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The new HFP chat thread – Tuesday 19th 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/2020/05/19/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-tuesday-19th-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!

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General

Comments (250)

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

  • Michael C says:
    19 May19 May 08:38

    Pretty OT (even for chat page!), but just received a page of back-to-school instructions for our son for 1 June, so looks like it’s going ahead, all things being equal.

    • Anna says:
      19 May19 May 09:17

      Is that from the school or the government? I think we’ll see schools (and a lot of parents) digging their heels in over this. My son is in Year 9 so fortunately I’m not going to have that dilemma and he can stay at home till September (he says he can’t go back to school anyway as I am old and vulnerable, the little sod 😂)

      • Michael C says:
        19 May19 May 10:09

        From school, Anna – but school saying “we’re in close contact with govt….” etc. etc. It’s a tiny form 1 class, and half the day will bt outdoors, so feel pretty ok about it.

    • ankomonkey says:
      19 May19 May 14:21

      +1.

      Primary school in Warwickshire, claiming about 2/3 of Rec/Y1/Y6 parents have told them they will send their kids to school on 1/6/20 if the school opens as government have planned so far.

    • @mkcol says:
      19 May19 May 18:01

      Same in Central Bedfordshire council area.

  • Andrew MS says:
    19 May19 May 08:44

    Good Morning
    My inbound LH flight was cancelled back in March . LH would not re-route me .
    I used 17k Avios and BA to get home.
    Do you think I can claim ~ £280 for the cost of buying 17,000 Avios from Amex via S75? Cost of original LH return ticket was £172 and the receipt did not break down cost of each leg , just “flights plus taxes”.
    I used the BA app to download boarding pass which has now disappeared so I don’t have a paper boarding pass as proof I flew . I still have emailed booking confirmation.
    I was thinking S75 for £280 might be the way forward because my original LH ticket was a return ticket bought from Ebookers ( I flew the outbound) so if I try to claim the cost of replacement Avios from Ebookers or Lufthansa it would be a lot of hassle and I might have to threaten/take action in the Small Court

    • luckyjim says:
      19 May19 May 09:04

      Where were you flying from?

      • Andrew MS says:
        19 May19 May 09:09

        Munich to Manchester

      • luckyjim says:
        19 May19 May 09:41

        That’s a lot of avios for a one-way flight from europe. I assume you went for the £1 in taxes and fees option. It would have been better to use as few avios as possible as claiming back the cash element would be much more straightforward.

        You should get your £1 back though 🙂

    • Andrew says:
      19 May19 May 09:32

      Did you actually buy the 17,000 avios for the flight or did you have them already? If the latter then I suspect you’ll struggle. Even if you bought the avios it’s an unnecessary complication which will make reimbursment difficult. Far, far easier in this situation to just pay cash and back up any claim with a screenshot showing comparable flights.

      You’re also supposed to give the retailer/airline a chance to make things right before starting a S75 claim so at the very least give them a call or send them an email. If they don’t reply in a couple of weeks then at least you can tell Amex you’ve tried.

      • Andrew MS says:
        19 May19 May 09:59

        Thanks Andrew and Luckyjim

        Yes I had the Avois in my account already and paid 17,000 plus £1

        I have been in touch with Expedia and Lufthansa but LH day “ no refunds “ and ignored the claim for the cost of replacing Avios.
        The cash price for the flight was about £610 with BA so I feel I mitigated my costs by using Avois .

        • AJA says:
          19 May19 May 14:12

          @ Andrew MS for proof you flew on BA just go to your My Flight Path within BAEC. It will show the flight details, route and date you flew. Or go Home / My Executive Club / Manage my Account / My past bookings. That will give you the booking reference as well as the details of the flight.

          • Andrew MS says:
            19 May19 May 17:08

            Thank you AJA
            I remember I also bought a cup of coffee on the plane too ! Purchase appears on my credit card statement!

      • Lady London says:
        19 May19 May 10:10

        LH did something similar to me so go for it. They just dont care about the law and the legal obligation on them to do the work and financw your re-route. I’m embarrassed to admit phrases like “thank God we won the war and Europe isn’t under the German jackboot” went through my mind.

        You arw entitled to the reasonable cost of getting yourself back home if LH abandoned you. Avios have been valued.by courts at the price British Airways would normally sell them for (s. Flyertalk) so go for it. You are not obliged to pick the cheapest return just something reasonable in the market around the time you needed the ticket and according to your circumstances. For example you may have been short of cash so using existing avios was necessary and there is a published rate to replace those avios which is BA’s standard pricing.

        Dont forget to also claim ec261/2004 duty of care rights ie any extra accommodation, meals, communications costs. credit card under section 75 is equally liable for these with LH.

        if card wont play ball threaten the FOS for failure to compensate for s75 or do a moneyclaim dot gov dot uk naming both agent and airline as defendants and let the court sort out who:s liable for what.

