The new HFP chat thread – Friday 12th June

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NOTE: There is no additional content today because the three articles we were going to run today went up during Thursday, as we know you wouldn’t want to wait to hear about the BA status extensions. We need to let the email readers catch up. Normal service resumes on Saturday!

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/2020/06/12/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-friday-12th-june/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.

mark says:

12 Jun12 June 10:18

Data point Curve card Travel and gadget insurance is a total waste of time.
- AlexT says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 10:24
  
  What happened?
  - Mark says:
    
    12 Jun12 June 12:01
    
    After spending 15 hours plus on the phone basically nothing even the AXA agent said Its more or less worthless
- mark2 says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 11:48
  
  Is anyone surprised?
EJH says:

12 Jun12 June 10:54

BA PP OFFER DETAILS
Save to Card to get 2 additional Avios for every £1 spent at Tesco, Waitrose & Partners, Marks & Spencer, Deliveroo and Apple every time until 12 September 2020. Terms and conditions apply.
Keith says:

12 Jun12 June 10:57

Question regarding Iberia.
I’m booked on a flight from Malaga to Madrid to Manchester in early August. Both flights aren’t bookable anymore and the seat plan won’t load on Iberia but says I have a seat. Expert Flyer doesn’t show me in a seat with all seats available. Iberia tell me they are still operating but I’m dubious. I’m happy to reroute on to a different flight but I need to know so I can cancel my hotel booking for free.

Does anyone have experience with Iberia and how long they take to confirm the cancellation?
- marcw says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 10:59
  
  4 to 6 weeks before scheduled departure.
Keith says:

12 Jun12 June 10:59

Not entirely the same but I cancelled my booking for May and was given a 6 month extension even though it expired over a year ago. You would need to call Avios and hang on passed all the waffle at the start of the call to talk to someone. Number should be in your confirmation email from them
Neil says:

12 Jun12 June 11:00

Hi, re Curve metal I know I’ve seen it but can’t find it so any help would be great thanks
1/ what are the ATM monthly Withdrawal limits in the UK please
2/ I know you can still pay some credit cards using Curve linked to another card am I correct in saying there’s no extra charge with Curve metal?

Many thanks
- Connor says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 12:46
  
  1. It’ll show you on the card limits section in the app.
  2. No extra charge from Curve with Metal but some cards may charge you a cash advance fee depending on how the transaction MCC is processed.
Anna says:

12 Jun12 June 11:26

Rather niche OT but it might help someone one day! We had flights from MIA to GCM on Cayman Airways cancelled by the airline at Easter, and all they would offer was re-book by the end of 2020. As the Cayman Islands’ borders are probably going to be closed until then, this was clearly a pathetic offer. 4 emails prompted no response whatsoever. EU261 doesn’t apply but someone on here recommended contacting the US DOT as Cayman Airways was in breach of their rules on flights departing the US (a refund is mandatory if the airline cancels the flight). It was very easy to submit a complaint via the DOT website, though I wondered if I would ever hear back as they must have been inundated with claims at the time. About a month later, however, they responded saying they had given Cayman Airways 60 days to process my refund. I wasn’t too hopeful about CA playing ball, however this morning I have seen that the full amount for the 3 tickets has gone back onto my credit card. So while it’s often perceived that the US has a lower level of protection for travellers than we do here, clearly there are some systems which work!
- Lady London says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 11:35
  
  Wow. Well done,@Anna
- marcw says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 12:00
  
  But that’s US law: if flight cancelled, customer has the right to ask for refund.
  - Anna says:
    
    12 Jun12 June 13:13
    
    They have the right to ask, but what are you supposed to do if the airline won’t comply, as in my case? Not actually being in either country also didn’t help! Cayman Airways have previously been investigated for failing to comply with DOT regulations so it wasn’t really a surprise. It’s a shame as they are a perfectly pleasant airline to fly with and we’ve used them several times over the years but this makes me really wary about booking with them again.
- ChrisC says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 12:42
  
  The email from the US DoT I received in Tuesday in response to a complaint (Submitted 4th May) about a refund from AA said the airline had 60 days to provide a ‘substantive response’ not to process the refund.
  
