The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 5th January

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• Bianca says:

  5 Jan5 January 17:18

  it’s also interesting because (for the majority of the uk) holidays were already illegal! maybe people are taking more notice now that it’s called “lockdown”, which is good.

  • Aston100 says:

    5 Jan5 January 17:37

    illegal?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    5 Jan5 January 17:51

    Reply in wrong place? What’s interesting?

  • Bianca says:

    5 Jan5 January 18:02

    Yes, wrong place. It was a reply to my own comment about receiving a message from BA similar to Wollhouse below, but that message has disappeared after going for moderation

    • TGLoyalty says:

      5 Jan5 January 18:29

      Holiday companies are obliged to cancel bookings.

      Flight only won’t be cancelled.

      • Bianca says:

        5 Jan5 January 19:08

        Obliged according to who? Booking a “BA holiday” doesn’t mean you’re going on holiday, it’s just branding for when you select “flight + hotel” on BA.com

        • stevenhp1987 says:

          5 Jan5 January 19:33

          A BA holiday (flight plus car and/or hotel) is classed as a package holiday.

          Therefore the refund criteria is as per The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.

          Rights are much stronger than flight only and they are legally obliged to refund you if you cannot enjoy your holiday, even if the flights depart.

        • Bianca says:

          5 Jan5 January 20:24

          Package Regs mean they’re legally obliged to OFFER you a refund if there’s a significant change. Not that they’re legally obliged to refund you even if the flight is still operating and you’d still like to go. Maybe different people are talking at crossed purposes about covid restrictions vs travel rights

        • TGLoyalty says:

          5 Jan5 January 21:02

          Ba Holidays is a package leisure HOLIDAY company and is therefore obliged to offer a refund. They aren’t able to send HOLIDAY makers out the country right now.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          5 Jan5 January 21:04

          @bianca the flight going means nothing for a package holiday. BAH must follow FCO and government advice. If your destination is on the no go list it’s cancelled.

        • Bianca says:

          5 Jan5 January 21:37

          I think we all agree that per Package Regs you would be ENTITLED to a refund on a BA flight+hotel (a.k.a. holiday)

          My point is just that it’s surely possible to have such a booking that is not being used as a leisure/holiday, is permitted per covid regs, and so DECLINE said refund offer and still opt to do the trip if desired

        • TGLoyalty says:

          5 Jan5 January 22:41

          The issue is that anything considered a leisure holiday is not permitted by my the regs.

          I believe most package holiday companies will be asked to cancel your booking and refund.

        • Bianca says:

          5 Jan5 January 23:08

          I would hope not. It’s a big (faulty) assumption to say that “Bought my flight and accommodation together on BA.com” means “Going on a leisure holiday” and never “Going abroad for a permitted/essential reason and chose to purchase the flight and the accommodation from the same provider”

• Wollhouse says:

  5 Jan5 January 17:28

  The first of many Im sure…. I was booked to fly to the USA in feb. Ba just texted to say I’m flying during a period where travel is prohibited and offers 3 options: 1) carry on if for permitted travel 2) take a FTV or 3) refund. I had really aggressive CW pricing from the sale. I assume as it’s not “cancelled” I can’t ask them to book me on a later flight? Interestingly they give until 8 jan for me to decide or say they will process a refund. My parents are in the USA and my dad just fell off a ladder breaking his back so I really want to get back. It says immediate family is permitted but I know sometimes that’s only under 18 age kids. If anyone knows whether a 50 year old kid qualifies, that would be great info!

  • Tariq says:

    5 Jan5 January 17:46

    Can’t comment on US entry requirements but I would say your situation qualifies the UK lockdown guidance of ‘providing care for a vulnerable person’.

    • Wollhouse says:

      5 Jan5 January 18:02

      He’ll be more broken when I give him the ear bashing for being up the damn ladder, on the TOP step, in the first place;)

    • Harry T says:

      5 Jan5 January 18:08

      I doubt it, Tariq.

      @Wollhouse I’m assuming you have US citizenship, otherwise visiting the USA is off the cards anyway. If I were you, I would wait and see if BA cancel the flight. Your options will improve considerably if they do.

      • Wollhouse says:

        5 Jan5 January 18:34

        Hi Harry, no, I’m UK citizen; step dad US citizen; mother and brother both. I have to decide by 8 Jan or BA automatically refunds. So, I’m guessing they won’t cancel before then which is why i wondered whether i could push for a re-route. But, it’s still showing as a flight that’s going, so I guess not:( Perhaps BA has been burned by people pushing for a reroute with other carriers so keen to just force refund/FTV early and then if they cancel flight, there are fewer people! Perhaps i can say i’m still flying and hope they cancel….

