Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Thursday 27th August

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

We have decided to run this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

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 at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

HFP-Wordmark-Black

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 it 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/2020/08/27/the-hfp-chat-thread-thursday-27th-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.

Comments (168)

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

  • MarkZ says:

    Has anyone noticed any unusual “spend” Avios transactions on their BA Executive Club account recently? I have two – one is a reversal of an Avios credit that was made for a valid purchase in January 2020, and the other is for an alleged Avios spend at a UK national retailer about a week ago. I have tried to contact BA on their “reduced” call centre service but so far I have been unable to get onto the queue, let alone talk to anyone. Any insights from the HfP community would be welcome. Oh, and yes, I changed my account password as soon as I noticed!

    • Anna says:

      My last avios from an e store purchase were clawed back a few weeks ago with no explanation (it’s happened a few times in the past and is an absolute PITA to sort out). I can’t be bothered pursuing it and won’t be using that retailer again.
      Did you actually make the spend on the second transaction, or are you saying it’s nothing to do with you? Unless you think there’s actual fraud going on, I wouldn’t even bother trying to get through to BA for something which isn’t travel related.

      • MarkZ says:

        Anna, I agree with your comments about the first transaction – I wasn’t too concerned when I saw it. However, the second transaction is nothing to do with me, and hence my concern. The amount of Avios “lost” is small in the overall scheme of things, but it still bothers me, especially as I don’t even know whether Avios can be redeemed in the way that this transaction has implied, ie buying something that isn’t travel-related. In the end, it could be a reversal that has just been posted to the wrong account due to finger trouble, but I thought it would be useful to alert others to the situation.

      • Andrew says:

        It is so annoying like that, I do still click through but always take a pinch of salt with what I’ll earn and certainly don’t factor into the price. John Lewis always pretty ok though.

        • BJ says:

          I’ve found the avios variant more reliable than the BA one but haven’t used either for a while.

    • Phil says:

      Yes I have 3000 avios from Dell a few months ago that have been removed a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea why they were there
      I have put in a query which has been responded to me today to answer some security questions

  • happeemonkee says:

    Swizerland, Jamaica and Czech Republic added to quarantine list from Saturday

    • Harry T says:

      I’m glad I managed to visit Czechia before it closed. This will be devastating for their economy though, as tourism is down significantly (lovely for the tourists who are visiting).

  • Anna says:

    Harry T – will you be back from Czechia in time to avoid quarantine?!

    • Anna says:

      Now that’s really spooky!

      • Anna says:

        Did you visit the church that was the setting for the harrowing ending of the film Anthropoid? An amazing film about a fascinating episode of history!

        • Harry T says:

          Alas, I did not! I haven’t seen the film but I shall add the Church to our list for our visit next Easter. Letna Park and Perrin Hill would be my recommendations outside of the obvious Charles Bridge and Castle.

    • Harry T says:

      Got back on Tuesday, thank you for asking though. Now in sunny Portugal!

      • Anna says:

        So jealous! It sucks having no flexibilty.

      • Darren says:

        Hold on a minute, Czech last week, The Netherlands a few weeks ago…all on the quarantine list. Patient zero? (joke).

        Just keep Portugal of the list for a few weeks until I get there and back.

        • Harry T says:

          Currently in Portugal! Don’t worry though, I’m a current plasma donor because my COVID-19 antibody levels are so high (seems to be a genetic component, as my brother and I both had mild covid a good few months back but persistently have high antibodies).

  • AJA says:

    I noticed in yesterday’s chat thread there was a question from Lisa about lounge access for Finnair at LHR T2. I was browsing FlyerTalk and apparently you get access to the Plaza Premium lounge.

    Answered their post on that thready but also posting here just in case it is easier to spot than finding the original comment. The previous HFP layout would have highlighted the fact that I posted a reply to a comment in yesterday’s chat thread.

  • KBuffett says:

    Is the £10 per month Addison Lee credit with AmEx Platinum per card (supplementary and AC cards)?

  • GillyDee says:

    If you don’t have any current 241 vouchers in your BA account, is there still a way to view used vouchers? Ta

    • Tocsin says:

      Manage my account – View eVouchers should list all of them (open and expired, GUFs etc)

      • GillyDee says:

        There is no View eVouchers option if you don’t have any open eVouchers…

        • Genghis says:

          Go into Exec club -> Manage my account ->Manage my account ->My eVouchers. This shows two of my most recent two 241s, both used and one now expired.

  • Gavin says:

    BA sale fares to Japan in WT+ are the cheapest I’ve seen them, around £730 return from November onwards. Only £580 if you’re willing to start at INV. Don’t fancy my chances of being let into Japan (and without a quarantine) anytime soon though.

  • Travel Strong says:

    Shortcut to hitting the BAPP spend target: Start multiple home improvement projects and watch the costs spiral in no time! I no longer need to buy a fully flex ticket to hit the spend after all!

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