The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 2nd February

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kiplingtons says:

2 Feb2 February 11:19

Can anyone point me to a thread regarding Cancellation vs Voucher for a BA Reward fliight? My understanding, having spoken to the BA Redemptions team yesterday, is that we can cancel (we due in Bs As on Friday, not possible IMO) which results in full refund of cash and Avios but the original Amex BAPP 2 for 1 voucher expiry date will apply. The alternative is to apply online for a voucher which will effective allow BA to hold the cash and points balance until we rebook, but we have until 30 April 2023 to do that, so I am looking for a thread which discusses the above options. Thanks
- Rob says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 11:57
  
  Call centre is correct (for once). Put simply:
  
  *benefits of cancelling – cash back in the bank, easier to rebook as you have control of the Avios and 241
  *downside of cancelling – 241 will expire
  
  *benefit of FTV – your 241 is kept alive until 30th April 2023 (‘travel by’ date)
  *downside of FTV – BA sits on your cash and Avios, using the FTV requires a call to BA which makes it virtually impossible to use if you plan to book something at midnight 355 days in advance, names cannot be changed from original booking
  - kiplingtons says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 12:03
    
    Thanks Rob, with vouchers on this booking expiring in July and December this year (we have 2 x 2 for 1s for a family of 4) I think we’ve little choice but to accept the vouchers. High risk to expect Amex to extend again. We risk Avios devaluations too however.
    - Stuart Evans says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 12:11
      
      Isn’t it possible to take the cash/avios [long haul] refund and then book a new short haul flight that ties up far fewer avios/less cash. You then convert that to a FTV, which gives the extended use by date. I also gives you the chance to chang the Companion if that’s relevant
      - Genghis says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 12:51
        
        ^ This!
      - ashish says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 14:29
        
        Would you be able to recommend destination?
        Then we can add further cash & Avios to get to 1st Class later date when rebooking?
      - SM says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 22:49
        
        Did the same, got a refund for long haul J flights booked in the sale, used 241 voucher due to expire in June to book a OW flight to CDG, 4500 avios +£35, which can be canceled for a FTV.
    - kitten says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 12:19
      
      If BA cancels your flight you would have rerouting rights ie you could keep everything as now and rebook the route to another date.
      
      Some people are waiting till 36-48 hours before their flight before callinf to cancel then
      mselves in case BA does this which would save cancellation fees and mean not taking an FTV (which currently you could still decide to do even after you reroute).
      
      Remember you get rights to reroute or cancel with full refubd without charges if BA cancels or significantly reschedules even 1 flight on your booking. Though as Rob points out an FTV is currently preserving your voucher till Apr2023.
      - Tracey says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 15:35
        
        To preserve a 241, Shortest journey could be Manchester/ Newcastle, cheapest outlay could be Gibraltar for 50p each way.
PaulC says:

2 Feb2 February 11:25

When booking the return leg flight are they released midnight UK time or midnight of the departing countries time?
- Anna says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 11:32
  
  Midnight UK, or 1 am during BST.
  - PaulC says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 11:40
    
    Thanks Anna. Working early shifts this week so tomorrow is going to be long day 🙁
    - Anna says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 11:56
      
      Yikes! I don’t miss shift work. The past few years we’ve been away somewhere 5/6 hours behind the UK on the date I need to book the following year’s flights at T-355 which meant I could do it at a much more civilised time in the evening!
    - Anna says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 12:03
      
      Just be aware that seats are not always released on the hour – I’ve seen them appear at least 30 minutes later. If you’re serious about bagging your choice you need to sit tight and keep refreshing the screen every minute or so until they appear!
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 12:47
        
        It’s always Midnight GMT but the call centre can hold straight away while it’s processed or they can release more
      - Anna says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 13:07
        
        Well whatever the case, don’t give up at 00:15 or 01:15 because there might be more seats becoming available!
- Rob says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 11:54
  
  No. It is always midnight GMT (so 1am during British Summer Time).
Anna says:

2 Feb2 February 11:32

IHG Spire status renewal – my account is showing points earned in January but not what I need to aim for to retain Spire (possibly 55,000ish though as my 17k points are taking up about 1/3 of the tracker!) There’s a message on the account that the number of qualifying points required has been reduced by up to 25% but no actual figures mentioned. Does anyone’s else account currently look like this?!
- Tracy says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 11:48
  
