The HfP chat thread – Thursday 15th October

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.

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/2020/10/15/the-hfp-chat-thread-thursday-15th-october/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.

Category

General

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

Doug M says:

15 Oct15 October 09:15

I’ve a non-refundable reservation in Florida in a couple of weeks, at a Sheraton resort booked through hotels.com. Spent an hour on chat to hotels who insisted hotel insisting it’s non-refundable. I have gold status with hotels thought that may help. I totally understand the hotel is open so my issues with getting there are not their fault, but also refused a voucher or rebooking, which in the circumstances seems harsh.
Yesterday I received an email from Marriott giving details of various properties COVID restrictions. Listed as closed for the site I’m booked at were,
Activities (On-Site)
Fitness Class
Housekeeping (Daily)
On-Site Convenience Store
On-Site Restaurant
Pool Bar/Grille
Spa Services
Steam Room/Sauna
Valet
What’s the view on whether that’s sufficient for a cancellation and chargeback if necessary?
- meta says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 09:18
  
  Hotel is providing you with a room to stay. They are not obliged to provide any other service. This one is for your insurance if the hotel was booked pre-covid.
  - Sukes says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 09:25
    
    +1. The list of amenity closures is largely akin to most places these days.
  - Doug M says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 09:37
    
    So if you arrived and had no furniture, bedding or water you’d be happy because the room was provided? Clearly a hotel booking is more than a room, particularly at a place describing itself as a resort. I understand your view to a degree, but it’s about where you draw the line.
    @Sukes. I hear you, but I made a pre-COVID booking, why should I be understanding of their problems with the pandemic if they don’t understand mine?
    - Rob says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 09:41
      
      BA has downgraded people from Club World to Club Europe on routes like Moscow before and tried to avoid compensation by saying the service provided was not economy and therefore nothing is due. Similarly, not being fed or watered on a flight, or having a broken seat, or having no IFE, is not a legal ground for compensation under BA’s Conditions of Carriage.
      - Mr. AC says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 09:46
        
        They do however in practice compensate for “standard” issues like broken IFE or seat with Avios if you call them, at least if you have status. I’m guessing the agents have a script and are pre-authorized to do this. It’s when the issue is at least little bit non standard (like the CW->CE downgrade) when it becomes tough.
      - Nick says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 12:11
        
        BA has a standard formula now to compensate customers who were sold CW and are given CE. Came in after the Consumer Rights Act because marketing on the website set a certain expectation that couldn’t then be delivered (mainly IFE and seat).
    - meta says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 10:05
      
      Sorry, but your room does have furniture and water.
      
      You are mixing extra services with what’s in the room. Clearly, the room is there and has no defects. If you arrive and find that you room has defects and the hotel can’t move you to another room without defects then you would have a case to request a full refund or if the hotel is not willing then S75/chargeback.
      
      Since you booked pre-covid then you can claim with insurance.
      - meta says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 10:11
        
        As a side note, you might have a recourse if you had a pre-booked spa or any extras like breakfast, dinner included in the room rate or something else and the hotel is now not providing them.
      - Doug M says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 13:10
        
        Is that your opinion or based on some actual policy somewhere. If booking a room in a resort surely it’s reasonable to expect the extra services, that are listed as part of the resort when you booked, to be available?
- Nick_C says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 11:50
  
  I’m surprised at this Doug.
  
  https://uk.hotels.com/page/coronavirus-booking-information/
  
  “If you’ve made a non-refundable booking and would like to change or cancel it;
  No cancellation fee will apply if your booking is in a destination that is considered inaccessible. In that case, we’ll offer you either a full refund or a hotel voucher to be used on our selection of hotel choices. However, you must cancel at least 24hrs before your arrival date.
  Standard cancellation policy will apply if the destination is considered open for travel and you have chosen to change or cancel your booking for other reasons.
  How can I cancel my booking?
  Please visit our Customer Service Portal to find all the information on how you can cancel your booking.”
  
