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The HfP chat thread – Monday 5th April

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Comments (316)

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  • Tim says:
    5 Apr5 April 08:52

    Anyone got any clue what the fare class rules are for “U”? It’s Club Europe in peak July for a Heraklion-Gatwick. Can’t find reference to it anywhere

    • Matt says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:23

      U is a redemption isn’t it (assuming BA)? Standard redemption rules

      • Tim says:
        5 Apr5 April 11:35

        Since remembered I upgraded with Avios… but still an underlying cash ticket. Wonder what the change rules actually are.

        • Jonathan says:
          5 Apr5 April 12:40

          It’s a bit messy. Essentially underlying cash fare rules apply for things like refunds or changes. Same Day Change isn’t possible (not without a lot of hassle & a highly skilled CS agent anyway). Suspect FTV would be cash plus Avios like a straight redemption unless you first cancelled the upgrade paying the £35pp fee.

  • MadeUpName says:
    5 Apr5 April 08:54

    Hi, just want to check my understanding of schedule change rules – my flight has moved by 1hr 40 minutes and I think this means I have to accept or reject with no right to re-booking on an alternative service. Is this right? Its a US domestic delta redemption booked with virgin points if that makes any difference.

    • Blindman says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:14

      I think the limit for rebooking due to schedule changes is 3 hours.

      I doubt any airline allows free changes for only 100 minutes schedule change.

    • blenz101 says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:18

      If you are thinking EU261 type rights then these don’t apply for obvious reasons given this is US. You will need to check the T&C’s of your ticket directly.

      My guess (under 2 hours) is they will class this as a minor schedule change where you have no choice to but to accept it. You can of course ask for an alternate flight but you are not going to be covered by any law as you would in the UK/EU and neither Delta/Virgin have any obligation to reroute you on a different flight.

    • Travel Strong says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:27

      If you call virgin you can expect them to be very flexible. In general delta are allowing any changes/cancellations – but you have to pay fare difference or accept ecredit … for cash fares. The virgin agent is likely to be even more flexible for a points booking. Every US domestic airline goes by their own T+C’s. For example, pre-Covid Delta had T+C’s that allowed cash refunds if time moved by more than 90 minutes. However this is gone in current T+C’s and they are more flexible, as are virgin, generally.

      • MadeUpName says:
        5 Apr5 April 11:05

        Thanks all, will see what virgin say when I give them a call

  • Steve says:
    5 Apr5 April 09:02

    Collective HFP wisdom, who do people use for Villa bookings? Looking for something with decent cancellation options (obviously) but also somewhere relatively established as most require at least a deposit up front.

  • Rob says:
    5 Apr5 April 09:14

    Really interesting bit of information that’s been pointed out on OMAAT. Apparently one way redemptions are now available on ANA using VS miles. One commenter had successfully managed to book a one way in F.

    Opens up so many more possibilities, but probably guarantees even less availability.

    Of course muggins here booked his return last week that he won’t be taking…

    • BJ says:
      5 Apr5 April 11:27

      Thanks, tip of the day, now I have a concrete goal for saving FC miles … provided Virgin and/or ANA don’t go out of business.

      • meta says:
        5 Apr5 April 12:09

        ANA won’t go out of business, but pay on a credit card and you can get a replacement ticket via S75.

        • BJ says:
          5 Apr5 April 12:42

          I thought I saw something about them merging with JAL similar to the chatter about Korean and Asiana, unless I’m just confusing tge two pairs.

          • Andy says:
            5 Apr5 April 13:57

            It was speculated in November as a government advisor suggested it, but seems to have died down or it’s being studied secretly

        • Jonathan says:
          5 Apr5 April 12:44

          Has anyone got experience of this? In my opinion it should work but wonder if having Virgin Loyalty as a middle man in the transaction scuppers things.

    • Magic Mike says:
      5 Apr5 April 19:06

      Just because someone has been able to do it, doesn’t mean it’s the new policy…

      • Magic Mike says:
        5 Apr5 April 19:12

        Nevermind, just seen on the link further down that it is now indeed policy…

      • Rob says:
        5 Apr5 April 21:34

        VS website has changed to say you can do it.

  • Fola says:
    5 Apr5 April 09:18

    Hi all,

    I have a trip in October to NYC,hopefully the flight won’t be cancelled.As a first timer in NYC, what are the best areas to stay( not too expensive) in order to be close to most tourists attractions.

    Also,I have some decent amount of Virgin points, any idea how I can use them towards my hotel booking?

    • Anna says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:23

      The attractions are spread out around Manhattan Island so your best bet is to decide what you want to visit and then look at the most convenient accommodation options. If price is an issue though, it’s probably best to avoid the most expensive areas, e.g. Times Square. NYC hotels are expensive full stop, though, so you need to do your homework to get the best offers.

