The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 31st March

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• Moktar says:

  31 Mar31 March 07:21

  Lloyds upgrade voucher extension: anyone managed to extend their expired upgrade voucher recently? Mine expired end of Feb, and I realised it last week. Tried to extend it via chat who told me to call. Call center lady said she doesn’t have the authority to register expired vouchers and to email customer relations. Now they just got back with a rejection with the following:
  “We have received several queries requesting us to review the terms and
  conditions of the Lloyds reward voucher due to the global pandemic . In response to these queries we have corresponded with Lloyds and a joint
  decision has been made to maintain the current terms and conditions of the voucher which is ,once Lloyds Rewards voucher has expired, we?re unable to re-instate or extend the expiry date. The overall decision was based on the conditions of the validity as this is the book by date and not the
  travel date, therefore opportunities were available to our customers to use
  the voucher for future travel .

  We understand this response may be disappointing but hope we can be of
  service to you in the future”

  Have I reached the end of the road or its worth pointing out to them that amex vouchers were extended automatically and Lloyds needed repeated manual requests, each time by a couple of months which was not user friendly.

  • PaulC says:

    31 Mar31 March 07:25

    I’m exactly the same as you, my voucher expired 7th March and when I remembered to ring up the day before the office was already closed so thought i’d lost it. I rang them up and was told to email like you, and my email response was identical! I posted this comment a day or two ago but got not help.

    • meta says:

      31 Mar31 March 07:46

      I have a slightly different situation. I had flights booked with the Lloyds voucher for May bank holiday which were cancelled, but Avios.com team is now refusing to extend and even rebook. Tried several times. The odd thing is, I even have an email saying they’ll extended the voucher when the flight was cancelled two weeks ago.

      I am prepared to rebook in any case and I intend to take them to MCOL if they don’t allow it. Have written to them now requesting final position.

      • Lady London says:

        31 Mar31 March 08:52

        please keep us informed on that mcol.

        At several points since the Lloyds card-voucher earning opportunity closed it’s looked like Lloyds were walking away from the liabilities. Now it looks like they really want to shut it down.

        If you didn’t ask before your voucher expired I dont think you’ve got a hope. But if you did it depends on how much Lloyds think they need to look nice. They certainly didn’t expect this one to have such a long tail, I suppose.

        • meta says:

          31 Mar31 March 10:31

          Yes, I am not even trying to extend it beyond ticket validity, I just wanted to move it to August bank holiday. Looks like BA/Avios/Lloyds needs to learn again. Hope someone sees sense.

      • Lady London says:

        31 Mar31 March 08:57

        voucher is irrelevant once it’s been used to purchase ticket(s). Then it becomes only about the rights you have on the ticket as a ticket without regard to how you paid for it. so avios is wrong.

        of course make sure any ticket you buy is issued promptly and also any change just in case.

        • Mikeact says:

          31 Mar31 March 09:09

          Interesting comments re Lloyds.
          My last one was due to expire this week.. end of March. Called on Monday to a)either use it or b) see if it could be extended.
          I was amazed to be told that it had already expired around the middle of March, which I knew was incorrect. The only option was to email Avios. I knew the exact time and date of my call to them in February and knew exactly what I was told. Received an email back within the hour…apologies etc., now extended to October 31st which was very good news.

      • Doug M says:

        31 Mar31 March 10:43

        meta, you case seems like a slam dunk……

    • Doug M says:

      31 Mar31 March 10:42

      I think asking to extend a live voucher and to reinstate an expired one are quite different things.
      My view is given how little benefit Lloyds receive from a defunct product they’ve been quite reasonable with extensions.
      Whether paper or electronic, maintaining a calendar with expiry dates/things you need to do doesn’t seem that onerous a task.
      If you want dishonourable companies walking away from liabilities look no further than VM and the 15K points that morph into a wine voucher, and that’s a current product they expect to continue to sell.

  • Richard says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:26

    Same response yesterday. Voucher expired last year.

• Sam G says:

  31 Mar31 March 07:52

  Saw over on onemileatatime that awards have been loaded on the Aer Lingus flights from Manchester . Had a quick look , biz to Barbados I couldn’t see any but 4 seats on some flights in early December for example in economy

  • Anna says:

    31 Mar31 March 08:09

    I don’t think Aer Lingus guarantee any award seats.

    • Blair says:

      31 Mar31 March 09:33

      No and they give out long haul upgrade vouchers in their AerClub scheme like they’re going out of fashion. The web is littered with tales of people unable to find a seat to use their voucher on. Ultimately it’s a lot of Avios/upgrade vouchers/partner awards chasing not that many seats on not that many planes.

