The HfP chat thread – Thursday 25th February

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• Chris says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:21

  Hi all, Where hotels are open for essential workers, what is the experience of reception staff requiring any confirmation or proof of eligibility or do they request any certification to be completed other than the usual. Thank you

  • Travel Strong says:

    25 Feb25 February 08:35

    No proof required. Just state the reason for stay when asked. They will usually either note it in their system or get you to sign a form.

    • Gavin says:

      25 Feb25 February 08:36

      Some hotels are self-categorising as key workers only eg Hilton Reading

      • TGLoyalty says:

        25 Feb25 February 08:55

        Seems to be the standard wording Hilton’s are using

        But if you say it’s for another valid reason they don’t turn you away.

  • Gavin says:

    25 Feb25 February 08:35

    I’ve got a letter of authority for travel from an employer I’ve been showing for my (legal) reasons to travel although I’m not strictly a key worker currently

  • Harry T says:

    25 Feb25 February 08:53

    I’ve been staying at a hotel for work, as my current place of work is very far from my home. The hotel ask me to fill in a form every time I stay, which has a declaration to say which of the eligible reasons you have for staying is applicable. They also did ring in advance before one of my early stays to ask why I was staying.

    • Harry T says:

      25 Feb25 February 08:53

      But you don’t have to present any “proof”.

  • DarrenS says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:26

    My experience at 2 Hiltons is sign a form and show ID.

  • Tariq says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:53

    Varies by hotel, all doing their own thing which can be led by guidance from the chain in some cases. From a sample of 2, Marriott didn’t ask anything beforehand or at site and Hilton emailed me in advance to ask for confirmation from my employer – once sent no further question or discussion.

  • memesweeper says:

    25 Feb25 February 10:56

    I’ve been asked questions on a few stays, and asked for evidence once. An email from a client sufficed.

  • Venturelog says:

    25 Feb25 February 16:16

    Some Hilton’s are asking for some form of proof, letter from employer, ID card, something which provide proof as reason for staying. This is for them to get a photocopy and evidence in case they get checked up on. I understand one hotel was investigated by local authorities in Heathrow area.
    Best advice is to always call ahead a day before to confirm what they need.

  • Mark Peterborough says:

    26 Feb26 February 06:26

    I have always had to sign a declaration. The Hilton Doubletree London Tower also wanted a letter from my employer and for me to show my company ID card.

• Andy says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:21

  BA Amex question – I downgraded from BAPP a while ago as when I called to cancel it I was told I needed to keep at least the free one active to be able to use (pay the taxes I imagine) my companion voucher (expires Sept 22). I seem to have read multiple comments over time on here implying that is incorrect, and that any Amex can be used to pay for the taxes on a 241 booking?

  I’m nearing the end of 2 years without MR cards, so would be good to restart the 2 year cycle for BAPP bonus eligibility if the above is true (only have a Bonvoy card otherwise at the moment)

  • Anna says:

    25 Feb25 February 08:28

    Yes, you can use any Amex to pay the taxes, it doesn’t have to be yours. I think Amex staff genuinely don’t realise this as you wouldn’t think to question it unless you’ve heard otherwise e.g. from this site. I’ve used all sort of Amexes to pay taxes, including BAPP, SPG, gold and Lloyds depending on which spend target I was aiming at!

    • Anna says:

      25 Feb25 February 08:29

      Though as I’ve realised over the past year, it helps to keep the closed card attached to your account for when the refunds hit!

      • Algor says:

        25 Feb25 February 08:46

        Unless you are need to chase the refund from ‘unfortunate’ merchant there is not point, Amex will contact you in 2 or 3 weeks anyway.

        • Anna says:

          25 Feb25 February 09:16

          But it’s easier if you can just see it when it hits the card and then use chat to get it transferred to your bank account.

  • DT says:

    25 Feb25 February 08:37

    BA can’t tell what Amex you use to pay for the taxes, so you can use your Bonvoy one to pay when it comes time to use your 241

  • TGLoyalty says:

    25 Feb25 February 08:57

    Just the clarify is this for a platinum as holding a free BA card means you’re ineligible for the gold bonus.

  • Andy says:

    25 Feb25 February 18:33

    Thanks all for the confirmation, I’ll reach out to Amex and close the free BA card then.

