The HfP chat thread – Thursday 3rd September

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• Anna says:

  3 Sep3 September 12:43

  So – if BA won’t change my avios flights if I can’t go to my destination next Easter, I can call, cancel and lose £35 per person OR take a FTV. BUT, would my 2 4 1 then have its original 2023 expiry date, or would it be the FTV “use by” date of April 2022? This is obviously going to influence people’s decision making!

  • AJA says:

    3 Sep3 September 12:51

    It will have the use by date of April 2022 unless BA extend the FTV expiry date. It’s a case of deciding if paying £35 per person to have the 2-4-1 companion voucher to use until 2023 is worth more than saving that money but only having until end of April 2022 to complete travel. I think I’d pay the £35 for the longer companion voucher expiry

    • Anna says:

      3 Sep3 September 13:10

      I’d rather have the longer travel date but we are travelling on 2 separate bookings so I think that’s going to mean 6 x £35 😬

  • Rob says:

    3 Sep3 September 13:56

    4/22

    • Optimus Prime says:

      3 Sep3 September 15:19

      Is the FTV valid as a 2-4-1? I mean you have booked LHR-JFK return for 100k Avios plus fees and then take a FTV. Next year when you want to use this FTV are you able to book same route for 2 people or you get just a voucher for 100k avios plus £1600? Because in the second scenario 100k avios aren’t enough for 2 business avios tickets to JFK, are they?

      • Anna says:

        3 Sep3 September 19:31

        Yes, the 2 4 1 becomes part of the voucher according to everything I’ve read on here!

  • Lady London says:

    3 Sep3 September 14:43

    sounds like you’d better wait until BA cancels anything on your booking and then insist on a full refund without charges as you’re entitled to have. This should give you the voucher back preserving its 2023 expiry date.

    So dont take an FTV.

    After all, you’re not exactly short of other vouchers that expire in 2022, are you? 🙂

    • Anna says:

      3 Sep3 September 14:56

      No, we probably wouldn’t be able to use any more! However, we may be stuck, as our flight to JFK may well go ahead with us being unable to be on it, either because the USA is still closed to tourists or a quarantine requirement at either end. So we may well be left with only those 2 options.

      • Doug M says:

        3 Sep3 September 15:33

        The BA source has a router tracker and you can see typically which flights are operating. I have Dublin flights in October which are still live in the system, but the route tracker suggests I’ve a very good chance they’ll be cancelled.

      • Doug M says:

        3 Sep3 September 15:38

        Looks like recently it’s been BA173, BA175 and BA113 which have been operating, some days only two of the three.

        • Anna says:

          3 Sep3 September 16:09

          Thanks, we are on 115 which does seem a less popular service (always plenty of F and CW award seats, anyway). I will track it over the next few weeks. I need to make a decision before Xmas as I suspect the world and its dog will be wanting to get away next Easter to any viable destinations operating by then!

      • meta says:

        3 Sep3 September 16:25

        I think you should make alternative bookings now, set alert for 2 weeks before the flight(s) and then forget about it until then. We live in a new reality where the only thing you can plan is 2 weeks ahead at most. So you do plan A, B, C all of which you are happy with and then decide later. It’s a beauty (and luxury!) of having points! 😀

• AJA says:

  3 Sep3 September 12:47

  Follow up to my Avis car hire booking made via BA that I forgot about for my cancelled Tenerife holiday. I applied for a FTV last Friday and just received an email from BA saying I now have a voucher for use against a future booking. Well done BA!

• ChrisD says:

  3 Sep3 September 12:49

  Hi, anyone know if the LHR T5 Pods are working from the Thistle Hotel at the moment? It looks like the car park is closed, but wondered if the pods are still working for hotel guests…

  • AJA says:

    3 Sep3 September 12:53

    I think someone posted earlier this week that they are not working.

    • Rob says:

      3 Sep3 September 13:55

      Were shut on Monday when we went through T5.

  • James says:

    3 Sep3 September 13:30

    Phone the hotel and ask?

  • Nick_C says:

    3 Sep3 September 13:55

    “With the ongoing uncertainty of travel arrangements, Heathrow POD Parking is temporarily closed.”

    https://www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/heathrow-parking/heathrow-pod-parking-terminal-5

  • planeconcorde says:

    3 Sep3 September 17:21

    On Monday 30th August, I saw a sign at LHR T5 saying they were shut. But for those passengers needing to get back to the car park there was a bus. I don’t recall any more details as I wasn’t intending to use it myself.

  • ChrisD says:

    3 Sep3 September 18:11

    Thanks all.

• Anna says:

  3 Sep3 September 13:18

  Question re BA Maldives flights – looking for a Plan B for Easter! On the website it says BA flies the route from November to March, however a search throws up direct BA flights from LHR all through April 2021. However, when I search from MAN, or try to get a quote for a BA holiday from LHR), I just get the message that BA doesn’t fly this route!

