The HfP chat thread – Sunday 20th September

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• Stephen Walker says:

  20 Sep20 September 18:03

  Hi All, I would appreciate some advice. I had a booking to Costa Rica in late Nov WT+ upg to CW with Avios and had a return from MIA paid CW. With everything going on I thought it safer to switch inbound leg to direct from Costa Rica to take getting in/out of America out of the equation and reduce the number of things that can go wrong (the Costa Rica to Miami flight was a standalone booking with AA as its not a codeshare). CW coming back from Costa Rica is very pricey at the moment so I spoke to a lady and agreed to change the booking to WT+ both ways with the understanding I would get a FTV for the difference in cost and get the Avios used for the outbound upgrade recredited with a view to trying to bag an upgrade between now and Dec for the inbound overnight flight with obv the risk I wouldnt succeed.
  I just checked on progress today and the lady I spoke to says I wont get the Avios back but a monetary value (unknown at present) reflecting cheaper flight, lower taxes etc. – basically they are working it out manually. Depending on how much they end up offering for the FTV – I reckon difference in flights is £300 + 30,000 avios each do you reckon I should push back on this? It was quite clear on the original call that I was expecting my 60k avios back.
  Realise its a bit niche but should I just wait and see for the moment?
  Any thoughts/common experiences welcome

  • ChrisBCN says:

    20 Sep20 September 21:27

    I would wait and see what they offer you first. It might be to your benefit. If it isn’t, definitely push back on it.

• Kirsty says:

  20 Sep20 September 18:25

  Quick question – any other holders of the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ card who haven’t received an email about the double points/free upgrade voucher for spending £500+ with Virgin Atlantic/Virgin Holidays before the end of October 2020? I was thinking of booking flights with them for September 2021 so this would’ve been perfect, but I’ve contacted Virgin Atlantic and they’ve told me it’s a targeted offer. I didn’t get that impression from the article (although I of course appreciate that just because I didn’t think it was targeted doesn’t mean it isn’t!), but it’s a bit frustrating because I’ve had the paid card for the last two years and was excited to see this offer!

  • David says:

    20 Sep20 September 20:06

    Didn’t get the communication either.
    Held the card since shortly after launch.

    • Kirsty says:

      21 Sep21 September 01:13

      Frustrating! I almost wish I hadn’t read about it, and could just merrily book my flights without it niggling me!

  • ChasP says:

    21 Sep21 September 01:00

    me too – no e mail – thought it was because had just booked and they didnt want me to cancel and rebook
    Love to know what the target audience was

    • Kirsty says:

      21 Sep21 September 01:07

      Yes I’d love the know the target audience too, I haven’t actually taken a VS flight since I’ve had the card so I would’ve thought they’d want to incentivise me!

      • Kirsty says:

        21 Sep21 September 01:08

        *to know!

      • WaynedP says:

        21 Sep21 September 08:55

        Not sure how typical or atypical my case is, but I was targeted.
        Have had VA Rewards Plus card since Feb 2020 and used it for my last flight to JNB this year.

        Have used it as my main card since triggering BA Amex companion voucher in April, and pushed enough genuine spend through it to trigger Virgin Companion/Upgrade voucher earlier this month.

        Had no VA flights booked until receiving the offer, but have since booked their first flight out to JNB on 18 October, given this offer and news of SA borders reopening to international travel from 1 October.

      • WaynedP says:

        21 Sep21 September 09:00

        Not sure if that helps, but would suggest calling VA if you can genuinely say that receiving the offer would cause you to book a flight.

        I’m all for supporting them, not just because they are one of the few remaining direct options from UK to SA on a route with a dearth of competition already

• Jason says:

  20 Sep20 September 18:57

  Data point…for booking airfrance tickets via virgin website. If it doesn’t work ( I have been getting an error for the last 3 days) just use the text service and they can sort.

• Amit says:

  20 Sep20 September 19:31

  Any promo codes out there for travelzoo US? Thanks

• Dezbez says:

  20 Sep20 September 19:33

  Hello Kirsty, no I’ve not had the email either. Like you, I assumed it was for everyone. I’m also planning on booking some virgin flights in next couple of weeks so will find out either way, it’s not a deal-breaker but definitely a nice bonus – I’ll certainly be asking about it when I call them.

  • Kirsty says:

    21 Sep21 September 01:03

    Hi Dezbez, yes I agree it’s not a deal breaker, but I feel gutted because I initially thought it was a perfectly timed offer that for once I’d actually be able to take advantage of, and that rarely happens to me! Oh well… Hopefully you’ll have a positive outcome when you ask about it!

    • Dezbez says:

      21 Sep21 September 07:15

      Yes fingers crossed. I’ll re-post after I’ve booked to let you know if I did get it or not, Kirsty

• Charlieface says:

  21 Sep21 September 00:02

  Missed the comments yesterday on the JV.
  I always thought it would make sense for airlines to be forced to interline with everyone i.e. if A sells a ticket and B sells a ticket, I should be able to piece it together as an itinerary. That doesn’t quite deal with the problem of half round-trips which can only be sold with another half from the same airline. But it would make life easier for a lot of travellers, for very little cost to the airlines.

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