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The new HFP chat thread – Thursday 16th July

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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/2020/07/16/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-thursday-16th-july/comment-page-1.  The page will refresh with this article but the comments will now show the first page and not the last page.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HFP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Category

General

Comments (119)

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

  • Yawn says:
    16 Jul16 July 09:10

    Quick cancellation rights question: I booked a KLM flight from Cardiff to Amsterdam using VA miles. KLM has cancelled the flight, but one the days before and after are still running. Virgin is only willing to put me on the flight the day after (which means missing my meeting) or give me a refund. If I want to switch to the earlier flight, I need to pay extra in points and taxes to upgrade to Business as there is no Economy reward availability. I’ve told them that they are breaching EU travel rights, but they won’t budget, even claiming they are being generous by waving the change fee.

    I’m tempted to just book the new flight myself and send them the bill. Any advice?

    • Scallder says:
      16 Jul16 July 09:28

      I’d book it and small claims court them…

    • pauldb says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:30

      The complication is that the EU rules put the obligation on KLM not VS. You would have to sue KLM (unless VS are breaking Flying Club rules). What you need to do is get KLM to open up space on the flight you want, but I have no idea how you get VS to press for that as your agent. Then if they refuse you have a case.

      I would also try calling KLM even though that may well get you nowhere.

      • meta says:
        16 Jul16 July 10:42

        My friend’s flight booked using Avios on AA was cancelled (Miami-St Lucia). She insisted to be put on a different (earlier) flight. BA was pushy and AA said it’s BA’s problem, but when the manager from BA got involved it was all sorted straight away.

        It’s either a matter of calling until you get the right agent or involving a manager and escalating it further. KLM will just pass you onto Virgin, so I wouldn’t bother.

        You would also be within you rights to purchase a new ticket and MCOL them, but you will need some kind of proof (written preferably) that you tried to get them to rebook you.

        • pauldb says:
          16 Jul16 July 10:49

          There’s a much clearer process for BA/AA: literally a oneworld liaison desk, even though some agents on both side don’t know about it. BA have to make the change as it’s their ticket, but AA make the space available on request.

          Yes KLM will point back to VS, but they may indicate they’ll accommodate the change if VS process it properly, which helps the argument with VS. If the say point blank they won’t accommodate, that’s the MCOL case substantiated – against KLM as the operating airline.

    • AJA says:
      16 Jul16 July 11:34

      Article 8 – Right to reimbursement or re-routing
      “1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice
      between:
      (a) — reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article
      7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the
      part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already
      made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the
      passenger’s original travel plan, together with, when relevant,
      — a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;
      (b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at
      the earliest opportunity; or
      (c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at
      a later date at the passenger’s convenience, subject to availability of seats.

      The operating carrier is responsible for offering the above. So techinically it is down to KLM to offer rerouting. I would contact KLM and say you want to take option b of Paragraph 1 of Article 8 EC261/2004. and be rerouted onto the flight the day before. KLM will probably push back and say you need to contact Virgin as ticketing agent. Explain you need KLM to open reward space on the earlier flight and as long as it is held for you that you will then contact Virgin to be reticketed.

  • Mr. AC says:
    16 Jul16 July 10:16

    HFP website question – is there any way to get alerted when someone respond to one of your comments here? Or find comments with responses? Apart from using Google to search the site for your name.

    • marcw says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:28

      No. The easiest way is to open the page press Ctrl+F and search for your username. Very quick.

      It gets boring when there are hundreds of comments… but we haven’t had that many comments in the last couple of weeks.

      • ChrisC says:
        16 Jul16 July 11:35

        I use the control F feature when using my laptop but it’s a pain once the thread goes over two or more pages.

    • Rob says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:49

      No, unfortunately. And this won’t change with the new-look HFP.

      You can do this if you use third party commenting systems such as Disqus BUT they are such dogs, in general, that we don’t want to do that. For a start, we lose control of the comments because they no longer part of our database.

      • Mr. AC says:
        16 Jul16 July 11:56

        That’s a shame. The email is already collected for each comment – surely it’s not that difficult to add a checkbox and implement a system to send email notifications? I might be underestimating how difficult it is because I’m in IT…

      • Rossy says:
        16 Jul16 July 13:29

        Any news on when the site revamp is scheduled to go live Rob?

  • Blindman says:
    16 Jul16 July 11:25

    Ba “Sale” now on.