  Persist. Escalate to a supervisor. Hope you get a good result.
  - Doug M says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 13:06
    
    Cheers. I’d read that and mentioned it, but it was glossed over and the chat thread drifted, the gaps to the responses were so large it became impossible to focus. I’ll try to call them.
Michael C says:

15 Oct15 October 09:18

Just thinking ahead to the “7 days + test” potential quarantine on arrival in the UK option…if some tests are taking 4-5 days (as they have done with friends), you may only be “saving” 2 days on the 14-day quarantine…and paying GBP150 with a stick up your nose for the luxury!
- Mawalt says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 10:23
  
  I thought that 7 days start from the day of the test, so how long it takes to get the result doesn’t matter (unless over 7 days).
  - Michael C says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 10:25
    
    Ahh, so you do the test as soon as you arrive? That makes more sense.
    On the Isle of Man, you had to wait a week (although they’ve now even removed that option).
    - Mawalt says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 10:54
      
      The idea was to introduce in-airport tests – some countries offer to do this in arrivals. The only difference is theirs costs between £7 and £20 and removes requirements for quarantine completely.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 14:41
      
      as far as I know the idea is to test 7 days after arrival and not at the airport.
      
      Using private tests usually you get them back in 1-2 days but again its saving you 4-5 days of quarantine but better than nothing!
Manya says:

15 Oct15 October 09:27

Might be of interest to other EasyJet ticket holders – our flights to Crete over the October half term were recently cancelled. Initially EasyJet offered a full cash refund of £700 or a voucher of a slightly higher amount. I opted for cash but I then got a second email offering to increase the voucher by another £300, meaning I would get £1,000 as a voucher. Valid for 12 months from point of issue.
- Anna says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 09:32
  
  This is a bit of a gamble – people have reported prices shooting up when they try and pay with a voucher, can’t remember oif it was sepcifically EasyJet though.
  - Manya says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 09:37
    
    Thanks – good to know. I wonder if that’s even legal?
    - Anna says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 10:34
      
      It may well be tucked away in the Ts and Cs. The other reason not to take a voucher of course is that we don’t know which airlines will survive in the long term!
- Yorkieflyer says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 11:21
  
  Better to rebook for any flight
  - Freddy says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 11:49
    
    I’ve rebooked Lanzarote flights following cancellation. Booked peak summer next year. The flight only cost £40 return per person so if I can get away next year that’ll be a good result
Bob says:

15 Oct15 October 09:55

Earlier in the year there was the Dragonpass $10 lounge passes offer through Dufry. Any idea on how to cancel any outstanding passes that are yet to expire and obtain a refund on them please? Thanks
- BS says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 09:58
  
  I have it in writing they are going to extend these for another 12 months. May be worth hanging on to them?
  - mr_jetlag says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 10:54
    
    I have a few of these BS. Did you get that in writing from Dragonpass customer service?
    - Aston100 says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 11:00
      
      I have it in writing from Dragonpass customer services.
      - mr_jetlag says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 11:03
        
        thanks – was sitting on 6 passes
- Jody says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 11:11
  
  I sent them a message through the app a couple of days ago. They emailed me back saying membership would automatically be extended for a year, and any lounge visits held would also be extended for a year.
Rhys says:

15 Oct15 October 10:13

London will go to Level 2 from Friday night. Somehow, businesses such as restaurants can remain open….
- stevenhp1987 says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 10:17
  
  Somehow? Restaurants close in Tier 3.
  
  The rate of infection is nowhere near the levels to get London into Tier 3.
  - Rhys says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 10:25
    
    Yes – I meant more that lots of places where many households mix (restaurants, attractions etc) remain open…
    - stevenhp1987 says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 10:41
      
      Actually I was incorrect. Restaurants do not close in Tier 3.
      
      Pubs/Restaurants can stay open and serve alcohol, so long as it’s with a “substantial meal” (perhaps a pub could sell you a pasty and a pint. You immediately “finish” the pasty, which is then sold onto another customer with a pint! All legal. Or just sell a pasty for £1 and then have customers buy a LOT of pasties over the night.).
      
      This Tier structure won’t really do much as a lot of people will ignore households mixing just like they did during lockdown.
      