  Mine says Qualifying points : 54,876 of 55,000 for spire elite, so almost there 🙂
  - Anna says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 11:53
    
    Thanks – hopefully mine is the same then. (Good going, by the way!)
    - Tracy says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 13:32
      
      Yes, pretty easy in Jan for me, HMRC needs paid 😭. Think the 55k will be universal 🤞.
- Andrew says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 14:39
  
  Anyone had the rollover nights from 2020 post yet – mine still showing as zero
  - Aston100 says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 15:24
    
    Still zero for me too.
  - Craig says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 17:01
    
    Not yet, expecting 27 I think?
- Lyn says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 17:15
  
  Anna, I think this may be the case for anyone whose Spire status has been automatically extended for this year. Their IT systems may not have caught up. My husband’s Spire doesn’t show it either, but my Platinum does show 55K.
Youllnever says:

2 Feb2 February 11:54

Just received a text from Natwest that the £125 bank switch incentive should hit my account by 12th February!
747_Brat says:

2 Feb2 February 11:56

Trying to register the Priority Pass received via Amex Gold. The card activated okay, but when I try to register the card by creating a new account, it gives an error “This card number has already been registered”. Anyone else facing the same issue?

Thanks.
- Martha says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 12:05
  
  Hi Brat, What’s the advantage of registering the Priority Pass?
  Thanks
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 12:09
    
    Was thinking of registering the PP and use the app in the future to access lounges and keep the actual card in the drawer. To be completely honest, I am not sure if you can access the lounge using the virtual card on the app, but just wanted to give it a go! 🙂
    - SJ says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 12:29
      
      I’ve used the virtual card within app in the past for myself and paying for a guest. However, this wasn’t using an Amex PP, but I can’t see there being any difference.
      - 747_Brat says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 12:39
        
        Thanks @SJ for confirming.
        
        But unfortunately my Amex PP refuses to register on the website. I have tried different email IDs and user names, but still no joy! 🙁
        
        I did however manage to register another non-Amex PP and it registered fine. Will try to access a lounge using the app in the future.
        Cheers. Thanks.
      - Tony says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 20:30
        
        Works on the app just fine
      - 747_Brat says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 22:31
        
        Thanks Tony
- Jill ( Kinkell) says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 13:52
  
  A few folk have mentioned this. A phone call sorts it out
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 14:43
    
    Thank you Jill. 🙂 Will give them a call.
Fab212 says:

2 Feb2 February 12:38

Does anyone know where the bassinet seats (young baby) are in Club World on a 777 please? Not showing on BA’s seat selection map in the app.
- ChrisC says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 12:45
  
  Have a look on the web versions on BA . Com or the BA Source website.
  
  There are seating posts in flyer talk that list the bassinet positions.
  
  Note there are several versions of the 777 so check you are looking at the right one!
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 12:55
  
  Being totally honest, I thought kids under 2 weren’t allowed in Club World??
  
  Either way, be careful as there are many variations of the 777
  - Anna says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 13:05
    
    You’ve obviously never seen any of the discussions on here about crying babies in premium cabins!
    - Genghis says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 13:46
      
      … and we’re not even talking about those under the age of 7!
      - Fab212 says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 14:23
        
        Thanks all – no mention of bassinet on either BA website or BA source (777-200er with Club Suite) so I guess it will be a lap seating situation. Fair point on the noise front – this will be considered carefully!
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 14:47
        
        I can understand a baby in PE, after all it is premium but still economy ish.
        
        Club World I just think you are asking for trouble unless your kids are very well behaved. First and you might end up with caviar on your face from the drunk business man…
      - Charlieface says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 15:05
        
        @SuperSecretStuff That’s ridiculous. If the airline sells infant tickets, why should they not be bought?
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 15:17
        
        @charlieface bexuase you’ll be disrupting the people that have paid a lot of money to get away from all that (and rather ironically) be annoying the very people that subsidised cheap tickets in the first place!
      - Andrew says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 15:47
        
        Agreed – please can we keep infants out of the business and first cabins.
      - Charlieface says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 16:04
        
        Again, why should someone who wants to pay the money for biz care what others think? The airline is happy for them to be there, who are you to argue?
        Generally I find the noisiest people on board are not the kids and babies, it’s the rowdy hen and stag parties
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 16:29
        
        @Charliefacce I have watched a stag do get kicked out of business before for being loud and disruptive (admittedly on a flight to spain), so I think you inadvertently have just proven my point
        
        The airline is happy to take your money for business if you behave, same applies for children of any age
      - Callum says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 17:05
        
        @Super Secret Stuff: Interesting. What airline sells infant tickets on the proviso that they’re “well behaved” and kicks them out of business if they cry too much?
        
