Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 22nd December

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.

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

Comments (297)

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

  • Alan says:
    22 Dec22 December 02:41

    Hi,
    I have just acquired Beardy/Creation/Curve Metal cards with the intention of racking up some points for when travel opens up again and would appreciate it if anyone can help with the following questions.

    I have made a £500 test payment via Beardy/Curve to HMRC and got a confirmation that the payment went through (with a 50p charge) from Curve and HMRC. Am I now in the clear to start making larger payments?

    I understand that I can only get airmiles up to my credit limit on Beardy each month but can I pre load creation and make larger payments and still get points?

    Can I pay off the Beardy card via the creation card?

    Is there a point at which curve will object to all this?

    • Jake says:
      22 Dec22 December 02:58

      What is the point of all this super secret squirrel nonsense about Beardy/Seagulls day after day as if the entire world doesn’t already know what it’s referring to? Same thing,, same questions, day after day, week after week.

      • Tom says:
        22 Dec22 December 04:59

        Does seem slightly immature

      • Blenz101 says:
        22 Dec22 December 05:54

        Was literally my last comment yesterday evening. Same thing daily with all the nonsense clique not really secret at all naming stuff.

        In answer to the original question – yes, there is always a point at which card activity may be flagged as beyond ‘fair use’ or appears to any card issuer in the chain as suspicious (money laundering). At this point expect to have your account closed with no right of reply, receive lifetime ban from the card issuer(s) and potentially receive a CIFAS marker (you won’t even be aware) impacting your ability to achieve credit anywhere (including mortgages etc.). There are plenty examples of people complaining online about this happening.

        If all you want to do is use the cards as intended within the credit limits you have been given you will be fine. If you want to pay off credit cards with other credit cards or work around your limits then you may get burning at some point. This is especially true if you have no other transactions going through the cards.

        I really think HfP should consider if facilitating these daily repetitive discussions adds much. I would have thought it will eventually put advertisers / card issuers off dealing with the site if it is continues to act as a public forum for manufactured spend. Could Shopper Points not be revived and run a week thread that this nonsense can be quarantined / redirected towards?

        • memesweeper says:
          22 Dec22 December 08:00

          Chill out. Someone posted with some code words. It’s not the end of the world, if you don’t like it don’t respond. Alternatively, give @Alan some useful advice.

          • Paul says:
            22 Dec22 December 10:52

            Trouble is it is becoming very boring and people will stop reading which isnt what Hfp wants.

          • Blenz101 says:
            22 Dec22 December 11:28

            I’m not worked up in any way. I gave a useful advice, around the consequences of going into such an endeavour without having a very clear understanding of how MS type behaviour could be treated by a card issuer.

            It was given in the context of responding to someone who ‘knows the local lingo’ but hasn’t spent their time reading in details the advice previously given on these daily chat threads. If they had, they wouldn’t need to ask again.

            I also made a helpful suggestion given that the very same questions are asked daily and are becoming detrimental in general a longer lasting thread could be operated away from the main site.

            Certainly no ‘trolling’.

          • memesweeper says:
            22 Dec22 December 12:29

            Fair point Blenz — I think it was Jake who prompted my reply.

        • Andrew says:
          22 Dec22 December 14:39

          I’m not convinced that CIFAS marker could be fairly applied for manufactured spending.

          Can you give an example of where the use of a Curve, or similar, card has resulted in a successful CIFAS record?

          Don’t forget, CIFAS are subject to the same GDPR and SAR rules as every else. They aren’t a secret.

          • the_real_a says:
            22 Dec22 December 15:02

            You wont get a CIFAS marker for MS in itself – but you will get one if you dont co operate with KYC or source of funds checks – I needed to supply 12 months paper trail of funds in some cases which is difficult if the funds are not staying in one place.

          • Dr C says:
            22 Dec22 December 18:41

            Agree but a ban from card issuer is possible

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Dec22 December 10:10

        Why don’t you just skip past the comment and not draw more attention to it.

        I find it infuriating that you’ve got people posting code words every day about things they could just try themselves and find out what happens but to top it off you’ve got more people moaning about code words!!!

        Why don’t you all stop moaning and perhaps we’d have less crap comments.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          22 Dec22 December 10:54

          I have done and do all the time.