  • kitten says:

    5 Jan5 January 18:15

    take1) ie the permitted reason for travel, in all cases.

    BA is probably going to cancel a lot of these flights anyway. Now they have £2 billion from the UK government it’s better for them to nudge you into taking a refund for a flight they are very likely cancelling anyway, than to let you choose any future flight on same route that you want at no extra price and no extra avios even if you bookef on the 50% avios pricing. EC261 reroute choice customer can choose.

    No brainer to confirm you’re still travelling and see who blinks first then decide nearer the flight time.

    S

    • Wollhouse says:

      5 Jan5 January 18:35

      just saw this, thanks Kitten. Basically how my thinking had gone too 🙂

  • kitten says:

    5 Jan5 January 18:17

    take1) ie the permitted reason for travel, in all cases.

    BA is probably going to cancel a lot of these flights anyway. Now they have £2 billion from the UK government it’s better for them to nudge you into taking a refund for a flight they are very likely cancelling anyway, than to let you choose any future flight on same route that you want at no extra price and no extra avios even if you bookef on the 50% avios pricing. EC261 reroute choice customer can choose.

    No brainer to confirm you’re still travelling and see who blinks first then decide nearer the flight time.

    • ChrisC says:

      5 Jan5 January 20:36

      BA don’t have £2bn from the government.

      They have £2bn in loans from BANKS that the government will cover if BA goes bust.

  • Lyn says:

    5 Jan5 January 23:11

    I’m sorry to hear about your father’s accident. Unfortunately I think children may have to be under 21 to qualify as “immediate family” of US citizens / residents – but that is just from taking a cursory look. Have you already tried contacting the US Embassy/Consulate in London for advice and help given the unusual circumstances?

• Yuff says:

  5 Jan5 January 17:33

  Yay 😀 Saudi and Qatar have ended their spat.
  Hopefully more points opportunities to fly to Dubai on the horizon.

  • Aston100 says:

    5 Jan5 January 17:37

    Any sign of the UAE relenting?

    • TGLoyalty says:

      5 Jan5 January 17:52

      Looks like all 4 have agreed to end the blockade

      • Andrew says:

        5 Jan5 January 20:00

        Perhaps the return of the £999 flights to Dubai from U.K. on QR including the GCC sector ticketed in First to gain access to Al Safwa lounge in Doha and a total of 400TPs.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          5 Jan5 January 21:04

          One can hope.

        • Yuff says:

          5 Jan5 January 22:00

          £580 from Brussels was even better 🤣
          I’ve missed Qatar flying to DXB, opens up many more options again

• Buxton says:

  5 Jan5 January 17:45

  Wondering if I could get some advice regarding which AMEX(s) to hold. Currently have a Gold and BA Blue card as already had the joining bonuses. Thinking of upgrading back to BAPP due to the companion voucher but not sure whether keeping the Gold is worth it for the MR offers you get in the app?

  Any advice would be welcome for a newbie point hunter!

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    5 Jan5 January 18:55

    If you will be spending 15k this year, keep the gold until you get the 10k bonus and then cancel it. If not, cancel it and get the BAPP.
    Dont think we’ll see any good offers for next few months due to lockdown. We might see some once the restrictions are relaxed and people can go out.

  • Jonathan says:

    5 Jan5 January 19:19

    An option for you is take out the free MR card, then cancel your BA Blue and Gold MR cards, wait 24 months (or 25 to be the safe side) then get BAPP and you’ll be eligible for the sign up bonus on BAPP

    You’ll need to go two years with a basic Amex card that apart from MR points doesn’t really have many benefits so that’s the down side to this idea

    • BJ says:

      5 Jan5 January 20:15

      2y + 1d is fine. Personally I don’t rate the 2y wait route very highly, you miss out on too many opportunities. However, if you are in a position to wipe the slate clean for 2y by holding only a supp on a partners account then it is worth considering.

• Jamie says:

  5 Jan5 January 17:52

  Seconded. It’s just so boring and endless and useless and uninformative and nobody cares.

• Blindman says:

  5 Jan5 January 18:01

  IIRC it’s called freedom of speech

• Michael says:

  5 Jan5 January 18:08

  With the new lockdown rules, has anybody come across a method by which one can be covered for a trip abroad? Leaving home to view a residential property to rent is legitimate, but if I travel to, say, the UAE, visit a flat on Day 1 and then stay for 6 weeks, the Axa insurance provided by my Amex platinum won’t cover me (as per call today). Any routes around this?

