The new HFP chat thread – Sunday 14th 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/2020/06/14/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-sunday-14th-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.

Anna says:

14 Jun14 June 10:36

I’ve now officially given up on flying until the end of this year as there are too many uncertainties (also I have an in-law who works in aerospace who says he wouldn’t get on a plane which has been sitting around for months on end!).
I’ve booked a 10 night stay in Northumberland and am hoping for the freak weather event that would be a northern sunshine in July.
Also booked a few mini breaks with the fantastic IHG points rates around, including 2 nights pre-Xmas at The George in Edinburgh for 52k points. I am IC Ambassador and have emailed asking if there’s any chance of being upgraded to a room that will accommodate our teenager as well – has anyone had any success with a similar request?
- Andrew says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 10:50
  
  Likewise, I’m not going to be flying this year, best to accept that and then start looking at next year’s trips. I’ve booked a couple of speculative weeks in Singapore with IHG points as the rates are so good at the moment – one in early Feb and one in late April. Let’s see if either of those are able to go ahead but other than leaving my IHG points sitting in my account, thought I might as well put them into bookings and if February is still looking bad, maybe April will still be a possibility.
  - Harry T says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 12:22
    
    I’m banking on no one wanting to fly this year, and people being unwilling to gamble on making bookings, so that I can enjoy visiting continental Europe without it being flooded by tourists. I will be the first one on a plane. I completely understand where others are coming from, and I think it’s an individual decision, but I am in one of the lowest covid risk groups for mortality and morbidity (I’ve also almost certainly had it) and I am fed up of being trapped in this awful country.
    - Rob says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 12:37
      
      I quite fancy a couple of days in an empty Venice I admit.
    - Harry T says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 13:15
      
      @LL I don’t like the weather in the UK and the government has been a colossal let down, as have the actions of some of the british public. I am planning to emigrate to Australasia in the next few years, as I was much happier living there!
    - Harry T says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 15:32
      
      @Lady London
      America looks good but I don’t like their style of practising healthcare (ethically speaking) and they make it very hard for UK doctors to practice there – have to do a lot of exams, as far as I’m aware.
      
      @Lockdown Larry
      I lived and worked in Western Australia (in Perth suburbs) and Darwin in the Northern Territory. Darwin wet season is awful but the dry is beautiful. I think there are still many good reasons to live in the UK but I enjoyed my time in Australia far more. Felt more like home than home.
- AJA says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 13:09
  
  I’m still hoping I get to go to Tenerife in September. But that is the only booking I have for now. Am beginning to think about Thailand for Feb/Mar 2021 but only at the thinking about it stage. Am thinking about going Finnair Business Class via HEL which would give me 440TP meaning that and a couple of cheap BA European flights in summer 2021 would help me retain Silver status with BA until 2023 with the new lower TP requirement and 1 year status extension.
  - Polly says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 13:42
    
    Better going for a Qatar J sale, 560 TPs, less pressure maybe, if we ever see one again…but they will want pax, now they opened so many routes again.
    - AJA says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 14:59
      
      Polly, my OH doesn’t like Qatar the country and the advantage of Finnair is EC261 protection out and back. I also only have to get 450TP to retain silver so earning 560TP on Qatar doesn’t give me any more. OTOH two separate trips to the far east on Qatar in J would give me 1,120TP just 5TP short of achieving Gold for the first time. That might be worthwhile.
  - Cat says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 14:39
    
    I’m still hoping to make it to Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovnia in October half term, but I realise I might be being wildly optimistic here! I also have reward flights in Cathay Pacific first (again 😊) to Singapore for next Easter – I plan to hop across and spend the break in Bali, Nusa Penida and the Gili islands. All of my bookings for next Easter are refundable, but Croatia and B&H some are, some aren’t.
    I’m keeping my fingers crossed, as I’m very, very, very bored of being in London!
    - AJA says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 15:14
      
      Cat I hope you get to travel. Fingers crossed for you.
      - Cat says:
        
