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The HfP chat thread – Sunday 13th December

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We have decided to run this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

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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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Comments (264)

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

  • Si says:
    13 Dec13 December 02:18

    The following is posted with Rob’s consent.

    This is a shameless attempt to draw attention to my wife’s amazing children’s picture book based on 2020. 

    ***’THE YEAR WE MUDDLED THROUGH’*** is a rhyming story, which for children reveals magical rainbows, dancing animals, giant sunflowers and the starriest skies. For adults, the book captures the weirdness and wonder of a year where so much changed in our world…. and our households.

    Having found herself without employment since May, my wife took the positively of successfully getting pregnant from our 3rd attempt at IVF to write the book. [Frozen embryo transfer on final day clinics were open before lockdown!]

    Publisher contacted and contracts signed in the labour ward [honestly true!], the book has gathered real traction and is being championed by Waterstones amongst other outlets. All of this has happened in the past 3 weeks.

    Ideal for Christmas and as a 2020 keepsake, please Google ‘THE YEAR WE MUDDLED THROUGH’ and/or follow my wife @laurenifen

    Many thanks & merry Christmas x

    • Baji Nahid says:
      13 Dec13 December 05:03

      Awww thats so sweet! Congratulations on the pregnancy to your wife and wishing you both a lovely future of bundles of joy! Will keep an eye out and have a read through! All the very best with a healthy and safe pregnancy x

    • Michael C says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:13

      Sí, that’s fabulous news on every front, and I’ll be resending the info to our parents’ groups. All the best for 2021 and the follow-up: “THE YEAR WE DIDN’T SLEEP” ;o))) !

    • Craig says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:26

      Congratulations Si, good luck with the book.

    • Anna says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:33

      Congratulations on book and baby! It’s heartening to hear stories of how people have managed to make good things come out of this year regardless.

    • Ali M says:
      13 Dec13 December 08:10

      hey all the best xx so heart warming x

    • Number9 says:
      13 Dec13 December 08:44

      Congrats to you and your wife. It’s lovely to read some uplifting good news for a change.

    • Backpacker says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:10

      Well done Si and your wife.
      It’s a tough old world out there at the moment, but kids are a beautiful thing and a great distraction – enjoy this time and the random acts of kindness by strangers!

      • Si says:
        13 Dec13 December 09:30

        Wherever there is darkness, there is always light to be found 🙂

        A book written by someone who ultimately had no income for nearly 5 months, illustrated by a post-grad student who was looking for work, published by a small independent publisher and small book binding company, which has only been publicized through social media and the kindness of others to spread the word, now has a behemoth like Waterstones behind it.

        That’s a lot of people helped through Christmas xx

        • Lyn says:
          13 Dec13 December 17:08

          What a lovely story. Congratulations to you and your wife, and thanks for sharing.

    • Claire says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:18

      I will keep a look out for this book coming back in to stock. Many congratulations, I have been through IVF myself successful and unsuccessful xx

      • Si says:
        13 Dec13 December 09:46

        Unfortunately it’s a path so many have to walk. The highest of the highs, but far more often, the lowest of the lows…

        I’m so proud of my little science baby. This time last year she was sitting in a freezer somewhere in London. Now she is laying in my arms while I pace the kitchen and she sleeps

        • The Savage Squirrel says:
          13 Dec13 December 14:05

          “I’m so proud of my little science baby. This time last year she was sitting in a freezer somewhere in London. Now she is laying in my arms while I pace the kitchen and she sleeps”
          That might be one of the most amazing and uplifting sentences I’ve ever read. Congratulations to you all!

    • Crafty says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:28

      Sounds great. My wife and daughter would enjoy this. Do you have any stock to sell directly?

      • Si says:
        13 Dec13 December 09:41

        Hi there,

        Unfortunately we do not have any stock to sell direct. It all just got too much far too quickly and that is when we had to outsource.

        I know Waterstones have copies in many of its branches [can click and collect] and they also have another delivery being produced as I type [for postal delivery].