  • tical says:
    16 Jul16 July 11:28

    Any experience or word of wisdom with respect to making a claim against BA for the cost of re-routing (flight cancelled with less than 14 days notice) where BA continue to refuse the claim. Their response to my Letter before Action was to refer me to CEDR but I am under the impression from the discussion and articles here that MCOL is the preferred option. Separately, two weeks after submitting S75 to Amex (done over e-mail) I have not heard back

    • Anna says:
      16 Jul16 July 12:23

      CEDR were great with me when BA refused delay compensation, BA crumbled as soon as I got them involved. You are entitled to re-routing no matter when your flight was cancelled, the 14 day rule only applies to compensation.

  • Anna says:
    16 Jul16 July 11:36

    Niche-ish data point. Just booked tickets for Carlisle Castle next week (attractions which are actually open mainly require time slot booking at the moment), and apparently English Heritage, which manages the site, doesn’t accept Amex. However, it does seem to accept it via Paypal, which may be worth knowing if anyone’s planning a day out to one of their sites.

    • Rob says:
      16 Jul16 July 11:59

      Yes, this is often a workaround. However, PayPal allows merchants to choose which cards are accepted, so you’ll find some people disable Amex even for PayPal.

      • Anna says:
        16 Jul16 July 12:25

        Yes, I already pay my council tax this way, I just thought people might be booking visits as part of staycation plans this summer. It might be useful to know that it works with English Heritage. The ticket booking seemed to go through Amex with no issues.

      • Andy says:
        16 Jul16 July 13:38

        It’s strange that they do that, because my business gets charged the same flat rate of fees with PayPal no matter what card is used. Perhaps at Iceland volumes of revenue (which I assume to be higher than my niche camera accessories business!) the fee structure is a bit different.

    • Chris Heyes says:
      16 Jul16 July 14:02

      Anna@ If they don’t accept Amex i don’t pay or go i always ask and tell them not buying/spending
      if they don’t accept Amex (will pay with PayPal via Amex though)
      Most places when they realize your leaving change their mind
      Which makes me think they are only saying they don’t accept Amex to force you to pay none Amex
      of-course there are a small amount of places not set up for Amex (they don’t get my custom though)

      • Anna says:
        16 Jul16 July 14:14

        I only do online orders with them! They are one of the few retailers I will use and pay on MC because they are so darn cheap and deliver free if you spend over £35, they put they big supermarkets to shame really.

  • Lashious says:
    16 Jul16 July 11:37

    Hi the shop small thread seems to be locked ? Anyway, to clarify, I’ve recently applied and got one for my son, it was addressed to him, but I intercepted it. He has no offers available, so will spend on it and give them a call. So maybe it does need the first statement to go through. Where will I find the bonus avios, in his account with Amex? TIA

    • Andrew says:
      16 Jul16 July 12:19

      Shop small will appear as an offer to save to the card after about a week or so.

    • Anna says:
      16 Jul16 July 12:34

      Do you mean the sign up bonus? It will appear in the Amex account when the spend threshold is met and then go over to his BAEC account a few days before the next statement is generated. Don’t forget that if your son is the main cardholder he will need to travel on the 241 if you also trigger that, there’s no way to get round that!
      Was it you who was trying to re-schedule a trip to Miami a few months ago? Did you get it sorted out?

    • stevenhp1987 says:
      16 Jul16 July 12:56

      You applied for an Amex in your sons name, intercepted his card and are using it for yourself?

      That doesn’t sound right…

      • Anna says:
        16 Jul16 July 14:15

        I was assuming the son knows about it …!

      • Nick_C says:
        16 Jul16 July 14:44

        Indeed. I’m sure no one else on this site has ever done anything like that 😉

      • Lady London says:
        16 Jul16 July 14:55

        No one here would ever do anything like this. No absolutely never. Good heavens if people did that they’d be doing the same for wives and where would that stop? I am sure no one on HfP would countenance such behaviour.

        • Anna says:
          16 Jul16 July 15:52

          Just over 3 years till my son turns 18 and will be applying for SPG, BAPP and AmEx gold 🤣

          • Lady London says:
            17 Jul17 July 09:51

            It’s never too soon to start building a good credit record.

  • Lady London says:
    16 Jul16 July 12:16

    @Daniel who posted yesterday after 10pm I strongly suggest you cancel your HBO booking if you’re still within 24hrs if making it. You have tbe right to cancel free within 24hrs. Please see my comment on yesterday’s thread.

    I think you’ve just cost yourself an extra net £300 (netting off the likely cost of a non-HBO replacement booking) possibly doubling your costs.

  • Scottydogg says:
    16 Jul16 July 12:38

    I got a new BA Premium card the other day ,. i forgot to add a supplmentary for my parnter during application stage . Did i once read you can get an avios bonus for adding someone ? do you need to see the offer in your offer section ? i have non in there so far .
    Or is the bonus only on more than 2 cards ?

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

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