The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 14th October

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Eppleby Green says:

14 Oct14 October 08:52

Why has there been no follow up on the Tesco win 24000 avios competition?

Was it a mistimed April’s Fool trick?
- Rob says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 09:50
  
  In what sense? It wasn’t our competition, it was Tesco’s. Tesco has notified the winners, because some readers told me they’d won.
Vit says:

14 Oct14 October 08:58

Morning all, I took a plunge with 50% avios sale yesterday cut-off for HKG – LHR flight booked in and “moved to” end of August. F for 120k avios and less than £70 tax for two pax. As it would cost me £35 each to cancel and get the avios back — does that mean I would get nothing back in this case (except all avios)? Just double check that my thinking is correct. Thanks.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 08:59
  
  Yeah you’d get nothing back.
  - Andrew says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 09:19
    
    But you can cancel and hold the £70 and the Avios in a voucher. You can then use that voucher towards a future Avios booking which would take the 120k and £70 off whatever the new itinerary is. These vouchers can’t be used towards cash tickets.
    - Aston100 says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 09:58
      
      Am I right in presuming that the new dates must have reward availability though? Specifically for the class of travel – or would you get a ‘refund’ of sorts if you found availability in club rather than first?
      - Andrew says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 10:28
        
        Any change would need reward availability unless they cancel the flight.
    - Vit says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 13:50
      
      Thanks Andrew. I believe if I take the FTV and use to book different flight, I can just pay for additional avios from my BAEC if it requires more, or get refund that in another form of FTV if my new flight require less?
      
      In term of refund of the tax, I can just use that toward the new flight and pay additional tax as required?
      - Rob says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 13:51
        
        Yes, as I understand it
      - Vit says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 14:18
        
        Thanks Rob. 🙂
Anna says:

14 Oct14 October 09:20

If you’ve still got the Donald Russell offer on Amex, there’s a sale on at the moment, some good offers to fill the freezer. The meat we’ve had so far has been excellent.
- Chris Heyes says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 14:47
  
  Anna yes good offers even pick delivery dates used 5 cards £50 off
  even Christmas offers timed orders my last order 22nd December
Harry T says:

14 Oct14 October 09:35

Any recent trips to Milan? Thinking of heading through there in early November, with probable trips to Venice and/or Rome. Or possibly fly into Rome and visit the others.

I understand Italy is now testing UK folks on arrival – any recent experiences? I don’t mind taking a test, I’m just curious as to how the logistics work.

Thanks in advance.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 09:48
  
  Sounds like you can test on arrival results back within 1 hr or you can find a local designated hospital within 48 hours to take the test.
  
  However, If you test positive you are taken to a state designated facility and have to stay there until you test negative on two different occasions. Which is an issue due to false positives and dead virus being picked up and testing positive.
  
  See story of 3 girls being held for 3 weeks, one was let go after passing a second test but they other 2 are still there. Also another man held for 60 days!
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 09:54
    
    btw Excelsior Hotel Gallia well regarded in Milan
    
    St Regis Venice is very nice
    
    St Regis Florence well regarded too.
    - Harry T says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 10:11
      
      Thanks, @TG. I’ve been trying to stay at the Milan Excelsior Hotel Gallia for ages – covid keeps cancelling it.
      
      Sounds like covid testing in Italy either is a minor faff or a prison sentence 😂
      
      Duly noted about the St Regis properties. Wish Venice wasn’t so ridiculous for hotel prices.
  - Jody says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 10:28
    
    I read a story a couple of weeks ago about 3 teachers from the UK who’d been stuck there since August as their tests were coming back positive every week. Sounded like a total nightmare.
    - Harry T says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 10:49
      
      @Jody
      Sounds like life in the north during coronavirus, except they probably have better food and weather!
      - Lady London says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 18:46
        
        November there can be very grey and rainy, you might not notice much change. Avoid 1st Nov everything shut.
      - Crafty says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 21:32
        
        It’s not much like that. “Lockdown” in name only round here.
    - BJ says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 11:55
      
