Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Monday 15th March

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

We are running 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.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Category

General

Comments (347)

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

  • Daniel says:
    15 Mar15 March 12:13

    A question for Airtime Rewards enthusiasts: how long does it typically take for a transaction to appear in the app? Thanks in advance.

    • Yorkie Aid says:
      15 Mar15 March 12:25

      I normally see them within a few days (depends on retailer). You need to wait at least 14 days before filing a missing transaction though. I’ve only had to do this once and it was resolved within a few days.

      • Daniel says:
        15 Mar15 March 13:12

        In that case, I shall be patient – thank you very much @Yorkie Aid !

    • Raveon says:
      15 Mar15 March 14:39

      Another one for enthusiasts: how long do the offers hang about for. Eg morrisons 10%, only a start date is given, no expiry.

      • Connor says:
        15 Mar15 March 16:16

        Will probably be removed the same time as the other Morrisons offers will be so the 22nd IIRC

    • Secret Squirrel says:
      15 Mar15 March 18:47

      And then wait 4 months for the amount to become available for credit to PAYG. Min £10 credit also.

  • Sal says:
    15 Mar15 March 12:17

    Do Apple gift cards bill through as apple or say iTunes or a gift card company?

    Thanks

  • Elaine says:
    15 Mar15 March 12:18

    How can I find out when my current Companion voucher runs out and if it has been extended? I think it was due to run out in April 2022 so not sure if this has been extended? It is currently used in a booking for this September to USA, so not sure if that will happen? Thanks.

  • Claire says:
    15 Mar15 March 12:32

    Hi, I just did an Avios to Nectar transfer and was told that it would take 10 working days. Anyone who has done this, how long did it actually take?

    Thanks x

  • Doug M says:
    15 Mar15 March 12:39

    The Virgin Money points offer for an account transfer made by Virgin Red. I received the wine voucher, and my attempts to resolve it are not going well. What I find most odd in the process is making any offer to win business that you then implement so poorly it seems guaranteed to lose you business.

    • kitten says:
      15 Mar15 March 12:55

      Someone yesterday had them cave when they stated they were a teetotaller, so would never have ordered from any page with a wine offer.

      Virgin is trying to cheap out on this and I wouldn’t let them.

    • Sandgrounder says:
      15 Mar15 March 13:04

      Virgin customer service staff are always poorly trained, if its not in the script they will dogmatically stick to it. They don’t appear to have much support if they need to escalate an enquiry. I had a lot of trouble with the VA CC waybackwhen, I am still waiting for my points code, I went through the app but breath is not being held.

      • Aston100 says:
        15 Mar15 March 13:05

        Isn’t this true of all the popular cards and airlines?

        • Sandgrounder says:
          15 Mar15 March 13:28

          There is good customer service out there, Amex, First Direct and EE have been very good to me recently. Citi were always very good. TBH VA have been OK when I’ve needed them, but it’s been nothing serious, and processing times have been poor, when you finally get to speak to someone they usually have to hand it off.

    • Patrick Cold says:
      15 Mar15 March 14:18

      I did the switch to Virgin and found their CS to be quite useless. I switched back immediately the points had hit.

      • Lord Doncaster says:
        15 Mar15 March 18:01

        Virgin Money are beyond useless and stuck in the dark ages.

        • Claire says:
          16 Mar16 March 06:59

          I agree, I have a registered card for instore shopping which never tracks, I removed it and added it, still doesnt work. I have lost thousands of points at Morrisons as has my husband who has the same issue. CS were really unhelpful, I showed them credit card statements and they loaded the transactions then they were declined weeks later and they said nothing they could do.

  • Sean says:
    15 Mar15 March 13:03

    Has anyone else noticed the curve ‘issues’ have returned? This time the funds are pre authorised, despite the unsuccessful payments.

    • Ben says:
      15 Mar15 March 14:05

      Yes. Mine just declined £1k for Ernie but still charged the underlying card. Im sure it will come on as a credit within a couple of days

      • Sean says:
        15 Mar15 March 15:03

        Yes same, I’m sure the funds will be returned but curious as to why it’s been declined n the first place (again)

  • Richard Hoyes says:
    15 Mar15 March 13:24

    I booked two BA reward flights with Avios. Now my companion voucher expiry has been extended, I was wondering if I could cancel and rebook with the companion voucher?
    Any one got experience?

    • Rob says:
      15 Mar15 March 13:33

      If your question is ‘can I swap my existing booking over because no more Avios seats are showing’ the answer is No.

      If your question is ‘if I cancel (paying £70) will the seats go back into Avios so I can rebook?’ the answer is no-one knows and you are taking a risk.

      • Rich says:
        15 Mar15 March 13:36

        It’s the latter.
        So I risk cancelling and then the availability doesn’t turn up again?

        • Lady London says:
          15 Mar15 March 14:21

          Yes. If you have enough avios try making the new booking first.

          Then decide if you want to pay the £70 cancellation fee for the original booking right now or if you want to wait until, say, 72 hours before the flight in case BA cancels. If they do then one of your options is to take it a cash refund and as it was their cancellation you wouldn’t lose the £70

  • Aslan says:
    15 Mar15 March 13:25

    Not points related, but has anyone managed to get RWC2023 tickets today?

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Learn more on our About page.

VAA

Latest comments

Latest Forum Posts

Get 30,000 points bonus with American Express Platinum

Amex Gold

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.3 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

Get 20,000 bonus points and your first year free with American Express Gold

Amex Gold