  If the airline believes a refund isn’t due then that will be their ‘substantive response’. They won’t just pay up because of the DoT complaint.
  
  Sure you aren’t reading more into the email than is actually there? The DoT can’t make a decision on anything until the airline responds to them.
  - ChrisC says:
    
    12 Jun12 June 12:50
    
    Sorry just seen the 2nd half of your post that says you have now been refunded. For some reason it wasn’t there when I responded.
    - Anna says:
      
      12 Jun12 June 13:14
      
      I’m assuming that if the airline cancels the flight, it’s pretty cut and dried that you’re entitled to a refund, unless they change the law because of the impact of COVID-related refund claims.
Mike says:

12 Jun12 June 11:27

Dynamic pricing now available for IHG reservations in the UK. IC Park Lane London as low as 45,000 for some nights that I have looked at, significant saving from the old 70,000 fixed rate.
- Craig says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 11:30
  
  Managed a couple of nights for 40k.
  - Ed says:
    
    12 Jun12 June 11:44
    
    IC O2 is down to 25k on dates I was looking at for 2021
    - Craig says:
      
      12 Jun12 June 11:53
      
      Fingers crossed, just waiting for a few nights to be released.
- Aston100 says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 12:04
  
  Paris too.
- happeemonkee says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 13:09
  
  California too. Woohoo
- Anna says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 13:35
  
  IC Dublin showing as 35,000 for July. Just need to be allowed to travel again now!
  - Anna says:
    
    12 Jun12 June 13:37
    
    Though I’m guessing technically I am allowed to fly there from MAN or LPL but not to drive to Holyhead to get a ferry?!
- stevenhp1987 says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 14:06
  
  Thanks, just saved 10k points re-booking for March next year!
  - stevenhp1987 says:
    
    12 Jun12 June 14:26
    
    Also, trying to re-book was a nightmare. The website kept logging me out all the time… Anyone else finding that?
- the_real_a says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 19:28
  
  There are a couple of hotels in the UK that now show on points redemption’s – “Includes Taxes, Excludes 10% service charge”. So am i correct in thinking 10% of nothing, is errr nothing?
- Ian says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 20:17
  
  Excellent – just managed to rebook Inverness HIE for 17500 rather than 30000.
- Genghis says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 21:32
  
  Thanks. Just done some more rebookings getting back 90k.
  
  The IC Porto is almost half price on some nights, 50k -> 27.5k. Bargain!
  - Lee says:
    
    13 Jun13 June 00:01
    
    Same as Japan, booked IC Osaka for cherry blossom season next year 30k is bargain
Michael says:

12 Jun12 June 11:42

Lloyd’s Avios card upgrade voucher: How to make a claim?

Hi, I have had a Lloyd’s Avios upgrade voucher when Avios.com closed.

As fa’s as I remember I never received the information that I would have been able to use it by ringing BA Executive Club.

I called Lloyd’s Bank about this some 6 months ago and they said they will resend the original letter in which this was mentioned.
I have not received this re-send letter however eitheraand since forgotten about it.

However, is there a point to log a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service to request compensation, as Lloyds Bank to my knowledge did not communicate the issue with me.

If successful/possible, what level of compensation is realistic?

Thank you.
- Andrew says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 13:09
  
  Do they have your correct address?
  
  If you choose to receive all documents electronically, have you checked on your internet or app banking for the letter?
  
  Once you’ve checked those, it’s time for a formal complaint. If the complaint isn’t resolved to your satisfaction within the official timeframe, it’s then time to contact the ombudsman.
  
  Not sure what their workload is at the moment for the easy stuff, but I know a colleague’s complex complaint from October has just started being worked on.