The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 29th December

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Mouse says:

29 Dec29 December 15:33

Hi all, a quick question for the experts please – can itineraries priced using the Avios multi-carrier award chart include BA flights (e.g., BA + Cathay + Qatar) or do all the flights have to be non-BA?
- David says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 15:40
  
  Unless there have been any very recent changes, BA is fine – as long as at least two other OneWorld airlines are included.
  i.e. if only 2 carriers, must not include BA. If 3+ carriers, then can include BA.
  Must be OneWorld, you can’t include any other partners.
  So, BA+Cathay+Qatar should be fine, as all are oneworld.
- Rob says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 16:09
  
  Can include BA but must have 2 others in there as well.
- Mouse says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 16:23
  
  Thanks David & Rob
Logan says:

29 Dec29 December 15:34

Rob, did you pull the trigger on the Tesco vouchers or you are still holding off?
- Rob says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 16:06
  
  Still holding off, but I will convert. Just waiting to see if I get to enough by 10th-ish January to do ‘early vouchers’ for my existing balance.
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    29 Dec29 December 16:18
    
    After Uber left Clubcard, I personally don’t see many other options worth redeeming for. Like Rob, I am holding off but I can see myself taking the Avios in the absence of any other options!
    - Jonathan says:
      
      29 Dec29 December 17:28
      
      I’ve got a hoard of Nectar points that I’m holding onto for when a good value for money redemption comes up, but it being Nectar, I’ll probably be waiting for a long time!
      - Mouse says:
        
        29 Dec29 December 17:35
        
        I’ve been popping in to Sainsbury’s once a year since abour 2013 for this reason too. Nearly tried the double-up-and-refund option in November but there seemed to be too much scope for me to mess it up so I didn’t risk it, but that’s probably the best we’ll see for a while.
      - 747_Brat says:
        
        29 Dec29 December 17:56
        
        I don’t put much hopes on Nectar. They are pretty bad at rolling out extra-value redemption offers. Such offers are few and far between. That’s why I pretty much earn and burn them quite often.
      - Eugene says:
        
        29 Dec29 December 22:09
        
        I acquired a whole bunch a few years back with a Nectar backed CC. It’s been a slow process offloading them. I just do the double points offer each Xmas for alcohol to the points limit. Bring on late Nov 21!
Baji Nahid says:

29 Dec29 December 16:03

What do we think of the new emirates premium economy seats?
Navara says:

29 Dec29 December 16:40

Who’s booking
https://apple.news/AORC04L_KT_K74wJIkG6Ntw
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 19:58
  
  I don’t even understand what they are saying.
  
  Nonsense campaign
  - The Savage Squirrel says:
    
    29 Dec29 December 21:10
    
    Hoping to lure in the gullible and then issue plenty of voucher refunds for the cancelled flights. Interest-free finance…
- Nic says:
  
  30 Dec30 December 09:54
  
  Don’t link to Apple news.
James says:

29 Dec29 December 16:43

Any news on if HSBC have a December Avios bonus? Historically this has been the case!? Thanks
- memesweeper says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 16:49
  
  No sign of one, unfortunately.
Charlieface says:

29 Dec29 December 16:56

Hertz 25% off sale, members only early bird for the next couple days.
Sellers says:

29 Dec29 December 16:58

Hi Rob,
I’m looking to book a trip to Cape Town next Xmas for my wife and I using a BA companion voucher. I understood that Reward Seats were released 365 days prior to departure so midnight a year before was the best time to secure a Reward Seat.
I note on the BA website they only have flights released to 18/12/21. Do you know why this is? Is there a change to their release pattern? Do you know when flights get released nowadays?
Thanks.
R
- Rob says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 17:25
  
  It’s 355 days, not 365, which explains it.
  
  Worth noting that Cape Town, Sydney and Maldives (and possibly Barbados at Christmas) are the routes where you can expect a number of people to be on the phone at midnight fighting over the seats, so even calling is not guaranteed. It’s your best chance though.
  - Genghis says:
    
    29 Dec29 December 19:32
    
    Exactly. You need to be on the phone and online yourself at t-355 for each of outbound and return legs. I’ve done it a few times though.
  - Sellers says:
    
    30 Dec30 December 09:31
    
    Thanks Rob. And is it possible to book the outbound journey first using the voucher and add the return leg on to the same booking?
    - Rob says:
      
      30 Dec30 December 09:52
      
      Yes
      - Sellers says:
        
        30 Dec30 December 10:16
        
        You say that more Reward availability (Business/First) is sometimes released closer to departure date. Is there a way of tracking this and getting an alert? Does BA Redemption Finder have this feature?
    - Genghis says:
      
      30 Dec30 December 16:30
      
      No. The return leg will remain a separate booking. You will, however, have avios refunded as if they were a return but taxes won’t be refunded. Cancellation will be 2 x £35 = £70 per person, £140 for two.
Kevin says:

29 Dec29 December 17:11

How fast would HI post a night stay point to the account. I’m currently 30 point short for 55k. It was my bad because of a refund from a retailer and leading to 30 points shortfall by 31 Dec.
- Rob says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 17:25
  
  Tends to be slow with IHG, about 5 days. However it doesn’t matter – if they credit after year-end they get retrospectively added.
- dezbez says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 17:39
  
  Oof.
  In my experience it’s usually been the next day ie 24 ish hours after checkout but I wouldn’t want to rely on it. I think if you stayed somewhere tonight it might be ok, but tomorrow probably not.
  Personally, if I was in this position, I’d ring the Bath Indigo and ask them if I could buy some of the gorgeous toiletries they have in the rooms which they sell and ask them if they could link the purchase to my IHG account. Not sure if the only way this would work is by adding it to your room bill (which is what happened with me) but might be worth a try. (They’d also need to be prepared to post them.)
  Hope that helps
  - dezbez says:
    
    29 Dec29 December 17:44
    
    I also got the standard IHG earning rate of 10x the spend, so one item eg a single shower gel or bath soak would be enough
- Kevin says:
  
  29 Dec29 December 19:53
  
  Thanks for your suggestion and advice. I actually stayed last night and checked out today. Hopefully it will posted in the next 2 days. Otherwise finger cross it would get retrospectively added as suggested by Rob if posted after year end.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    29 Dec29 December 20:00
    
    It’ll be added retrospectively. You’ll be fine.