    @TGLoyalty I’m aware of the signup bonus restriction…I was planning on taking out the Platinum card in any case for at least the first year, considering that from summer onwards I expect to be able to get good value out of it, and then reassess after year 1 and downgrade to gold if needed.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      25 Feb25 February 22:01

      Hopefully you know someone with the boosted referral

• Alex says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:56

  Has anyone used Curve’s worldwide travel or mobile phone insurance on the metal card? App says both are provided by AXA, but that alone doesn’t meant much. Assume they don’t compare favorably to Amex Platinum travel insurance, but are they on par with those included in bundled premium bank accounts (Nationwide Flex Plus, Barclays Travel/Tech Pack)?

  • Sam says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:39

    You can download the Curve/AXA t&cs so perhaps you can investigate and report back?

    • Alex says:

      25 Feb25 February 10:37

      It isn’t so much the T&Cs I’m concerned about, but the experience of policyholders with them. AXA is a reasonable insurer, but still…

  • The Streets says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:51

    The mobile phone insurance came good for me last year paying out on a replacement iPhone. But I used Amex Platinum for my recent travel insurance claim

    • Alex says:

      25 Feb25 February 10:38

      Did they pay out outright? Or send a refurbished replacement?
      (Actually will check the T&Cs on that 🙂 )

      • Sina says:

        25 Feb25 February 11:10

        I used the mobile insurance as well, they paid it into my bank account! a very useful feature of Curve!

        • Alex says:

          25 Feb25 February 12:22

          Any chance the phone you claimed on had a purchase price over the 800 quid insurance limit? I can’t see anything in the T&C that would limit the policy to phones under that threshold, but had a negative experience with AMEX’s gadget cover due to their hard limits at purchase/non-amortized prices.

  • Alex says:

    25 Feb25 February 12:20

    Just went through the T&Cs. Both policies look very reasonable.

• cinereus says:

  25 Feb25 February 09:13

  Does anyone know whether ANA is currently cancelling LON-HND flights and if so how soon before departure?

  • DeB20 says:

    25 Feb25 February 12:01

    NH212 LHR-HND appears to be flying every day.

    • cinereus says:

      25 Feb25 February 12:11

      So it won’t be cancelled and I’ll have to take the £30 hit?

• David says:

  25 Feb25 February 09:14

  Dilemma pending – HfP wisdom welcome!

  We have BA flights booked LHR to Johannesburg out 26 May, returning 7 June. Used a 241 voucher to book with avios during the 50% off promo so we were v happy with the deal at the time. But I really doubt we’ll be able to travel now due to where we are with the pandemic and situation in S Africa.

  So what to do? Particularly in order to retain the good deal we originally bought.

  A while back BA were offering to move redemption flights to new dates as long as there were seats available to buy. Does anyone know if that’s still the case?

  • Jonny says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:24

    See my own post below. BA only offering to move Avios bookings by 14-days or if there are Avios seats are available on a future flight.

  • WaynedP says:

    25 Feb25 February 12:02

    Similar position @David, although my 2-4-1 Avios 50% sale flight is scheduled for 5 May departure, so am expecting it to be cancelled, which should allow me to re-book without having to pay the extra (50% at least) Avios, as long as Reward flights are available. I’m hoping for June, so the sooner BA cancels, the better.

    Right now MMB allows me to rebook all the way out to Feb 2022 (beyond my original 12 month booking date), but I suspect that I will be hit with extra Avios costs if I click through to completion. Avios availability is showing, apart for dates in December (not surprising).

    From recent comments here, when/if BA cancel, I’m expecting to see same re-booking flexibility on MMB (but not from BA call centre staff) out to 365-10 days (notwithstanding beyond booking date +365), albeit with availability reduced by any new bookings, at no extra Avios cost. You should be same, if BA cancels yours.

    Only problem is, your departure date is after 17 May, whereas mine is before, so your flight may go ahead without cancellation, which probably leaves you no choice but to cancel (Avios cancellation fee, return of Avios & taxes paid) or re-book but pay extra 50% Avios. I think I’m right there.

• TimM says:

  25 Feb25 February 09:17

  I have tried for two days to use a future travel voucher involving Avios. Each time I call BA, I am on hold for precisely 40 minutes, it then rings once and promptly cuts me off. Worse, what I originally wanted to book now shows no availability and I have had to change my dates – but still cannot get through to BA. Any suggestions?

  • Rhys says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:45

    I had no issues the other night, albeit I did call the US team

  • James Vickers says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:49

    I used the live chat on BA the other day and the person on there was incredibly helpful

  • memesweeper says:

    25 Feb25 February 10:59

    I’ve had good success calling as soon as the UK call centre opens. Unfortunately if you call on a day with lots of cancellation notifications getting sent they will be swamped. Rhys’s suggestion of out-of-hours calling the US number is smart too.