      My worry about our travels next summer, don’t want to get stuck in Japan. I used the agios sake to lock down three possible travel plans in the hope one will work.
      - Harry T says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 13:54
        
        Smart planning!
  - BJ says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 11:46
    
    Last time we went we took an early train from Milan, spent about 5.5h in Venice and then took evening train to Rome. Venice is worth seeing but I am not really a fan. Having said that, now might be the best time to visit in over three decades. Don’t know what time you have but if it works fir you I would recommend cutting Venice to a day trip to fit in Lakes from Milan too.
    - Harry T says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 13:54
      
      Thanks, there’s so much to do! Good idea about heading to the lakes from Milan. I’ve not been to Venice and this may well be the time.
      
      I’m a big fan of Rome.
- Anna says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 10:01
  
  There’s not actually that much to do in Milan (especially compared to Rome), except people watching and marvelling at the prices in the designer shops! Obviously the cathedral is a must, and the Last Supper if you like art. We explored a couple of churches as well but unless you’re into ancient relics (skeleton of St Ambrose in full episcopal dress, for example! Though that might interest you as a doctor), there’s not a lot else.
  - Anna says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 10:03
    
    I would visit La Scala (though may not be open) – there wasn’t anything on that I like we went, though.
  - Harry T says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 10:13
    
    Thanks, Anna. I think we would fly into and out of Milan due to it being very cheap and easy from Edinburgh (not keen on going all the way to MAN again), but would probably spend no more than two nights in Milan before exploring somewhere else.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 15:28
    
    Agree two days was enough
- Fivebobbill says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 10:54
  
  Just be sure the airport you are flying into actually does testing, because last i checked a few weeks ago it was only being done in Rome, meaning arriving anywhere else meant isolating until you could seek out your own!
  That was going to be the case for me arriving into Naples from Athens last Sunday, so i stuck with staying in Greece instead.
  Situation may have changed since they added cumpulsory testing for UK, but i would double check just to be sure.
  - Harry T says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 13:55
    
    Milan airports say they are testing arriving passengers.
Anna says:

14 Oct14 October 09:39

If anyone’s still thinking of joining IC Ambassador to get the extra free night certificate, there are rooms on some Saturday nights for £63 at the Kimpton Clocktower!! This may reflect the possibility that Manchester may move into Tier 3 in the near future …
- Anna says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 09:46
  
  Apologies, I got over-excited, that price is for a Sunday but Saturday is still only £75 which is really good value for this hotel, especially if it nets you the free night!
- Rob says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 09:47
  
  More of a factor of Manchester weekend hotel capacity is built around hosting one massive football game each weekend!
  - ChrisC says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 14:33
    
    I (used to before everything was cancelled ) go to Manchester 4-5 times a year for the first weekend of the month to attend a small social event.
    
    You could tell when there was either a footy match or big concert / conference was on because the prices for a Saturday night were bumped up.
    I could usually avoid some of the footy caused bump by booking before the fixtures list for the footy were published.
- BJ says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 11:59
  
  Still hedging on something similar at Black Friday in the hope that dates will work better (I need June for free nights).
D says:

14 Oct14 October 09:42

Came across a weird BA IT bug. I booked 3x avios tickets with 2-4-1 voucher to Palma last night to take advantage of the sale. I priced this on my account at 22K avios + £96. However I wanted to book with my wifes account as her 2-4-1 voucher was expiring sooner. Through her account the cost was 48k points and £106. It isnt the normal glitch where the price changes once clicking through, it stays until the payment page and I actually paid the higher price (and will try to call and get it amended today).

However the bug is persistent. On my account a the top-line price 1 way to Madrid is 12k avios + £0.50…. but on her account it is 12k + £33. I have tried a few other searches and it almost always is more expensive with her account!

Has this happened to anyone else?
- Rob says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 09:46
  
  She has not earned an Avios in the past 12 months and so has to pay full taxes and charges. Not a bug. It’s a ‘feature’.
  - D says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 09:49
    
    I had no idea about that! Do you have a link to where those rules are printed? What about the difference in avios though from 48K to 22K?
    - Rhys says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 09:53
      
      https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/executive-club/spending-avios/reward-flights
      - D says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 10:06
        
        Damn, screwed that one up then! I always thought that only applied to taxes, and never knew about the 12 month rule.
        