        14 Jun14 June 16:04
        
        Fingers crossed for your trips to Tenerife and Thailand too!
    - Anna says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 17:03
      
      I’ve got a 4 night stay in Carcassonne booked for October half term with Ryanair flights. If the flights aren’t cancelled, we’ll probably still go, but who knows? It still feels a long time off with the speed at which things have been changing just now!
      - Cat says:
        
        14 Jun14 June 18:38
        
        I agree Anna, I feel like we could be welcomed back, then banned, then welcomed back, then banned, then welcomed back, then banned…. from France and Croatia / B&H who knows how many times before then. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you and Carcassonne – I went there a couple of years ago – are you staying at the MGallery? It’s a stunningly beautiful area, and the city walls stroll is obviously not to be missed!
Oliver Hemming says:

14 Jun14 June 11:47

Advise on domestic Norwegian Air booking in early July:

I have a non-refundable return flight ticket with Norwegian from Oslo to Tromso on 2nd July 2020, and due to Norway entry restrictions for UK nations, I cannot travel. (BA have cancelled my LHR to Oslo flights, so no issues there). So I called Norwegian:

– Travel voucher (CashPoints) is not offered, since the flight has not been cancelled.
– To change the dates cost £60 per person, per direction. (£240 for 2 of us; flights originally cost £350. I know I know, why didn’t I pay extra and book with SAS!!!)
– Norwegian is only taking new bookings up until 27th March 2021 on this route, and I’ve no wish to visit in winter.

Norwegian have changed both flight times, but only by 1h 25min and apparently it has to be 3 hours before I can claim a refund on this basis. Why is Norwegian not offering travel vouchers like most other airlines! Anyone been in a similar situation with Norwegian?
- Oliver Hemming says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 17:39
  
  They sadly gave more than the required 14 days notice, so I’m not covered under the EC261 policy for compensation. Travel insurance won’t cover it either. Think I’m screwed! Only hope is for Norwegian to go bankrupt in the next two weeks…
  - Charlieface says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 20:42
    
    If the flight number changed it’s considered a cancellation. EC261 14-day notification is only for compo, not refunds which you always get.
    You may want to hang on to see if they fully cancel the flight.
Rosie Bailey says:

14 Jun14 June 13:41

I’ve been searching in the Executive club for reward flights in Spring 2021 to Faro and there seems to be zero availability for months. Does anyone know why?
- Secret Squirrel says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 17:47
  
  I got CE seats in late April 21 to Faro. There was plenty of availability only a few weeks ago on BAEC.
Justin says:

14 Jun14 June 14:19

Just in case this is useful to anyone:
Last week I tried paying my Amex bill with my Curve, backed by the M&M MC. I got charged a cash advance fee. I wasn’t sure if it was worth trying Curve’s “go back in time” feature to back out the transaction as I assumed that Diner’s Club would hang onto the cash advance fee. I tried it anyway, and I was actually refunded the fee.
- The Urbanite says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 21:05
  
  Affinture considers MCC 6012 merchants to offer cash like services – best to avoid them with that card!
Spk says:

14 Jun14 June 14:30

Any recommendations for parking the MR points so that i can start my 2 year clock? Bonvoy seems the best option, but I am a bit hesitant in losing 33% of the value!
I have hsbc premier and wife has just started her amex membership, so dont see a point in me holding the ARCC.
- Harry T says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 15:02
  
  Best to put them somewhere you know you can use them and receive a good amount of value per point. For many, that’s Avios. Personally I prefer hotel points as we aren’t well served by London Airways. Bonvoy are very pluripotent.
- memesweeper says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 16:33
  
  Last time I cashed out speculatively it was to Bonvoy. I’ve acquired another 20k and will likely do the same next month when I shut the card down.
  - Genghis says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 19:50
    
    +1. I find Bonvoys the hardest to earn so sent mine there (Amex Gold) ready to close down v soon.
Chris says:

14 Jun14 June 15:51

my Creation IHG has stopped working with Curve. Anyone know if this is a change in policy or something specific to my card?
- mark2 says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 16:51
  