  • Rob says:

    5 Jan5 January 20:03

    I’m sure you can buy health insurance locally, which is unlikely to be too expensive.

  • Tim Rogers says:

    5 Jan5 January 20:36

    There are some providers around who will be provide cover despite FCDO advice against non-essential travel – one such provider is https://www.battleface.com/ who provide cover for the UAE.

    • Danny says:

      5 Jan5 January 20:41

      UAE isn’t advised against at the moment. (So I’m not sure why Axa told OP they wouldn’t cover a trip there but that’s a different questions!)

      • TGLoyalty says:

        5 Jan5 January 21:07

        6 weeks? Isn’t plat 30 days max?

    • Michael says:

      5 Jan5 January 22:08

      Thanks – appreciated. Will take a look. Saw a couple of other answers below. Axa said up to 90 days covered on one trip.

      Also, Axa said that I can’t do a trip that is legit for 1-2 days and then turns into a “work from Dubai”. Essentially the “legit reason” I had to be there in the first place would dissapear at some point (probably about 30 mins before any claim would relate to…just by chance of course!).

      Axa is saying that whilst travel isn’t advised against, because *any* travel is banned unless exempt, they won’t cover. This means they wouldn’t cover a straight up beach trip for a week even if you’re happy to pay the £200 fine!

      • TGLoyalty says:

        5 Jan5 January 22:43

        Axa talk all sorts of shit though.

    • Jill ( Kinkell) says:

      5 Jan5 January 22:10

      battleface covers up to age 59 max. Are there other providers offer similar cover for the over 60s?

      • h2d says:

        5 Jan5 January 22:42

        Staysure was the other name mentioned on HFP – no upper age limit and similar cover to Battleface. Disclaimer I have not used myself

      • kitten says:

        6 Jan6 January 12:22

        if staysure works for you leave a quote open and they are likely to email you with a discount. They may also offer a free extra 3 months at the same time on an annual policy.

        Also check voldechannels as historically those did 20-25%. Also never automatically auto -renew with them. Give it very few weeks they are likely to send you a % code to renew.

        One thing I found very strange with them was halfway through the prepaid annual policy they sent an email demanding you advise them of any intervening medical changes or doctor’s visits since the start of the policy. Nothing had happened and full disclosure had been given – which truthfully involved practically nothing – so as far as I was concerned there was no reason for them to do this as they had accepted a level of risk for a prepaid period and no claim had been made. That’s why I would always look for others now as it felt like they were trying to move the goalposts on a sold policy while it was running.

• Ben says:

  5 Jan5 January 18:10

  Hi
  Has anyone successfully been able to churn the HSBC Premier World Elite card every 6 months?

  Thanks!

  • Genghis says:

    5 Jan5 January 18:52

    It doesn’t make much sense to churn every 6 months. 20k points for £195 ain’t great. But having two years for 40k points for £390 and access to a relatively high earning non-Amex with pluripotent points is, followed by a six month hiatus without WE card and redo.

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      5 Jan5 January 18:58

      The six month hiatus – can we downgrade and use the free version? or should we hold neither to get the sign up bonus on WE?
      Agreed on the 2 year plan though.

      • Ben says:

        5 Jan5 January 19:08

        Yes of course you are right I should wait for the 40,000 points. However do you really need to wait the full two years? You are at 40k points at 1 year, so can you cancel then (just after paying the 2nd year) and wait 6 months?
        I am actually at this point and waiting for what used to be an annual Avios conversion bonus offer to appear.
        I could wait for the full two years I suppose and just earn during normal spending, but I really wanted to know if it was possible and not blocked (like Virgin used to be)
        Cheers!

        • Genghis says:

          5 Jan5 January 19:19

          Sure. You can cancel after paying the fee for year two: 40k points for £395. But the only benefit of this is “buying” points for 1p each (assuming no HSBC transfer bonuses) which can be done with loads of other things, especially avios. Holding the card for that year two is much more valuable IMO. Different strokes and all that.

      • Genghis says:

        5 Jan5 January 19:10

        Whatever you want. Downgrade or none. See terms of the offer. Its a good card and I’m paying for it comtinously now.

        • Ben says:

          5 Jan5 January 19:21

          Many thanks for your help Ghengis

        • memesweeper says:

          5 Jan5 January 22:17

          +1

          did the maths — it’s a keeper

    • mr_jetlag says:

      5 Jan5 January 19:08

      top marks for “pluripotent points”!

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