      • Erico1875 says:
        5 Apr5 April 12:33

        Inside by Melia in Manhattan was pretty cheap on points for July. Half the price of cash rates

    • Tariq says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:24

      I had a good stay at Crowne Plaza Times Square about 3 years ago. Booked on IHG points was reasonable value and I don’t believe that I was charged the resort fee either. As a platinum was given discount vouchers for breakfast which was a good spread. You used to be able to convert Virgin miles to IHG, not sure if that’s still the case – check out the relative values and how much the room will cost you this way compared to cash.

    • Steve says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:32

      Once stayed at the Doubletree on Lexington. Not horrendously priced (around $200/night in Oct-21). Smart little hotel and in a quieter part of town, but not too far from the action.

    • Travel Strong says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:34

      You can convert virgin to Hilton or IHG, if you are willing to take the hit on value compared to airline redemptions.
      Either have plenty of good options in NYC.

      In NYC in particular I have found benefit from booking a chain property. For example – when the front desk insisted on charging fee’s after I had left NYC (late checkout when I did not check out late) Hilton stepped in and sorted it out.

    • Rob says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:38

      Virgin has a deal with Kaligo where you can redeem for any hotel on their site – search for our article.

    • Number9 says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:39

      I like this hotel it’s quite quirky the kids walked to Times Square and managed to find all the shops they wanted. Not a mainstream chain but we would stay again.
      https://hotelgiraffe.com/
      They have several hotels in NY under the Library hotel Group.

      Ive also stayed at Mandarin Oriental at Columbus Circle which was fabulous but very expensive.

      • Nicky says:
        5 Apr5 April 10:13

        All of the Library collection are excellent. I have stayed at the sister hotel, The Casablanca. Number one on tripadvisor and the giraffe is not far behind. Very comfortable, fantastic staff, very intimate little hotels. Cannot speak highly enough of them and I have stayed in many hotels in Manhattan. Go for it you will not regret your choice.

        • Number9 says:
          5 Apr5 April 10:38

          @nicky yes we enjoyed our stay, we went to NY for Wrestlemania and other shows we just wanted a base to travel round the other boroughs. I liked that I could go and sit in lounge and help myself to a cuppa and cake. We only did the cheese/wine evening once as we were out most evenings. Again plenty for everyone. All drinks served to you nice way to spend couple of hours. The buffet breakfast was continental but plenty of choices to start the day. Was central for us but we went to Brooklyn twice, New Jersey, we didn’t do the traditional sight seeing stuff.

          • Nicky says:
            5 Apr5 April 12:48

            @number9. I spent New Year 19/20 at the Casablanca. Fantastic… police use it as their coffee spot they escorted us around the Square just before midnight. After Grand New Years Eve dinner we all went up to the roof for Champers and to watch the ball drop….about 50ft away….best place to see in the New Year, big party in Ricks Cafe which staff had decorated: it truly was an experience.

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        5 Apr5 April 12:47

        +1 for the Library collection. Well run hotels with personality! Favourite was the Library Hotel itself. Well located, nice rooftop bar, good breakfast, and just up the road from the awesome Dylan steakhouse. Each room is lightly themed (pictures and bookshelf of content) according to the Dewey Decimal library numbering system for its room number.
        Can’t really justify staying there too often when points can unlock particularly good value in NYC, but if paying cash the Library Collection would be my first choice.

    • Memesweeper says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:42

      You can convert Virgin to Hilton, and use Hilton on a four-for-five basis if you have status with Hilton.

      Kimptons are a good option for IHG points, their NY hotels are well regarded and well located. Also a Virgin transfer partner IIRC.

    • AnotherUser says:
      5 Apr5 April 09:55

      Wherever you stay you’ll have to travel a fair bit between attractions. Normally I’d suggest just picking somewhere with good public transport links, but don’t know how you’ll feel about public transport in current circumstances. Personally, I’d pick an area with nice places to eat and drink in walking distance (so I can spend some evenings near the hotel) but that’s just personal preference.

      I’d book something cancellable now and check prices nearer the time – unless you get a great points deal, it’s often more expensive to book this far ahead.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        5 Apr5 April 11:09

        I quite like the chelsea area for that and the moxys always make most of the fav places to stay in NYC lists (not luxury and aimed at millennials)

    • Nori says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:31

      I liked Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn areas, just opposite Lower Manhattan. Less costly with excellent transport links.

    • HH says:
      5 Apr5 April 11:22

      If you want easy access to most subway lines, Midtown is ideal – Arlo NoMad is a great cheaper option or on a higher budget I recommend the Edition.

      If you mostly care about shopping and Upper East Side museums, the Intercontinental Barclay is great value or at the higher end the Pierre comes with park views without Plaza prices.

