W says:
            12 May12 May 16:30

            Why do you have to react to a post by calling him an idiot @davvero? Are you not able to construct a reply giving your own opposing opinion without resorting getting personal? He probably isn’t an idiot at all, just has a very different opinion to you, the same a some who perhaps believe a lot of what you say is absolute mince.

          • Josh says:
            12 May12 May 19:21

            Thanks BrianW 😁 I’m not averse to criticism of the government, although I’m just so cynical that more or less every “I don’t have enough PPE” medical spokesperson turns out to be a Corbyn luvvie.

            It was the responsibility of procurement managers in NHS trusts to ensure sufficient PPE was ordered for their hospitals…but some have relied on government stockpiles to overcome their own shortages.

      • Harry T says:
        12 May12 May 13:43

        @BJ spot on. Criticism of Boris bizarrely not tolerated now that he has been admitted to hospital, possibly secondary to his enthusiastic hand shaking.

        • Cat says:
          12 May12 May 15:08

          +1 BJ
          I do not understand why other countries were able to do an incredible job with test, trace, isolate, yet we’ve still not got a grip on this process. The pitiful excuses wrt the EU procurement emails being missed make me want to scream, almost as much as that equation on Sunday.
          The care homes thing makes me really angry – we really aren’t doing enough. The PPE and tests situation in care homes is abysmal, and the NHS England guidelines to care homes are useless, it feels like acceptance that COVID is going to sweep through and decimate the little old dears, like the Australian bushfires all over again. In Scotland, the advice is to try to keep residents in their rooms and feed them there if possible. It’s far from ideal, and seems cruel, but it’s considerably less cruel than the alternative in England, which is to keep dozens of residents interacting with each other on a daily basis (because nobody has told them not to) when eating and watching TV, until one of the staff comes in with “just a bit of a cough, it’s nothing”, and half of the residents have all caught it before anyone realises. Then they die alone in their rooms while half the staff are off sick and self-isolating, and no relatives are allowed to visit, because it’s contagion central.
          I just don’t understand why we’re not advising care homes to try to keep residents away from each other here. It’s dreadful.

          • BJ says:
            12 May12 May 16:24

            Cat, @Alan would obviously be able to give you a much more reliable answer but FWIW I think the decision was taken in Scotland to treat the elderly in residential care, and those over 70 in their own homes, in situ where possible. The presumption probably being that hospitals and ICU in particular would be overwhelmed, or close to it, by patients presenting who were largely under 70 and therefore considered to have a better chance of survival where symptoms became very severe. The plan would very likely have been sound were there no problems with PPE, testing, tracing, staffing, (and probably guidance too?). Unfortunately there were serious shortcomings in most of these respects in many cmhomes and communities and the consequences became almost inevitable despite great efforts by carers and health professionals. I say almost because it seems to me at least that when it became apparent that the hospitals were not going to be overwhelmed and the temporary Jordan hospital was unlikely to be required, a window of opportunity presented itself to limit the catastrophe developing in residential care homes. Sadly it was not taken as far as I can tell; this representing failings at the upper management and political levels. Apart, perhaps for some small differences in guidelines, I would guess that the situation in the rest of the UK is not that much different from here in Scotland. While I have more confidence in the Scottish Governments performance than the national government in handling this crisis, and I recognise that they are working with more limited powers, I feel both could have done much better. In particular, I feel angry that they failed to heed the warnings provided by other countries and use the extra time this presented to nip the problem in the bud in the UK before it even developed.

          • Cat says:
            12 May12 May 16:37

            We also sent people from hospital back to care homes, without testing them, or sometimes after testing them but the results weren’t communicated to the care homes.
            It’s almost as if the people managing this crisis have accepted the deaths of the elderly already.
            Seriously, did they never have grandparents?

          • BJ says:
            12 May12 May 17:47

            I know Cat, this one for the education of those who do not take their responsibilities seriously. It can and does happen to anybody.
            https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18439318.coronavirus-devastates-castlemilk-family-three-grandparents-die-four-weeks/

          • BJ says:
            12 May12 May 19:16

            @Cat, Channel 4 news currently addressing the care homes issue in detail.

          • Cat says:
            12 May12 May 23:27

            That’s just heartbreaking, that poor family.
            Considering the enormous size of our school, it’s a surprisingly close-knit community. I’m now getting daily emails sent to all staff detailing who should not be (gently) chased for work that’s not been done, because of a bereavement.
            Bloody awful business.
            Watching Channel 4 now.

