The HfP chat thread – Sunday 21st March

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• Tom1 says:

  21 Mar21 March 14:30

  Moving to Switzerland this summer, so need to rethink my points strategy, and looking for any tips.

  BA 241 only works starting from U.K.? So I would have to reposition to LHR first I think. If I took a RFS flight GVA-LHR and then a long haul BA flight, would they check luggage through?

  The One world multi carrier reward could actually work out nicely starting from GVA I think, avoiding U.K. taxes (and fees).

  Flights from the US it looks like Delta to CDG/AMS could be doable, then connecting to GVA.

  But overall I can’t see an obvious way to spend points “well” – any tips please?

  • AJA says:

    21 Mar21 March 15:11

    @ Tom1 You are correct the BA2-4-1 is only valid for ex-UK departures. I don’t think BA will check luggage through on flights booked on separate bookings so you would have to allow time between your RFS GVA-LHR flight and the LHR-destination flight using the 2-4-1.

    As for avoiding UK taxes (and fees) you can still benefit from that flying on BA via LHR. I think you only pay UK taxes if you stay over 24hrs in the UK. If you fly GVA-LHR-JFK on one ticket the taxes are based on the GVA departure.

    No idea about Delta via CDG/AMS.

  • Doc says:

    21 Mar21 March 16:10

    BA won’t through check your baggage. So you will need to collect your bags in London and recheck your bags before your long haul.

• Eric says:

  21 Mar21 March 14:31

  Just having a look at vaccinations at Excel in London. Basically across the next week, every single time slot is available everyday. What does this mean? Not enough people are booking them up? Spare capacity? Vaccines going to waste if not used by end of day?

  • Anna says:

    21 Mar21 March 14:49

    Some reports of people refusing the AZ jab in London but I cant see that it would leave that kind of capacity. If they’re not getting the slots booked they should really be letting anyone who wants a vaccine go along. My local centre was also quiet on Thursday when I went; my GP surgery actually called me the same day to ask if I wanted one of the slots!

    • Rob says:

      21 Mar21 March 14:57

      Excel serves Tower Hamlets and Newham which have the lowest take-up in the UK I think.

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      21 Mar21 March 14:58

      Agreed. They should open it up to all adults rather than letting slots go unbooked. The faster we finish this, the earlier we can get on with our lives.

      • Pete M says:

        21 Mar21 March 15:41

        Agreed 100% – it’s insane we are wasting volunteer’s time, if, thankfully, not vaccines. But the logistics are a problem and you could just end up with a mad scramble with people dashing across the country to get a slot there…

  • Tom1 says:

    21 Mar21 March 15:44

    The bottle neck is the vaccine supply when the 2nd dose kicks in early April – not appointment slots.
    Vaccines won’t be going to waste – unopened vials have a long shelf life, and vials have been used carefully from what I have seen.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    21 Mar21 March 15:46

    Vaccines themselves won’t be going to waste

    AZ has a very good fridge life.

    Even Pfizer does in a fridge for a few days

  • Tracey says:

    21 Mar21 March 15:56

    Could easily mean that you happened to have looked at a similar time to when they have put a couple more vaccinators on shift, each additional vaccinator means on average 10-12 more vaccine slots available per hour.

    • Anna says:

      21 Mar21 March 16:48

      If 1.5 million jabs have been given over the last 2 days as reported someone must be having them!

      • Pete M says:

        21 Mar21 March 17:55

        Everywhere you look, at least in London, is a vaccination centre! 😂

        • Rob says:

          21 Mar21 March 19:19

          Got mine today. Whole 5 mins walk down to the centre and no queue. Was down for 5.25 and back home at 5.35 including a coffee stop on the way 🙂

        • Eric says:

          21 Mar21 March 19:45

          Does turning up towards closing to try my luck for a vaccine work? Read some success stories but not sure if it’s worth a try!

        • Rob says:

          21 Mar21 March 20:56

          Three people in their 20’s were leaving today as I was going in at 5.25. Obviously they could have been priority cases or indeed volunteers working there, however.

• LP says:

  21 Mar21 March 14:31

  Hi, I’m looking for travel related birthday gift ideas (looking to spend £1k to £1.5k). Obviously ideal gift would be booking a trip somewhere but not keen on doing that whilst there’s COVID travel uncertainty. Anyone got any good suggestions?