• Jonny says:

  25 Feb25 February 09:21

  ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
  Was due to fly to Barbados in April on an Avios booking with 2-4-1. BA have today cancelled this flight. Rang them up to re-schedule at Xmas and they have stated that because there is no Avios seat availability in December then they can’t rebook. I asked if they can open up 2x seats on the requested flight and they said they can’t do that. I explained that they had done exactly that on another booking (to Johannesburg) and the guy said that they have changed their policy, or rather they have reverted back to their non-enhanced policy. I asked them when this had happened and he said he didn’t have that information. I tried calling again and spoke to a different call centre person but they stuck to the same story as the first person. Am I being fobbed off here, or has anyone else experienced this recently? Any thoughts on how to progress?

  LATEST UPDATE:
  BA came back yesterday and stated the following “When a flight is cancelled, a passenger has the option to apply for a refund or rebook their flight free of charge. This rebooking policy applies to any flight to the same destination within 14 days/soonest available flight. As your booking was made using Avios, we have the ability to change a Commercial ticket into a Redemption ticket, but only on flights up to 14 days after the original departure date.”

  I have responded to them saying that this does not meet their own websites guidance on EC Regulation No 261/2004, which clearly states that a passenger has the choice of “Re-routing at the earliest opportunity or at a later date at the passenger’s convenience”. The key words here being “choice” and “at the passengers convenience”. And no 14-day restriction.

  I’m not holding my breath for a positive outcome, but will keep trying. 14-days is useless given that the flight was in April and the same Covid cancellations will still be in place.

  • Anna says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:28

    This is the scripted BS they try to fob you off with. It’s completely irrelevant under EU261 that you paid with avios. Have you tried changing the flight online, @meta managed to score December flights to Maldives this way as mentioned yesterday (result)? Otherwise, you may have a bit of a fight on your hands; if you can’t get BA to change their tune you will need to get confirmation (preferably in an email) that this is their final position then decide if you’re going to pay for alternative flights on your chosen dates and claim them back via MCOL (or CEDR if applicable). I’m pretty sure @meta has done this as well (Portugal?)!

    • Jonny says:

      25 Feb25 February 09:42

      I already have their reply in writing (via the Customer Relations team).
      I did try to move flight online but because there is no Avios seat availability for Barbados this isn’t an option. Even where there is an outbound flight, there’s no matching inbound flight.

    • roberto says:

      25 Feb25 February 10:00

      I had a 241 booked for Nashville last year in October and it was cancelled. I was determined to go and re-booked in October 2020 in the 50% off for a Jan 2021 knowing it was going to be cancelled. BA duly cancelled it and allowed me to move it to September 2021 free irrelevant of award availability. The only caveat was it had to be within 365 of my original booking date (the ticket validity period)

      I did also have 50% off trips booked to KL (cancelled) and Barbados (cancelled) – neither of which I have rescheduled as I don’t have any time to squeeze them in.

      Still awash in Avios with plenty of plans and club award trips booked to Barbados, Nashville, Las Vegas in 2021.

  • Harry T says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:38

    Just hang up and call again. Eventually someone will have actually read BA’s current customer service guidelines and let you move your flights to within 365 days of your booking date.

    • Jonny says:

      25 Feb25 February 09:44

      That was my plan, but as stated by someone above, getting through to someone at BA is now extremely difficult, especially to the Avios team.

      • meta says:

        25 Feb25 February 09:59

        For changes via MMB, my experience is to wait and keep checking twice a day. Your flight is not till April, so the booking won’t disappear.

        There are absolutely zero reward flights available for Maldives when they restart in November, yet when I checked on MMB the first time it showed me a flight on 24 December, then a few days later, several dates in February and some in January. These didn’t work for me, so I waited. Checked the next morning nothing, checked in the afternoon, more dates available in December. I was prepared to wait until very last minute (my outbound was 20 March).

        Is Barbados seasonal?

        • Jonny says:

          25 Feb25 February 10:03

          I have a subscription with SeatSpy so get hourly notifications of Avios seat availability, but there has been nothing for about a month now for Barbados.
          Yes, Barbados is seasonal. Its never terrible weather, but there are certainly better months to go. December probably being the best. Along with April.

