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The HfP chat thread – Thursday 17th December

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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.

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.

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.

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General

Comments (259)

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

  • Fab212 says:
    17 Dec17 December 11:40

    Is the “Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Mall Of The Emirates” any good to work remotely from Dubai for a couple of weeks please? Or any other good WFH hotel that doesn’t not break the bank in Dubai?

    • blenz101 says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:03

      Never stayed but sure the hotel would be high spec. It’s not in an ideal location unless you truly want to just have a room to work from. Obviously you are right next to MOE but you will have a considerable walk to the metro if you plan to use that to get around and you are nowhere near a beach or plesant public spaces. The surrounding area whilst perfectly safe isn’t an especially desirable community.

      If you are looking for something cost effective then take a look at either the Pullman or Movenpick in JLT. JLT is a great residential area with lots of parks, lakes, resturants, cycling and walking tracks (Boris style bikes and scooters available) available. Both hotels have a good selection of bars well used by the locals (Movenpick more so, including a Jazz@pizzzaexpress) are directly on combined metro and stations. Its a short walk to the Marina and JBR (beach access and quite touristy) and even Bluewater.

      Another option to consider is to look at the ROVE hotels, they have been particularly agressive with their pricing during Covid and are well respected locally. Again just pick your location carefully.

      • southlondonphil says:
        17 Dec17 December 14:01

        Another option would by the Hyatt Place locations at Al Rigga or Baniyas Square which are near to the airport, Deira and Dubai Creek which are averaging about £35 a night in January. Not as fancy an area as the Marina/JLY or JBR but both are close to the Metro. Plus it’s Double Nights on Hyatt until 28 Feb AND reduced qualifying thresholds so 15 nights will get you Globalist until March 2023.

        • Rob says:
          17 Dec17 December 14:55

          We have reviewed Al Rigga.

        • Tarmohamed says:
          17 Dec17 December 15:41

          Hyatt Alrigga and HGI Al Jaddaff, stayed at both circa £30/night incl breakfast. Hyatt Grand Residences also very good. My fave is five palm thought.

      • Fab212 says:
        17 Dec17 December 19:26

        Thanks all for the very helpful ideas.

    • Rob says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:39

      To the extent you are at the mall it is good. Many budget Dubai hotels are plonked down randomly and not attached to anything. The metro also has a station at the mall.

  • Jane says:
    17 Dec17 December 11:44

    Unfortunately it looks like my flight to Geneva on the 26th is one of the few still going, can someone remind me can I cancel on line now for a refund of Avios or do I still need to call. Hopefully there’s still time for them to cancel either it or the return so I can get the cash back too.

    • Pete says:
      17 Dec17 December 11:54

      You need to call if you want the Avios back and to pay the £35 fee. Why not take a FTV, though?

      • Jane says:
        17 Dec17 December 12:18

        I’m not convinced we’d use it by march 2022, next years holidays are all booked and it’s unlikely we’d go anywhere Jan – Mar 22. I guess they could extend it though

        • Pete says:
          17 Dec17 December 13:40

          Any of the holidays BA Holidays, perhaps? And use it towards the balance?

          • Jane says:
            17 Dec17 December 14:26

            No, flights to Orlando – but the return hasn’t been ticketed yet as it was added to the 2-4-1 later so I wonder if I could use the cash element against that. I guess I’m going to have to call.

  • Andrew says:
    17 Dec17 December 11:51

    Buckinghamshire going into T3 from Saturday morning.

    • Anna says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:01

      That one is definitely not on me, my Langley stay is now moved to the end of May!

      • Lady London says:
        17 Dec17 December 12:33

        Weasel words to evade blame if I ever saw them 🙂

        Btw did you ever resolve The Langley trying to charge you more points for the replacement night when they cancelled your booking, apparently as we now know in order that they could take more money from a private party?

        • Anna says:
          17 Dec17 December 12:44

          In a nutshell, I didn’t do too badly as they refunded me 75k points when I’d only paid 65k originally. I’ve re-booked for 80k points so the difference isn’t huge and it will probably be more pleasant in May anyway.

          Matt Hancock has just been on telly apologising profusely and at length for putting Buckinghamshire in Tier 3! We northern peasants can just go stuff ourselves though, obviously.

    • Harry T says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:01

      That’ll teach me to book things I actually want to do…

      • Lady London says:
        17 Dec17 December 12:54

        And don’t think you’re getting off blameless for this closure, either, @Harry T ! 🙂

    • Michael C says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:39

      Waddesdon Manor just says “We are in Tier 3: respect other visitors”, but nothing about not going!

      • Anna says:
        17 Dec17 December 12:42

        They are breaking the law if they accept leisure guests and might not be insured for any unfortunate incidents!

        • TGLoyalty says:
          17 Dec17 December 12:54

          But the burden of proof is low. If the traveller assured them they are there for one of the many permitted reasons they are covered.

          22-28 is also exempt from the leisure ban.

          • Anna says:
            17 Dec17 December 14:02

            I don’t think they are technically exempt for any circumstance – and it’s the 23rd to the 27th in England.

          • Anna says:
            17 Dec17 December 14:13

            The guidance is rather confusing. It starts by saying that the Xmas rules only apply between the 23rd – 27th inclusive, but then goes on:

            “If necessary, you can stay in a hotel, hostel or B&B during the Christmas period, in line with the rules in your tier. This includes tier 3 areas between 22 and 28 December, as long as you’re staying by yourself or with other members of your household, or support bubble. You should not gather as a Christmas bubble in a hotel, hostel or B&B in any tier unless a member of your Christmas bubble lives there permanently.

