The HfP chat thread – Saturday 22nd August

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• BJ says:

  22 Aug22 August 06:06

  Sad to see STA has gone out of business. Younger readers will likely not appreciate the significance of this but for anybody 45+ STA was huge if you were passionate about travel in your student days. Would not be unreasonable to say they helped make my travel dreams come true 🙂
  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53868447

  • THE STREETS says:

    22 Aug22 August 07:09

    It’s what got me into first collecting airmiles back in the late 90s! Ill never forget going into STA as a teenager and planning my Star Alliance round the world ticket. I walked out with close to 45 paper tickets!

  • Lady London says:

    22 Aug22 August 09:04

    Noooooooooooo!!
    A mainstay of true travellers, gone.

  • RussellH says:

    22 Aug22 August 11:16

    The BBC article says that they started in 1971. I thought that they already had a shop on Stirling University campus when I arrived in Sept 1970, but probably it is my memory at fault.

• Riccatti says:

  22 Aug22 August 07:30

  Those fully changeable, re-routable, even refundable student airfares for a fee of 25 quid.

  • Lady London says:

    22 Aug22 August 09:04

    Sob!!

    • Polly says:

      23 Aug23 August 11:13

      Yes, v sad. Got my kids using STA also. Started my first travels with them too.

• OD says:

  22 Aug22 August 07:39

  BA just cancelled London to Johannesburg flights in November. Booked in club with companion voucher. Want to re-book for same dates in November 2021 but assume BA will tell me that’s too far out to book now. If I take a future travel voucher does anyone know whether, when it comes to re-booking, the options for using the future travel voucher will be limited by the usual reward flight availability? If so I am minded to just ask for the money and avios back (I read that the CV will come back with the 6 month extension Amex have granted?)

  • Lady London says:

    22 Aug22 August 09:11

    yes.
    if you booked with avios thrn using voucher will require avios seat availability.

    if you exercise your rerouting rights and change date on your ticket to later, no the airline cannot insist on avios/points seat available you are entitled to any availablr seat in your class of travel.

    Take a voucher only to extend date of 241 etc.

    Pretty sure you dont have to choose even by the date of the flight that was cancelled gut feeling it can be 11months after that you choose refund/voucher/reroute can anyone confirm?

    • Lady London says:

      22 Aug22 August 09:16

      PS if you do want a later date reroute and airline says can only dobwithin 11.5 or so months of original issue date then if they cancelled I would not accept this and would insist on being reticketed (will br new ticket number). Thats an admin difficulty that is not your fault they have the means to overcome

    • Lady London says:

      22 Aug22 August 09:17

      I would reroute to another date (waiting as long as possible before doing it) and live to fight another day

• Gavin says:

  22 Aug22 August 07:51

  Data point. Week in Paphos via BA. You need a UK covid test 72 hours before your flight departure time. NHS one is fine but it can’t be a home test (you upload both your appointment time and results emails). Upon landing, our entire flight was tested regardless of what we had done before boarding. Random but very comprehensive; added about an hour to our journey time.

  At the hotel, evidence of a negative test was required on check in too. From there on in, a bit like the pre-covid world. Mask wearing only in the lift. All inclusive so lots of food and drink interaction etc. When we ventured out to the old town, bars etc, everything very quiet with many places closed. Mask wearing by staff but not by customers.

  If you’re planning a Cyprus trip any time soon I’m happy to expand your knowledge on any particular points of interest!

  • John says:

    22 Aug22 August 10:56

    Dear Gavin , hope you enjoy your trip to Paphos. Just one point … the NHS test , did you have to give a reason for the test? We are in our 70’s and therefore not key-workers. Our local testing site states it is NOT for the general public. We are due to attend a wedding in Paphos and not sure if we are able to attend? Thanks

    • TGLoyalty says:

      22 Aug22 August 12:18

      You need to book online in any case so it’s worth checking the site.

      there are a number of options for why you need a test and being a key worker or having symptoms aren’t the only ones.

      Going on holiday isn’t one but I seriously doubt the testing capacity is being used right now.

      • John says:

        22 Aug22 August 13:08

        Thank you for your prompt reply. We are more optimistic now.

    • illuminatus says:

      22 Aug22 August 12:54

      Just select ‘other’ as a reason for the test. I had a drive-through one to go to Cyprus 2 weeks ago, and it seemed the unused capacity was huge, as the welcome person said that they were happy to allow anyone with no pre-registration.

      • John says:

        22 Aug22 August 13:09

        Thank you for a prompt response. We are more optimistic now

    • Gavin says:

      23 Aug23 August 02:30

      Others have covered this, but we live in an area of high Covid incidence, where everyone is encouraged to have a test.

      That said, I’d I lived elsewhere I would have no qualms about saying I wanted a test for other reasons; I have some significant govt experience and know that testing is under capacity right now. They’d rather use it fully every day, given that every test lost each day can’t be carried forward.

    • Lady London says:

      23 Aug23 August 03:24

      how’s that cough of yours getting on?