      • Lady London says:

        31 Mar31 March 11:18

        I know this will be sacrilege to ask on HfP but how bad is Aer Lingus to West Coast in Economy?

        • Blair says:

          31 Mar31 March 15:25

          The food can be an issue apparently. I chatted to the crew who told me that the A330s were kitted out for east coast runs so the kitchen storage just isn’t there to support another meal service on US west coast routes. And so economy and business passengers do often cry out to be fed. They said they get through a lot of Irish crisps from the galley on the SFO route.

  • 747_Brat says:

    31 Mar31 March 10:18

    @Rob/Rhys: Do we have a review of Aer Lingus A330 Business Class on HfP? I searched for it but couldn’t find it.

    • Rhys says:

      31 Mar31 March 10:25

      https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2017/11/20/review-of-aer-lingus-business-from-london-via-dublin-to-boston/

      • 747_Brat says:

        31 Mar31 March 10:41

        Thank you Rhys 🙂

    • Phil says:

      31 Mar31 March 11:13

      Having done EDI-SNN-BOS, JFK-DUB-EDI, EDI-DUB-JFK, and BOS-DUB-EDI, I rate the Aer Lingus A330 Business product well. I’m 6ft 4 and carrying several more pounds than any sane doctor would recommend and I found the seat to be spacious and comfortable. The crew were attentive and helpful. The food and drink choices very decent. The bits that let down the service are, (1) Aer Lingus regional connections are cripplingly tiny, and unlike BA, do not support your onward connection baggage allowance, and (2) Lounges – found the Dublin and Shannon lounges very average and the lounge used in BOS was diabolical – I actually saw a rat!

  • Rob says:

    31 Mar31 March 10:39

    Where do you see this? avios.com has no redemption flights on any Aer Lingus MAN route. They may be sitting in the right bucket on Expert Flyer but you can’t book them. United doesn’t show them either.

    • Sam G says:

      31 Mar31 March 11:29

      onemileatatime – I was looking in Expertflyer though. You are right, doesn’t show on ba.com or avios.com. But does look like it’s on the way!

• Patrick Cold says:

  31 Mar31 March 08:38

  There are some good value BA Vegas holidays from DUB at the moment. Yesterday, three of us booked for 5 nights in October half term staying @ The Venetian for less than €2,000 each. Does anyone have any advice regarding how to book a Grand Canyon helicopter tour please? TIA.

  • Mark says:

    31 Mar31 March 08:41

    Maverick are the best but not the cheapest, they have the best fleet of copters which are all the same, which means you never get an older style one with limited views.

    • Gruntfuttock says:

      31 Mar31 March 08:45

      Maverick 👍 +1

      • AJA says:

        31 Mar31 March 08:56

        Is it just me but Maverick as a name for a helicopter tour company doesn’t inspire confidence that h&s is high on the agenda? Also wasn’t that the name of the helicopter co in Magnum PI or am I misremembering?

        • AJA says:

          31 Mar31 March 09:03

          Ps Just to be clear I am not saying they are unsafe.

        • BSI1978 says:

          31 Mar31 March 09:48

          Maverick was Airwolf (or possibly a call sign for someone in Top Gun…?!)

      • KBuffett says:

        31 Mar31 March 09:56

        Maverick was the call sign for Tom Cruise’s character on Top Gun. Some would say he was reckless. I’m really looking forward to Top Gun 2. For any of you old timers out there, you must watch the trailers on YouTube! The music gets me every time

    • Patrick Cold says:

      31 Mar31 March 09:07

      Great. Thank you all.

      • FFoxSake says:

        31 Mar31 March 09:34

        Another vote up for Maverick. They stepped in to fly us after our original booking with Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters was cancelled at the last minute “due to bad weather” (a complete lie). All other companies were still operating normally.

  • Rob says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:19

    I did one about 15 years ago … it is very cool. I was on my own so got to sit next to the pilot with a couple sat in the back.

    • Mikeact says:

      31 Mar31 March 09:51

      I’d just drive over to the Canyon village and turn up , plenty of options.

  • Chris says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:55

    Long time ago I did Grand Canyon package.

    Flight (from Las Vegas), Helicopter (over Grand Canyon) & boat tour. Best bit by far was the boat part, a totally different perspective. More time to take it all in, quieter and in the open air.

    • Grimz says:

      31 Mar31 March 10:33

      Anyone been on the glass top train around the Grand Canyon?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        31 Mar31 March 11:11

        Nope but I did like the skywalk.

  • Lev441 says:

    31 Mar31 March 11:52

    We used Maverick too (although it was back in 2012).

