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The HfP chat thread – Saturday 21st November

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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.

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General

Comments (258)

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

  • Tazzy says:
    21 Nov21 November 05:40

    Booked Dubai 8-16th dec. flying Belfast – Dubai via LHR. Northern Ireland is extending and tightening and advice is not to travel. Does this mean I can’t travel??? Front line nhs staff and have 3 weeks leave, so even if quarantine rules changed I would be ok. I need a break…..

    • John says:
      21 Nov21 November 06:01

      Advice is not law. Check the law closer to the time.

    • Johnny Tabasco says:
      21 Nov21 November 07:40

      Why on earth would you book something without checking all this first ? (Unless it’s an old booking?) It’s also not hard to find out this info yourself rather than asking other people on a website. They key word is ‘advice’.

      I’m sure you ‘need’ a break, but many people need a break too, it’s certainly been a long, crazy yea

    • AJA says:
      21 Nov21 November 08:52

      If you meet the requirements to enter Dubai then you can still travel. But be aware your insurance may not cover you if you fall ill or suffer flight disruption because of Covid.

      Check here:
      https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/coronavirus

      And here:
      https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-regulations-guidance-what-restrictions-mean-you#toc-5

      Travel
      You should avoid all unnecessary travel.

      Where travel is necessary for work, education and other essential purposes, people are asked to walk, cycle or use private transport, shared only with members of their household where possible.

      Face coverings
      The use of face coverings is mandatory on public transport, in taxis, private buses, coaches and on aircraft, in train and bus stations and in airports. This includes:

      boarding any mode of public transport
      when on board any mode of public transport
      and
       when present on public transport premises or stops

      I think you can travel if you want to. It’s not a complete ban. But only you can decide if you actually want to. Do your own research. Make your own mind up. Don’t base it on what I or anyone else says on The internet. Good luck!

      • Tazzy says:
        21 Nov21 November 16:58

        Thanks AJA. That’s my interpretation and at the moment I feel like I am prepared to travel. Also I’ve booked flights with 241 and hotel with free cancellation so if things worsen/ change I can cancel.

  • FlyingJ says:
    21 Nov21 November 06:12

    Hey Rob, do you think you could publish a points per program valuation chart like princeoftravel has in Canada? I know you have it in various posts spread out around the site but I find his table in one place that he updates quarterly very helpful. Would be great to get a UK version of it!

    • Rob says:
      21 Nov21 November 09:50

      We think about it. We already quote all the numbers but don’t pull them together.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      21 Nov21 November 10:03

      Honestly you should arrive at a value you are comfortable with yourself no point taking robs 1p per mile valuation if you are “paying” 1.25p. FYI you are paying something as you take MR vs a straight ca$hback card that gives 1-1.25%

    • Ikaz says:
      21 Nov21 November 10:11

      I would also find this useful

  • JP-MCO says:
    21 Nov21 November 07:01

    There is no limit to the number of points you can earn in a billing cycle with the HSBC Premier World Elite card is there? I’ve had a particularly heavy spending month and just wanted to check.

    • BuildTheWall says:
      21 Nov21 November 07:45

      No limit. I spent much more than the credit limit by paying off early and no issues.

    • Joseph Heenan says:
      22 Nov22 November 11:04

      Be careful to make sure payments to the card fully clear before you make further spend. If you make a payment then spend on the same day their systems will think you went over your credit limit meaning you won’t get any points for the whole month. (Not sure if this is still definitely the case, but I had it happen to me last year and have been very careful since. The payment showing up on ‘available to spend’ wasn’t enough.)

  • Mart says:
    21 Nov21 November 07:16

    We are looking at booking baholidays premium economy package and upgrading to club is the only way to do this over the phone?
    And any ideas how to calculate taxes and fees for doing the upgrade?

    • MattB says:
      21 Nov21 November 07:18

      Do a dummy booking for both cabins and look at the difference in price breakdown.

    • AJA says:
      21 Nov21 November 08:56

      You can book and upgrade in one go via the website if there are seats available in Club. Otherwise book the seats in WT+ and then call afterwards although you risk not getting seats in Club.