        • Lady London says:
          19 May19 May 10:15

          PS original cost of ticket is totally irrelevant. Relevant is reasonable additional cost of replacement arrangements to get you home

          btw if this had happened to you in mormal times, ie non COVID, quite likely you’d have also been able to claim under the compensation part of Eu261 as well if the flight had been cancelled at less than 2 weeks notice. s75 also covers this.

          • Andrew MS says:
            19 May19 May 10:34

            Thank you Lady London , you have fired me up !
            I don’t think I am being unreasonable in asking for the monetary value of my Avios to put me back in the place I was beforehand
            I will report back !

  • Peter K says:
    19 May19 May 09:09

    I enjoyed the replies the other day so I’ll add some new home delivery substitutions that we’ve had that don’t make sense:

    We got meatballs rather than mince.

    We got doughnuts instead of mozzarella sticks!

    • bsuije says:
      19 May19 May 09:27

      Presumably raw meatballs, in which case it makes perfect sense – raw meatballs = pre-seasoned mince! 😉

      The only link I have between doughnuts and mozarella sticks is comfort food.

    • Harry T says:
      19 May19 May 09:53

      We received packets of Crisp N Dry Solid Vegetable Oil instead of cartons of egg whites. Cracking work from Sainsbury’s.

    • Craig W says:
      19 May19 May 10:46

      we had non alcoholic beer as a replacement for, you guessed it…

    • AJA says:
      19 May19 May 15:50

      I love these substitution stories though I would hate to be the recipient. This is exactly why I don’t do online grocery shopping. I rather go wtihout than buy something totally unrelated.

      Mind you I’ve also been doing some shopping for my 86 year old neighbour (who has until this week not stepped outside since the beginning of February!) She is very unsteady on her feet so hasn’t even been for a walk outside. She was going crazy.

      She does online grocery shopping but was fuming last week as her order from Ocado was only delivered after I had gone to Waitrose. When I dropped off her shopping she told me that only half of her order was actually delivered and that half of the actual delivered goods were substitutions!. She said she never knows until they turn up what is or isn’t going to be delivered. Had she known how much of her order wasn’t going to be delivered she would have asked me to buy more!

      • Andrew MS says:
        19 May19 May 17:14

        I always check my Waitrose online order just before the cut off time for me to make amendments. If a line is out of stock , I cancel it so it can’t be substituted by them and look for my own alternatives

      • Peter K says:
        19 May19 May 17:31

        That’s kind of you AJA!

  • Luke says:
    19 May19 May 09:15

    Does anyone know by when BA would have to have its July plans in place? I know they originally talked about having some form of a return to service in July prior to the Govt 14 day announcement and if thy were to return more services they would have to get their plans out of storage etc. Just curious if there is a deadline they have to meet to have everything in place, flight plans etc

    • Rhys says:
      19 May19 May 09:17

      At the moment they’ve been doing that just under a month in advance.

    • Anna says:
      19 May19 May 09:21

      I got a message from them a couple of weeks ago asking if I wanted to swap my July holiday to Spain for a voucher. I decided to wait for BA to cancel instead, though as Spain now seems to be back-pedalling on its statement about indefinite border closures to foreign tourists, I am wondering if it will actually be going ahead now (though it wouldn’t surprise me if they move our MAN departure to LHR).

  • Diydegsy says:
    19 May19 May 09:22

    Hi I have booked golf in Los Cabos for May 2 people costing £1000 our holiday has been cancelled as BA cancelled the flights etc. The golf company won’t refund the money and paypal have refused the claim with no explanation, does anyone know if Amex Platinum insurance will cover this? Thanks for any help.

    • @mkcol says:
      19 May19 May 11:08

      Have you asked the supplier for a credit note/voucher/to move the dates?

  • Doug M says:
    19 May19 May 09:22

    For me flying in business class is all about space, so for BA I care little for Club Europe, but do really like CW. I’m always intrigued when like up thread I see reference to the importance or loss of lounges and in-flight service. Taste is affected by pressure and humidity in an aircraft cabin, and airline food barely matches an average restaurant, many lounges are more crowded than the terminals. I get it’s the whole package of things, but do people really care that much for lounges and in flight services, rather than just the comfort of a nicer seat and space?

    • bsuije says:
      19 May19 May 09:35

      Yes! Lounge = free food, and depending on which lounge you’re talking about, that could be a highlight of the (travel portion of the) trip (thinking about Cathay lounge in the morning before a short hop in economy to Budapest, for example).

      And in the air – a comfy, spacious seat is usually no good to me if there is no food, or the quality of it is atrocious. The only exception might be a relatively short over-night trip (e.g. flying back from East Coast USA), where it would be advisable to sleep through the journey. But I do all of my long-haul flying for pleasure, and usually have a beach lounger waiting at the other end. So I try and make the most of the journey and catch-up on sleep at the beach.