          Ah yes that old chestnut when someone calls out a troll. At some point you think why don’t you all just STFU.

          My last word on it.

        • Harry T says:
          22 Dec22 December 13:18

          x2 can’t people just bugger off and stop making threads more complicated and vitriolic? It’s hard enough to read comments on mobile as it is.

    • The Urbanite says:
      22 Dec22 December 03:59

      With Creation, the absoiute maximum you can spend at once is your credit limit. Creation hate it when you put your account in credit and you can’t do this in order to make a transaction larger than your credit limit.

      If you do put your account in credit then the most you can spend is your credit limit, minus the sum of any uncleared transactions.

      Curve do carry out KYC and proof of source of funds checks. It’s advisable to only spend amounts that have an easily retrievable paper trail. The underlying credit card issuers also carry out source of funds checks.

    • DT says:
      22 Dec22 December 06:14

      You can pay off the IHG card with anything without the need for Curve. Best way to find out what can pay off what, do a small test transaction yourself and find out

      • Nick says:
        22 Dec22 December 07:26

        The ‘code’ is not designed to hide the names from the companies – of course they know what’s going on. It’s to stop noobs finding it by chance and making it too widespread. Rob optimises his site incredibly well for google, so it’s usually near the top of search results. If someone types ‘curve loopholes’ these comments would come up – but newbies wouldn’t think to type the same with ‘bendy’. Keeping it under the google radar is a way to keep it going for longer (for those so inclined – I don’t bother myself) – if it goes mainstream, it gets closed down. The names are pretty simple, and anyone dumb enough not to be able to work them out shouldn’t be in the game.

        • Jake says:
          22 Dec22 December 13:20

          You really think ‘noobs’ are big on Googling ‘curve loopholes’ to get points? If a noob wants to learn about points, they are going to go to a site about points, not start Googling loopholes.

          • the_real_a says:
            22 Dec22 December 14:57

            In the last 6 months, HfP loophole comments appear above quite a few financial institution own websites in google. You dont need to search for any particular phrase, just search the financial institution.

            But whatever, these opportunities are dead men walking… Understand you WILL be KYC checked with holds on your funds. And never play with money that you need to pay the rent, or with any accounts that you dont mind losing.

          • Rhys says:
            22 Dec22 December 15:10

            I’ve just done a quick search and they definitely don’t 🙂

          • the_real_a says:
            22 Dec22 December 15:15

            Not talking about NS&I, more the lesser spoken about opportunities.

      • Jonathan says:
        22 Dec22 December 07:28

        The key issue isn’t what Creation will accept but how your underlying card treats the payment. A few cash advance fees & interest will quickly outweigh the value of a few points/miles.

        Credit cycling will also never look good when you get KYC’d either so I really wouldn’t get involved in that.

        • Boi says:
          22 Dec22 December 07:40

          I wonder what is the most anyone has put through bendy/beardy/revolutionary and creative per month?🤔

          • memesweeper says:
            22 Dec22 December 08:07

            I maxed my Curve monthly limit a couple of times, but that was before they did the big uplift. I also had the benefit of a copper-bottomed source of funds for a six-figure sum which I genuinely needed to shift into savings, so the natural home for that in these troubled and low-interest times is ERNIE. I know others here have pushed harder than me but I’m very pleased with that result and metal paid it’s way for the year in the first six weeks.

          • The Urbanite says:
            22 Dec22 December 10:01

            With the right relationships the sky is the limit!

          • TGLoyalty says:
            22 Dec22 December 10:56

            BJ might know …

      • Benilyn says:
        22 Dec22 December 11:52

        Can you pay IHG directly with beardy?

  • Jon says:
    22 Dec22 December 03:56

    Couple of data points in case useful to anyone (and specifically to answer @Ols’ question the other day):

    After several calls, BA has now rerouted my cancelled LHR-KUL Avios + 241 flight onto Malaysia Airlines, despite their earlier insistence that Avios seats had to be available (there were none showing on BA.com when I called). So they can do it when they want to 😉

    The new ticket has booked into I class (which I believe is BA’s lowest business class revenue fare, but also MH’s business class upgrade fare bucket). It looks like the ticket was issued by MH, but still has a 125- prefix.

