The new HFP chat thread – Thursday 13th August

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• RussellH says:

  13 Aug13 August 10:17

  Concerning “Combine my Avios”

  I have been very frustrated recently by an absolute failure of the system to connect to my Iberia Account – I had no problems BAAer Club, but nothing to or from Iberia to anywhere.
  I even phoned Avios and the helpful agent said he could see nothing that would cause problems, and proceeded to move some avios from Iberia to Aer Club.
  I decided to give it a go again last night, still did not work.
  Then I noticed the small print on the widget. When connecting to Iberia, it still referred to “Enter your Iberia PIN” even though Iberia now permits alphanumeric passwords, even though still limited to 6 chars (barmy, but that is another story!)
  Perhaps, I thought, the code for the widget had not been updated for alphanumeric passwords?
  Sure enough, once I changed my IB password back to a six figure PIN, combine your avios worked fine.

  I do not suppose that anyone has a contact at Iberia IT dept who could sort this?

  • Charlieface says:

    13 Aug13 August 12:52

    I think there is a lowercase/uppercase mismatch there somewhere. Somebody screwed up their SQL defaults, I guess, or the validatiuon code is written in garbage PHP

    • RussellH says:

      13 Aug13 August 13:54

      May well be you are right. I know almost nothing about SQL and PHP.
      But the specific reference to entering a PIN made me think there might be an initial validation of something as simple as checking that there were no non-numeric characters, which is well within even my pretty basic programing skills.

      • Charlieface says:

        14 Aug14 August 05:17

        SQL normally has a default “collation” i.e. how do you intend to compare strings, and changes depending on user who logged in or current database. PHP I also don’t know but I think that is also rubbish at string handling.
        All this would only make a difference if they passed the whole password back to the server as SQL or PHP to compare hashes, which would be terrible practice anyway. Now that I think about it, most likely the code used to hash the password is client-side in Javascript and is different in the two places.

• Keely says:

  13 Aug13 August 10:28

  I am looking to increase my marriot bonvoy balance. I am not eligible for the bonvoy card. How can I quickly earn points?
  Thank you

  • Rob says:

    13 Aug13 August 11:20

    Have a look here – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/how-to-earn-marriott-bonvoy-points-from-uk-credit-cards/

    Remember that as Marriott lets you move points for free to another person, you could get your partner or another family to apply for cards too if they would trigger the bonus.

• Stephen says:

  13 Aug13 August 11:15

  Booked a flight with Qatar from LHR to DPS using the “Healthcare” tax only ticket promotion.

  Received an email saying the flight times of the outbound and return journey have been changed quite significantly. Have asked Qatar if it would be possible to change the flights considering the change (but they said only possible in same fare class, and there is no seats left for the entire month on that route).

  Does anyone know if this is the case, when there has been a schedule change applied?

  • Lady London says:

    13 Aug13 August 11:44

    EU261 gives you rerouting rights even though QR is not sn EU airline, as your flight departd from the UK. Google it ir look at other replies here. QR’s rep is you may have to work a bit to get them to honour it. It doesnt matter what you paid for your ticket. Obviously I’d be nice but you do have the right.

    There is probably lots of info on the QR thread on flyertalk on how people have fared dealing with QR on EU261 rights where applicable

    • Lady London says:

      13 Aug13 August 11:57

      Your right under EU261 s to any available seat in same class of travel ie Economy, Business etc, whether or not it is a revenue/reward/promo seat. If its available for cash youre entitled to be moved into it. EU261 is a statute so outranks an airline’s own conditions.

      It is not restricted to same fare class (eg specific fare type or promo or award seats) which is what QR is trying to say.

      Difficult one as IIRC those seats were free so I would persist remaining nice.

      I suspect if the timing change only applied to your return back to the UK from somewhere non-EU you’d not have EU261 rights at all but it sounds as if your whole ticket is affected due to the outbound from the UK being affected which does bring you under EU261. Others may know more on this point about return legs which I only discovered recently.

    • Radiata says:

      13 Aug13 August 16:54

      I have had EU261 compensation from QR – in pre COVID-19 era and flying in Business – without quibble.

  • Sukes says:

    13 Aug13 August 12:08

    What is key is whether any flight number has changed. If yes EC261 applies as your flight has formally been cancelled. If not then EC261 does not apply as it is not a flight cancellation in legal terms. It is a schedule change and you will find this in your terms and conditions as something the airline is allowed to change, for really any reason, and there is no obvious consumer protection. There may be a clause in your ticket terms that if the change is less/more than x hours from original schedule than airline will, as part of its own policy, allow you refund or compensation etc. There may also be cover on your travel insurance. Both are rare and it is likely you will end up having to negotiate with the airline that the change has significant impact upon your individual circumstance and ask for a refund, re-route etc as you see fit.

