The new HFP chat thread – Tuesday 18th August

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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 de facto 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/2020/08/18/the-new-hfp-chat-thread-tuesday-18th-august/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

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

Youllnever says:

18 Aug18 August 03:15

Does anyone know if VS is still good with 9399 MCC? No charges? Thanks!
- jil says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 08:02
  
  if you have a curve, now curve masks MCC again to “business service” after getting rid of Wirecard.
  - stevenhp1987 says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 08:24
    
    Curve fixed that 2 weeks ago.
    
    But I’ve never seen a card that will charge for government services.
Rob says:

18 Aug18 August 05:45

Any idea when Mr & Mrs Smith hitels will be bookable via IHG. Thinking reward nights here…

The hotels appear to be still showing as “coming soon” on the app.
- BJ says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 06:29
  
  It has taken so long that I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing falls through.
- Jonathan says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 07:33
  
  No one knows but I wouldn’t expect any bargains or the ability to use free night vouchers.
- Marcw says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 07:48
  
  Never. There’s no guarantee that they will ever be available to vook With points.
  - Rob says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 08:37
    
    They 100% will. However IHG has to pay the standard room rate to the hotel so points pricing will be very high.
- Harry T says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 07:52
  
  Loyalty Lobby reported yesterday that they had contacted IHG, and were informed the rollout has been delayed until later this year.
Stanley says:

18 Aug18 August 07:40

Why wont BA ticket my re-arranged Avios flights, departing on Friday morning?!? I’ve reserved the seats in Club Europe, but still no Ticket number issued in MMB. Two phone calls of “This will be done” has achieved nothing. now T-72 hours. Never known such a pre-holiday hassle.
- John W says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 07:44
  
  Where do you look in MMB for the ticket numbers ? .
  I booked flights 5 weeks ago over the phone , no email confirmation but I am able to log on and see the details in MMB . ( avios still not taken from account or money ? )
  - Stanley says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 07:48
    
    In the app, under “My bookings”. Click on the flight. Lower down page it has Number of Stops, Flight Duration, Aircraft, then Ticket Number….Should be a number there starting “125-XXXXXXXXX”
    - meta says:
      
      18 Aug18 August 12:24
      
      @Stanley They won’t issue the ticket unless you call them several times. My partner had similar problem earlier this month. At the final call, he said he’s not hanging up until they sort it out. It was sorted then. Try calling the Newcastle number, the agents there seem to be better.
    - Wallaj4 says:
      
      18 Aug18 August 12:29
      
      Thanks Stanley, after one month, there is no ticket numbers either . I have more time than you though ! – Sept 10th
    - Stanley says:
      
      18 Aug18 August 13:27
      
      Thanks. I called Newcastle number on Sunday – they were very helpful at the time. Today at T-66 hours I can see all the ticket numbers in the app finally. So maybe they do wait till 3 days before…..
      - antoinette says:
        
        18 Aug18 August 14:29
        
        my flight is on Thursday i can book the seats but still no ticket number. i must have called 3 or 4 times and on the last call they said if it is not done when i get to airport they will do it there and then. Not sure if to trust it or not but i don’t have the energy to call again.
        As it is a flight to Malta i doubt it will be packed.
  - Jonathan says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 20:27
    
    Reticketing is a dynamic queue prioritised on how imminent your departure is. In normal times it’s not unusual for it to only occur around 72 hours before departure so I can easily believe at the moment it’s very last minute.
    
    I definitely wouldn’t ring before T-72 (& probably – 48 hours) as it’s a separate team that handle this & frontline CS won’t chase unless really pressing.
MadeUpName says:

18 Aug18 August 07:52

What do people think about changes to the no quarantine list? Will Portugal be added and will Greece be removed?
- Gavin says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 08:58
  
  Considering a trip to Italy or Croatia at the start of September. Would prefer Croatia but I’m worried it will be added to the self-isolation list.
ee says:

18 Aug18 August 08:00

Has anyone stayed at the Hilton Doubletree Nottingham Gateway with gold status? Do they usually allow a free run of the breakfast (hot and cold)? (I understand at the moment the staff are serving buffet items for you)
- dezbez says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 08:29
  
  @ee I live in Nottingham and so never had cause to stay there so can’t answer your question I’m afraid, but I would say the location of the hotel is not great. I always wonder whenever I drive past why it chose that location. 4 miles out of town and really not much going on there other than a small industrial park; unless you are working with one of the businesses based there I certainly wouldn’t go out of your way for it.
  - Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 08:50
    
    I think the logic would have been that it’s a very short detour off the M1, so good for breaking up a north-south trip and it’s got decent bus and tram links if you do want to go into town. Nottingham isn’t exactly overflowing with hotels so it might also work as a well-connected events venue.
- Tony says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 08:38
  
  @ee I use this hotel as my mattress run and as it’s close to work often pop back for breakfast. I’m diamond but I’ve never witnessed any restrictions on those having breakfast. Not been recently so no idea what the current set up is but I can’t imagine they’d make any distinction between the type of breakfast you’d get.
- the_real_a says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 13:30
  
  This is my usual stop off point when i’m driving around the UK. Its a very comfortable hotel (if a bit 90`s head office feel – glass and water). Rooms are modern, internet is quick enough for video streaming, breakfast is always very well cooked. Free parking and quick access to the M1 are big draws. Its often very cheap to redeem on points. Yes you can go back as many times as you want at breakfast – just point and tell them what you want. They also dont mind you taking a try back to your room if you ask nicely.
  - ee says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 15:20
    
    Thanks all. The attraction is the proximity to the M1 (for days trips to Derbyshire and Lincoln) but all the convenience of the tram within walking distance to get into the city without the hassle of parking. Sounds a decent bet, hadn’t thought of booking with points (rate is only £64/night) but will check that out.
    - Peter K says:
      
      18 Aug18 August 18:15
      
      I really liked the hotel. Really friendly staff, liked the location for visiting the area, it felt really isolated despite being next to a busy road. There were also a family of ducks when we stayed.
      The bed was super hard though. Maybe we were unlucky but even with two mattress toppers it was really uncomfortable.
      - ee says:
        
        19 Aug19 August 07:38
        
        Thanks, cash price dropped to £56/night at some point yesterday, so I booked!
Marcodalondra says:

18 Aug18 August 08:23

Wanted to add my experience about flying through Dubai as the original thread is closed for comment: the NHS test is accepted by Emirates however they want to see both the negative result email as well as the original QR code booking email to verify the actual test date (results are sent about 24-30 hours after the test). Also be very careful about your final destination as I only found out in Dubai that Tanzania had introduced a 72hrs before arrival negative test requirement against the 96 hours required by the Emirates
- Andrew says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 08:43
  
  I don’t get a QR code for my NHS test.
  
  Just book through the staff portal, and I get the results from an internal email account 24 hours after the test.
AJA says:

18 Aug18 August 12:24

I like this new layout 🙂 It’s crisp and clean. I also like the clear outline around the text box. Well done Rob and team.
Anon says:

18 Aug18 August 12:27

When do we expect November flights to start getting cancelled? I’ve got some Swiss F tickets to India that I don’t expect will go ahead. Steeling myself for a massive fight for £4k plus in refunds.