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The HfP chat thread – Sunday 27th 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 (140)

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

  • Eric says:
    27 Dec27 December 13:23

    BA Voucher including Avios 241. I used a voucher about 3 weeks ago to book a trip next May. I noticed today it is still not ticketed. Anyone know how long this is taking? Thanks

    • C says:
      27 Dec27 December 13:33

      I have a trip in March that was booked in the avios 50% off sale that still hasn’t been ticketed. Apparently they are only able to store the card security code for a month so I was told by BA that I’d have to call nearer the time to get it sorted and provide them with the card details again

      • Tariq says:
        27 Dec27 December 17:20

        Same, had a voicemail from someone to call in, rang You First and was told it was because of the CV2. Not heard anything since and still haven’t been charged for the taxes/charges.

    • The Hunter says:
      27 Dec27 December 13:55

      A few days ago I was told 5 / 6 weeks…

    • Craig says:
      27 Dec27 December 13:57

      My last one took weeks, this was using a FTV. They told me they were doing them in date order.

  • Tim Rogers says:
    27 Dec27 December 13:52

    I’m thinking off taking advantage of the £250 off £500 at Etihad Amex deal but I haven’t been able to get to the bottom of the flexibility options for bookings made today. Does anyone know the deal? Thanks!

    • Saiz says:
      27 Dec27 December 14:51

      I have asked a similar question a few times in the last few days but not had a reply. I had a detailed look but I wanted to know people’s experiences. We obviously don’t want the refund option as Amex would claw it back.

      For bookings for travel before 31st March 2021, you can rebook in same zone with no fare difference but you need to travel before 30th June which is unlikely for me but might work for some. Be careful of zones as I saw one in which India and Maldives were in same zone but the one I came across on another had them in separate zones.

      If taking travel credit when cancelling booking, they will add up to $400 on top but economy is hardly much. Business and First look good but not sure how many will want to take a risk with £2k/ticket for $300/$400 credit. The restriction with this is travel before 31st October. October seems far but since I am a teacher I can only use it at certain times. It might work for some.

      You could just book a ticket you genuinely intend to use and avail the £250 offer rather than bothering with travel credit.

      Let me know how you get on.

    • Tarmohamed says:
      27 Dec27 December 17:28

      I’ve booked using the offer on both cards, but flights were not originating in the UK. The price displayed was in GBP but Etihad billed the card in FX attracting the FX charge but also the offer not triggering.

      Speaking to Amex, the currency is not the issue, but the “Merchant Account” used to process the transaction.

      According to various Amex conversations I’ve gathered:

      “Spend must be settled in GBP” means that the spend my appear on your bill in GBP, this “settled” clause regularly is mentioned with “Non Sterling transactions will attract a % fee”

      And then there is

      “Spend must be made in GBP” which is unambiguous that the transaction to the merchant must be in GBP.

      I have put in a complaint to Amex as well as emailed several Etihad departments. Etihad are dragging there heels and it’s impossible to get them to recharge in GBP.

      I am leaning towards, if I don’t get the credit applied, raising a dispute, potentially as S75, that the incorrect amount has been charged as at the time, therefore misrepresentation, although Etihad’s terms of carriage do state they may charge in a different currency than the one displayed at checkout.

      If I’d known this hassle, I would’ve just booked return flights with Emirates, at least you can get hold of them by phone and live chat and are understanding in most cases.

  • Jack says:
    27 Dec27 December 13:53

    I need to spend few hundred pounds to hit £10k on BAPP. Any ideas for something, as I don’t have any bills to pay now.

  • dave says:
    27 Dec27 December 14:18

    I’m now maxed out at Ernie. Can I buy any more of the products NSANDI offer using Bendy linked to IHG without incurring charges?

  • ET says:
    27 Dec27 December 15:54

    Meant to fly LHR-IST from 9 – 12th Jan. Both are now cancelled. If I were to switch it to early April/May, I’ll still have to pay the fare difference right?

    • Nick says:
      27 Dec27 December 16:49

      Not if any of your flights is cancelled. If they’re still operating but you’ve chosen not to go, then yes you will.

  • Gothbe says:
    27 Dec27 December 17:46

    What’s the current view on Amex self referrals? Are they likely to cause any issues? From business platinum to BA cards

    • Guernsey Globetrotter says:
      27 Dec27 December 18:27

      No issues for me – over the last couple of months I’ve referred myself and my missus for various cards from the Bus Plat and received 18,000 points x4 times (72k total). Transferred these via the AMEX international dollar card (got 1.34x times points uplift) then on to Singapore KrisFlyer miles while the 1.15x bonus was on for a tidy 111k miles – now giving me enough with an existing small balance for 2x J returns to Dubai.
      You can get 90,000 a year so I may do one more soon 😀

    • Travel Strong says:
      27 Dec27 December 18:48

      There’s no new news on this or any UK tales of woe yet. If you have never self referred before, then you could play safe and take heed of the stories from the USA. If you have self referred before – double down and crack on!

  • N says:
    27 Dec27 December 17:48

    Looking to buy a bottle or two of LPGS to round off this awful year. Where has the best prices/offers at the moment?

    I have £20 off £100 at Laithwaites (and 10% at Airtime)…

  • Ben says:
    27 Dec27 December 18:05

    Reckon there is anyway round the 365 days from ticket issued condition with BA? Booked 241 on 50% sale in Oct for April 21. It got cancelled but I can now only realistically travel in late Nov 21, for various reasons.
    If I go to FTV then I have to pay full Avios to rebook.
    Any help greatly appreciated!

    • Ben says:
      27 Dec27 December 18:10

      The other complication is the outbound cancelled was business LHR to KUL (back in First from SIN), so I guess I will already have to fight to get on QSuites -if even possible.

    • Harry T says:
      27 Dec27 December 19:03

      You could theoretically argue with them saying that EC261 doesn’t limit the scope of a rerouting in such a manner, but they will probably tell you to eff off. Depends how much hassle you want to go through when you could just cancel and get on with your life? Or move them to the furthest possible date and hope they allow you to change the dates again if they cancel?

      • Ben says:
        27 Dec27 December 19:21

        Thanks for your reply. Yes I think they probably will!
        I’ve got till April to move it so I think it might be best to sit on the cancelled ticket and hope that there is another 50% sale/365 day condition change. And that BA start flying to KUL again of course!

        • Harry T says:
          27 Dec27 December 19:57

          Yeah, it’s usually best during the pandemic to wait and see how things evolve, unless you are travelling imminently. BA could change the 365 day policy to be less generous, mind you, although it sounds like you can’t really benefit from the policy as it stands anyway.

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