      • Jonathan says:
        21 Nov21 November 14:13

        Doing this online often causes issues as it prices the WTP in flexible (more expensive) fare buckets while all WTP are eligible to UUA. I’d definitely advise calling up for this kind of booking.

  • Johnny Tabasco says:
    21 Nov21 November 07:39

    Why on earth would you book something without checking all this first ? (Unless it’s an old booking?) It’s also not hard to find out this info yourself rather than asking other people on a website. They key word is ‘advice’.

    I’m sure you ‘need’ a break, but many people need a break too, it’s certainly been a long, crazy year.

  • Gary says:
    21 Nov21 November 07:49

    Don’t know if it’s of any interest but I made a money claim against BA a couple of weeks ago. Like another poster here on HFP, I booked a club Europe seat back from Athens and due to a change in aircraft ended up being sat in premium economy. Both premium economy and the flat bed club world seats were completely fully booked so BA were obviously doing very well out of the arrangement.

    They’ve now requested an extension. Why suggestions over whether I can read anything into that or is it normal for them to try to drag things out?

    • BS says:
      21 Nov21 November 07:59

      I don’t think in reality you can read anything in to this. I suspect they are dealing with many cases due to their illegal policies and are swamped.

      Unless they give a reasonable reason why they need more time (the lawyer dealing with your case for Covid etc.), I would write in opposing the extension. A global pandemic is not enough: they can work from home, should have got used to the situation etc.

      • Lady London says:
        21 Nov21 November 12:18

        +1
        Why should BA be allowed to systematically deny passenger rights as a matter of their illegal policiea and then be able to bleat about lack of resources to deal with the few righteous claims that actually get made against them?

        They need to staff up and deal with the claims they have caused by their own actions.

        I’d oppose any extension including a comment that much publicly available evidence (ie, here etc.) indicatea that the defendant has even pre-Covid systematically denied large numbers of passengers these rights and so they should resource to deal with naturally resulting claims within the standard period without extensions.

        • Jonathan says:
          21 Nov21 November 14:18

          It’s not a righteous claim at all in this scenario though. You got Club Europe service regardless of whether some people had a nicer seat or not. There’s absolutely no mention of a flat bed in the description of CE and a WTP seat is better than the normal CE product. What those seats are normally referred to when sold on long haul routes is irrelevant. I’d expect this to be one of the few cases BA see through as they are guaranteed to win.

          • Optimus Prime says:
            21 Nov21 November 15:05

            Is the middle seat blocked if you get a WTP seat when booking CE? Because if it isn’t, you’re clearly worse off especially in this corona world…

          • Lady London says:
            21 Nov21 November 15:26

            Agree if it waa just inabilityto take advantage of a seating anomaly that would have given a better seat whilst remaining in ticketed class.

            To be able to get compensation correct your ticketed class has to be downgraded to a lower one and then it’s open and shut. BA will win if you flew in ticketed class.

            Once I flew back from AMS ticketed in J but in a giant First Class seat. I wouldnt have been able to complain if I’d been seated in normal J seat because that was my ticketed class.

    • ChrisC says:
      21 Nov21 November 08:35

      I wouldn’t say they are dragging it out as it’s not in their interest as it increases their costs and annoys the Judge if they see it as unreasonable stalling.

      Just takes longer at the moment to gather information etc what with staff reductions etc.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      22 Nov22 November 00:14

      Think you’ll lose this Gary.

  • Peter says:
    21 Nov21 November 08:27

    Brighton and Hove Albion Amex cash back deal, act fast as it’s only open for the first 25,000!

  • Ming The Merciless says:
    21 Nov21 November 08:29

    Small Business advice- Any recommendations for a points earning card that integrates with a bank feed into Sage Accounting.

    • KBuffett says:
      21 Nov21 November 09:09

      AMEX?
      I’m not sure if there is a direct feed to Sage (there is to Xero), but you can do a CSV download and upload.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      21 Nov21 November 14:40

      I can’t honestly remember if there’s a Sage feed, but Capital on Tap’s Xero feed is excellent, so worth a look (compared to cards from major banks which have been decidedly flaky).

      • Ming The Merciless says:
        21 Nov21 November 21:40

        I don’t get the popularity of xero. Sage accounting costs £2 per month with a Costco membership vs £20 odd for xero. Is the functionality that much better?

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

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