The HfP chat thread – Saturday 2nd January

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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.

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Category

General

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

Ali M says:

2 Jan2 January 18:17

novice question…
are there ever any genuine business class
sales on Etihad?
- DeB20 says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 18:41
  
  There used to be some great offers on Etihad, but with their financial losses mounting, the special offers are rare.
- Rob says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 20:48
  
  Not really (same with Emirates) as you can see if you search through all our Etihad articles. Very few sale ones in there.
  - Ali M says:
    
    3 Jan3 January 07:55
    
    thank you
Tom says:

2 Jan2 January 18:19

It looks like lots of airports have restrictions on connections having to be on the same ticket at the moment. I have tickets booked for HKG and then on to DPS with different airlines (not until June) do we think this is likely to change in the next few months?

Is it possible to use a 241 on BA and pay cash for the connection with Cathay and for it to be on the same ticket?
- memesweeper says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 18:26
  
  I doubt it – few airports are set up for airside check-ins ; no, not possible
- Andrew says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 20:37
  
  Most airlines within One World will allow you to through-check luggage on different tickets and issue all boarding passes however because BA are one of the most unhelpful airlines in the business they refuse to do this and so this won’t be an option if you want to use a 241 on BA with an onward connection with Cathay and not enter Hong Kong to recheck.
- Aston100 says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 20:39
  
  >>>Is it possible to use a 241 on BA and pay cash for the connection with Cathay and for it to be on the same ticket?<<<
  I asked the same thing, but with Malaysia Airlines connection and was told no on a couple of occasions.
  That said, BA seem to make up a lot of things, and deny other things so who knows?
  - Andrew says:
    
    2 Jan2 January 20:42
    
    On the way back it works fine with most OW airlines. Qatar have through-checked me on the way home on a cheap Stockholm fare from asia and then onwards on a BA Avios ticket. On the way out, not an option as the first airline is BA and they refuse to.
Raisa says:

2 Jan2 January 18:30

Has anyone actually used Test to Release and can provide any feedback/reviews on any of the providers? It doesn’t seem like you save that much on the 10-day quarantine (it takes 24 hours for the sample to arrive at the lab, and then most of them say it takes 24-72 hours to get you a result, so it seems like you might be on day 8 anyways before you get the results!)
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 18:36
  
  Collinson provide test and release using LAMP tests for £79 and results come back in 90 mins or so.
  - Raisa says:
    
    2 Jan2 January 18:42
    
    Thanks! Seems crazy that I can leave on Day 5, travel across London on public transport to do Test to Release, but this does seem like the best option (vs. the ones they deliver by post)
    - Lumma says:
      
      2 Jan2 January 20:26
      
      Surely you shouldn’t be allowed on public transport? The NHS tests specifically say you must walk or cycle to the test sites if you don’t have access to a car
- BS says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 19:20
  
  Do NOT use Halo Verify. The one I ordered never turned up, and they didn’t respond to emails.
  - Raisa says:
    
    2 Jan2 January 21:01
    
    Thanks!
James says:

2 Jan2 January 19:34

This may sound like a stupid question, but is it actually illegal to travel to a destination on the safe travel list for non-work purposes despite me living in a Tier 4 place?
- Peter K says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 19:47
  
  Is it illegal to leave your home without an exempted reason, which is what you appear to be suggesting? Yes.
- Harry T says:
  
  2 Jan2 January 19:47
  
  It’s illegal to leave your home for non essential purposes. Always worth reading the statutory instrument yourself.
  - James says:
    
    2 Jan2 January 19:55
    
    Thanks guys! Would it be against the law to travel from a Tier 3 area to a Tier 4 airport and fly from there for non-work purposes?
    - Brian W says:
      
      2 Jan2 January 20:23
      
      Yes
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        2 Jan2 January 20:31
        
        No it’s not. It specifically says it’s not!
        
        If you’re living in T3 you can travel via T4.
    - Rob says:
      
      2 Jan2 January 20:46
      
      No
      - James says:
        
        2 Jan2 January 20:54
        
        This is what I thought, thanks guys!
    - Brian W says:
      
      3 Jan3 January 11:55
      
      That’s the problem with having different rules north and south of the border! It is banned where I live!
      
      “You must not travel into or out of Level 3 and 4 local authority areas except for essential reasons”.