The new HFP chat thread – Saturday 13th June

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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/2020/06/13/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-saturday-13th-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.

Roger says:

13 Jun13 June 12:24

Did anyone notice existing Marriott Travel Vouchers seems to have been extended by 6 months?
My original voucher was due to expire in 2019 will now expire in 2021.
Harry T says:

13 Jun13 June 12:45

Looking at going to Vienna in August (obviously if it’s safe and legal to go etc etc). Austrian Airlines flies from MAN but the flights are showing as sold out – seems unlikely to me given the current climate. I know EasyJet admits to showing flights as sold out at present if it’s unsure if they will fly. Does anyone know what Austrian’s policy is?

Maybe Mancunians just love Austria and have balls of steel though!
- E says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 14:36
  
  They are adding routes gradually. Doesn’t look like they’ve scheduled that route again yet.
  
  https://m.austrian.com/?sc_lang=en#home/mobile/restart2020
  - Harry T says:
    
    13 Jun13 June 17:15
    
    Thanks.
MrK says:

13 Jun13 June 13:38

An avios flight I booked a while back got cancelled so instead of rescheduling to a different date I decided to just cancel the entire booking. It’s been almost 3 weeks – is it normal to not receive the avios I used to book back by now?
- Eugene says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 14:14
  
  Yes. I’d call and politely ask for same day refund. That’s worked for me three times. Possibly getting your booking fee will take a lot longer. They do hand out cash but slowly..
- Rob says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 14:30
  
  No, not normal. Give them a call.
Simon Jones says:

13 Jun13 June 16:22

Hi – I’ve just earned my 2-4-1 voucher with BAPP card , it’s showing in my BA exec account.

If I close my Amex card account will they remove the 2-4-1 voucher
- Genghis says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 16:28
  
  No. Remember you need access to an Amex – any Amex, yours, your partner’s, a friend’s – to use the 241.
Travel Strong says:

13 Jun13 June 17:15

I have no recent cancellation experience with them, but I have used them probably 20 times (before Hertz + Plat CPD started beating everyone on price, everytime!) and they were always excellent, including allowing me to cancel a non-refundable booking I once made in error (wrong date entered).

If memory serves the deposit is only £50 on most bookings. If so, your exposure is not that great. Look around and see if you can find a new cancellable/changeable booking elsewhere and I would not be suprised if you can find one for £50 less than your original agreement anyway!

Hertz plus the IHG CPD is a good start.
At the time I called them up and they were helpful.
Your situation is different of course
- Travel Strong says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 17:16
  
  *at the time I called us rentacar up (not hertz)
John W says:

13 Jun13 June 17:20

Can someone Advise about

I have found some Singapore airlines First class flights for a reasonable price but only through Expedia and last minute.com and not direct – ( price is double direct with Singapore Airlines ! )
Would you book via Expedia or Last minute.com ? , For some reason I am always nervous !
Do you get frequent flyer miles or should I assume that may not happen ?

Help appreciated !
- Rob says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 17:26
  
  You get the miles – unlike hotels, flights booked via third party travel agents virtually always earn miles.
  
  Lastminute is proving very painful to deal with, looking at reports, so I think you’d get an easier ride with Expedia if the flight needed to be changed or cancelled.
  
  The lesson of coronavirus, however, is that you should avoid booking via third parties unless there is a significant benefit in doing so.
  - Steve says:
    
    13 Jun13 June 18:06
    
    Avoid last-minute if you can, shocking customer service record, amplified during Covid. Would recommend Expedia
- AJA says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 18:14
  
  I’d vote for Expedia. I have found them to be really helpful but having gold status with them probably helps. I think 50% off the price of going direct is probably worth the punt. I used them to book Finnair to Thailand at the beginning of 2019 and booking showed up instantly in BAEC, TP and Avios posted quickly too but that was probably down to Finnair.
  
  Don’t touch Lastminute with a barge pole. Not a fan at all.
- Vit says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 21:11
  
  I would say avoid TA from now once. But if you must going through TA. Do avoid lastminute.com. End of. You don’t wanna hear what I am going through anyway. Good luck.
- marcw says:
  
  13 Jun13 June 23:01
  
  Make sure it’s actually First Class. Singapore is not offering First Class until december I think, so maybe they have zeroed out all fares (except fully flexible, before removing all fares) but OTA haven’t followed up yet. This is just me guessing…
Linda says:

13 Jun13 June 19:42

The only dealings I have had with Lastminute.com actually went in our favour. We booked a hotel Best Western I think on a Colorado fly drive at a rediculously low price, inrang their call centre somewhere in the Far East and queried the price, as it was for a double luxury suite at something like £75 the person said if that’s what it says it is. So took a gamble as all other sites Expedia etc were pricing it at 4 times the price.
When we got there no problem , as we were going down to breakfast there was a note under the door saying they hadn’t been paid for the room and we could not leave before paying.
So showed them my paperwork which showed full payment and they said ok we will sort it with hotel beds the agent. Never got charged any more and it was the biggest and best room we have ever stayed in you could have held a ballroom dance in there it was so big.
- Connor says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 01:03
  
  Had a similar thing with Hotels.com
  Found an room right next to Liverpool Street station listed for £20 a night. Took a gamble and booked it. Got an email a couple days later saying that it was a misprice and they couldn’t fulfil the booking. Hadn’t been cancelled though
  
  Turned up a couple weeks later and everything was fine, receptionist didn’t bat an eye.
jimbo says:

13 Jun13 June 20:57

I have a £50 Eurostar voucher – refund for a delayed ski train. They appear to be transferrable so what’s the best place to sell it?