    It was by far the best money we spent on that trip…!

  • gareth says:

    31 Mar31 March 13:19

    download the “my vegas” app – its a free slots game and you earn points you can use towards 241 offers and free helicopter flights

    • Tracy says:

      31 Mar31 March 14:35

      I’ve been playing for years. I’ve built up enough gold coins to pay for cruises etc 🙂

  • Sean says:

    31 Mar31 March 13:58

    I flew with Papillon and it was fine and easy. You do understand though that Helicopter tours will only fly to the grand canyon west – which whilst nice to see is nowhere near as impressive as other parts.

  • Guernsey Globetrotter says:

    31 Mar31 March 15:49

    My only recommendation is to avoid doing what me and Mrs Trotter did – going out big style on Fremont Street the night before and then missing the flight !

    • BP says:

      31 Mar31 March 18:00

      Maverick were awesome! We took a little prop plane with them and then the helicopter trip over the more scenic part of the canyon. Having overindulged the evening before, I was sick in the helicopter 🙁 Fortunately, they carried sick bags!!

  • Chas says:

    31 Mar31 March 18:29

    Another vote for Maverick. We flew with them in 2019 from the South Rim, but I think they also operate from closer to Vegas too. My wife did a huge amount of research on the different helicopter tour companies prior to our trip, and Maverick definitely had the most consistently good reviews, and as someone else mentioned the newest fleet of aircraft too. If my memory serves me correctly, by booking directly with them we were able to reserve our slot with just a deposit, but booking via one of the many “agents” meant that it was all payable in advance. Not only is that relevant now with all the travel uncertainty, but at the time it enabled me to put the bulk of the cost on the IDC Amex I took out just before the trip to hit the sign-up bonus.

• JDB says:

  31 Mar31 March 08:56

  For those that were on the chat last week bemoaning the lack of a proper retail offering on the Deliveroo IPO, it looks as though you had a lucky escape!

  • AJA says:

    31 Mar31 March 08:58

    On the other hand potentially the time to jump in is now? Or not.

  • Andrew says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:14

    David Cumming’s sixty word appraisal on the Today programme was enough for me.

  • MD says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:23

    I knew somebody would have beaten me to it! 😂

    https://www.ft.com/content/5028437e-accf-4624-8ecd-2b502d04743d

    • Jack says:

      31 Mar31 March 10:02

      I find it ironic that the FT is trying to blame the location of the IPO for Deliveroo’s poor performance. They fail to mention the fact Deliveroo has never made a profit, their alleged poor working conditions , and the fact multiple institutional investors have rejected the IPO.

  • Ken says:

    31 Mar31 March 10:33

    How is Deliveroo ever more than a low margin business?

    It’s delivering fast food.

    How will people on push bikes (or even electric ones) ever deliver much more than 2 possibly 3 at peak deliveries an hour ?
    Even with a monopoly 3 is a struggle but there are 3 strong competitors. The ‘network’ effect is a mirage.

    In the long run , how much of a market is there for higher value £30 plus say per head, to be delivered luke warm ?

    It’s not the workers rights issue that’s the problem with this business, it’s fundamentally flawed value wise.

    • Doug M says:

      31 Mar31 March 10:54

      Deliveroo in North/East London for me is rubbish. The food is always cold, you end up in the street looking for the delivery person, frequently marked as delivered up to 15 minutes before it is, presumably to kid themselves or management about service.
      Push bikes, electric or otherwise are not the issue. How to find an address is. For clarity I live directly on a street, no estate, and have own entrance. It really is incompetence.
      Have tried Just Eat and Uber and they were equally poor. But direct delivery from the traditional pizza places just doesn’t seem to be a problem.

      • ken says:

        31 Mar31 March 11:04

        Pizza places tend to deliver in a small radius (2-3 miles), are frequently franshises with ‘turf’, often employ their own drivers (Dominos) so know the area & you will get the same driver delivering to the same addresses. This will never happen with Uber or Deliveroo.

• N says:

  31 Mar31 March 09:07

  AUH F1 Crew…

  Poked around my sources a bit and confirmed they are taking ££ bookings for the F1 weekend this year (not bookable through marriott.com though!).

  I continue to hold out for a points room being released…

• Blair says:

  31 Mar31 March 09:21

  Expect much handwringing and woke calls for action today as this report is released: https://www.wearepossible.org/latest-news/elite-status-how-a-small-minority-around-the-world-take-an-unfair-share-of-flights

  I’m not sure what these people ultimately want. There is no electric bus service from London to San Francisco to use as an alternative to flying. We have no viable alternative to jet fuel right now; we all know this. What I suspect they really want is for planes to not fly at all, and to hell with the economic activity business travel creates (not least the activity of flying itself).

