The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 30th March

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• joe says:

  30 Mar30 March 14:32

  Rob, with Chase starting a bank in the UK, whats the probability that they launch a travel credit card along with it?

  • Rob says:

    30 Mar30 March 15:23

    It depends …. is the unexciting answer. Ignoring contractual issues with the key players locked in to other partners, a credit card is generally the easiest way to get a new brand out there (or you do a Goldman Sachs with Marcus and launch a savings account with unreasonably high interest rates).

  • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

    30 Mar30 March 19:22

    They’ve hired a few credit card folks, but not enough to make me think that they’re serious about launching a card anytime soon.

• Anna says:

  30 Mar30 March 14:37

  Entirely up to the Spanish government, of course, but I suspect countries which don’t require masks on beaches will get more visitors! It’s certainly the end of my Plan B – I’d rather stay at home.

  https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/travel-news-latest-face-masks-obligatory-on-beaches-in-spain-from-tomorrow/ar-BB1f6SuB

  • Travel Strong says:

    30 Mar30 March 14:59

    For all the illogical decisions over the past year – I am thankful that we are not one of the countries enforcing the ridiculous concept of mask wearing outdoors in wide open spaces!

    • The real John says:

      30 Mar30 March 15:08

      Well, it may be of some benefit in crowded high street shopping areas but there should be clearly delineated limits such as in some Belgian and German city centres. But on the beach is just silly, perhaps there should be a maximum number of people per square metre though

    • Rob says:

      30 Mar30 March 15:20

      You clearly haven’t been to the Royal Hospital Chelsea recently or their Burton Court sports ground, both of which insist you wear masks outdoors in wide open spaces. It is ridiculous – this is the space that holds the Chelsea Flower Show and there are rarely more than 10 people wandering around at the same time (it is the size of a football pitch) and mask wearing is strictly enforced. My wife actually refused to go in when she found out.

  • Andy says:

    30 Mar30 March 15:52

    Plenty of other places/countries mandating masks outdoors – have not seen many failing to comply in Dubai in the past month yet I cannot say this has negatively impacted my stay. Certainly glad to be here even if I have to wear a mask and enjoying my freedom when the alternative is walking around Hyde Park for an hour without one

    • Anna says:

      30 Mar30 March 15:59

      Do you have to wear a mask while lying on the beach though? It’s a totally personal thing of course but I would bet that given a choice between a holiday destination where you have to, and one where you don’t, the majority of people would opt for the latter. It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts on holiday bookings, anyway.

      • Andy says:

        30 Mar30 March 16:35

        As far as I know you are supposed to wear one around the pool and beach area as long as you are not drinking / eating. Sun loungers are quite well distanced though so in practice it’s probably not heavily enforced – I only pop by every so often to have a swim, and prefer going to the beach over the pool which is also quieter, so not really a focus point for me.

        On your other point, I’d be curious to see if it actually has an impact. I’m not one for beach holidays so it is a non-factor for me. Also with trips from the UK are unlikely to happen for another couple of months, rules will most likely have changed by that time – would someone pick a destination for travel in 3/4 months time based on current rules, rather than what was in practice last summer when most of Europe was open for tourism?

    • Rob says:

      30 Mar30 March 16:24

      Mask rules in Dubai do not apply to beaches or pools.

      • Chris Heyes says:

        30 Mar30 March 16:37

        Rob no idea how anyone could fit a mask round a pool never mind a beach
        But in Dubai they say anything’s possible
        Sorry just in a funny mood today
        Maybe it’s because we’ve got our FREEEEEEEDUM sorry again lol

        • Chrisasaurus says:

          30 Mar30 March 20:52

          Another glass Chris?

      • Andy says:

        30 Mar30 March 16:40

        Must have changed since you’ve been there – there are signs all around the pool area reminding guests to wear a face mask. Maybe this is just a conservative approach by the hotel were I’m staying, but it was the same in Abu Dhabi 2 weeks ago

  • BJ says:

    30 Mar30 March 16:37

    Be hilarious where the beach is clothing-optional but
    mask-compulsory.

    • Yuff says:

      30 Mar30 March 18:05

      Mask wearing in Spain is the norm and over 99% comply without any problems.
      When the majority of the population is vaccinated I’m not sure how feasible it is.
      I would not go to Dubai, or anywhere on holiday where I had to wear a mask while at the pool or water park.
      Rules are changing weekly in Mallorca and until a few weeks ago the gym was open( in the hotel) incl cardio machines, then they relaxed the bars etc and the gym opened to the public but cardio machines were closed. Then cardio machines allowed but only with a mask, now that isn’t fun and marks it a lot harder to run, luckily my mask keeps dropping on to my chin accidentally 😁

      • Travel Strong says:

        30 Mar30 March 18:13

        Another great example of nonesense! WHO have posters for gym’s explicitly advising against masks during such cardio exercise. Hopefully the rules keep changing swiftly for you until they land on a sensible approach! 🙂

    • kitten says:

      30 Mar30 March 19:10

      I suppose it depends how you would be recognised.