      • Polly says:
        19 May19 May 09:40

        Yes, those T3 lounges, a real treat…

        • Andrew says:
          19 May19 May 10:49

          I agree, it’s the whole package and experience that makes it for me, top quality lounges, service on board and food quality, amenities etc. And the airlines know this, BA for example investing heavily in new soft product in First – it’s not just about a spacious seat.

    • BLT says:
      19 May19 May 09:37

      Completely agree. The ability to stretch out on a plane is what I pay for / Use points for. Not fussed about busy lounges, free alcohol, how the cabin crew talk to me etc. Hence why I’m more than happy with BA CW.

    • Polly says:
      19 May19 May 09:38

      Yes, it makes a nice start to a holiday. But, for now, people will be just glad to be able to travel, and even enjoy CW.

    • Harry T says:
      19 May19 May 09:50

      Plane food is usually rubbish compared to ground food. Free booze can be fun but I’m not a connoisseur.

      I value a proper seat/bed to stretch out in, as I get a horrid back and coccyx ache from the pathetic new generation economy seats that are made of 2mm of wood.

      Qantas domestic business class seats aren’t flat bed, except on a certain flight between Perth and Sydney, but they have massive comfy seats with loads of extra space. If Club Europe was like that, I’d pay for it. I’d rather book Y with intra Europe flights and pay for extra legroom seats.

    • luckyjim says:
      19 May19 May 09:59

      No. It’s a form of cognitive bias – people think of it exclusive or ‘scarce’ and value it much more highly than they should. Most lounges are no more comfortable than your typical hotel lobby. No rational person would go out of their way to spend more time than necessary in a hotel lobby. Same with the food. For overnight flights I grab something at the airport and get my head down asap.

    • Peter K says:
      19 May19 May 11:30

      Actually, for me it IS the whole package. The relative calm of a lounge compared to the main concourse. The relatively more pleasant service during the flight.
      The fact that I can/am more likely to get gluten free food in the lounge and on the flight short haul is a major consideration as well.
      Would I pay cash for CE, no. Avios with reward flight saver, yes.

  • JohnT says:
    19 May19 May 09:27

    BA avios amendment – I have trying to change a 241 September Avios booking to next April/May – flights are available but when I use manage my booking to change the dates, it says “Cannot choose dates more that 365 days from date of original Booking” (which was done in Oct 19). Does this really mean I have to phone through?

    • JohnT says:
      19 May19 May 09:45

      PS was Club World booking. Just got through very quickly (by not selecting any option) – agent actually advised waiting another month or so, as they may extend their rebooking period from end July. Then if I cancel I could get a voucher which would include seat fees and I can then then rebook (and this gives much more availability than shows for a new avios booking?)

      • Rob says:
        19 May19 May 09:56

        Half right. You DON’T take the voucher – your choice would be rebook (with no date restrictions on Avios availability) OR take the voucher.

        • JohnT says:
          19 May19 May 10:11

          Thanks.. So I am not restricted by current ticket validity (ie Oct20) – I thought that was an issue with making changes?

          • Rob says:
            19 May19 May 10:25

            The Book With Confidence vouchers have an April 2022 expiry, although you still can’t book until 355 days in advance.

    • AJA says:
      19 May19 May 09:58

      You’ve run into the problem of ticket validity. A ticket is only valid for 265 days from date of issue. That means your ticket issued in Oct2019 is only valid until Oct2020. This means you can only change online for any date up til Oct2020. You are going to have to phone up. I am not sure if they will change it to flights beyond ticket validity. Not really sure how that works.

    • Rob says:
      19 May19 May 09:59

      You simply can’t do it. It is impossible, due to the way airline reservation systems are built, to extend a ticket beyond 12 months. Agent will need to cancel and rebook.

      • JohnT says:
        19 May19 May 10:17

        OK thanks, so seems I am better to cancel now and ask for cash/ avios / 241 back and hope new flights still available. Even if I wait till they extend booking change policy dates – I am reliant on std Avios availability by canx/rebook even if using voucher. Appreciate the advice!

        • Rob says:
          19 May19 May 10:23

          We’re talking about the Book With Confidence voucher, NOT your 241 voucher. No problem rebooking a 241 flight for ANY future date as long as you haven’t already taken your Book With Confidence voucher.

          • JohnT says:
            19 May19 May 10:37

            OK – yes only talking about the BA Confidence voucher in this context and what Avios availability it relies on when you use it, (which I believe has avios/seats/241 all rolled up into it).

  • Liz says:
    19 May19 May 09:46

    Just to rub salt in to the wound, BA have just sent me a notification for online checkin for tomorrows cancelled flights to Seattle! 😢✈️🇺🇸

    • Lady London says:
      19 May19 May 10:20

      Go on I dare you… click on the link and try to check in 🙂

    • Anna says:
      19 May19 May 10:25

      I kept getting them the entire day for our cancelled F flights to MIA at Easter! Probably the most depressing notification I’ve ever had.

      • Andrew Bowness says:
        19 May19 May 11:54

        Just wait until the corona app starts telling you that you’ve been near people that have tested positive.

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