    • Stephen says:

      13 Aug13 August 12:23

      Thanks both of you – I have checked and the return flight numbers have changed. I tried calling but didn’t have any luck, but seem to be getting there with their WhatsApp team. Thanks again

      • Sukes says:

        13 Aug13 August 17:16

        Stephen I was short of time earlier and have come back to read your query again. It should have stuck out to me earlier that you mentioned this was a promo fare for healthcare workers, I assume, where tax only was paid. I am assuming therefore that no fare or carrier surcharges were paid by you, only taxes that are collected by the airline and passed through to the respective governments. In that case it is possible that Qatar are taking the view that your fare was free and therefore eu261 does not apply. Have a look at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=legissum:l24173 plus also look at the breakdown of what exactly you paid on your original booking was it purely only taxes? Or did you pay any fare and or airline fees and charges?

        • Sukes says:

          13 Aug13 August 17:32

          + eu261 does not apply to non-EU airlines flying into an EU airport (it does apply when departing EU airport on non eu airline). Given you state return flight no was the one changed this may also count against eu261 eligibility. I suspect negotiation with Qatar on grounds of significant impact on your personal circumstances will be best step forward.

        • S says:

          13 Aug13 August 17:39

          Thank you! I spoke with their phone support team and they were unable to help at all based on it being a healthcare ticket with just tax paid. However, I sent a message to their WhatsApp number, stating that flight had changed and that I’d like to change both segments of my journey. I gave them the new dates and a few minutes later I had a new eTicket in my email inbox (with a new fare class too).

        • Lady London says:

          13 Aug13 August 18:51

          Glad to hear being aware of the undeying rights, but trying to resolve it with them in a friendly way, has worked for you. Enjoy your trip.

    • Lady London says:

      13 Aug13 August 12:33

      Ta @Sukes
      Be careful if you get any emails right now from Easyjet about ‘wanting to help as many people as possible fly for their holidays” so “we’re shifting things around’.

      Your flight number will have changed to a different one than the one you booked. But Easyjet seems to have deliberately taken steps to avoid showng this and is presenting it only as a time change implying it’s still your original flight. It’s not. They’ve cancelled your original flight and moved you to a different flight number which is a cancellation under EU261 not a time change.

      “Real” timing change emails they send havent really changed. This new type of email seems to have been invented for “we really cancelled your flight but we dont want to give you your EU261 rights so we’re not informing you of this and avoiding showing the 2 flight numbers which point to this”.

      Additionally when you look at your booking online there’s no sign they’ve cancelled your flight. They have just literally pasted details of a different flight over your original booked flight without any indication they’ve cancelled the flight you booked – which could be up to 15 hours later IME.

      Flights they cancelled earlier this year are marked in yellow and treated correctly but I am not sure why Easyjet has bern doing the above on forward cancelled flights for 3 or 4 weeks now.

      • Charlieface says:

        13 Aug13 August 12:48

        Makes no difference if the flight times have moved by the specified amounts:

        (a) for two hours or more in the case of flights of 1500 kilometres or less; or

        (b) for three hours or more in the case of all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 kilometres and of all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres; or

        (c) for four hours or more in the case of all flights not falling under (a) or (b)

      • Sukes says:

        13 Aug13 August 18:53

        @Lady London totally agree that I think airlines will be doing a silent swoop to maximise ‘schedule changes’ rather than cancellations given the substantial difference in consumer protections and the plentiful opportunities to adjust schedules currently.

        @Stephen I’m very pleased that through your perseverance you seem to have come to a positive outcome. I’ve always had great onboard experiences with Qatar and I hope you have a great trip with them after this hiccup.

• Seen8 says:

  13 Aug13 August 11:15

  Anyone know of a decent car rental company in Malaga? How are people usually booking car rentals these days? Looking to rent a car for this weekend (agnostic whether from the airport or the city).

  I’ve gone through Kayak and am seeing some crazily cheap prices from Delpaso, but a quick Trustpilot search shows they are scammers (though to be fair Trustpilot is usually only ever full of complaints).

  Also, given Covid craziness would Amex Plat insurance still cover all excesses and any issues / etc.? I believe I wouldn’t need to pay with it in order to be covered – am I correct?