  • Lyn says:

    30 Mar30 March 21:16

    It’s not just Spain though.

    In California, for instance, you have to carry a mask always when you are outdoors and wear it whenever you are within 6 feet of anyone not in your household.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      30 Mar30 March 22:26

      Mandating masks outdoors is stupid to the extreme.

• John says:

  30 Mar30 March 14:54

  Just seen there is a petition lodged to remove UAE from red list by summer – currently stands at 116 signatures – requires 100,000 to be debated in parliament

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    30 Mar30 March 15:01

    Lol don’t worry, once the influencers start promoting it it’ll quickly get to 1 million

  • Andy says:

    30 Mar30 March 15:33

    Who in their right mind would want to visit the UAE in the summer? Temperatures were already approaching 40* on some of the hotter days in the past 2/3 weeks. The real benefit is from a transit perspective having an alternative to QR

    • Sandra says:

      30 Mar30 March 16:09

      Perhaps some people see the heat & humidity of summer in the Middle East as an easy way to sweat off the pounds they’ve put on in lockdown!

    • Yuff says:

      30 Mar30 March 18:10

      Approaching 36-38c at a water park is ideal in my view.
      I’ve been in late April plenty of times and it has not been warm enough for the water park

  • ChrisC says:

    30 Mar30 March 16:21

    It’s 10k to get a formal response from the Government and 100k to have it considered for a debate in either the House or Westminister Hall. And they only consisder petitions lodged on the Parliment Website.

    A petition reaching 100k won’t automatically get debated if one of a similar topic has been debated in the recent past as determined by the Petitions Committee.

  • Jonathan says:

    30 Mar30 March 16:36

    Complete waste of time. Won’t get debated and won’t change the governments mind. It’s partly optics (so are a lot of the regulations & there’s nothing wrong with that if it reduces people’s willingness to ignore other restrictions) but mainly it’s down the fact the Middle East is a melting pot thanks to the hub airports & extensive networks Emirates & Qatar have been running.

    If you don’t believe we need to be slightly cautious about RSA/Brazilian variants then you’re unbelievably naive. I’m in favour of travel opening up but only to other countries that have both decent case/vaccination numbers & well policed borders. USA/Israel would be my bets on the first travel corridors.

• KBuffett says:

  30 Mar30 March 15:13

  Has anyone stayed at The Ned in London? If so, would you be able to share brief thoughts on the rooms/spa/food?

  • Andy says:

    30 Mar30 March 15:38

    Not stayed in the hotel but the main hall was a popular spot for me on Friday evenings when my office was still in the City….pretty good drinks and good vides. Food wasn’t exceptional but there’s a wide range of choices among all the restaurants. Gets busy though, although that was pre-COVID, so worth booking in advance usually

  • AndyW says:

    30 Mar30 March 16:17

    Not stayed at the hotel, eaten a few times. Food is just ok for the price for me. It became a bit of a place to be which means better quality elsewhere for the money, felt very similar in that way to the Chiltern firehouse a few years back. Having said that, I do think it’s a nice place (or was) to eat and drink regardless, good atmosphere and done very nicely

  • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

    30 Mar30 March 19:09

    I’ve also only stopped by for food/drinks. Nice atmosphere, if a little crowded, but that’s priced in. It’s the sort of place that wouldn’t be your regular or even really a destination of choice, but if someone from out of town has read about it in Time Out then you’re happy enough to go there.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    30 Mar30 March 22:28

    I’ve stayed and thought the room was well Appointed but not luxury.

    Agree with the comments about the public areas all very nice with a good vide.

    Didn’t visit the spa

• YC says:

  30 Mar30 March 15:24

  Any thoughts on the different pine cliff (luxury collection) hotels in Algarve? Which would be best for a couple?

  • Andy says:

    30 Mar30 March 15:46

    I stayed in the main building and had a Christmas stay in the residences cancelled last year – the former is far more convenient for access to the pool/spa/gym and elevator down to the beach. The room was comfortably big enough for 2 people, although we only stayed the weekend. Residences was my choice for a longer stay (also a group of 4 vs. 2) because of the kitchenettes, rather than having to eat at the restaurants every day

• Chris says:

  30 Mar30 March 15:31

  I was a bit late off the mark getting the virgin instore setup and had noticed that until yesterday no transactions had tracked. Overnight multiple emails arrived and transactions for 24th, 25th ,27th March have appeared 🙂

  Thinking about the one4all which is processed as a VISA card, Do those sites that use your card number for rewards (Airtime Rewards, Virgin etc.) allow them to be registered? Are there any brand specific ones that work too?