    Meanwhile, Avios have declined to do the same for my Avios + Lloyds voucher flight in the other direction. They have said (by email) that they can only book onto BA, hence they’ve offered reroute via Singapore. MH and QR cannot. Normally I’d accept via SIN, but with transit at Singapore currently not allowed for the foreseeable future (except on Singapore Airlines group carriers, I believe), it strikes me as highly risky to take that. Plus there is a direct flight available, at almost the same time as the original, so that’s closer to the ‘comparable conditions’ required by EU261.

    I’m raising a Section 75 claim with Amex for that one. Advice from Amex on chat was to raise the claim first, before buying the replacement flight. (They did also say that the claim would only cover refund of the cash component originally paid, not any Avios, but admitted they may have got that wrong once I explained Section 75 and EU261 to them 😉 We’ll see what happens…).

    • Jon says:
      22 Dec22 December 04:08

      Aaaaaand… the replacement MH flight has been cancelled. Lol.

      They’ve automatically rebooked me onto the next day’s flight.

      I take it BA (as originally-booked-with carrier), rather than MH, will owe me a hotel night under EU261 duty of care. Am I right to think I can just make that claim afterwards, no need to arrange anything beforehand? Or better to speak to them (ha ha) first? Not inclined to spend hours on hold if I don’t have to 😉

      • 1ATL says:
        22 Dec22 December 04:37

        I don’t want to dampen your parade but my understanding is the moment you accepted MH as your rebooking operating carrier you lose the right to EU261 if MH subsequently make any changes to their schedule. MH is not a European carrier and the cancelled flight in question is not of BA’s doing and is originating in Europe. Therefore it wouldn’t apply in this situation. You would need to determine whether MH offer a similar (generous) hotel stay in such a situation like BA do had it been their flight – my experience with them is they don’t. As the booking agent/facilitator, BA are obliged in thia situation to find an alternative flight for you on your original booked MH departure date. So if you didn’t want to depart later and incur the additional hotel expense then either look to reroute on QR or fly a day earlier on MH. In the greater scheme of things half decent hotels in KL aren’t expensive by UK standards so shouldn’t be too much of a hardship. Sometimes it’s very easy to make the assumption BA’s customer policies which we become used to are offered across the board. Just because your ticket has a 125 ticket number doesn’t mean all.those benefits apply. It’s governed by the operating carrier.

        • 1ATL says:
          22 Dec22 December 04:47

          Sorry, just re read and MH is operating your LHRKUL sector. In which case you’d be eligible for duty of care and delay cancellation compensation if the cancellation is notified within 14 days of departure. Outside of 14 days there’s no scope for duty of care. This would be one for the travel insurance if your accommodation provider isn’t offering you any flexibility….. which in current times seems a little odd.

          • Chris Heyes says:
            22 Dec22 December 05:21

            1ATL not read the above posts but if booked BA there is always duty of care regardless of outside 14 days for changes
            OK should tell them going to claim it, everytime we have claimed it there as been no problem we get agreement with them then we pay Hotel/food ect send receipts they usually pay out within 10 days pre-covid

          • Jon says:
            22 Dec22 December 05:27

            @1ATL You raise a good point re the rebooking operating carrier and who would have responsibility for duty of care etc (or indeed any future invol changes). My contract would still be with BA, but of course MH is now operating. But, as far as I am aware (I may be wrong?), the original carrier can’t get out of their obligations by rebooking onto a carrier that would not otherwise be subject to EU261.

            Article 3.2b says he regulation applies to passengers who “have been transferred by an air carrier or tour operator from the flight for which they held a reservation to another flight, irrespective of the reason” and 5.1b says right to care applies “in event of re-routing when the reasonably expected time of departure of the new flight is at least the day after the departure as it was planned for the cancelled flight”.

            The notification of the amended reroute came from BA, but of course EU261 says duty of care must be provided by the operating carrier, MH. I suspect this going to be another of those grey areas where both airlines will deny responsibility 😉

            It would be interesting to know whether accepting the new flight does indeed remove their (someone’s, BA or MH) obligation to provide accommodation – I would have thought not (especially as nothing was said about any right I might have to it, which is itself a breach of the rules… 😉

            Not overly bothered about compensation, and I’m happy to take the later flight, but it would be good to know whether they’ll cover a night at a Heathrow hotel. I guess I’ll put a claim into BA afterwards and see what happens… 😉 Failing that, as you say, travel insurance.