        The rate of interest has rocketed far faster than any involved party ever imagined. We’re all having to focus to meet demand but the “demand” will be met

        Thank you

  • Owain says:
    13 Dec13 December 06:45

    I’ve just had an email to say that my DEN-LHR BA flight next October has been ‘cancelled’. In fact, it looks like I’ve just been moved from First to Club World (flight times have only changed by 5 minutes, and the flight number is the same)
    From reading the article on downgrades, it looks as though I should be entitled to claim 75% of the ticket price (but not taxes) after the flight (if it goes ahead), but I just wanted to check that I don’t forfeit that by accepting the ‘new’ flight at this stage in MMB? Also, does it matter if this flight was booked as a BA Holiday (one night of hotel accomodation added at the start of the holiday) rather than just a flight?

    • BS says:
      13 Dec13 December 08:52

      You will only get the 75% by suing BA through MCOL post-hoc (easy to do, don’t worry).
      I would call/email BA and ask them to state on your booking notes that this is an involuntary change, and not a voluntary one requested by you. This will be valuable evidence for either the CEDR or MCOL process as evidence you did not request/accept it. But still leave you on the flight.
      NB: The 75% includes carrier surcharge, but not statutory government taxes

      • Nick says:
        13 Dec13 December 11:12

        Well that’s not fair. There’s plenty of examples of BA paying the 75% without argument, yes MCOL is an option some have to take, but by no means in every case.
        Crucial is to claim AFTER not before travel, the airline can rightly refuse to pay before customer has travelled.

        • BS says:
          13 Dec13 December 11:50

          You have clearly been far more lucky than me…
          I have never, ever, had BA pay up. Needed to go to CEDR, open and shut case. Flyertalk is awash of BA not paying up in the EC261 forum.

        • Lady London says:
          13 Dec13 December 20:06

          @Nick can you cheer us up by telling us about someone who didn’t have to CEDR or MCOL BA to receive the due 75% for downgrade ?

          We’ve had @Si’s uplifting story today which has cheered us all up so another one would be great

      • Charlieface says:
        13 Dec13 December 12:33

        I haven’t the faintest idea where BA get it from that it would be a “voluntary downgrade” just because the passenger called to confirm he would still be flying on the downgrade. Obviously someone who booked a higher class wants a higher class.
        And EC261 Article 15 states if the passenger hasn’t been informed of their rights they still have a right to compo.

    • Lady London says:
      13 Dec13 December 20:11

      relatively little of the ‘taxes’ BA charges are in fact taxes so as well as 1.6p for each avios that makes up 75 % of the avios you paid you will also be able to get 75 % of a big part of the cash as well.

      Keep a note of date and time and who you spoke to if you call as advised by the other poster.

  • Michael C says:
    13 Dec13 December 07:17

    So it’s Dec. 13, and on gov.uk we still have “a list of private test providers will be published on GOV.UK shortly before the scheme starts” for Test to Release.
    Given that the scheme starts on Tuesday, flights from the West Coast leave tomorrow, and you have to include the provider in your Passenger Locator Form, 48 hours before arriving, it’s all becoming a bit tricky/Johnsony!

    • Mouse says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:36

      I had a call from the Home Office (or whoever they outsource to) yesterday (arrived back in the UK on Friday) to remind me to quarantine and I asked about this point. The person I spoke to said the list will be published on Tuesday and if I want to use TTR I need to fill in a new passenger locator form ticking the new TTR box which will appear on the form from Tuesday.

      • Michael C says:
        13 Dec13 December 08:07

        Thanks for the update, Mouse! Hope you get some nice cheese for Xmas.

        • Number9 says:
          13 Dec13 December 08:32

          Mice in my house prefer Mars bar. Well that’s what I put in the traps ( humane) cat brings them in to play with and doesn’t munch them so I have to catch them! That’s a top tip for any townies moving to countryside mice prefer chocolate.

