The new HFP chat thread – Friday 29th 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/2020/05/29/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-friday-29th-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

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

John says:

29 May29 May 11:08

Outsourcing always a sign of lazy thinking, eg Capita, Serco, Carillion…

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/29/british-airways-outsource-work-redundant-employees-heathrow
- mark2 says:
  
  29 May29 May 14:33
  
  Certainly when it is done by Civil Servants.
  But if you look at the side of the cabs of most heavy vehicles painted in the colours of national companies you will see that they belong to a logistics company like XL.
Mingus says:

29 May29 May 11:14

If I trigger a companion voucher with the BAPP Amex, then downgrade to fee-free BA Amex, does the voucher that I have gained retain its 24-month validity, or does it drop to the 12-month validity that comes with the standard card? I couldn’t find the answer to this on the (otherwise excellent) review of BAPP here.

Also, I am assuming that cancelling the card completely would eliminate the voucher, so downgrade is the way to go? (If you’re thinking “why consider cancelling?” it’s to reset the 24 month clock to reapply)
- Rhys says:
  
  29 May29 May 11:20
  
  Once you earn the voucher it stays as is on your Executive Club account. You can cancel the card and it will stay.
  - Mingus says:
    
    29 May29 May 11:27
    
    Thanks for the swift response Rhys!
- Harry T says:
  
  29 May29 May 11:44
  
  I can confirm this based on recently cancelling my BAPP – my voucher stayed in my account and I could use it even after cancelling a redemption.
- AJA says:
  
  29 May29 May 14:16
  
  Just remember if you cancel the card you must pay taxes and fees on an Amex card when you redeem the 2-4-1 voucher. It doesn’t have to be your card but it must be Amex.
Mike P says:

29 May29 May 11:39

Supposed to have been off to Kuwait this weekend on LH on some cheap J mistake fares from ZRH as a quick *A mileage run. Would have been in FRA right now.

Ah well. At least the weather is good and I’ve got beer! Could be a lot worse.
Matt says:

29 May29 May 12:11

Virgin Flying Club – attempted to contact them twice this week.
Both times, after waiting 2 days on the text service they told me that their “systems are down so they can’t help me with anything, and for me to try again in a few days”. Pathetic, and does not make me want to keep my miles within the program.
Are others having the same experience/had any luck with Virgin redemptions today?
- John Turner says:
  
  29 May29 May 12:18
  
  All online services seem to be down. Any idea what’s going on Rob?
  - Rob says:
    
    29 May29 May 12:32
    
    No idea but there is a message acknowledging the issue on the site.
    - AlexT says:
      
      29 May29 May 13:03
      
      This is happening suspiciously close to month end. Isn’t today the deadline for finding a strategic investor for VS?
      - Lady London says:
        
        29 May29 May 14:51
        
        Does anyone seriously still believe this is a systems issue ?
      - Rob says:
        
        29 May29 May 15:22
        
        Yes, Virgin’s IT is ridiculously bad.
fivebobbill says:

29 May29 May 12:27

Hi guys, some advice please.
Anybody stayed at the Ritz Carlton JBR? I have an option for a Club Level Ocean View in late September which is very tempting, about to press go on it and just thought I’d try to get some feedback first.
Only ever been in there for drinks…
- Stanley says:
  
  29 May29 May 13:00
  
  Hit the Button ! Have stayed there 3 times in a Club Room. Ticks every box for us. If i was going to moan at one thing, it is that the beach is not directly adjacent to the pool. it is a 50m walk away….. Club lounge had good spreads, service superb everywhere, good choice of restaurants, and JBR/Walk is a nice stroll in the evening……
  - fivebobbill says:
    
    29 May29 May 18:59
    
    Thanks for the feedback Stanley, looks like we’re gonna go for it. Shame about the beach 😉
- Colin MacKinnon says:
  
  29 May29 May 19:39
  
  Where’s JBR? Unless there is a good beach in Arkansas?
  - fivebobbill says:
    
    29 May29 May 19:53
    
    Sorry Colin, Jumeirah Beach, Dubai (The Walk)
    - fivebobbill says:
      
      29 May29 May 19:55
      
      * Jumeirah Beach Residence – strip of hotels, restaurants, beach etc
RTS says:

29 May29 May 12:30

Anyone heard anymore news re@ Norwegian? They have gone a bit quiet since back April when they were on the brink…
- Rob says:
  
  29 May29 May 12:31
  
  They got their ‘debt for equity’ swap done which unlocked the Norwegian bailout money. It is now basically owned by the banks and lessors who were its lenders.
  
  It remains keen to relaunch long-haul from Gatwick next April.
  - AJA says:
    
    29 May29 May 14:27
    
    On the subject of Norwegian my mum told me this morning about a friend who has been stuck in Florida since March. She flew out there from LGW to visit her daughter and her return flight was originally cancelled when the US closed all but the 13 airports. Norwegian keeps changing and then cancelling her return flight and then putting her on another one, latest flight is now end of June! I think she is going to breech the 3 month visa waiver entry terms if she waits until end of June. Plus she will run into the quarantine issue on arrival back in the UK. I said she should be able to request to be rerouted via MIA on BA at Norwegian’s expense. That is correct isn’t it?
    - Rhys says:
      
      29 May29 May 15:10
      
      Yep, not sure why she has put up with Norwegian’s shenanigans all this time!
      - AJA says:
        
        29 May29 May 16:13
        
        Oh good the site is back up. I had an Error 502 Bad gateway message as I tried to post my reply!
        
        Thanks Rhys for confirming my advice is correct. I said the same thing to my mum about why her friend has put up with this so far. I can only guess she is happy to spend more time with her daughter and grandchildren. I can also think of worse places than Florida to be “stranded”
    - ChrisC says:
      
      29 May29 May 17:28
      
      If she is at risk of breaching the visa waiver time scales then she should look at applying for an extension before it expires not after!
      
      A friend of mine has a 6 months visa waiver but as he applied for an extension before expiry he is still legal until they determine his application
      - AJA says:
        
        29 May29 May 21:47
        
        Chris Thanks for the advice. I will pass that on to my mum to tell her friend.
AndyK says:

29 May29 May 12:36

BA cancelled July flights to Austria. These were bought via Vitality and paid by a credit card.
Do I have any other options but a refund? New tickets with EasyJet are way more expensive
- Anna says:
  
  29 May29 May 14:19
  
  Yes, you are entitled to re-routing on another airline, don’t let BA tell you otherwise. Even if you have to buy your own replacement flights then take BA to court, this is your legal right, do a bit of research on line for “EU261 right to re-routing”. It doesn’t matter how much notice they gave you of the cancellation. This seems to trip a lot of people up!
  - AndyK says:
    
    29 May29 May 15:09
    
    Thanks Anna.
    My confusion is due to buying these via an agent, Vitality in this case
Bill says:

29 May29 May 12:50

Email from eayjet:

Our investigation found that your name, email address, and travel details were accessed for the easyJet flights or easyJet holidays you booked between 17th October 2019 and 4th March 2020. Your passport and credit card details were not accessed, however information including where you were travelling from and to, your departure date, booking reference number, the booking date and the value of the booking were accessed.
- Rhys says:
  
  29 May29 May 13:26
  
  A lot of these were sent out last week, I got one myself
  - Harry T says:
    
    29 May29 May 13:43
    
    Me too.