          • Jon says:
            22 Dec22 December 05:29

            @Chris Heyes Thanks Chris, good to know 🙂

      • Blenz101 says:
        22 Dec22 December 06:09

        Assuming the UK is home (from the 241 voucher) on the LHR-KUL section why would you need hotel accommodation as part of any duty of care if you trip hasn’t yet commenced? I can’t see why travel insurance is going to cover you either in the event your trip hasn’t begun.

        I think from reading the above you have booked a 2x one ways.

        • Jon says:
          22 Dec22 December 06:17

          UK isn’t home 😉

          • Blenz101 says:
            22 Dec22 December 06:19

            You have booked a single ticket from the UK as opposed to a return back to KUL though from your original post.

            The airline (or more specifically BA as the operating carrier) will not see your trip as having commenced. You are not trapped downroute in the eyes of the airline.

        • Blenz101 says:
          22 Dec22 December 06:17

          Just to be clear – the duty of care is designed to prevent travellers from economic loss through no fault of their own. Travel insurance is obviously designed to insure against those same losses.

          If you are departing your ‘home’ country and your departure has been delayed by a day i.e. you will turn up at the airport to check in 24 hours later than that originally booked you have no real reason to expect duty of care (meals, hotels, laundry, phone calls etc.) in the run up to the new flight times you have agreed.

          Different of course when you are booked on a return ticket and it is the return element of your trip which is delayed in which case BA (not MH) would pay out the hotel and related expenses without issue.

          • Jon says:
            22 Dec22 December 06:24

            EU261 makes no reference to one-way or return trips through. It just says if your planned departure is delayed overnight by the airline, you’re entitled to duty of care (Article 5.1b). Shouldn’t be relevant whether the trip is booked as a return or two one-ways, I would have thought, just as it’s not relevant whether the flights were paid for with cash or Avios.

      • Aston100 says:
        22 Dec22 December 11:30

        Was it the overnight MH1 flight that was cancelled in your case?
        I got an email about that this morning.
        Been automatically put onto the daytime flight, which is great in order to benefit from the F product, but I arrive in Kuala Lumpur around midnight UK time / 7 in the morning local time, which is not good at all.

        • Jon says:
          22 Dec22 December 12:22

          @Aston100 No, it was the morning MH3 for me (BA gave me the choice when they did the original reroute so I opted for that). Interesting contrast – BA cancelled their flight then did nothing and fought tooth and nail to avoid rebooking me; MH cancelled and automatically rebooked me without me even having to call them. (Granted, I daresay it helps that MH still has flights on the route, while BA has pulled theirs entirely, but still – speaks volumes about their respective processes/attitudes, to my mind.)

          Enjoy Business Suites! If they’re still doing Chef on Call, the lobster is very good. 🙂

          • Aston100 says:
            22 Dec22 December 13:37

            Hi Jon, I’m disappointed with BA throughout. The deliberate dodging of their responsibilities is unforgiveable.

            Anyway, may I ask how you intend to handle a daytime flight on MH3 in order to minimise being completely shattered on arrival at 7am in KUL? Given that one would likely be arriving at a central KL hotel around 9am’ish thus unlikely to be allowed to access a room to recover in?

          • Jon says:
            22 Dec22 December 14:11

            @Aston100 My usual approach is either: immediately on boarding set my watch to Malaysia time, and bed down around early evening, or thoroughly enjoy the F&B such that a late morning snooze by the hotel pool becomes unavoidable 😉

            I actually usually find that the first morning after an early arrival is ok – just give yourself something to do. Coffee / breakfast in town etc. I tend to find myself flagging around 3-4pm by which time the room is hopefully available, and a nap for an hour or so usually does the trick, then early to bed and up at ‘normal’ time the next morning.

            As you’re in F, ask beforehand or at checkin about the meet and greet on arrival. Depending on when you’re flying / if they’ve reopened the satellite lounge by then, they’ll escort you up and you can have a leisurely breakfast and shower etc in the Platinum Suite before you head into town. If you have hold luggage, someone will be looking after it for you so no need to rush to baggage reclaim. (At least, I think that’s open to F passengers – possibly it’s only Enrich Platinums, but the main F lounge and a la carte dining room are very good in any case).

