The HfP chat thread – Friday 26th February

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Gtellez says:

26 Feb26 February 06:27

Yesterday I bought a business class flight for me and my wife using avios and a 241 Amex voucher to Maldives. I wanted to add a baby, but I was slightly short of avios; so I didn’t include it. Could I do it in few months (the flight is in September) once I have the avios? How is the process? Thanks!
- John says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 06:43
  
  Yes, just call. Might as well wait until late August so you can be more certain the flight will go ahead. If you haven’t already you can open a BAEC for the baby which needs to be in your household account.
  - Gtellez says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 10:10
    
    Great, thanks!
- Anna says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 10:11
  
  If the baby will be under 2 when you travel you can get him/her added as a lap infant by calling BA. I think they charge 10% of the adult avios price?
  - babyg says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 10:15
    
    if your child turns 2 during the trip they get a “free” seat from the time they are 2. This can work well if you book an Asian (HK/SIN/SYD) trip and do a short EU trip on the same PNR. EG LHR-FAO(CHILD TURNS2-free seat from here!)FAO-LHR-SIN-LHR or whatever, it was my favourite points hack and the reason i want more kids 🙂
    - John says:
      
      26 Feb26 February 17:57
      
      I feel that the saving on points here is probably outweighed by the longer-term cost of an additional child!
  - C says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 14:03
    
    Confirmed, 10% of the adult Avios price, plus a larger share of the fees (IIRC, 40% on the RFS CE booking I just made).
Dr C says:

26 Feb26 February 07:28

Anyone done a conversation to nectar recently since got to phone up?
- Rob says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 08:44
  
  It was working online on Tue night, but with rudimentary 2FA attached. Must have been a test.
  - Dr C says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 09:25
    
    Almost 10 days since my transfer was initiated now, not hopeful!
    
    If Martin Lewis has recommended transfer to Avios and Nectar then I hope they get it sorted soon!
    - Lord Doncaster says:
      
      26 Feb26 February 16:09
      
      Martin Lewis needs a gag sometimes
Matty says:

26 Feb26 February 07:39

If I enrol in the BAEC today will my tier point collection year end on 8 February 2022? If I wait until 9 March – next month – then I assume it will end on the 8 March 2022? I’m just checking because I want to align the collection year end with other account holders.
- Mervyn Miller says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 07:46
  
  It should be the 8th of the calendar month following the account opening month.
- AJA says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 08:00
  
  I think your tier point earning year is dependent on when you first fly a qualifying flight so you can open an account at any point but the actual date the account is opened won’t necessarily be the anniversary date.
  - roberto says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 08:09
    
    correct
  - The real John says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 09:55
    
    This was changed in 2014 and you don’t need to fly to activate the account any more.
    
    I know because I closed my old account in early 2014, then opened a new account and booked a £42 MAN-LHR to get the membership date I wanted, but only when I was about to go on the trip I realised my membership year was already what I wanted.
    
    Also I have a baby who has never flown BA and I forgot to open his account on the right day so his membership year is now a month out of whack with ours.
Vit says:

26 Feb26 February 07:49

Sorry for repeting the question again. I’ve seen this thread a few days before but not sure which day it was so couldn’t find it.

My partner has just seen the referral offer on the free ba card and gold card, 8k avios and 12k MR points, respectively. Is this new?

I have cancelled my free BA amex since September 2020 and my gold card a couple week ago. If I got referred, would my partner still receive the referral points? Since I have recently owned those cards above. TIA.
- DT says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 07:58
  
  Refer bonus doesn’t care about the what cards the person being referred has owned before or how recently
  
  The increased refer bonus rates are targeted to some accounts and came out a couple days ago
  - Vit says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 08:52
    
    Thanks DT. Also should my partner refers me using the gold card link only to maximise the refer bonus? Regardless of which card I’m applying, a 12k MR will be awarded for each card accepted by amex.
    - mark2 says:
      
      26 Feb26 February 10:21
      
      yes, get the best bonus.
      - Vit says:
        
        26 Feb26 February 10:28
        
        Thanks Mark2. I’ve never know that actually. Good to know now. 🙂 Make sense though — as that means the holder of Plat will get the most referral points.
Anthony says:

26 Feb26 February 07:53

I have a 2-4-1 Redemption for late May to Philadelphia, booked during the 50% off Avios offer, does anyone know the best way to move it to a different US destination later in the year? would BA honour the 50% Avios saving or just wave the £35pp fee.

Thanks
- AJA says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 08:08
  
  It seems to be pot luck whether you can move flights without paying extra Avios. You can try doing it online via MMB. Alternatively wait for BA to potentially cancel the flight as that will give you rights under EC261 to move to a later date although there seems to be conflicting stories of only having right to any flight within 14 days vs moving to any future date. See last couple of pages of yesterday’s chat thread.
- Matthew says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 08:29
  
  You need to let them cancel first though to be able to move without adjustment in Avios or cancellation fees. I moved mine by over 6 months to a different date but that too got cancelled!
- David wakelin says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 09:05
  
  I’ve had a similar issue with the 50% off Avios sale and have been advised that BA will honour the deal but only for flights taken to the end of June. After that, you will need to cancel and rebook with the usual amount of Avios which is a bit of a shame !
  - Anna says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 10:15
    
    Under EU261 you’re entitled to re-routing regardless of when your flight was due to depart if BA cancels it – check your rights before being fobbed off by BA.
Secret Squirrel says:

26 Feb26 February 08:06

My BA account has been locked for I assume tripping security for too many nectar transfers. Been 10 x days now, any idea how much longer BA keep accounts locked for?
They won’t discuss the matter either…
- AJA says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 08:11
  
  Oh dear! No idea on how to get BA to unlock your account especially if they won’t discuss it 🙁 Out of curiosity how many transfers have you done? And I assume its Avios to Nectar ?
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    26 Feb26 February 09:59
    
    You as the account holder cannot get the account unlocked, you have to wait for BA to complete all their checks.
    I done about 6x transfers in the space of one week thinking it would be ok, didn’t see any restrictions except point limits which I don’t exceed.
Ming the Merciless says:

26 Feb26 February 08:14

Miles and More credit card. Anyone had luck paying vat? PAYE and CT are fine but Vat keeps getting denied
James. says:

26 Feb26 February 08:31

I have a Virgin Voucher due to expire in June 2021. Any ideas on how to use it for a short trip this year as otherwise I lose it. Not looking to travel far due to COVID etc.
- Rhys says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 08:34
  
  Israel might let you in sooner rather than later!
- Tom1 says:
  
  26 Feb26 February 12:57
  
  Aren’t they also book by, not use by?
  Virgin have been very flexible IME