          • Polly says:
            13 Dec13 December 09:28

            They ignored the snicker bars laid in their food by the pest controllers! But ate the rat bait…and hope, all gone now!

          • Genghis says:
            13 Dec13 December 09:51

            I’ve used peanut butter in the past. Once got catches on 4 of my 6 traps. I was well chuffed that morning.

          • RussellH says:
            13 Dec13 December 11:03

            What sort of cat does not eat their mice?

          • Number9 says:
            13 Dec13 December 12:08

            @russellh one who thinks she is a queen and should only eat fresh chicken and dreamies lol my boy cat used to munch them but would leave the heart and liver. It was odd she hadn’t brought any in for years, my boy cat was a prolific hunter he got hit by a car and within days she started bringing them in again.
            I catch and release them she jumps out the window and brings them back in. She gets well annoyed with me.

          • Lady London says:
            13 Dec13 December 20:14

            peanut butter apparently too

        • Mouse says:
          13 Dec13 December 15:37

          Thanks! Fridge already full of the stuff from my trip to Switzerland!

      • Margaret says:
        14 Dec14 December 01:27

        Just to say that my daughter was sent home from school to quarantine last month. She did, and on day 6 she was tested. It was negative. The government use day 5, so we thought it OK. WRONG! Two days after testing she developed a runny nose and bad headache which we attributed to spending too long in the garden. It was covid and she tested positive on what was day 9 of exposure. I was sheilding and both hubby and myself have spent the last 13 days in a pretty poor state with it but are improving. My point? Day 5 testing is a nonsense and will lead to a lot of people getting sick, so please take extra care.

  • VJ says:
    13 Dec13 December 07:23

    I wonder if one know how to add phone number authorization for Creation Supplementary card. Transactions getting declined because there is no phone number attached to the card.

    • Anna says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:35

      We get that one one of ours so just opt for email notification instead. I imagine you’d need to call Creation to get it added, unless there’s a facility in your account to add it.

      • Anna says:
        13 Dec13 December 07:36

        Though you don’t say if this is for logging into the account or for bendy transactions?

    • Craig says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:51

      It should be under my profile when logged in on a web browser?

      • Peter K says:
        13 Dec13 December 08:28

        The main card holder logs in and goes to the account section and there is a place to put the supplementary cardholder’s phone number.

  • K says:
    13 Dec13 December 07:26

    Has anyone had any problems buying Amazon gift cards from their website, using Curve? Tried with 3 different Curve cards and all showing as “awaiting authorisation “

    Bought other gift cards using Amex and processed in 2 mins, but not the ones with Curve.

    Are there problems with Curve? I need the gift cards tonight, could re-purchase but can’t cancel the pending ones. Emailed Curve, of course no response.

    Thank you

    • Craig says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:30

      Bought yesterday, no issues.

    • The real John says:
      13 Dec13 December 07:32

      It’s not immediate. Mine took about 1-2 hours.

      I don’t think Curve pays people to answer emails overnight…. (well they have always got back to me eventually, but often taking over a week)

      • K says:
        13 Dec13 December 07:49

        Big fan of Curve (even invested!), but ‘email only contact’ is their Achilles heel. Unable to sort out financial transactions in a reasonable time. I really don’t want to re-purchase the said gift cards, only for the Curve purchased ones to be authorised on Monday and end up with too many gift cards.

    • Backpacker says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:17

      Hi K – I had this same issue with curve, endlessly saying “Verifying”.
      It’s not curve’s fault, it is Amazon, as they do not like the curve card for some reason and seem to want to manually check it.
      You can get past this by calling Amazon support on 0203 356 6212 and get them to make the payment happen – after I called transaction went through and was then approved 1-2 hours later.

      • K says:
        13 Dec13 December 10:14

        Thank you all for your replies and help. I read them too late so, i did various tries. I worked it out, that if I do the gift card purchases in batches of no higher than £50, then it works. So, i did several batches of £50, which then resulted in Amazon suspending my account. I now am dealing with that part, unsure if the gift cards that have already processed will be fine or will they be cancelled.