          • Aston100 says:
            22 Dec22 December 15:27

            Thanks for the tips Jon.
            I recall a visit to Jakarta a couple of years ago, ex AMS, ended up with us landing at CGK at an unhealthy UK time.
            Wiped us out a couple hours after arriving.
            Was hoping to avoid that, hence disappointed about the cancellation of the overnight BA and MAS flights to KUL 🙁

    • Dubious says:
      22 Dec22 December 06:16

      “Normally I’d accept via SIN, but with transit at Singapore currently not allowed for the foreseeable future (except on Singapore Airlines group carriers, I believe),”
      Depends when you are travelling, as it is up to each airline to propose their transfer lanes rather than an explicit rule:
      https://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-guide/Covid-19/transiting-through-airport.html

      Jetstar are also allowing transfer pax:
      https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/jetstar-asia-transit-flights-changi-airport-covid-19-13600754

    • Jon says:
      22 Dec22 December 06:16

      Quick update on the Section 75 claim. It seems that if you (as Amex instructs on their web site, and as described in Rhys’ article here back in April) raise a claim via the ‘dispute this transaction’ option in the Statements section of your online account, it gets treated as a Dispute, not a Section 75 claim (no matter how many times you state “I want to raise a Section 75 claim” in the notes). That’s fine if all you want is a refund of the cash paid, but not good if you want to claim for consequential losses (e.g. a replacement flight).

      Chatted to customer services (very helpful) and they’ve sorted it out and put in a proper S75 claim. Now waiting to see what happens next.

      • Lashious says:
        22 Dec22 December 11:31

        I am still battling to get my miami to Cancun flights refunded from april, on interjet. Raised the chargeback dispute at least 7 times, always closed by amex and no correspondence from them or interjet, and just now amex closed the section 75 saying they havent got enough to investigate. Now raising a complaint. I never accepted the auto issued voucher, and I’m supported by both usa and mexican flying legislature.
        Its driving me mental

        • Anna says:
          22 Dec22 December 12:24

          Have you filed a report with the US Department of Transport? I did this when Cayman Airways refused to refund our cancelled MIA-GCM flights at Easter. It was really easy to do via their website and we had our money back in about 6 weeks. No need for any credit card involvement.

        • Charlieface says:
          22 Dec22 December 14:33

          I would take that complaint all the way to FOS and ask for extra compo from Amex for the aggro. They should not be closing the case like that.

    • Nick says:
      22 Dec22 December 07:29

      @Jon, if your ticket has a 125- number then it’s issued by BA, not MH.

  • Blenz101 says:
    22 Dec22 December 06:36

    Jon – you have booked a single ticket with BA and agreed to a reroute and retiming via MH. You have not commenced your journey.

    Do you think BA is currently putting up the tens of thousands of passengers who have had to push their flights back due to CV19 in the Sofitel right now any buying them dinner every night?

    • Chris Heyes says:
      22 Dec22 December 07:04

      Blenz101 Couple of years ago BA changed our flight from Gatwick to Heathrow (i have a flat in Bognor Regis nr Gatwick) but i was at our house in Blackburn so had to travel to Bognor to pick suitcase up.
      BA moved our day of flight from Monday to Sunday as well
      We reached agreement with BA that they would pay for a Saturday night in the Sofitel plus dinner (three of us)
      Also because we was arriving 1 day earlier they would pay for a nights stay in Naples (our suite in Sorrento was unavailable)
      We agreed a Abis Styles Hotel (cheaper) in Naples but Sofitel at Heathrow.
      No idea if its different with covid but BA paid out for both Hotels and food promptly
      Blenz dinner was excellent as well lol

      • Chris Heyes says:
        22 Dec22 December 07:19

        Blenz101 We also got upgraded from a 3 bedded room to a Junior Suite at the Sofitel (even better)

      • Blenz101 says:
        22 Dec22 December 07:32

        Chris what you are saying is quite different. BA themselves switched flights for operational reasons during normal times and you spoke to them in advance to agree something mutually acceptable. The value of your hotel room i.e. getting the Sofitel would have been in part driven by your status, class or travel and cost of rooms at the time.