  Thanks

  S

  • Seen8 says:

    13 Aug13 August 11:29

    And just as an added challenge Amex Travel won’t allow me to select a rental starting from tomorrow onwards! Apparently they need more than 24h notice? That’s a bit strange.

    • J says:

      13 Aug13 August 12:58

      Rented cars all over, Italy, South Africa, US, Bulgaria, Albania, Israel, etc I always stick with Hertz, Avis and Sixt and no major problems. Cheapo local firm once tried to scam me in Gran Canaria (forget which) so stick to the big players now. Never used Europacar but only hear bad things so avoid them too. I don’t have Amex, so use my own insurance to cover excess.

      • Steve says:

        13 Aug13 August 13:03

        For similar reasons I’ve used Europcar, Avis/Budget and Hertz. Not had issues.

        • Seen8 says:

          13 Aug13 August 17:26

          Same concern I have – local firms are on the extreme end of an industry already soaked in scammy practices.

          I’m thinking the ft forums might have some CDP codes for discounts with the big firms – anyone here have experience using them?

  • Paul says:

    13 Aug13 August 13:18

    Have used Firefly at Malaga regularly with no issues over past 4 years. I believe the car hire companies pay to keep unused cars in the terminal car park so that explains why the good deals are there as they want them out on the road instead.

  • AJA says:

    13 Aug13 August 13:37

    I recommend Avis at Malaga. They are in the multistorey car park attached to the terminal. It’s a fair walk inside the terminal from arrivals but most car rental agencies are in the same area.. Book via the BA Avis web page for bonus Avios. Sign up to Avis Preferred as well and then picking the car up will be a doddle as they have a separate desk and just a swipe of your Amex credit card will get you your keys. They keep Avis Preferred cars near to the office in the car park – collected my car in under 5 minutes. Return is a doddle too as they have special drop off bays for Avis Preferred.

  • memesweeper says:

    13 Aug13 August 15:39

    Malagacar.com

    • N says:

      13 Aug13 August 21:35

      +1

  • Reeferman says:

    13 Aug13 August 18:36

    I used Keddy a few weeks ago – which turned-out to be a division of Euopcar.
    Collection and drop-off was in-terminal – so no bus transfer needed.
    The (newish) car had numerous marks and scratches – all of which were recorded on the hire form. We took pics all around the car at both pick-up and drop-off – and returned it without any additional marks.
    The drop-off agent was polite and efficient – said all was well and indeed no subsequent attempt to scam any monies from us.

  • Lady London says:

    13 Aug13 August 18:55

    If you’re stuck high end hotels normslly can arrange car hire for their guests. Often dropped to and collected from the hotel. Keep an eye on cost though.

• Lee Thornton says:

  13 Aug13 August 11:17

  Appalling phone customer service by BA this morning. I had to call to cancel an Avios booking for a refund (remember BA have removed the ability to do this online). Call was answered after 30 minutes (which is not too bad) but the agent then spent 15 minutes trying to cancel the booking but couldn’t and then tried to find a colleague who was trained to do this but there were none. I was then told to call back and hope I got someone in another call centre! Unbelievable!

  • Lee Thornton says:

    13 Aug13 August 11:56

    So I called back on the Executive Club number. The recorded message told me these numbers have now been consolidated in to the main switchboard number and then cut me off. I called that one again and had the same problem, no one is trained to issue a refund on an Avios booking. I’ve now called the same number (third time lucky!) hoping to get someone else but I’m not hopeful. Rob, any advice?

    • Lady London says:

      13 Aug13 August 12:02

      call either 8.00/8.30am or 7.30pm is the mantra oft posted on here. Do not press any buttons just hang on.

      It sounds like you’re landing with an offshore call centre team that is not trained or does not have working systems.

      • Lee Thornton says:

        13 Aug13 August 12:34

        Thanks. To help other readers here is what I did. I dialled the normal switchboard number (0800 727 800) as all other numbers hang up on you and tell you to call this one. I then selected option 4 and waited 35 minutes for an customer service assistant. She then had to call the Executive Club whilst I was on hold to cancel the booking with took 25 minutes as the BAEC line was busy (despite there being no way to reach it directly!) A ridiculously convoluted process but I got there in the end after two and a half hours of calling and waiting.

        • WaynedP says:

          13 Aug13 August 18:40

          Dial the Newcastle number 0191 246 3933.
          I’ve had two positive encounters in the last 3 weeks, always calling around ten minutes to 8pm. Knowledgeable UK team answers within minutes, and when handler couldn’t complete my whole rebooking this week, he arranged to call me back the next day, and did so at the agreed time.
          I also discovered the uselessness of the other 0203 numbers a few months back, but have been pleasantly amazed by following the suggestion of another HfP poster about calling the Newcastle team.

