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The HfP chat thread – Monday 21st 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 (473)

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

  • RobP says:
    21 Dec21 December 09:18

    Looking for a number at Virgin that gets answered for refund. Been trying for 4 days – Cannot use the 0344 number as I am caling from Cape Town. They keep e mailing asking me to phone them, and then I never get through. Any backdoor phone numbers or workarounds you can let me have – Thanks in Advance

    • Frankie says:
      21 Dec21 December 09:38

      I just googled and found this reservation number. Maybe they can connect you to appropriate dept? +27 11 340 3400 (Open 7am – 10pm BST). Or can you call +44 and just drop the zero from the 0344 number?

      Flight Information: +27 11 978 6000

      • RussellH says:
        21 Dec21 December 11:10

        Err…

        Bracknell is 01344 and has been for many years now.
        0344 probably used to be 0844, but after 0843 / 0844 / 0845 became rip-off numbers and firms were banned from using rip-off numbers for CS, firms migrated to the 03 equivalent, as 03 numbers, by law, must be charged at the same rate as 01 + 02.

        • RussellH says:
          21 Dec21 December 11:13

          The above is a reply to Lady London below.
          Not sure what happened to threading there!

          • Lady London says:
            21 Dec21 December 11:38

            Aha! forgot the1 had been added, as it wasn’t there when I used to work in Bracknell.

      • RussellH says:
        21 Dec21 December 11:12

        +27 11 … is Johannesburg…

        Whether you referix a UK phone number with +44 or 0 is completely irrelevant when phoning within the UK

        • Frankie says:
          21 Dec21 December 13:20

          Johannesburg is South Africa. The Virgin number doesn’t need to be a Cape Town number. Just the Virgin South African number. ROBP is not trying to call from with the UK – that’s the issue.

    • Lady London says:
      21 Dec21 December 10:05

      not sure why 0344 would not be the correct number as IIRC it’s a standard Bracknell phone area code.

      does it not work dialling +44 344 then the rest then. It should.

    • Dan says:
      21 Dec21 December 10:38

      WhatsApp service is very good – +44 344 874 7747

    • Clive says:
      21 Dec21 December 11:43

      Skype the US 1-800 number for free

  • Tony says:
    21 Dec21 December 09:51

    Planning a trip to South America next year from Manchester to Ecuador return (with Iberia). Will there be a price difference if I book on BA rather than Iberia?

    Whilst I can book LHR to UIO I can not find MAN to UIO, guess that means a call to the airline?

  • The real John says:
    21 Dec21 December 10:11

    Not sure why some people expect HFP to be a news service.

    I doubt the HFP staff have better access to news/politicians than any of us?

    The relevant Flyertalk thread tends to be updated whenever new information is available.

    If you are in the UK and want out or outside the UK and want in, you should be trying to find a route departing immediately or finding a place to stay for several weeks.

  • Anna says:
    21 Dec21 December 10:13

    https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/dec/21/mcmafia-banker-wife-seize-source-wealth-supreme-court-harrods

    On a completely different note, I wonder if she used her Harrods Amex offer!

    • Andrew says:
      21 Dec21 December 10:16

      And what did she do with all the MR points?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      21 Dec21 December 10:23

      No she was using dodgy credit cards issued by the bank her husband worked at.

      It’s an interesting saga. It’s likely stall tactics while they get together the “proper” paperwork to lie their way out of it.

      • Anna says:
        21 Dec21 December 10:28

        I like her priorities, though – £10k on fruit and veg, £24k on tea & coffe and £32k on Godiva chocolate 🤣

        • TGLoyalty says:
          21 Dec21 December 10:44

          Less impressive when you remember it’s over 10 years.

          Who doesn’t spend £20 a week on fruit.

          I know some people spend £45 a week on coffee/tea if they included prepared drinks not just beans/bags/leafs

          £60 a week on Godiva is mental though

          • Andrew says:
            21 Dec21 December 12:49

            Godiva is a bit mass produced for my tastes, prefer Pierre Marcolini

          • TGLoyalty says:
            21 Dec21 December 13:01

            Not a fan tbh

            Though I’m a browser when it comes to food and just buy whatever takes my fancy at the time I’m walking past. No brand affiliations. Unless you count KFC > McDonalds.

      • Lady London says:
        21 Dec21 December 11:47

        Legislation changes mean the requirements to fulfil in order to choose London/the UK as a divorce forum (ie do your petition and have it judged under English law which is regarded as relatively friendlyto women who tend to be the less wealthy party) get harder from 2021.

        So there may have been a peak this year in divorce petitions of mulinational couples

        • Anna says:
          21 Dec21 December 14:31

          It wasn’t a divorce, it was a seizure of assets hearing in a criminal case!

          • Lady London says:
            21 Dec21 December 15:32

            ah… thought I recognised that weekly shopping list from a divorce case I saw reported.

            Now I come to think of it… the weekly Champagne budget was missing 🙂

    • jil says:
      21 Dec21 December 13:07

      her husband’s salary is about 650 GBP per month, and she doesn’t have a job, is she qualified to apply for an AMEX card?