• robert says:

  22 Aug22 August 08:35

  Rebooked cancelled BA flights without hassle, except the route has an equipment change so no more F cabin so moved to J and refunded the difference in Avios. I wonder if this is common for others, and if I’ll receive tier points since the fare is now showing as ‘I’ instead of ‘U’? Seems like a lot of routes are loosing F when I looked at re-booking. Amusingly my ticket details are still showing F luggage allowance and CCR access, not sure if that will still apply when I reach the airport?

  • Lady London says:

    22 Aug22 August 09:20

    not the difference in avios. they owe you far more. extensive comments here over a couple of days about 6 or 7 days ago.

    • Lady London says:

      22 Aug22 August 09:22

      thats if they bumped you to J that started it. not if you just voluntarily rebooked yourself to a lower class.

      • Robert says:

        22 Aug22 August 11:07

        Thanks Lady London, I seen all those comments and the article about 75% refund on 1st downgrades, but was told by BA it only applied to cash bookings not Avios + 2-4-1 voucher booking? It is disappointing as I’ve gone from off peak to peak so I only got 20k avios back.

        • meta says:

          22 Aug22 August 11:38

          Yes, that’s what they tell you, but that’s not the law. They consistently deny passengers their rights on Avios redemptions. I think you’ll need to send them a written letter before action and then take them to MCOL if they don’t reply. But it is your right.

        • Robert says:

          23 Aug23 August 01:34

          According to the BA website you are not entitled to claim compensation if the flight is cancelled 14 days or more in advance. I guess because I’ve already accepted the new flights at a later date I’ll have to wait until after completing them before I can try and get a refund of some more avios. It’s just a shame there aren’t more Asia routes with F cabins now. Only SIN from what I can see.

        • Lady London says:

          23 Aug23 August 03:42

          plus on a 241 you get 75% for both seats. Done your figures on this yet? Again, stories on flyertalk.

          Worth dragging those lying BA*stards to MCOL for.

        • Robert says:

          23 Aug23 August 09:09

          Thanks for clarifying, that is pretty shocking for them to deny people compensation if they are entitled to it. I’m not sure how to do the figures on it, I assumed as the tax amount is the same for 1st and Club I wouldn’t get anything back there, and Robs article said the law applies after tax, and my Avios used was 206k plus the voucher. It’s good to hear that I should be reimbursed for both seats regardless of voucher used. Thanks again, I’ll take a look at cases on FT too. Not sure how to contact BA though, every agent at YouFirst are towing the BA line that I’m not eligible for compensation.

• You’ve insulted my wife damn you! says:

  22 Aug22 August 09:16

  Are paper air miles worth anything now? Or should I perforate them and put on a toll?

  • Rob says:

    22 Aug22 August 09:54

    Sell them on eBay as novelty items!

• Keely says:

  22 Aug22 August 09:56

  Morning , bit of advice please re Curve. I’m having trouble verifying my IHG MasterCard , just keep getting an error message saying cannot verify . Tried sending them a message but no response . Any suggestions please?
  (As an aside Ive only had the IHG card a month or so and it’s been declined twice even though there were plenty of funds on there…..I’ve never had this with any other card …is this the norm with Creation?)

  • memesweeper says:

    22 Aug22 August 11:49

    Yeah, I probably call Creation a couple of times a year to get the card unblocked by security. They don’t tell you why a transaction is declined or do anything proactive to alert you. If I were you I’d do a couple of chip-and-pin transactions at the shops if you can, if they are blocked as well then you have no choice but call up. Contactless will probably still work on a blocked card so do a chip and pin.

    • Keely says:

      22 Aug22 August 17:24

      Yeah thanks – curve have replied and advised creation have put a stop on it …..🙄…so I’ll need to call !

• James says:

  22 Aug22 August 10:11

  Hi – I’ve been using my curve metal card to pay off the same underlying Virgin credit card to max out the points I’m getting each month. However it doesn’t seem to be working now, the payment gets declined each time.

  Anyone else been doing this and now having trouble?

  • Doug M says:

    22 Aug22 August 10:56

    Are you saying you pay off Virgin credit card via Curve using the same Virgin card you’re paying?

    • Jonathan says:

      22 Aug22 August 12:15

      Only way I can see this has worked is with the recent move away from wirecard which resulted in a temporary halt in passing through MCC and other transaction details. I also wouldn’t be playing this game if you value your relationship with Virgin money (which is probably worth more in light of yesterday’s news).

      • TGLoyalty says:

        22 Aug22 August 12:19

        Risky business indeed.

    • Chrisasaurus says:

      22 Aug22 August 14:51

      If that is what he means then I don’t think there’s any point offering advice, those aren’t the actions of a sound mind…

  • James says:

    22 Aug22 August 17:58

    I have noticed that when attempting to make a payment to Virgin using Curve on the Website the payment gets declined. This appears to be Virgin’s end as I approve this in the Curve app.

    THOUGH

    Make the payment in the Virgin App and the payment is processed.

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