The HfP chat thread – Sunday 14th February

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We have decided to run this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

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Bill says:

14 Feb14 February 02:43

I’m up so late, I’m first in here
- Hotelier says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 03:05
  
  Not alone!! Got stuck working the night shift for those on essential / business travel. At least, I now have my subscription to the Mail so I can entertain myself!!
- Bill says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 09:40
  
  Sore head this morning
  - Mike says:
    
    14 Feb14 February 11:57
    
    Bill – if you go back in time and deliver a message to yourself- what would it be ?
    - Tony says:
      
      14 Feb14 February 16:27
      
      Go to bed…. ?
Anna says:

14 Feb14 February 07:03

Happy lockdown Valentine’s Day, I’m guessing not many people have been whisked off to Paris for the weekend!
Data point re Amex 10k bonus – mine is showing this morning, exactly 4 weeks after my anniversary date.
- Lord Doncaster says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 08:58
  
  Romantic Rotherham 😂
  - Sandra says:
    
    14 Feb14 February 11:17
    
    @Lord Doncaster – Nowt wrong wi Rotherham lad, tha’s in Gods own country, nowt grander than that!
- Charlieface says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 12:42
  
  Is it your statement rollover date, or before (ie has the fee been charged yet)?
The Streets says:

14 Feb14 February 07:13

Everyday i am learning more and more about this Future Flight Voucher. I tried to use the Avios on mine for a Qatar Airways flight. However as the Future Flight Voucher also contained a companion voucher then the flight could not be confirmed (presumably because we didn’t/couldn’t use the companion voucher). This was despite it being booked by a BA agent.

Is there a definitive guide anywhere for using a Future Flight Voucher – especially where it was previously used for a reward booking? We were also told we had to book a separate ticket for our daughter as she has turned two since the Future Flight Voucher was issued and we’re now in the situation where she is the only one confirmed for this flight with Qatar Airways thinking she’s travelling on her own
- Andrew says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 07:32
  
  There are so many different types of FTVs and rules that even the call centre staff have to check on them. For one, you can’t use a FTV from an Avios booking on a cash booking.
  - The Streets says:
    
    14 Feb14 February 08:09
    
    There needs to be greater clarity of the rules. You can’t be in a position where you think you are booked on a flight when you’re not
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      14 Feb14 February 08:21
      
      FTVs take a while to ticket. They are processed manually so the order is based on when you fly not when you book.
      
      Though Unless your 2-4-1 has been returned and full avios paid for the flights I highly doubt it will be ticketed.
      - The Streets says:
        
        14 Feb14 February 08:43
        
        I rang BA to ask for the flight to be ticketed as we are due to depart in less than a week but they said it was not possible and that’s why the system rejected it. Luckily there was still reward availability and we booked it the conventional way.
        
        If you have Avios and a 241 in a Future Flight Voucher then you can’t use the Avios without the 241. It would be great if BA could publish these rules
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        14 Feb14 February 09:08
        
        Not being funny but when you know that 2-4-1’s can only be used on BA metal what made you think you could use it for Qatar flights?
        
        An FTV is just what you paid for your original flight “suspended” for future use.
        
        If it’s an avios FTV it can only be used for Avios flights
        If it includes a 2-4-1 it can only be used to book BA avios flights
        If it’s a cash FTV the cash can be used towards anything that needs cash.
      - The Streets says:
        
        14 Feb14 February 10:26
        
        I wasn’t trying to use the 241 voucher! Just the 140,000 Avios wrapped up in it
- AJA says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 12:31
  
  Unfortunately when you accepted a FTV for the 2-4-1 booking you tied up.the Avios with the 2-4-1. It basically suspended your original booking allowing you to book another 2-4-1 at a future date restricted to BA metal as is normal with a companion voucher.
  
  If you wanted independent access to the 140k Avios you should not have taken a FTV.
KBuffett says:

14 Feb14 February 07:43

Has anyone managed to arrange a virtual Marriott stay somewhere cheap, perhaps abroad?
- Tony says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 10:29
  
  Or an Accor … got lots of points I am going to lose in a week or so.
- meta says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 10:54
  
  I tried with a few cheap properties in India, but they all turned me down. It would have been great to bag Titanium for £150.
  
  One hotel in Brazil was willing to do it, but then they’ve put the prices up. If you have time to look for properties and call them, you’d probably find some which are willing to do it.
  - WaynedP says:
    
    14 Feb14 February 12:47
    
    Try some cheap Protea hotels in South Africa. Call up during SA office hours and ask to speak to General Manager rather than receptionist.
    
    Haven’t tried it myself, but if you’re patient enough to explain something that’s a little unconventional, I’d be surprised if you’re rejected.
    - meta says:
      
      14 Feb14 February 14:48
      
      More than double the price of Indian properties during the promo period. But depends on what you want. For Titanium, too expensive. If you’re after Platinum, then it might be worth it.
- Charlieface says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 12:44
  
  Why don’t you just go there, check in, ruffle up the bed and leave?
Andrew says:

14 Feb14 February 08:08

Can third party gift cards be bought at Sainsbury’s using nectar points? Someone also mentioned yesterday that the One For All gift card could be bought from Viking using nectar but the T&Cs say otherwise?
- Rich says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 08:19
  
  They can, but there’s no real benefit to doing so.
  
  Doesn’t matter if you spend your points on sprouts, and pay cash at (wherever the gift card is for), or buy the gift card with points and pay cash for the sprouts. It’s still 0.5p either way.
  - Andrew says:
    
    14 Feb14 February 08:22
    
    But if I don’t want to buy my sprouts from
    Sainsbury’s and buy them from M&S with a gift card.
    - Crafty says:
      
      14 Feb14 February 09:21
      
      You can do this via the Daily Mail “My Mail”, it seems, but I haven’t tried.
      - Doug M says:
        
        14 Feb14 February 09:53
        
        Food excluded I thought?
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        14 Feb14 February 12:14
        
        I really doubt they can give you anything but an M&S gift card and all gift cards can be used for anything M&S sell.
Ant says:

14 Feb14 February 08:10

Morning, I have 2 FTV each with a companion voucher and the passengers were myself and my husband one to Nairobi & one to Rome (was about to expire).. Can I now combine them to use them for Cape Town and take 3 other people with me (my parents & sister)?
- Anna says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 08:48
  
  Unless it’s changed, bookings using FTVs accepted for 241/avios can only be for the original passengers. There have been a lot of warnings on HFP about taking FTVs due to this restriction.
- AJA says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 12:34
  
  Unfortunately no you can’t. You are restricted to the original passengers in the FTV.
KBuffett says:

14 Feb14 February 08:20

Can anyone recommend reasonably priced treadmill & bike suppliers? I don’t want the faff of having to assemble
- Mouse says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 09:08
  
  Support your local bike shop!
- IanM says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 10:08
  
  Cant imagine anyone will supply a ‘reasonable priced’ ready assembled treadmill LOL!
Rich says:

14 Feb14 February 08:20

Curve on iOS. Anyone else getting problems?

Transactions taking a while to load, search is slow. Tempted to delete and reinstall the app, but don’t know if I will lose history and have to relink cards again.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  14 Feb14 February 08:23
  
  No problems here
  
  You shouldn’t have to relinquish any cards nor lose history as that information isn’t stored on your phone.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    14 Feb14 February 08:23
    
    Reload not relinquish f**king autocorrect.
    - Rich says:
      
      14 Feb14 February 08:25
      
      Relinquish kinda works too!
      
      Ta. Might give it a go then