            If necessary, you can stay in private rented accommodation such as short term holiday lets with members of your household, or your Christmas bubble.”

            Would this mean that technically you’re allowed to check in somewhere on the 22nd and check out on the 28th?

          • TGLoyalty says:
            17 Dec17 December 15:01

            Not really confusing Anna you need to check in on 22nd if you are going to be with your bubble on 23rd and checkout on 28th if you’ll be with your bubble the 27th.

          • Anna says:
            17 Dec17 December 15:36

            But nowehere does it actually say that! I was under the impression the earliest and latest days you could travel were the 23rd and 27th (as has been widely reported), this is the ONLY place I have seen the 22nd and 28th mentioned, apart from in relation to Northern Ireland. Anyway, I have made a few enquiries and hotels are indeed accepting leisure stays up to the 28th, so thank you for that!

          • TGLoyalty says:
            17 Dec17 December 15:46

            Because this government likes to make things as difficult as possible.

            Gov.uk is your friend.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        17 Dec17 December 12:56

        That only applies to their outdoor Xmas event. Their bedrooms are closed until the new year.

        • meta says:
          17 Dec17 December 13:59

          Is Langley definitely closing? You can still book normally on the website and I overheard the other day when staying there that they won’t close at all even in Tier 3.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            17 Dec17 December 14:03

            I’m assuming it’s far too early to know what the plan is. They found out like everyone else at 11:45. Suspect those with stays 19th onwards will start getting emails.

            Unlikely they’ll cancel stays in a couple weeks yet.

          • Andrew says:
            17 Dec17 December 14:08

            The restrictions will be reviewed again in 2 weeks, so bookings after that timeframe will likely be kept for now and amended should the restrictions remain (which is obviously highly likely given Christmas mixing is only going to make things worse not better)

          • Nic says:
            17 Dec17 December 20:48

            Just received an email that it’s closing from Saturday.

          • Dan says:
            18 Dec18 December 00:06

            Just got a cancellation email for Sunday

      • Number9 says:
        17 Dec17 December 15:05

        You can go to Wadds from Saturday the vendors can’t sell alcoholic drinks but you can still do light trail etc …. comes first hand from daughter in law who is working on one of the Christmas coffee stalls.

  • rjn21 says:
    17 Dec17 December 12:22

    Re the Tesco points to Avios conversion stopping in January 2021.

    There was a query a few weeks back, regarding those on the old protected 3.2:1 or 800:2.50 conversion rate.

    I can’t find the post now, but the OP had the 3.2 rate showing in his Tesco account, but on a manual conversion, they only credited at the 2.4 rate. I think the OP was asking Tesco about the matter.

    Is there any further insight on this situation? I have the 3.2 rate showing, but at the last page before ordering it changes to 2.4.

    • ian_h says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:58

      I am protected and the order page shows the standard rate but the avios posted at the higher protected rate.

      • rjn21 says:
        17 Dec17 December 13:20

        Have you done a manual conversion recently? I looked at my Tesco account just now, and the 3.2 / 800 references have all disappeared at some point from my account in the last 2 weeks. I only see get 600 if you spend £2.50. Good while it lasted. I suspect my final sweep in January will post at 600.

    • Chris Heyes says:
      17 Dec17 December 13:15

      It shows up at standard rate on order, but posts at the correct rate

  • MilesOnPoint says:
    17 Dec17 December 12:24

    Buckinghamshire into Tier 3 according to announcement in last hour. That’s the trip the Langley down the pan then..

  • Barbs says:
    17 Dec17 December 12:33

    We are planning flights to South Africa next week, but obviously a little dependent on the Covid test coming back the right way before we fly. The complication is that we have a connecting flight first, so can we fly to London on the first flight with BA, and then if we don’t have the test result in time, just amend our booking and fly back on the same day/next day and get a refund/voucher?

  • Tom says:
    17 Dec17 December 12:35

    Email just landed with BA sale. Nothing spectacular stood out.

    • Anna says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:47

      Are they actually running any flights next year to sell holidays with?!

    • Andrew says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:50

      When are BA not having a sale – they are like a sofa shop these days.

    • ChrisC says:
      17 Dec17 December 16:55

      Some good ex EU from AMS I saw earlier today. – AMS-ORD-LHR for around £1,100 in May compared to £1777 ex LHR (that was flight only not priced up as Hol with hotel at LHR the night before but suspect it’s not going to bring it down that much)

      Can book as a holiday (i put the night before separture from AMS as the hotel) so only pay a deposit. Looked like it wasn’t covered by book with confidence so chance of losing the deposit if I chose to cancel rather than them making a change.

  • Olly says:
    17 Dec17 December 12:36

    Oh dear, Surrey also to go Tier 3 from the 19th.

    • Simon Barlow says:
      17 Dec17 December 12:43

      But not Sunny Waverley!! (Not sure it makes much difference to us to be honest).

      • Nick says:
        17 Dec17 December 13:02

        Is that the Waverley represented by Jeremy Hunt? They’re all so corrupt. North Somerset (JRM) moving down as well.

        • Chris says:
          17 Dec17 December 20:47

          Jacob Rees-Mogg doesn’t represent North Somerset. As MP for North East Somerset, his constituency was already in Tier 2 as part of Bath and North East Somerset.

    • mr_jetlag says:
      17 Dec17 December 14:41

      Bedford as well, there goes my Luton Hoo getaway >:(

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

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