        Jon is looking to put in a receipt to BA for a hotel stay when he has agreed voluntarily to a reroute and change of dates in the middle of extraordinary circumstances. His case now further not helped in terms of goodwill by the fact it was a one way 241 non-revenue ticket which has been booked onto another OW carrier costing. BA actual $.

        BA will rightly deny the claim, journey not commenced. Jon can take it MCOL and convince a mediator why he was required to travel to the airport a day earlier than required.

        The terms of the BA Amex card require you to have a permanent UK home address + the use of a voucher which forces a UK point of departure as your journey origin should make it easy for BA to show that Jon’s journey was not due to even commence until the point of the check-in for the MH flight and BA owes him no duty of care up until the point he is in the airlines care.

    • Jon says:
      22 Dec22 December 07:09

      @Blenz101 Not relevant. I’m happy to accept that, in accepting the later flight I *may* have lost my right to duty of care, though I’m fairly sure that’s not the case – but I could be wrong. But it has nothing to do with the fact that I am travelling on two one-way tickets rather than a return.

      Here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32004R0261 – no mention whatsoever of a trip having to have commenced, or be booked on a round-trip ticket, in order for EU261 protections to apply.

      • Jon says:
        22 Dec22 December 07:15

        For clarity – I am travelling KUL-LHR then LHR-KUL, on two separate tickets. UK is not home. I will be delayed downroute, thus incurring ‘economic loss through no fault of my own’.

        • ChrisC says:
          22 Dec22 December 07:25

          EU261 is based on the operating carrier not which carrier you may have booked with or issued your ticket.

          Re MH flights EU 261 provisions only apply on flights departing the UK/ EU not those to the UK/ EU

          • Nick says:
            22 Dec22 December 08:16

            … is the correct answer. Operating carrier is responsible for payments under EU261.

            And @Jon, you’ve basically just admitted defrauding the BA Exec Club. To have a BA Amex, your ‘home’ must be the UK – it’s in the T&C. But you’ve just said home is not the UK. Given your situation, it wouldn’t be at all difficult for BA to find your case given you’ve plastered all the details over HFP.

          • Jon says:
            22 Dec22 December 09:16

            @Nick I have a home in the UK also. I’m just not living in it right now. (And re the hotel issue, before anyone asks 😉 – it’s not viable for me to stay in it the night before the flight). And even if Amex have an issue with that, I don’t see how that is defrauding the BA Executive Club. And even if Amex were to cancel my card because I’m not currently in the UK, Section 75 would still apply.

            @ChrisC I’ll be departing UK/EU. Sounds like any hotel claim (if I make one) may have to go to MH rather than BA, but I’m curious to see how that plays out in practice – it would basically allow carriers to avoid any further obligation under EU261 once they have rerouted you onto another carrier – I’m not sure that’s what the law intends, but perhaps it is…

  • Jane says:
    22 Dec22 December 07:43

    Like many others my flight on boxing day is now cancelled. I don’t fancy waiting for hours to get through but do want a refund (next years flights already booked & unlikely to use a FTV) do I actually need to speak to them before the 26th (date flight was due to leave) or can I wait until they are a bit quieter even if this is later in January ?

    • Chris Heyes says:
      22 Dec22 December 08:01

      Jane why not ring “NOW” you may get through in 10/20 min

      • Jane says:
        22 Dec22 December 08:44

        Too late by the time I saw your message… and gave up after 20 mins on hold. It’s not urgent so I can try again tomorrow or later.

    • Nick says:
      22 Dec22 December 08:24

      Jane, BA call centres are not overwhelmed at the moment and you shouldn’t be on hold more than a few mins. But as long as it’s the outbound flight that’s cancelled you don’t have to call immediately if you don’t want to, nothing adverse will happen and you can still get a refund later. Doesn’t even have to be January, you have a few years to do it. (If it’s an inbound cancellation and the outbound is still operating, it’s better to call in advance to avoid issues, though technically still not essential).

      • Kevin says:
        22 Dec22 December 12:33

        I have been put on waiting for > 20mins but would try again later afternoon regarding they changed my MH flight again after rerouted

      • Kitten says:
        22 Dec22 December 12:50

        Nick when you say you gave a few years to request to rebook or get your money back for a cancelled flight, what are you basing this on?