  • Anna says:

    21 Mar21 March 15:23

    Bit niche but I’ve booked my OH a shark diving experience at Blue Planet Aquarium! It’ll tie in nicely with a weekend in Chester though most Sea Life-type places seem to do something similar. It’s a safe bet for me though, as he did it about 15 years ago and loved it, and hasn’t been able to dive for the past year, obviously.

  • Andrew says:

    22 Mar22 March 12:29

    Spend less and take a trip to Barra when Scotland reopens.

    It’s on the bucket list of travel writers worldwide. Rob did a review a few years back.

• HeadingForNoPoints says:

  21 Mar21 March 14:32

  Last day for airtime rewards £5 referral + 10% off Morrisons (can be stacked with Natwest rewards at 7/10%) so can be used for amazon giftcards etc (payout is 90 days via airtime, Natwest is much sooner maybe 1-2 weeks from prior experience)

  I’ve managed to buy £1500 worth of giftcards via AMEX 10% offer at Morrisons as the payout time is substantially faster and £2500 via airtime + natwest which should give back 14% – 20% but longer wait obviously.

  Just realised it’s a lot of work for what it is but I will continue to milk until offers expire in April 🙂

  My code – NWM87QEG

  • TGLoyalty says:

    21 Mar21 March 14:48

    Where does it say it’s the last day to get the 10% off?

    • HeadingForNoPoints says:

      21 Mar21 March 16:37

      Oops I meant for the referral, Morrisons offer should stay until April in line with natwest and amex dates though no explicit date mentioned on AR.

  • Steve says:

    21 Mar21 March 16:25

    Ok, I’ve bitten. @HeadingForNoPoints I’ve just used your code 👍

    Anyone else looking to join my code is 3M64WYE6

• Tom1 says:

  21 Mar21 March 14:32

  Has anyone who has “no active offer” for Morrison’s with virgin SA actually had any points successfully post?

  I don’t think there’s much to lose by trying, but not seen anything to say it does work yet (and yes, the calculator shows 7/£1)

  • Ste Cox says:

    21 Mar21 March 14:57

    it’s the same for me. I made a purchase just over a week ago and nothing has shown up yet

• Anna says:

  21 Mar21 March 14:45

  A few people have mentioned high car hire prices for this summer. I’ve just managed to get a Nissan Pathfinder (or similar!) for 13 days in Miami for £447 from Budget at ba.com. It’s bigger than what we need but it was £200 cheaper that the next cheapest car and we’ve often found that they let you choose something else depending on what’s available. And if not, it’s America so most of the population will also be in massive vehicles!

  • Doug M says:

    21 Mar21 March 14:57

    That’s very good, I’m finding prices all over the place for Florida in late October into November. Often find odd SUVs at better prices than cheaper models.

  • HBommie says:

    21 Mar21 March 15:15

    Thanks, I need to arrange car hire for my Nov trip.

    7 days for the price of 5 atm – £287 for 8 days not bad.

    • Anna says:

      21 Mar21 March 15:26

      Mine is for August so presumably peak season (for school holidays if not for weather). You can cancel for a voucher if it doesn’t go ahead, plus I’ve just had a £2k refund from BA/Amex so it doesn’t feel like it’s cost me anything!

  • Jane says:

    21 Mar21 March 19:21

    Have you tried AlamoBrits, they’ve consistently been a good price for us, completely refundable with extra driver free. I’ve booked in the past and kept an eye on the price then cancelled and rebooked a few times and got some great deals. You’re supposed to have a copy of the brit guide to Orlando but we’ve never been asked for it, it’s usually about £5 on ebay though for peace of mind.

• James says:

  21 Mar21 March 15:14

  Hi,
  Quick question, Virgin dropped the fx fees for Euro. I booked a hotel in Turkey, the payment for a deposit was in Euro and processed by Belgian bank and I made the transaction online.
  Virgin claims that because the address of the hotel is in Turkey then I will be charged a non Sterling fee

  Any views/experience with this

  Many thanks

  • Rob says:

    21 Mar21 March 16:13

    No, Virgin charged you a fee because it was CNP (cardholder not present).

• Andrew says:

  21 Mar21 March 15:20

  The government really is trying to manage our expectations about summer holidays aren’t they – with an extension to the “ban” past 17 May “not ruled out” and an application to extend the Coronavirus Act past 31 March for another 6 months.

  • Jamie says:

    21 Mar21 March 18:16

    Why would anybody be surprised be this?

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