        I always assumed this was just the normal argument of “let the proles in economy deal with this – I’m above it because I’m rich and/or paid more than they did” as opposed to airline policy. There’s certainly no proviso that my infant doesn’t cry when I do a dummy booking on BA!
      - The Savage Squirrel says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 17:30
        
        “bexuase you’ll be disrupting the people that have paid a lot of money to get away from all that”
        
        Nope, they’ve paid for a ticket on public transport which involves mingling with the public. More expensive ticket = larger personal space and more add-ons, not controlling who else gets to sit in the cabin. If anyone want to control exactly who sits in the cabin with them, then charter jets are available and they will have to stump up the necessary £££.
      - Super Secret Stuff says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 19:20
        
        @Callum and @TSS id sugfest you check there terms of carriage and the terms and conditions of there tickets, they can near enough do anything if they want too, but of course they have to compensate for a lot of what they *can* do
      - The real John says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 20:30
        
        When I have travelled in F and J, the only people I wish could be kicked out are unpleasant adults.
      - Anna says:
        
        2 Feb2 February 21:16
        
        Once you get past that stage you’re just glad you’re not the parent of an infant any more! Even when a baby in the next row cried pretty much all night on a J trip home from NYC I was just glad I didn’t have to deal with it. Also, maybe that’s why there are earplugs in the amenity kit?
Tom1 says:

2 Feb2 February 13:04

Where in the app do you see the offers?
- Alan says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 16:34
  
  Full screen when you open the app, mine just arrived in the last hour.
  - thehornets says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 17:49
    
    I see this too! It’s called ‘Virgin Money Back’. There must be about 30 retailers listed – usual suspects include Laithwaites, Donald Rusell, FeelUnique, Gett etc
    - Alex D says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 18:26
      
      Odd – I only have 6 retailers all of which are no good to me unfortunately
    - dezbez says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 20:09
      
      Yes, remarkably similar to my Amex offers – not that I’m knocking it. Liking the direction of travel though
Nadeshka says:

2 Feb2 February 13:33

I asked a few months ago about moving an avios booking with an infant past them turning 2 – it seems it isn’t possible.
We had a 241 & infant booked in the avios sale that has since been cancelled, so I wanted to move it to the summer. It wasn’t possible to simply upgrade the infant to a full child, she needed a separate ticket booked, at full price/avios and requiring redemption availability.
However with that purchased, they were able to adjust the existing booking to remove the infant and shift the 2 adults, hence preserving the avios discount for us and not requiring redemption availability at least.
In total took over an hour and a half to execute with the call centre as there were numerous “computer says no” points. This was just for a domestic flight. Not looking forward to doing the same for our Japan trip in April!
- Charlieface says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 15:06
  
  If they cancel the flight, they must rebook the infant at no cost.
  If the infant now requires a seat, that’s their problem, not yours. You should not have to pay.
- A says:
  
  2 Feb2 February 15:25
  
  This is 100% their issue. It is no different from the ticket being more expensive on that day.
  - Nadeshka says:
    
    2 Feb2 February 15:40
    
    But infant tickets aren’t proper tickets? As they don’t take up a seat they don’t pay APD etc and the ticket is fundamentally different to a child one.
    On the Japan trip for instance she turns 2 during the time we’re out – they had to book a seat under a separate PNR for her return as the infant ticket doesn’t work in the same way.
    
    I asked before and the answer seemed to be that the legislation isn’t clear on this case. Ah well, as I said it took nearly 2 hours to execute and that was with an agent who was otherwise super helpful and accepted moving the two adults with no repricing and no avios availability,. Any more and my time was probably worth more than the extra avios…
    - Charlieface says:
      
      2 Feb2 February 16:06
      
      It very much IS clear in the legislation, there have been cases in the past.
      
      Unless a ticket is COMPLETELY free, or not avaliable to the public (staff tickets), EC261 rerouting rights are applicable. A nominal sum is nearly always paid for infant tickets.