      It’s just doing something to appear to be doing something.
      - ChrisC says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 13:24
        
        Reputable places won’t try that because it breaks not only the spirit of their license but also the letter of it.
        
        They can lose their license when they are caught.
        
        A pasty (whilst delicious) on it’s own does not count as ‘substantial’. Nor are a few free chicken wings or a bowl of free pasta. They have all been tried and licenses have untilatly been revoked for doing it.
      - Colin says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 14:37
        
        Similar situation in Ireland earlier this year. Had to order a substantial meal (over 9 euro) to stop the bag of crisps / guacamole dip brigade. Even then, you were only allowed 105 mins in the establishment. Led to some amazing till receipts – the likes of fish n chips plus 14 pints of Guinness and 10 shots etc. Yes, us Irish can manage that sort of thing in 105 mins!! Have a google and you`ll see some gems.
    - Andrew says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 10:46
      
      But you are not allowed to mix with people you don’t live with in any settings indoors, including restaurants and bars.
      - Rhys says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 10:49
        
        But let’s be real – the distance between tables in most restaurants is NOT 2m.
      - Mawalt says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 10:58
        
        I imagine a lot of large households will be setup “for the night”!
        
        “Of course, we are all in one household, officer”
  - Andrew says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 10:39
    
    Restaurants remain open in Tier 3 too – only bars and pubs that don’t serve a substantial meal close.
    - stevenhp1987 says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 10:42
      
      Easily to workaround.
      
      Go to Tesco/Asda etc. Buy a LOT of value pasties / pies.
      
      Sell a pasty with a pint for an additional 50-£1.
      
      A pasty, at around 400-500kcl is “substantial”. The customer can simply choose not to eat it, and order another with the next round.
      - LB says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 11:07
        
        Why do people try to find a way around the rules? This is the reason for this second wave -people not doing what they should. I’m no fan of Boris but he can’t be blamed for this second spike. People need to take responsibility for their actions and not try to appear “clever”.
      - stevenhp1987 says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 11:26
        
        @LB
        
        If you were a business owner you would want to maximise your profits (or even just make one!). These restrictions could cause a lot of pubs/restaurants to close down.
      - Anna says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 11:51
        
        It needs to be served with a salad to be classed as substantial. Happily this will also cancel out the unhealthy elements of the pasty.
      - Nick_C says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 12:09
        
        @LB
        
        I agree with the gist of what you are saying, but BoJo’s handling of the crisis has been an abysmal failure.
        
        The first lockdown was widely flouted but there was no enforcement. He was praising people for their behaviour when many were behaving inappropriately. There was no leadership. There was no clear strategy (there still isn’t). We went into lockdown far too late, ignoring the evidence coming from Italy, and resulting in tens of thousands of needless deaths.
        
        We eased too many restrictions in August, and we now seem to be heading back to square one. Daily deaths were down to single figures. They are now (7 day average) back up to 91 – the worst they have been since mid June. And in June they were on their way down, now they are on their way up. The Government has been ignoring the scientific advice.
        
        Again Boris is dithering. Clueless.
        
        Combined with the lack of leadership, we have the stupid selfish behaviour of a large section of the public at large.
        
        This was a time when we should all have come together and followed the law and guidance as a minimum, whether we voted for this government or not.
        
        We’ve wasted 100 billion and achieved nothing.
  - Rob says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 11:51
    
    Interesting piece in the Standard about London infection rates. If you’re at Uni and haven’t switched your GP yet, the case is tallied against your old GP. A fresher in Manchester, who comes from Richmond and still has a Richmond GP because they only just turned up, is therefore counted against Richmond when they test positive. This is why the leafy London suburbs have weirdly high rates.
    - Harry T says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 12:30
      
      It’s a good point but presumably (hopefully?) the people making the decisions have taken that into account. I suppose it’s probably also making Northern cities with students from the South look better!
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 14:54
      
      This was raised in parliament on Monday! yet still happening
      
      Why you can;t just blindly follow stats on an excel and need some real insight into whats going on in the local areas.
    - Charlieface says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 15:23
      
      The stats are garbage for all sorts of reasons.
      Testing asymtomatic people regularly, but not retesting anyone who tests positive, is just madness. It means Covid will be here for the next hundred years because there are always false positives.
      If you had tested 100,000 people last year, you would have had nearly 1,000 positives, all false.
Mike says:

15 Oct15 October 10:20

Regarding the Amex £400 Marriott offer: I’ve misplaced my Platinum card. Am I right in saying that I can book online (card is saved in my account), show a different card to ‘guarantee’ the reservation on check-in but then ask them to bill the card on my Bonvoy account (plat) on checkout?