  • Anna says:

    3 Sep3 September 13:26

    It’s almost as though they’ve added flights from LHR to attract cash from the lucrative Easter market but don’t want to be stuck being compelled to give swift refunds for holidays in the event of cancellations …

    • Stoneman says:

      3 Sep3 September 14:46

      If you are looking for a plan B for Easter that is going to go ahead then I would stick to a European country that has a handle on Covid (Germany maybe?) or stick to the UK. Go to the Scottish Highlands or Wales. Granted, they may not be offering the warm temperatures you are seeking in the Maldives but booking something other than this is just going to cost you a lot of cash for no reward.

      • Anna says:

        3 Sep3 September 15:03

        Not sure what you’re right there, Stoneman, any booking I make would cancellable or refundable . The Maldives is currently a much safer destination than most European countries (including the UK) – about 6000 reported infections so far in total so its handle is certainly much better than ours!

• Andrew says:

  3 Sep3 September 13:30

  I’ve just been checking BA holidays for New York next summer and it seems that most of the hotels BA are covering the cost of the ridiculous “resort fees” most of the big chains now charge. Even though I won’t get my AMB benefits at IC, or earn any points I’ll save $35 a night, plus of course the good rate you get from BA holidays (and the extra discount they’re currently offering)

  • Anna says:

    3 Sep3 September 14:01

    Does it specifically say BA are covering the resort fees? If not they might try and hit you with it at checkout, even though this would be illegal under EU/UK law, as the full price has to be displayed from the outset. You’d probaly be able to have it waived but it might be a lot of unwanted aggravation at the end of the holiday.

    • Andrew says:

      3 Sep3 September 14:21

      Yes it specifically says that: ‘Destination Fee Included’ in the price box and then when you click on the accommodation details it says: “Complimentary Destination fee included for stays 01 Jul-07 Sep 2021. Minimum 4 night stay. Book by 30 Sep 2020.” Seems pretty unequivocal that it’s included.

      • Anna says:

        3 Sep3 September 15:03

        That seems conclusive, but I still wouldn’t put it past some hotels to try and charge it!

  • Harry T says:

    3 Sep3 September 15:26

    Upgrade and points as ambassador could easily beat $35 a night, depending on the property and promotions at the time.

    • Andrew says:

      3 Sep3 September 15:41

      Although the price is heavily discounted anyway, coming out at just under £500 on top of the flight only price for 5 nights at the IC Times Square. £100 per night including tax is pretty rock bottom for an IC in New York in July.

• Baresi says:

  3 Sep3 September 13:47

  Have a messed up!?
  I called to downgraded from Amex Plat to Amex Gold with supplementary card as well as no use to me as the insurance doesnt cover my mild Asthma! Was i entitled to MR points if i invited my supplementary card holder from my Plat before i downgraded to gold? Waiting for gold card to arrive in post….

  Any suggestions most welcome 🙂

  • Anna says:

    3 Sep3 September 13:59

    You normally get 3000 MR points for adding your first gold supp, so all may not be lost. I don’t know if this applies to downgrades, but I don’t see why it should be different!

    • Baresi says:

      3 Sep3 September 14:11

      Thank you Anna 👍

    • TGLoyalty says:

      3 Sep3 September 16:15

      You won’t get the 3k with the downgrade. You can cancel the new supp that arrives and order a new one online. FYI from past experience when you upgrade or downgrade they always send the supps even if you ask them to cancel.

• Stanley says:

  3 Sep3 September 14:10

  FTV question. My voucher has a 241, avios and cash on it…. Can I call up nowand use it to nab the 4 available outbounds i want for next year. Then call again to add the returns in a couple of weeks, still using the 241 etc. Or will this completely freak out the system ??!?!?!

  • James says:

    3 Sep3 September 14:21

    Yes, you can add return flights after initial booking, on same 2for1 basis when they become available.

    If there is any £ value left in your FTV this will carry over in an updated voucher.

    My experience was that all avios within the FTV were credited back to my BA account when my first flights were used with the remainder staying there for use in the future.

    • James says:

      3 Sep3 September 14:23

      Meant ‘booked’, not used

    • Stanley says:

      3 Sep3 September 15:18

      Thanks James. Will give it a go

• Charlieface says:

  3 Sep3 September 14:41

  So the latest on that KLM story I posted about a couple days ago (website kept jacking the price up at the payment stage):
  Clicking “hold this fare” doesn’t help either.
  Tried calling, they gave an even higher price. Eventually gave up and booked it online at the higher price.
  I’m a bit miffed about the whole story because EZY had flights for £400 less but they pulled all availability the day I wanted to book. Unfortunately KLM was the only other option that worked.

  Now all my sis needs is travel insurance covering Covid. She’s not resident in UK, so no idea where to look.

  • BJ says:

    3 Sep3 September 14:47

    Have you tried Air France website? In the past I have found them offering KLM flights cheaper than KLM themselves.

    • Charlieface says:

      3 Sep3 September 20:50

      Yup, same thing

  • Lady London says:

    3 Sep3 September 15:11

    which country is she resident in? are there volde-sites there? those can be quite good to generate a list of providers in some categories particularly insurance – which like credit cards can generally only be issued in country of residence.

    If she had dual residence including the UK then if she is resident with you then would issuing a supp on your Amex or other card or account carrying insurance cover her?

    • Charlieface says:

      3 Sep3 September 20:52

      Amex Plat also has a residency requirement IIRC, any case I have none.

      She’s resident in Israel

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