The HfP chat thread – Saturday 10th October

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Andrew MS says:

10 Oct10 October 05:42

To anyone who has had their Qatar flight cancelled and accepted the option to hold their ticket fo 2 years , how long did it take for QR to send the voucher ?
12 days since I accepted their offer but no correspondence so far
- The Savage Squirrel says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 08:36
  
  Took just under 3 weeks for me. This was in the mad flood of cancellations at the start of Covid mind.
  
  Have family in Aus we’d definitely like to visit, and would like to fly Qatar if possible, so voucher with +10% seemed a reasonable option (better return than the bank after all and it’s not like the airline is likely to go insolvent no matter how much money it loses). Never thought at the time that the 2 yr expiry (1 yr validity then book a year in advance) would be an issue. Starting to wonder now though if March 2022 will be any good or not for Australian entry…
Mart says:

10 Oct10 October 08:00

Anyone know what Turkish airlines are like for refunding due to cancelled flights ,our Bali trip just got cancelled for xmas .
Wondering on the timescales for a refund only problem is I booked through a online TA -seemed a good idea back in February 🤔
- ChrisC says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 09:05
  
  Down to two issues
  
  Time for the airline to pay the TA and the time for the TA to pay you.
- Aston100 says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 09:17
  
  Depending who the travel agent is, you might get hit for an admin / processing fee by the agent.
- Nick says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 13:14
  
  Turkish is the best airline when it comes to refunding clients. I had 2 business class tickets with them for travel in August. Both the flights got cancelled, and I requested for a refund instead of a voucher, and they refunded the money back to my credit card in 24 hours!
  
  Also, I also had 2 economy tickets booked via TA. It took 2-3 weeks for that to get refunded to my credit card.
  
  I don’t think any other airline was that much proactive in refunding passengers. So your money is safe and probably already on the way back!
Jon says:

10 Oct10 October 08:18

Anyone looking to get away for half term, there are still 3 Avios seats in CW to Barbados. Club Suite inbound too. Just got ours after our Scotland trip got killed by the lockdown.
- Anna says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 08:21
  
  I think you now have to quarantine on arrival in Barbados which would be the full holiday for most people!
  - Jon says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 08:41
    
    Yes, which is why we’ve booked an all inclusive
  - Freddy says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 08:41
    
    Why was the Scotland holiday killed by lockdown – were you planning to stay over in a pub/cafe or summat
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      10 Oct10 October 08:52
      
      No but only eating in your own hotel can get very boring!
      - BJ says:
        
        10 Oct10 October 09:12
        
        OT @TG, that last comment to me was so very close I cannot believe you missed the point.
    - Jon says:
      
      10 Oct10 October 08:59
      
      Pubs with rooms, inns, etc. are closing because they can’t serve drinks after 6pm. Finding places to stay with good food at short notice in England is hard and there’s a belt in Scotland that for the weekend we want to travel is miserably restrictive.
    - BJ says:
      
      10 Oct10 October 09:06
      
      What’s a cafe?
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        10 Oct10 October 09:26
        
        No one knows including the government.
YC says:

10 Oct10 October 08:24

Do we know if requesting a FTV for a flight with lloyds upgrade voucher result in a similar outcome to that with a 2for1? Avios+taxes+voucher all wrapped and extended expiry
- Pierre says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 11:15
  
  I asked but was told no – Avios can’t issue FTV’s, apparently…
Mark says:

10 Oct10 October 08:25

Is it likely Marriott will extend their cancellation policy beyond Dec 31? Looking to book for 1st weekend of Jan..
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 08:41
  
  Most of the cheapest Marriott rates have free cancellation until 2 days before anyway right now?
  - Mark says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 10:19
    
    Unfortunately not…
    
    Cancelling your reservation
    You may cancel your reservation for no charge before 11:59 PM local hotel time on 11 October 2020.
    After this time, please note that your prepayment for this special rate is non-refundable.
Fm says:

10 Oct10 October 08:41

Does anyone know if using bendy + creation at HL incurs fees? Have used the bearded one and bendy with no problems
- Peter K says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 08:44
  
  Why not try £10 and see?
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 08:52
  
  No fees but it doesn’t always work.
- BJ says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 09:14
  
  A number of people reporting it is not working this past week.
  - Fm says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 10:18
    
    Thanks all, now being declined on both though was working last week- oh well
- Pid says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 13:01
  
  Any more data points for paying Ernie with bendy and creation. My statement on 6 Oct had no fees but do. It want to get caught out as payments still going through.
  - Jimbob says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 17:15
    
    You’ll be fine. Although when I rang Creation, to get my card unblocked, the person on the phone, warned me I might get charged a fee if I used Curve, so clearly they are well aware of the issue.
    Make use of it while you can, would be my advice.
- Nick says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 13:17
  
  Pardon my ignorance, but what is a Bendy? Do you mean Curve here or something else?
  - Crafty says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 15:36
    
    Yes they mean Curve.
    
    Pid, I have the same question – quite concerned at recent hints on here, so holding off large HMRC payments pending some evidence.
    - Pid says:
      
      10 Oct10 October 21:13
      
      I agree – any fees will make the points earned very expensive!
Dave says:

10 Oct10 October 08:43

What’s the best hotel option for an early flight from T5? (Aside from the Sofitel which is out of my price range).
I live in SE London but as my flight is 815am would want to travel on the tube to heathrow, stay at a hotel in the area and head straight to the airport the next morning…
- MattB says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 08:55
  
  It’s not the best but the Thistle is pretty close and has the direct pod access. Usually cheap too.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 08:55
    
    The Pods aren’t in operation right now.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 08:55
  
  All of the bath road hotels are fine but the Hilton Garden Inn Rob reviewed a few days back is only about 5 mins walk from the tube station. It was a little tired but looks like they’ve refurbished a few rooms.
  
  Never tried it but T4 Premier Inn seems like a decent choice from other comments here.
  - Dave says:
    
    10 Oct10 October 09:01
    
    Thanks will check that out. The Bath road ones look ok and plenty of options but being close to the tube would probably be good.
- Michael C says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 09:11
  
  Hi Dave – we often do “Premier Inn Terminal 5” (there are several with v similar names!). Free bus nº 423 goes there and back, from v early in the morning.
- David says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 09:19
  
  Have you tried lastminute com Top Secret deals for the sofitel?
- terri says:
  
  10 Oct10 October 10:30
  
  I have stayed several times at premier Inn T5 which the public bus stop is right outside and at T5 in 10 minutes. Sheraton heathrow is also easy as well as Thistle (read reviews before booking). the 423 bus makes the Marriott, skyline, stay ridge, ibis, and Renaissance easy provided not too much luggage.
  as mentioned Hgi convenient for tube although bit longer journey time to T5 if using free public bus. Also serves a nice breakfast although you may be heading off too early for this.
  premier Inn T4 not the most convenient when I used it as have to walk down the tunnel to T4 if using public bus which makes it more like a 40 minute transfer time.
s879 says:

10 Oct10 October 09:01

Is anyone who applied for the Qatar Airways teacher promo and got the blue ticket still waiting to hear? I applied on the 2nd day and haven’t heard back. I know someone applied on the last day and heard back 2 days ago. Were there people who never heard back when it was offered to healthcare staff? Any way to follow up?