    • Small Shop says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:28

      I had similar. Did the purchase again and it worked. Several hours later, the original order, which I thought had failed and so could be ignored, was authorised, giving me double what the gift cards I wanted.

      It seems Amazon retries the “failed” order rather than abandoning it, so don’t reorder unless you want double.

    • Andrew says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:42

      One of the many reasons my curve card hasn’t been used in years.

  • John Caribbean says:
    13 Dec13 December 07:29

    I’ve a BA holidays package to the Canaries in January, which the closure of the travel corridor means I probably can’t take (can’t quarantine and work).
    I’ve only paid the deposit so far, which I assume I can cancel for a voucher?
    If I pay the rest of the deposit though, can I keep the holiday open until the last possible moment, then cancel for that full amount into the voucher?

    • Matt says:
      13 Dec13 December 10:35

      If there is an advisory against all but essential travel then you can get a refund of your deposit. Happened to me in October – BA wouldn’t refund until the day the final payment was due, but gave a cash refund without a problem when I phoned up that day (even though I’d paid with vouchers originally)

      • John Caribbean says:
        13 Dec13 December 11:23

        Thanks Matt. I think non essential travel is still allowed to the Canaries. Probably I’m best to take your advice and give them a ring

  • Ste Cox says:
    13 Dec13 December 07:53

    Just an FYI, I just hit 30 nights with Hilton and have already been upgraded to Diamond, looks like you don’t have to wait until 1st Jan for the halving of requirements to kick in

  • Josh says:
    13 Dec13 December 08:08

    Good morning everyone – wondered if you might be able to give me some advice please?
    My (German) wife is due to fly to Berlin at 3pm tomorrow with our 2 month old.
    I am due to fly over with our 2yo on Friday.
    Flights were booked with Avios (RFS) during the Avios sale BA had.
    The landscape has changed in Germany and we may now not go but I wondered what our options are? I believe I can cancel 24hrs before but think I have to pay £35per person to get my Avios back – is that correct? To add to the pain we booked one-way flights, so we’ve paid £17.50 per person per flight up til now. Does this mean I’ll have to pay BA another £17.50 to get my Avios back? (I which prob means I’ll have to write them off)
    Do I have any other options? Ie change dates? We usually go over regularly to see family so this would suit us fine. For what it’s worth the flights were booked on 11th Oct.
    Thanks in advance for any advice – genuinely grateful for any replies

    • BS says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:31

      Unless theyve updated their online cancellation options, you have to pay £35 per person per booking, and will have the £17.50 and the avios refunded at some unspecified point in the future. If you booked as two separate one-ways rather than a return this will therefore be £70 per person fees (£35 x 2).
      The other option available (until close of check-in) is asking future travel voucher. This can be done online, This will be for the value of £££ and avios you paid. Given it is RFS, and your wife is German and therefore you will likely be traveling that route in the future when things open up, it seems to be the most sensible option.

    • Polly says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:31

      Try cancelling on line, you may only be charged what you actually paid..seems to be working that way again, versus being charged the stated £35 fee.

    • pauldb says:
      13 Dec13 December 09:36

      You can’t cancel online at the moment. Historically you would only be charge what you paid: £17.50 not an extra £35. But I’m not sure what the latest is if you have to call.

      Regardless, what you can do online now is use the Book with Confidence guarantee to cancel for Future Travel Voucher. This holds your avios and cash until you use it to rebook up until Apr22 (for the same value, not necessarily for the same route). Essential a free change as long as you will use the voucher, and sounds like you will.

      • Nick says:
        13 Dec13 December 11:18

        If you know an alternative date you can also move the flight without any change fee, assuming it was booked under BWC. In your case there would be no fare increase but there would have to be redemption availability on the new flight. Agree with the above that FTV might be better overall though.

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