      • Secret Squirrel says:

        13 Aug13 August 14:32

        8.30pm last night worked for me in 2 mins.

        • Martyn Ford says:

          13 Aug13 August 20:55

          My experience was exactly the same 20 mins ago.

• Rob says:

  13 Aug13 August 11:22

  Not B, but the others are fine. The referral link from your card shows you what other cards the recipient can switch to if you click through.

  • Wally1976 says:

    13 Aug13 August 13:57

    Thanks Rob and apologies that this ended up being posted twice (in slightly different formats!)

• Stanley says:

  13 Aug13 August 11:30

  Great service from BA last night – got through in 10 minutes, to change my cancelled Mallorca flights to Bologna, flying next week. No hassle at all. Showed straight away in MMB. But no ticket numbers yet. Should i be concerned ?! I am bronze so would like to choose my seats now, but says only available at check in….. Should I be double concerned??!

  • Gavin says:

    13 Aug13 August 12:44

    Don’t know about the seating, but ticket numbers might take a while to show up

    • Stanley says:

      13 Aug13 August 13:41

      Thankyou. I didnt know if no seating options was due to no ticket number yet

  • AJA says:

    13 Aug13 August 13:47

    The problem you have is you can’t choose seats until you have a ticket number. Plus there are specific requirements for travel to Italy

    This is from a specific Italy thread over on FT:
    If you’re flying to Italy you can’t download a mobile boarding pass.
    You need to use the staffed check in desks . This is because you have a temperature check, and they will give you a paper form to fill in, required by Italian gov.

    There are no pens available, so bring your own. You’ll have to hand it in on boarding. There is much confusion here – check-in said you hand it in on arrival and can fill it in on board, but you hand in on boarding.

    • Soo says:

      13 Aug13 August 14:18

      Flew to Rome and back in July. Downloaded the required self-declaration form for Italy from Ryanair which is the simplest version, you’d need 2 copies: one for the return trip as well. BA collects it as you queue for boarding. Also completed online for UK PH passenger locator form which is much longer

    • Stanley says:

      13 Aug13 August 14:32

      Thanks for this info. Invaluable. I’ll see if we can get the forms to fill in before we get to LHR.

    • meta says:

      13 Aug13 August 15:22

      Yep and it can take a while to get ticketed. My partner didn’t have the ticket until 3 days before our recent flight to Amsterdam. It was only after we called like 8 times and insisting this is done straight away. On the last call, we said we won’t hang up until it’s done. It was done then straight away. Shocking!

      • Stanley says:

        13 Aug13 August 15:38

        oh thats something to look forward to!!! What does it mean if you dont have a ticket number though. If someone has the booking in MMB under the ref number, can someone “lose” their seats?

        • meta says:

          13 Aug13 August 18:52

          Yes. If the flight is full and you are not ticketed, you don’t have a seat.

• BJ says:

  13 Aug13 August 11:31

  Increasingly looks like the MIL will have to celebrate the new year without me…
  https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1967163/no-end-in-sight-for-flights-ban

  • Lady London says:

    13 Aug13 August 13:01

    At least you won’t have to prepare your ‘The Apprentice’ presentation.

    • BJ says:

      13 Aug13 August 13:22

      I’m exempt from all that stuff, just her own kids.

  • Harry T says:

    13 Aug13 August 13:02

    I’m really disappointed for you. Looks like Thailand, Hong Kong and probably Japan are off the table for at least the rest of the year!

    I’m genuinely not sure what to about my flights to Hong Kong this November because the UK allows travel but I don’t want to spend the whole 14 days of my trip quarantined in a hotel room!

    • BJ says:

      13 Aug13 August 13:34

      I might not be losing much sleep over it…. but I was thinking of trying sailing for the first time during the trip. I saw some reports that Japan may cancel olympics too. I am keeping my flights in place, I see no reason to cancel them this early. You’ve had a really r ough ride, nearly all your longhaul plans have come unstuck IIRC, perhaps time to focus on trips within Europe.

  • Vit says:

    13 Aug13 August 13:37

    Haha! Surely you would miss her home cooked food! But yeah, some insights (from people working in TG and closely with gov officials) suggest no earlier than February / March as they are expecting much worse to come during the winter in Northern hemisphere.

    • BJ says:

      13 Aug13 August 14:05

      She doeesn’t cook, except the books probably. Thanks for the tip off.

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