  • Blair says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:23

    For unfair share, read ‘pay for what is an economic good with a market price.’ I await their follow up report on how deep pocketed frequent attendees in box seats make up most of England’s Wembley fixture attendees.

    • Russ says:

      31 Mar31 March 09:34

      Perhaps it’s me but it comes over as a thinly veiled case of sour grapes.

  • Anna says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:45

    Is this actually a surprise to anyone?!

  • Lady London says:

    31 Mar31 March 10:39

    It’s either people who themselves are not in a position to fly longhaul so they don’t want anyone else to or it’s yet another setup by the government to use any excuse to grab more tax from flyers.

    • Polly says:

      31 Mar31 March 15:18

      We had same nonsense from imperial college gang a year or so ago, seems like sour grapes?

  • ken says:

    31 Mar31 March 10:50

    we happily accept that price targets behaviour when it comes to tobacco, alcohol or fuel duties (as well as rasing lots of tax !).

    If we are going to tackle climate change (or make serious efforts to) why shouldn’t this be the same for aviation ?

    The problem is that the argument can be used for a whole range of carbon polluting behaviour – not least heating your house and eating meat.

    • r* says:

      31 Mar31 March 13:46

      Using tax to try to change behavior is and always has been despicable. Dont mistake inability to do anything about it for happily accepting

      • Rob says:

        31 Mar31 March 14:43

        Works though. When did you last see a plastic carrier bag blowing down the street?

  • James says:

    31 Mar31 March 11:03

    Did you actually read the article or the authors comments, Blair, or just make huge assumptions?
    From the authors:
    Murray added: “Air travel is a uniquely damaging behaviour, resulting in more emissions per hour than any other activity, bar starting forest fires. So targeting climate policy at the elite minority responsible for most of the environmental damage from flights could help tackle the climate problem without taking away access to the most important and valued services that air travel provides to society.”

    Nobody is talking about planes not flying at all, and what’s actually wrong with a ‘polluter pays’ approach? Used in many other areas of industry.

    • Blair says:

      31 Mar31 March 15:28

      Because there’s no alternative to jet fuel. I’d happily pay more ‘emissions tax’ if I chose to take a Blacklane from Heathrow to The City, because there’s a viable less emitting alternative.

• ash says:

  31 Mar31 March 09:33

  Hi, anyone know if nectar home insurane and life insurance bonus nectar in app work alongside the £ back site that shall not be named.

  • kitten says:

    31 Mar31 March 10:40

    extremely unlikely as they would both have some sort of affiliate agreement. In the conflict, you could end up with nothing.

• pointsarb says:

  31 Mar31 March 09:43

  Morning all. Does anyone know if a flight only avios booking with BA can be turned into a BA holidays booking by adding a hotel if the flights have already been booked? Looking to add a hotel to our flights and so wondered if the above was possible and, if so, whether the hotel might end up being cheaper booked via BA than if I book with the hotel directly. Thanks!

  • Anna says:

    31 Mar31 March 09:50

    You can’t mix avios and BA holiday bookings (though I think people have used avios to upgrade the flight element). BA hotel prices aren’t generally great value compared with booking direct and if you do book a package, it’s the flight price which gets discounted rather than hotel/car.
    What we often do is book 2 of us on avios flights using a 241, and get a package deal for the 3rd (or 3rd & 4th sometimes) person to take advantage of the benefits of that (deferred payment, cheaper flight plus avios & tier points).
    You can also sometimes get the BA pricing system to price it up as a holiday if you book a hotel in 2 parts over your chosen dates, or book the hotel plus one day car hire. There’s not a massive advantage to this at the moment though, as most hotels are offering “pay later” options.

  • Lady London says:

    31 Mar31 March 11:22

    you’d have to cancel and rebook. Not sure if BA has relaxed on not being able to use flight FTV’s for holidays and vice versa.

    • Patrick Cold says:

      31 Mar31 March 11:57

      One cannot use a FTV for a BA holiday booking; I tried yesterday.

      • Rob says:

        31 Mar31 March 14:50

        Was this a FTV which was a mix of Avios and cash, or an FTV from a pure cash booking?

    • Lady London says:

      31 Mar31 March 13:13

      PS if you do decide to cancel then wait till shortly before the flight, say 36hrs,in case BA cancels and saves you the fee.

      Then if you’ve already booked as a hol separately just call BA to get the booking that had any canvelled flight on it, refunded in full without any deductions if you don’t want to reroute.

  • pointsarb says:

    31 Mar31 March 12:36

    Thanks for the responses all!

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