        • meta says:

          25 Feb25 February 10:07

          @Anna yes, I did arrange my own tickets for Portugal and claimed via MCOL, but for Maldives it would have been trickier given that flights are over £10k per person in CW and wasn’t comfortable with bank rolling that.

        • meta says:

          25 Feb25 February 10:11

          @Jonny SeatSpy won’t help you here. You need to check in Manage my booking. There are/were absolutely zero reward seats available yet I was able to move seats via Manage my Booking. I’m sure you checked for December already.

        • Jonny says:

          25 Feb25 February 10:25

          Also checked daily via the Manage my Booking link. No seat availability at all. Even when there is an outbound flight there is no matching inbound flight within 3-4 weeks.

        • Anna says:

          25 Feb25 February 11:47

          Jonny – I think @meta meant by seasonal that BA only runs the flights at certain times of year! I’m pretty sure Barbados is all-year-round though as it’s so popular with families.

      • Louise K says:

        25 Feb25 February 12:33

        Have you tried the Twitter team. I find them the most helpful in the past.

  • Harry T says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:42

    https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/2031601-ba-covid-19-flight-cancellations-rebooking-refunds-help-advice-thread-50.html#post33056678

  • Jonny says:

    25 Feb25 February 10:06

    BA Customer Relations have just replied with the following:

    “When your flight is cancelled, we can rebook you to a later date (within the validity of your ticket) but this is dependent on Avios availability. We can only convert a commercial fare into a redemption fare if the new flight is within 14 days of the original departure date. Any dates outside this period would be subject to Avios availability. If there is no Avios availability on your desired date in December then we’re unable to rebook you for this date.”

    So they’re sticking to their 14-day timescale to open up a commercial seat for Avios use.

    • Pauline says:

      25 Feb25 February 10:36

      Do you have a connecting flight? I think an onward booking in first causes a problem rebooking on line as the connecting flight does not have a first class

      • Jonny says:

        25 Feb25 February 10:47

        No connecting flights. Losing the will.

    • Michael C says:

      25 Feb25 February 11:15

      I was in fact told the same, Jonny: I think I was one of the earlier people on this new “system”, as I had no idea what was happening and certainly hadn’t read about it. However, I was able to see the whole calendar for 12 months in advance as from the date of cancellation.
      Like you, one way was easy but the return was not. What might be of interest is that BA on the phone said there was nothing for a week either side of my chosen date (Rio, just after N Year, so logical), BUT I did indeed find seats for 2 days later on MMB.

  • Jonathan says:

    25 Feb25 February 10:06

    Ignore the EU-261 discussion, just point them in the direction of BA’s Covid-19 Principle Customer Guidelines. Update 12 from 15th Feb still allows rebooking within ticket validity.

    https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/traveltrade/bookings-policies/policies/askba?faqid=8166

    • Harry T says:

      25 Feb25 February 11:25

      Jonathan is right here. Don’t get fobbed off by their customer service.

  • Yuff says:

    25 Feb25 February 10:09

    I had the same issue with 4 flights, in F at Easter, to Dubai.
    2 241 bookings. I moved them to October half term using the link provided in the cancellation email.
    I checked there were cash tickets available ( 7 seats) and booked the seats. There was no Avios availability on the flights in F.

    • ComeFlyWithMe says:

      25 Feb25 February 10:22

      When i goto MMB for a cancelled flight, it brings up a different landing page which states “We’re sorry that your flight to Las Vegas has been cancelled. We’ve gone ahead and booked you onto the next available flight.”

      It then provides a new itinerary for a flight that is c.4 hours later.

      There is only one button I can press, which is “Review and accept itinerary” – does anybody know what pressing the button will do? My fear is it provides my acceptance of the new itinerary which is what I want to avoid – or does it simply go to a page which shows options for different flights?

      Thanks

      • meta says:

        25 Feb25 February 11:06

        You should have a button ‘find a different flight’. just below. If you click on review and accept, you will agree to the flight they are proposing.

        • Louise K says:

          25 Feb25 February 12:35

          I have had flights moved to a later departure on a Man / Lhr / LAx flight with no other options other than to accept the changes.

  • Dr Lee says:

    26 Feb26 February 00:46

    I’ve taken BA to CEDR on this exact issue with flights to the Mauritius and will let you know how I get on.

• Matthew says:

  25 Feb25 February 09:46

  Quick question re Marriott status, if I gain Platinum status this year, how long will it run to? Thanks

  • Matt says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:50

    January or February 2023

    • Matthew says:

      25 Feb25 February 10:27

      Ok thanks Matt.

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