        I had tickets with another airline that cancelledy flights earlier in 2020. Their communications advising of my cancelled flight did not say so, but now they are refusing to let ne rebook my flight to a date in the future. They are saying I could only rebook my cancelled flight if I had done it by the original flught date. They’re saying the booking is now inaccessible in their systems.

        What’s the basis in law for you saying we have several years to rebook a cancelled flight? I thought about one year or so would be fair. They are refusing me now several times I’ve called.

        • Rhys says:
          22 Dec22 December 12:53

          In the UK (except Scotland) you can claim up to 6 years after the original flight dates under EU261

        • Nick says:
          22 Dec22 December 16:29

          Depends on the airline and their jurisdiction. As Rhys says, it’s 6 years in England and Wales, 5 years in Scotland. Others based in other countries can have their own rules.

          Either way, I was actually basing my statement on BA policy, which just happens to match the rules in the jurisdiction in which they’re based (but which they apply globally). Sorry that not all airlines are as generous.

          • Kitten says:
            22 Dec22 December 17:47

            So if it’s UK jurisdiction then regardless of the airline then you should be able to insiston rebooking your flight up to 6 years after the cancellation ?

  • Steve says:
    22 Dec22 December 08:00

    Friendly reminder for all those commenting today. Don’t be a dick.

  • S879 says:
    22 Dec22 December 08:04

    Rob, please consider posting your usual 2-3 articles and having a forum like FT for topic related chat such as Curve, BA refund, Amex retention bonus etc. The chat seems highly useful today but its not relevant to me. However, I could be in the same position and then I wouldn’t know which day’s chat it was on. Also, one chat for covid and another for Brexit so all personal opinions can go there. I have absolutely loved this site since it started but in the last few days most of the low remarks, political views just make me seem lost. There is a place for that in a forum too but it’s all mixed like an omelette. This is no criticism on anyone in particular; I would just like Rob to consider amending the format so people are not repeating the same questions and answers everyday. I’m guilty of asking a few too when I couldn’t find the answer but it it’s an organised forum, I don’t mind reading through hundreds of relevant posts. Please do stick to your usual articles though. Many thanks.

  • gareth says:
    22 Dec22 December 08:05

    Standard day here so far…. curve Virgin creation ms and cancelled flights!!!!

    • Doug M says:
      22 Dec22 December 11:14

      Agreed, I’ll pop back later for the EU/Gov/Incompetence/Who’d do better update later.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      22 Dec22 December 12:32

      I thought you meant that’s what you’ve been up to this morning 😀

  • Anna says:
    22 Dec22 December 08:36

    Morning all. Trying to look on the positive side of things today – if there do end up being food shortages (unlikely IMO unless you only eat fresh cauliflower and citrus fruit), at least we can survive on frozen mini pizzas, quiches and desserts I now won’t be serving to my family on Christmas Eve 🤣.
    Hoping that everyone else can salvage something of their plans.

    • Chris Heyes says:
      22 Dec22 December 09:24

      Mornin Anna You might not believe this but I’ve “never” had a pizza in my life despite going to Sorrento 7/8 times in last few years
      Yep “NEVER” i’ve decided though i’m going to try one next time we go to Sorrento 2022/23 if i’m still around
      Clocking off from here until New Year so Have a Good Christmas
      and keep safe
      Same to all (Rob ,Rhys and Team) and all posters back in New Year

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Dec22 December 10:17

        Never had pizza … wow

        I once met someone who had never had KFC and I thought they hadn’t lived.

        Try a pizza … any pizza … don’t wait for sorrento as you won’t appreciate how good it really is until you’ve tasted an average one.

        Btw even better if it’s after a night of drinking.

      • Doug M says:
        22 Dec22 December 11:02

        Pizza in Italy and frozen mini pizzas not really the same thing in my experience. But give it a go.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          22 Dec22 December 11:24

          Agree but all have their place.

          Sometimes you need a dirty meat laden Papa John’s rather than a stone baked piece of perfection.