  I have used three different IHG cards through Curve today.
  - Roy says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 17:58
    
    Is your IHG card working at all? Creation’s fraud protection is pretty trigger happy, and their customer service doesn’t bother to notify you if they block your card.
- Anna says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 17:04
  
  Does Creation still have the £700 pw limit with Curve?
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 17:38
    
    It’s £700 PW to top up cards, never used Curve for this as always go direct.
    - Anna says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 20:04
      
      No limit for Revolut at the moment. Curve/IHG limit was always £700 pw regardless of what you were using it for.
      - Oliver says:
        
        14 Jun14 June 22:08
        
        No limits for Revolut, but cash advance fees to pay when topping up
      - Anna says:
        
        15 Jun15 June 07:43
        
        No cash advance fees for me, just interest which can be avoided by paying off straight away.
  - The Urbanite says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 21:07
    
    The £700 weekly limit is only for transactions with MCC 6012 merchants.
Boi says:

14 Jun14 June 16:07

Can anyone suggest a way to get to Botswana (or any neighbor country) during this time? A friend of mine has lost his father and is desperate to go.
- Harry T says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 16:33
  
  I guess the most important factor is whether they are allowed to enter the country, and where they are starting from? It’s a very dynamic situation as well. It sounds like a horrible situation but do they definitely need to travel? My concern would be that they could get stranded somewhere or denied boarding, which would only worsen their already tragic circumstances.
  
  From a purely logistical perspective, I can only find itineraries with at least two stops when departing from London. Ethiopian are providing these but I would personally caution against anything but a direct flight right now.
  - Harry T says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 16:36
    
    Qatar are flying to Johannesburg but they would need to get another flight from there, obviously. Many SA airlines are grounded or going out of business.
- Harry T says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 16:37
  
  BA and Virgin are recommencing direct flights to South Africa in July, at least on paper.
  - Boi says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 18:09
    
    Thanks guys. He’s desperate to travel but I suspect the decision might be taken from him. He thought he might even fly to Johannesburg and drive across but who knows if he will be allowed? It’s terrible
- AJA says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 19:13
  
  @Boi I am so sorry for your friend’s loss. I think they are going to have a problem getting there.
  
  This is from Gov.uk. website:
  
  The government of Botswana has implemented a lockdown in the Greater Gaborone COVID-19 Zone with effect from midnight Friday 12 June 2020 until further notice.
  
  There are currently no commercial flights in to or out of Botswana.
  
  There are currently no commercial options available to return to the UK from Botswana.
  
  All borders are closed except to citizens and residents.
  
  Only citizens and residents will be allowed entry. Returning residents, including from the UK, will be subject to a 14-day mandatory quarantine period in government facilities
  
  https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/botswana/staying-during-coronavirus
  - Boi says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 19:26
    
    Thanks. I did hear about the closure this week but he was hoping since he’s a citizen he will be allowed in. But then again he might not see his family or attend funeral with 14 day quarantine. I forgot about that!
    - AJA says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 19:37
      
      I suggest he contacts the Botswana High Commission / embassy in London and ask if they will give him special dispensation to travel though I don’t know how he will get there. The phone number is 020 7499 0031
Oliver says:

14 Jun14 June 18:09

Anyone know if it’s possible to book a combination of a basic/hand baggage only fare and an economy plus seat as part of the same booking? Seems impossible to do this via the website but not sure whether it is via the call centre or simply not doable at all
- Oliver says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 18:13
  
  I should say it’s a BA short-haul I’m looking at
  - Anna says:
    
    14 Jun14 June 20:06
    
    No, you’d need to make separate bookings, but that isn’t necessarily going to be a problem.
    - Oliver says:
      
      14 Jun14 June 22:05
      
      Thanks for confirming. Was hoping to be able to use my status for the other benefits as part of one booking but will have to be two!
- Aston100 says:
  
  14 Jun14 June 20:24
  
  Funny enough, I was trying to do this exact thing with Lufthansa today.
  No joy. Call centre said it has to be two separate bookings.