        • BJ says:
          12 May12 May 16:31

          Never been able to figure whether such intolerance of criticism is a symptom or a cause of many of the challenges we now face as a society.

          • BJ says:
            12 May12 May 16:34

            That reply was meant to be @Harry T.

            @Lady London. I heard about the PPE production but was unaware of the details.

          • Cat says:
            12 May12 May 16:40

            What came first – the chicken or the egg?

      • Andrew says:
        12 May12 May 19:48

        So in Scotland do you think it’ll now be called the “Hilton Virus” or the “Nike Virus”?

        • BJ says:
          12 May12 May 20:47

          Obviously not happy about that but it’s just political scheming to undermine the SNP. All a bit pointless given they can count on rock solid 40%+ support of their own and the Conservatives losing ground to Labour under Starmer. With respect to Covid-19 travelling support for the Six Nations games against Italy 22/2 and France 8/3 were likely of much greater significance than the Nike event. I was very disappointed at the time that those were allowed to go ahead.

  • berneslai says:
    12 May12 May 11:04

    I’ve got a BA holiday balance outstanding (flights plus hotel – I’ve paid a deposit) for a trip at the end of August but all of the payments to date have been made on a Gold Amex. If I want some sort of cover on a credit card, is there a minum payment or % of the balance that I need to make?

    • AJA says:
      12 May12 May 11:14

      Technically I think even £1 paid by credit card would cover you under s75 as it’s the total spend must be more than £100 thats key not the amount paid by credit card but reasonably I would pay £100.

    • Genghis says:
      12 May12 May 11:44

      Amex Gold credit or charge? Credit you have S75 protection assuming you follow the rules.
      Charge you have Amex’s chargeback rules.
      Being a holiday you also have ATOL protection.

  • Vit says:
    12 May12 May 11:26

    Hi, just wonder if anyone can share their experience of getting refund from QR? both direct with airline and TA? I’ve got mine through lastminute.com. They’ve been responding my queries but pointed out that the delay seems to be with QR refund backlog. FYI, my flights to Thailand during Easter have been cancelled since early April. I have opted for the cash refund but I won’t mind the voucher too much.

    • Genghis says:
      12 May12 May 11:45

      I waited the 28 days promised at the time I cancelled and then did chargeback. All settled within a week or so, case closed with Amex.

    • Sarah says:
      12 May12 May 11:50

      lastminute.com have been utterly hopeless, I wouldn’t believe a word they say and would try and check with QR to see if they have refunded lastminute. If they have, then launch a chargeback with your credit card provider, it seems to be the only way to get any money back from them.

      I cancelled a fully cancellbable hotel booking with lastminute 7 weeks ago – still haven’t managed to get the refund paid so Amex now on the case.

    • Vit says:
      12 May12 May 12:29

      Thanks for sharing your experiences. Just spoke to QR London office earlier and they advise that full refund has been processed from QR on 23rd April. I will wait and keep chasing lastminute.com for now till end of the month before starting any chargeback action.

      • Lady London says:
        12 May12 May 12:37

        why wait? I’d provide all info to cardco now and claim.

        IIRC Lastminute has already been bust once and will be made bust by its current owner setbif it suits them.

        • Vit says:
          13 May13 May 09:18

          I booked the flight using gift card from lastminute.com which I bought with 10% discount. So don’t think there is anything I can do here. 🙁

  • Sapiens says:
    12 May12 May 11:38

    Sorry I’m being very lazy – Does the Platinum card insurance cover ‘changing your mind’ due to the threat of COVID-19?

    E.g. if i had flights to Mexico but i don’t want to go as cases there were soaring and likely going into lockdown, but my specific flights weren’t cancelled..

    I ask as it could be valuable as we go into successive waves and lockdowns around the world

  • Alastair says:
    12 May12 May 12:03

    Travel insurance – I recently cancelled my Amex platinum (not getting use out of travel benefits), however this has left me without travel insurance currently. I have a trip to Menorca in early September with booking.com (hotels) / Easyjet (flights) that I have already moved from June. Could I re-apply for Amex platinum closer to time and have trip cancellation covered (given recent comments from Hancock around no trips this year due to COVID-19). Or would I be better to find a policy elsewhere? Any recommendations as to best course of actions? Thanks

    • AJA says:
      12 May12 May 12:40

      I think you’re out of luck with any new insurance policy, unless it specifically mentions it will cover Covid-19 it will not cover you for existing known risks. Amex will say the same thing as the holiday was bought before you got the new card so would not cover you.

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