  • ankomonkey says:
    21 Dec21 December 10:29

    Anyone still missing their Bonvoy points from the Creation Marriott credit card this month? Mine still haven’t posted. I think @RussellH mentioned also having this problem earlier this month.

    • RussellH says:
      21 Dec21 December 11:22

      I did mention it and no, my points have still not posted either.
      I have the e-mail address of someone in Marriott’s Cork office who has been very helpful to me in the past where missing points from Creation are concerned, but for what I trust are obvious reasons there is no way that I am going to mention it here.
      I am wondering whether it is fair to contact this person just before Christmas, though, so I may well wait until early next year. It was not a lot of points last month, TBH.

      • ankomonkey says:
        21 Dec21 December 14:27

        Thanks RussellH. With little opportunity/need to book anything right now, I’ve decided to leave it until after 7/1/21 to see if anything posts from my next statement.

    • Backpacker says:
      21 Dec21 December 18:36

      Hi Ankomonkey/russell, I contacted creation about this a few days ago and they said they were aware this was an issue – it sounded like it was a creation issue, but this was via email with very little information supplied!
      Let me know what you find out..

  • Anna says:
    21 Dec21 December 10:29

    Simon Calder opining on Jeremy Vine that people who now can’t fly due to Tier 4 rules ARE entitled to refunds.

  • John says:
    21 Dec21 December 10:47

    Has DXB banned the U.K. yet? If not, that’s extremely irresponsible of its government when they have managed to get themselves onto many countries green lists.

    • Yuff says:
      21 Dec21 December 10:54

      Why, you need a negative test to enter……

      • Darren says:
        21 Dec21 December 12:02

        A negative test three days prior to travel, if they insisted on test on arrival that would change things. As Rob said, would you really travel there and risk a holiday in a UAE gov facility?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      21 Dec21 December 11:24

      Or they have no political points to score and want more information.

      • John says:
        21 Dec21 December 11:28

        This is about saving lives. Countless European’s have been saved by the recent EU measures and their hospitals prevented from being overwhelmed by the new, even more deadly, British strain.

        • Lady London says:
          21 Dec21 December 12:23

          Expect more news coverage like that from Europe from 1st January, 2021 🙂

        • John says:
          21 Dec21 December 13:01

          The new strain is not more deadly. It will kill more people only because it spreads faster so more people will get infected.

        • Josh says:
          21 Dec21 December 14:07

          I must have imagined the news coverage about France and Germany banning PPE exports when Italy most needed those supplies.

          Does HfP have an EU propaganda minister on here now 😂

        • Anna says:
          21 Dec21 December 14:34

          The only “British” thing about it is the lab which identified it, what a ridiculous comment. Also it’s been said numerous times in the past 48 hours that it’s not, in fact, any more deadly.

        • Brian W says:
          21 Dec21 December 22:28

          What evidence is there that it is “more deadly” @John?

          Reports so far say that there is no evidence that it is. Also, what source are you referring to that it is a British strain when it’s existence in several EU countries is already confirmed?

          My assumption is that you are keyboard happy, factually weak, ad most importantly, wrong.

    • BuildTheWall says:
      21 Dec21 December 12:50

      They should stop all flights and quarantine Brits in hotels on the Palm for a month.

  • Paul says:
    21 Dec21 December 11:04

    The world takes control of our border!!

    Who knew sovereign nations in the EU could control their own borders!

    • PerkyPat says:
      21 Dec21 December 12:51

      Amazing that a man sacked twice for lying could have lied to us about the ‘EUSSR tyranny’! Im shocked, I tell you!

      • Mike says:
        21 Dec21 December 13:18

        Despite the point you this you’re making its actually the opposite. The EU collective process does not work and MS interests should be taken by the MS themselves.

        Germany (pop 85m) has only 400k vac doses allocated, UK has *vacced* 500k already with millions of doses ordered already for months. Further doses are not expected to be delivered to DE for many, many months.

        Decisions made at a Central EU level, for all the wrong reasons, like equal fairness between DE/FR drug firms does not put the interests of their citizens, and by logic, increases the deaths of EU Grandmas.

        Your logic, EU failures=Grandma murder.

    • BuildTheWall says:
      21 Dec21 December 12:51

      They all have powers to block temporarily. They cannot block permanently. Nothing to get excited about.

      • John says:
        21 Dec21 December 13:02

        They certainly can block permanently if we actually leave the EU fully at the end of the year

        • Mike says:
          21 Dec21 December 13:21

          The UK left the EU on 31st Jan 2020. The UK is no longer a member of the European Union.

          • Nick_C says:
            21 Dec21 December 13:29

            @Mike. We are currently in the dying days of BRINO. Nothing has really changed. John’s point is spot on. Things will be very different on 1 January once we have left fully, properly, in reality, and not in name only.

          • John says:
            21 Dec21 December 15:55

            That’s why I said “fully”.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        21 Dec21 December 13:02

        How long is temporary ?

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

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