        • Anna says:
          22 Dec22 December 11:54

          I do know that, but the latter would have been much more convenient for a socially distanced family buffet 🙄

      • sloth says:
        22 Dec22 December 11:44

        I would have said Naples (esp Spanish Quarter) for the best pizza, better than Sorrento

      • Jody says:
        22 Dec22 December 11:45

        Wow!! Is there any particular reason why not Chris? Just don’t fancy it? I’m genuinely interested. I miss pizza since going gluten free in April, although there are some pretty good gluten free ones we’ve found. Pizza hut is really nice, and even better, their gluten free base is currently available for their £5 takeaway pizza deals (normally gluten free stuff costs loads more), so that is a tasty cheap treat.

        We’re due to go to Verona in May (although who knows whether that will happen or not!) and from what I’ve read, Italy are actually really good with dealing with gluten free pasta, pizza etc, so am looking forward to that.

        • sloth says:
          22 Dec22 December 11:50

          Franco Manca do very good gluten free pizza. imho, they make the closest pizza to proper Italian pizza

        • Anna says:
          22 Dec22 December 11:56

          Jody – Morrison’s do a pretty decent gluten free margarita pizza for 80p, the perfect size for one person. You can then obviously add any other toppings you want.

        • Chris Heyes says:
          22 Dec22 December 14:39

          Jody back to satisfy your curiosity, It’s just something never fancied, never tried Whisky either lol
          or drugs smoked one cigarette about 16 so cant say never to that lol I’m 73
          Only going to try pizza because my son says how can i keep going to Italy (Sorrento) and not have it once (i’m always tempted by spaghetti or steak in italy)
          We always stop at Surriento Suites (owned by Pamela) correct spelling only 3 rooms but “WOW” does she look after her guests not our main hols but a week or 10 days in Sept brill

      • Andy says:
        22 Dec22 December 11:54

        This sounds like one of the fun facts that they say when introducing team members at the start of Only Connect. “Chris Heyes has never eaten a pizza, despite visiting Sorrento more than seven times.”

      • Anna says:
        22 Dec22 December 12:01

        Pizza is really, really good with champagne, the saltiness of the pizza is the perfect match for fizz.

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        22 Dec22 December 12:50

        “I’ve “never” had a pizza in my life”

        Given the universal availability of pizza, and the fact it takes some effort to avoid entirely, and the fact it looks and smells tasty, I too am genuinely intrigued as to why you’ve chosen never to have it even once?

        I always thought I was very tame as I’ve never in my life tried even a single puff of a cigarette, but have enough bad habits that I am quite happy to live without that one :D.

        • Aston100 says:
          22 Dec22 December 14:10

          If he has also never tried a kebab then I would conclude he is from another planet.

          • ankomonkey says:
            22 Dec22 December 14:21

            I’ve eaten kebab meat pizza many times in my younger days.

          • Chris Heyes says:
            22 Dec22 December 15:12

            Aston Yes had kebab lol the Souvlakis at Lucky’s in Fira Santorini best in the world bar non lol
            delicious street food If you’ve never tried it you haven’t lived lol
            We stopped in the Windmill at Oia (1 Week, 2 Weeks Santorini Views, and 1 week in Fira devouring Souviakis every lunch lol then 1 week Athens
            So yes i’ve had kebabs (the best lol)

          • ankomonkey says:
            22 Dec22 December 20:53

            @Chris Heyes I suspect @Aston100 is talking about your gyros-style kebab rather than your souvlaki. They tend to differ in both taste and heart health. That said, I’d happily eat either one right now 😉

        • Chris Heyes says:
          22 Dec22 December 14:44

          The Savage Squirrel See reply to Jody above lol

    • Michael C says:
      22 Dec22 December 12:06

      Certainly can’t see any signs of shortages so far, Anna.
      I managed to nab this season’s hot ticket, a Colin the Caterpillar Christmas Tree, gaining many Brownie points in the process!

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Dec22 December 12:09

        Tree? Or cake?

      • Anna says:
        22 Dec22 December 12:38

        I’ve just googled that one, it looks awesome! (My son has slightly older tastes these days). I would be fighting you for an end piece 🤣

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Learn more on our About page.

VAA

Latest comments

Latest Forum Posts

Get 30,000 points bonus with American Express Platinum

Amex Gold

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.3 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

Get 20,000 bonus points and your first year free with American Express Gold

Amex Gold