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The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 12th 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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General

Comments (333)

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

  • InfrastructureDebt says:
    12 Jan12 January 10:37

    Does anyone have a trading212 link?

    • DodgyDCF says:
      12 Jan12 January 10:49

      Yes mine is trading212.com/invite/FMlcDpsx

      Recent people have got 3x AstraZeneca (£70), SPCE ($25), GE ($11) , 2x EasyJet (£7) and Royal Dutch (£14)

      Report what you get?

      • GR says:
        12 Jan12 January 11:23

        Just set up an account and got EasyJet (unfortunately given value)

      • Jarvy says:
        12 Jan12 January 13:32

        Just created account now using that link and got ASOS which is worth around £50, currently pending in my account…happy days

    • Doug M says:
      12 Jan12 January 13:45

      Every day….. Am I the only one cynical enough to think DodgyDCF posts the question under one name and the answer under another…..

  • Diydegsy says:
    12 Jan12 January 10:44

    Looking for business class flights to phuket/Bangkok for December can anyone tell me the best time to book ie who is likely to have the best sales and when (obviously not withstanding the current situation) any thoughts much appreciated!!! I have a BA 241 but no availability as I guess all the released seats for that have gone?

    • Jonathan says:
      12 Jan12 January 11:58

      I think you might be about a couple of weeks of a month too early to be booking, since tickets aren’t sold 365 days in advance.

      I can’t remember off the top of my head when BA releases it’s seats for sale

      • Anna says:
        12 Jan12 January 14:04

        T-355 for avios bookings, so end of December has juat been released. J seats will probably have been snapped up as soon as they come out.

  • Benilyn says:
    12 Jan12 January 10:46

    IHG Royal Ambassador question:
    “A certificate for a free weekend night when you join and each year when you renew. In one swoop, you can save your entire membership fee with this benefit. To use the voucher, you need to book a 2-night weekend stay and pay the Ambassador Weekend Rate, which is usually equal to Best Flexible Rate. The rules say that only standard rooms can be booked. However, many hotels let you book club rooms or suites which is especially useful for families.”

    Is it possible to check availability before becoming a member? Under rate preference online, there is no option for Ambassador Weekend Rate for me.

    • Anna says:
      12 Jan12 January 10:59

      Benilyn – Royal Ambassador is something different (I think you need loads of stays to qualify, you can’t purchase it). “Ordinary” Ambassador, you need the certificate in your account to do a search. I would happily do a sample search for you, but obviously availability varies a lot from one hotel to another. Is there a particular property you’re interested in? That said, I’ve not seen any properties recently where you CAN’T book a suite or bigger room with the BOGOF night, it seems to be much more flexible than free night certificates from credit cards.
      Be aware though that a lot of hotels are currently artificially inflating the prices for Ambassador nights (can be over £100 more than the standard price) so you do need to do the maths to make sure you are getting good value.

      • ChrisC says:
        12 Jan12 January 11:13

        Royal is a status given to you by IHG based on nights stayed, spend and other factors. You really need to be a heavy user of IC hotels (as opposed to other IHG brands) to get it.

        I’ve never seen any restrictions on Amb weekend rates – other then needing to be a Fri/Sat or Sat/Sun nights for ICs – when ever I’ve looked for them.

        But you do have to be a member and logged in to do the searches.

        A good rule of thumb on how much an AMB rate is Is to take the non member Best Flexible Rate for the room and you’re pretty much in the ball park.

      • Benilyn says:
        12 Jan12 January 11:21

        Anna – thanks, I would appreciate that very much! If you could check “InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort” on check-in 4-Dec-21 and check-out 6-Dec-21 please. Room type under the standard tab (Overwater Pool Villa). Many thanks!

        • Benilyn says:
          12 Jan12 January 11:23

          If standard not available, what rooms types are please thanks!

          • Benilyn says:
            12 Jan12 January 12:24

            I used @meta’s link and I found the availability. Many thanks. Super expensive! I am 80k points short to book another reward night….

          • Anna says:
            12 Jan12 January 12:35

            Benilyn – another tip is that is you have the flexibility to book Fri, Sat OR Sun, check the price for each night. Sunday is often cheaper while Saturday night is usually the most expensive (you get the 2nd night free). So Sat/Sun often works out cheaper than Fri/Sat.