  Also on the topic of those type of sites, what happens if you put a payment card in both sites? Both attributes, one attributes or none attributes?

  • Anuj says:

    30 Mar30 March 16:12

    Yes, one4all can also be added to Apple Pay unofficially. It only works at some stores like boots via contactless however. But it does mean one card can be shared by two people

    • Anuj says:

      30 Mar30 March 16:12

      Although I’m not sure how well one4all tracks with in store purchases and if that aspect works via contactless

• Jonathan says:

  30 Mar30 March 16:49

  GC’s from Morri’s bought with a card offering 10+% cas back. Add underlying card to Airtime or another portal offering further fund return. 15-20% total discount is pretty widely available.

  • Chris says:

    30 Mar30 March 19:44

    Just to confirm. Are you saying the John Lewis gift card can be added to Airtime?

    • Chrisasaurus says:

      30 Mar30 March 20:57

      No is saying the card used to buy JL gift cards at morissons can be

      Except for most people it can’t as they’re not on airtime

• Aston100 says:

  30 Mar30 March 17:02

  Getting a bit desperate to find destinations (with BA) at October half term or Christmas (fat chance) this year, as my companion voucher is going to expire otherwise.
  Don’t fancy an FTV at this time.

  Is Seatspy working properly? is it worth signing up for a bit in case of any sudden avios availability in those holidays, or am I wasting my time given probably half the country will be looking for seats too?

  • Aston100 says:

    30 Mar30 March 17:04

    By the way, BA refusing to reticket outside of current ticket validity date, regardless of how strongly people here seem to think BA will allow it.
    Theory and practice are somewhat different in my experience.

    • Memesweeper says:

      30 Mar30 March 18:10

      It’s a mixed story. Some people have done with no problems, others have with great difficulty and much escalating, others have been repeatedly flatly denied. I think BA are taking a tougher stance now, but that’s based on anecdata from here.

    • Lady London says:

      31 Mar31 March 09:18

      I think this is one for CEDR especially if you are someone whose work etc. means they can only travel, say longhaul especially, in a narrow window each year or if your travel is to attend a specific event you’ve missed (public or private) due cancellation of flight.

      The fact that IATA does have a specific provision for rerouting beyond IATA’s initial 12 month ticket validity available wherr rerouting is involuntary such as a cancelled flight or route – but BA is refusing to use it makes BA look unreasonable. So I would go for CEDR. Then MCOL if we heat a few are won so we can take it closer to being a matter of public record that BA is being unreasonable.

      This from @Charlieface who advised it’s in IATA regs to endorse the ticket “INVOL” and that means it can be rerouted to flights later than 12 months from ticket issue date.

      Plus it’s easy enough for an airline to simply issue a new ticket when it suits them and tracking can be maintained to original ticket .

      Sounds like BA is hoping to bully and stonewall people into taking an FTV when it’s not necessary to force them to do this. This will lose advantageous original pricing on a ticket as an FTV is a credit note for money or points not a flight. So much more likely to be unable to book the same for many with an FTV rather than insisting on your right to rebook to a later date that works for you if they cancelled your flight.

  • Anna says:

    30 Mar30 March 19:27

    What destinations are you looking at? I’m subscribed to RFF so I can do a world wide search on specific dates.

    • Aston100 says:

      30 Mar30 March 20:25

      Thanks Anna. Pretty much anywhere longhaul 23rd to 30th October and / or 18th December to 2nd January. 2 persons.

      Of seatspy is working properly again (anyone confirm please?) I might signup to that, just for the alerts.

      By the way, anyone reckon Canada might be open by end of October? Can see some availability to YYZ.

      Thanks

      • Anna says:

        30 Mar30 March 21:18

        On a quick look RFF is showing loads of availability for your October dates to US/Caribbean/Dubai, what are you searching on?

        • Anna says:

          30 Mar30 March 21:23

          Double checking with ba.com – lots of availability to NYC in J that week, for example, which seems to confirm that RFF is more or less accurate (apart from throwing up random single F seats which don’t exist when you check on ba.com).

        • Aston100 says:

          30 Mar30 March 21:35

          Thanks. Dubai is with partner Airlines.
          I’ll go grab a seatspy subscription.

        • Anna says:

          30 Mar30 March 21:46

          You’ve left it quite late for a sunshine destination at Oct half term in J or F, everyone wants those. Miami looks to have good J availability though.

      • pauldb says:

        30 Mar30 March 21:53

        Phoenix available on your Christmas dates.

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