        It does seem they’ve changed something though. Last night with my own account the default when using a 2-4-1 (which you can’t change) seemed to be the old level of pricing. Just tried again and it is defaulting to the most expensive avios selection:
        
        Last night: 22500 Avios + £ 96.53
        Today: 48000Avios + £ 3.00
      - D says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 15:53
        
        The answer is: yes, it also applies to base avios. Using 2-4-1 the base avios under my account was 7500 per/person/leg … under my wife’s account it is 12,000 per/person/leg. Thought the RFS only affected taxes.
    - Nadeshka says:
      
      14 Oct14 October 10:51
      
      Yes with a 241 the only option is the old avios+cash mix – the alternatives amounts aren’t available. So it will be a lower avios and higher cash redemption. Otherwise when pricing it defaults to the highest avios and lowest cash (often £2/£3) but you see the other options when you advance through.
      
      There is a bug with reward saver sometimes not showing even if you are eligible – I tried to book flights yesterday on the phone and the agent said I wasn’t eligible according to her system, but on a dummy booking online I could see it, and she could confirmed I had earned avios points only last week.
      She said it’s a common bug. In that instance she was able to override the system and grant me the reward saver price.
      - D says:
        
        14 Oct14 October 11:15
        
        Thanks for confirming Nadeshka – I’ve been losing it as even with my own account the pricing is flipping around constantly. “241 the only option is the old avios+cash mix” – would you expect a person without the reward saver activating to still show the old number of avios but with higher cash component…. or is it all variable?
Aston100 says:

14 Oct14 October 10:04

I accidentally purchased too many bonds recently.
They are available to cash in, but I seem unable to specify this range of bonds, and instead the system seems to want to start with the oldest bonds. I don’t want to touch the oldest bonds as they are in the next prize draw whereas the newer ones are not.
I rang NS&I and the agent advised me that you can only specify bond ranges for cashing in via the postal service. Given that this agent was making all sorts of mistakes throughout the conversation I am wondering how accurate the information was.
I’d HUACA but the waiting time was nearly 30 mins.
Anyone know a way to cash in specific bonds and ranges online, or if it can be done on the phone despite my experience?
Thanks.
- BS says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 11:14
  
  Thats their policy. Oldest bonds sold first, can only sell specific ranges through their postal service.
- Travel Strong says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 12:14
  
  Oh no, what an unfortunate accident! I keep doing that too, over, and over…
  - Aston100 says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 12:34
    
    LOL, the power of the MS dark side is strong, but I haven’t embraced it as yet.
    No, seriously though, I genuinely needed to cash in some bonds I accidentally purchased too early (didn’t budget correctly).
    Anyway, I have the solution. There is a super secret form one can fill in: https://forms.nsandi.com/gateway/online-forms/index#/form/withdraw-premium-bonds-myself
Anna says:

14 Oct14 October 11:00

I’ve just spoken to The George and they say anyone with a current booking will get the Club Intercontinental experience. This is obviously an amazing deal if you’ve booked at a lower price before they introduced this, so if your room doesn’t currently qualify (I think it’s Superior rooms and above), it may be worth enquiring if you can upgrade.
- Anna says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 11:14
  
  Fingers crossed the impending circuit breakers will result in pre-Xmas breaks being possible 🤞
  - BJ says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 12:12
    
    Expectation is that even tougher restrictions are coming here. Personally I wish they would just get on with it in hope of some respite like summer over the festive season. I don’t buy the economic balance bit, seems to me a short sharp hit sooner would be less damaging than prolonged drag later.
- Amber Lynn says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 12:26
  
  Did you by any chance tell them that you had retired early and recently visited the Kimpton Clocktower.
  - Anna says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 14:52
    
    Whatever I did tell them, it was both courteous and had a point.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  14 Oct14 October 15:39
  
  Nice!