          • Genghis says:
            12 Jan12 January 12:48

            @Anna “So Sat/Sun often works out cheaper than Fri/Sat”
            You mean Fri/Sat often works out cheaper than Sat/Sun”?

      • BuildBackBetter says:
        12 Jan12 January 11:56

        Is the 2-night a minimum or maximum as well? Can i book 3 paid nights and one ambassador night that ends on saturday? I can book them as two bookings if max only 2 nights allowed using a certificate, but i guess i might not get the same room or benefits?

        • meta says:
          12 Jan12 January 12:14

          You’ll need to do two separate bookings. I’ve never had a problem keeping the same room, although a few properties asked me to pay a fee for Club access when the rate didn’t include it.

        • ChrisC says:
          12 Jan12 January 12:27

          To use the cert the stay for that booking needs to start on Friday or Saturday and if you search for stay using the cert rate from say Wednesday it would show as ‘not available’ or some such
          wording (I tried it before)

          It does work if you want to add nights on after the cert nights but it costs you more – well it did for me when I was pricing a stay up so I booked Fri/Sat using the cert and Sun-Tue as normal. Emailed the hotel with the two bookings and they confirmed I’d be in the same room for the entire stay.

          • BuildBackBetter says:
            12 Jan12 January 12:36

            Thanks Chris and meta

          • Anna says:
            12 Jan12 January 12:38

            Some UAE hotels count Thursday as a weekend night instead of Sunday, which can be useful if you need a bit more flexibility.

          • Rob says:
            12 Jan12 January 12:39

            In the UAE they ALL count Thursday as weekend for AMB voucher purposes.

          • Anna says:
            12 Jan12 January 12:41

            Ok – when I was looking for AUH/DBX hotels I did notice that some don’t include Sunday though.

  • DodgyDCF says:
    12 Jan12 January 10:51

    BA Seoul booking (50% avios sale + 241 voucher) for May which was cancelled, I’ve been on the phone on hold for an hour this morning and last week, is there a number that I can use that has more success? would like to reroute via alternative airline for next year or late 2020.

    • ChrisC says:
      12 Jan12 January 11:24

      You’ll only be able to rebook to a date just under a year from the date you booked so near that in mind when looking for future dates.

      So next year will definitely not be an option.

    • Michael C says:
      12 Jan12 January 13:58

      As Seoul has been cancelled in general, would be interested to see the outcome: are BA obliged to get Dodgy to Korea?! Or is it one of those of “should/will try not to”?!

  • DZOO says:
    12 Jan12 January 11:19

    Is there a way to check online/app when exactly current Hilton + Bonvoy status expires, or are both of these programmes on a calendar year basis? I can’t seem to find the right screen… TIA

    • Jay says:
      12 Jan12 January 19:41

      Hilton is a calendar year. Not sure on Marriott

      • Magic Mike says:
        12 Jan12 January 19:49

        Expires end Feb/early March depending on whether Marriott’s steam powered abacus is working…

    • The real John says:
      12 Jan12 January 20:34

      Hilton status expires on 31 March. Currently everyone’s status will last until at least 31 March 2022.

  • James Vickers says:
    12 Jan12 January 11:48

    This might have been mentioned already but noticed in the gov release regarding testing yesterday there was first suggestion this wouldn’t be a long term policy. Says the measures likely to be in place until the end of the current lockdown..

  • Davenport says:
    12 Jan12 January 11:53

    Data point: transferred HSBC Points to Krisflyer yesterday. Points in account today.

  • N says:
    12 Jan12 January 11:58

    F1 crew…

    Calendar changes all round, AUH race pushed back by a week to 12/12. Completely borked my flight bookings in F. Not sure what to do now!

    I figured something was up when the W blocked out the weekend of 12/12 from their booking system last week!

    • Mo says:
      12 Jan12 January 12:19

      I imagine the hotel is still willing to move the dates, I’ll likely email them and ensure they do for my booking.

      With regards to the flights, I think it is just a bit of hard luck – If they were award flights then might be worth taking the small fee to cancel and then just wait for other availability

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

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