Or am I better ordering a replacement card? Will I lose the offer if I order a replacement?
- mr_jetlag says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 10:59
  
  Hotels will bill the card presented at check in/out unless it’s prepaid stay. May need to ring CS.
- Nick says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 12:17
  
  You’ll keep the offer. It’ll take a couple of days to port over but it will.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 14:55
  
  The offer will show up on the new card after a couple days.
- the_real_a says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 18:02
  
  When i replaced my lost card, the offers were transferred automatically within 24 hours.
Anna says:

15 Oct15 October 10:32

BAPP question. My 241 reset date is Dec 13th. I will be cancelling at least one of our Easter bookings in the next few months and the taxes/fees refund will be about £1800. I have spent more than £10k plus this amount in my current BAPP year. Should I get the refund before Dec 13th, i.e. if I wait until after the anniversary date, will I have to spend £10k plus the refund amount to trigger the next voucher? Thanks!
- pauldb says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 11:06
  
  Yes: they won’t take back this year’s voucher even if you dip back below £10k. If you cancel after the reset, your count will start from -£1800 effectively.
  Or you could of course FTV the booing.
  - Anna says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 11:52
    
    I’ve got one booking tied up in an FTV, need the 300k avios back as much as the cash!
- Jill (Kinkell) says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 11:10
  
  Yes…. it’s just happened to me. Refund took the balance back and also into negative Avios. Spend line now states I’ve got more to go to get voucher, and climb back into positive Avios…..bummer!
  - Jill (Kinkell) says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 11:12
    
    …so cancel after
    - AJA says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 11:53
      
      Even if you cancel after your anniversary you will still end up with negative Avios and a negative balance ie more than £10k to start collecting for the new voucher so it only makes sense to cancel in the new year if the credit will take you back below the current year £10k spend if you haven’t yet earned your voucher.
- Jill (Kinkell) says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 11:13
  
  …so cancel after
  - Anna says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 11:54
    
    No, cancel before surely? I’ve earned my voucher and spent a good chunk more on top (more than £1800). So it’s better coming off this year’s earning than next, as I would then need to spend £11,800 to get the next 241?
    - Nick says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 12:19
      
      Yes Anna you’re right. Cancel in whichever year you want the ‘balance’ to go negative.
    - AJA says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 13:28
      
      Hi Anna, That’s how I understood it to work; getting a refund in the current year would count only against this year’s £10k target and not next year’s. However, over on FT they say that it doesn’t matter which “Amex earning year” you get a credit it will count against you for the following year spend target. I still think it is better to get the credit this year after you’ve got your voucher.
    - Jill (Kinkell) says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 15:10
      
      My second reply was a duplicate . I’d go with Nick on this one.
BP says:

15 Oct15 October 11:37

Are Intercontinental hotels allowed to opt-out of offering reward nights?

IC George in Edinburgh has none available at all for any date. I queried this by email and got a reply stating: “Due to the new InterContintal Club offering, we do not have any rewards nights available.”
- Anna says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 11:56
  
  It doesn’t seem like a valid reason, anyway. Not all rooms are getting the Club Intercontinental experience, according to the website, and junior suite with the Club offering is now a whopping £470 per night!
  - Anna says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 12:20
    
    Though if the lowest category of room is Superior, then all rooms are getting it, which would raise questions about capacity!
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 14:57
  
  unless they have all been booked base level rooms should be available
  
  I would contact IHG centrally as someone has probably messed up the inventory on reopening.