    • Njb says:
      5 Apr5 April 11:26

      It goes without saying that Manhattan is enormous but also many (but not all ) attractions very walkable from where ever you decide to base yourselves. I would not recommend Brooklyn for a first timer unless it is to save $$$ on hotels. I would list the attractions in order that you want to see and then base yourselves in a radius of the most popular. I hate Times Square but its worth seeing – just not a location to stay for me. Think Leicester Square x 100! Hotels in financial district have lower prices at weekends.

      • Rob says:
        5 Apr5 April 11:48

        What is key is to understand the ‘fast’ subway lines. If you are there at a weekend you will get great deals staying around Wall Street because there is no business traffic. Whilst it looks a long way from Midtown, a couple of the subway lines which run N-S are ‘limited stop’, so you can hop in around Wall Street and be at Grand Central in around 5 stops.

        In the same way, a lot of London tourists don’t understand how quick the Jubilee Line Extension is compared to existing lines, because the stations are a long way apart. Stratford, where hotels are peanuts, to Bond Street is just 25 minutes and there are decent hotels within 60 seconds of the station.

        • Andy says:
          5 Apr5 April 14:04

          I stayed at the W facing WTC in the fall of 2019 on a weekend for about 100£/night….I remember I went to the Met on a Sunday morning and it was a surprisingly short trip. Would definitely stay in the area again

        • Njb says:
          5 Apr5 April 15:20

          Had a great weekend stay at Marriott Threadneedle – saw a different side of London and Jubilee line was great.
          Likewise in New York staying downtown is great for Seaport area, Chinatown, 9/11 memorial etc.

    • BJ says:
      5 Apr5 April 11:34

      Kalgo, there was an article on HfP last year IIRC so just pop it in the search.

    • ChrisC says:
      5 Apr5 April 12:30

      Don’t get hung up on being near anything or everything. The subway is a good way of getting around for longer trips and the buses for short hops.

      I usually stay in the Wall Street area at Mint House (used to be called the Lyric and 70 Pine Street). Very large rooms with a full kitchen – including crockery, microwave and a huge fridge freezer (bigger than the one I have at home) handy even if you just want to store drinks and snacks and make a sandwich. There is a small mini market in the basement, Even their smallest studio is 450 ft / 42m square. Note the hotel part is on the lower floors of an ex skyscraper office block so no skyline views.

      The area is very quiet at weekends but I prefer that to constant hustle and bustle and it’s virtually a minutes walk to the closed subway (2/3 lines) and others within 5 minutes walk.

      No idea on October pricing but NYC can have crazy prices as all it takes is for a big event and rates zoom up. But as Rob says the Wall Street area does have some good hotel deals because not a lot of tourists stay there despite it being next to the SOL, WTC and 9/11 memorial and the Brooklyn bridge.

      NYC does take a little planning. So make a list of all the things you want to see then look at them on the map then it’s a day for the for the Met and Guggenheim and Central Park ” and another day for the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 museum and the WTC or whatever as these are all close together,. That means you save time on transit and maximise your experience. Also make a spreadsheet of their opening hours and days as some museums and galleries close one day of the week and it varies.

    • Jonathan says:
      5 Apr5 April 13:00

      NYC is somewhere I’m happy to just stay somewhere clean, safe & close to subway. I’ve done high end & apart from the novelty value of sharing a lift with a couple of members of One Direction don’t feel there’s any great value add when the rooms are still tiny & I spend all day out & about.

    • Michael C says:
      5 Apr5 April 14:47

      We usually go to Fairfield Midtown Penn Station – just reserved at $190 for early Sept., inc b/fast. Great location for first-timers!

    • BP says:
      5 Apr5 April 14:51

      I stayed in Even hotel midtown using IHG points. Wasn’t impressed by it – the room was tiny, the area felt a little rundown and it was super noisy 24/7 with the police station almost next door. The first time we went, we stayed at the Bryant Park Hotel which was very nice and incredibly well located.

    • Andy says:
      5 Apr5 April 18:13

      We have stayed at the Washington Square Hotel a couple of times in our trips to NYC.

      Great location. Nice hotel.

      Loads of great restaurants and a subway station nearby.

  • Oh! Matron! says:
    5 Apr5 April 09:50

    Rob / Reece: can we have a look at https://loyaltylobby.com/2021/04/04/virgin-atlantic-flying-club-members-can-now-officially-book-ana-all-nippon-airways-one-way-awards/ I try not to go to LL too much as the spelling misteaks wake the beast inside me, as does the entitled nature of the “whine” Wednesday, of whatever it’s called. However, that’s not a lot of tax to get to Japan….

    • Harry T says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:15

      This is my main interest in Virgin miles, aside from short haul from the north to Europe.

      • Rob says:
        5 Apr5 April 10:25

        APD means the tax will be over £200 regardless from the UK. No way I am spending all day on the phone to VS to get the correct number though 🙂

        • Alex says:
          5 Apr5 April 10:29

          £257 LHR return I believe

          • meta says:
            5 Apr5 April 10:38

            It’s not easy to find availability from UK though, so this is welcome. Also great for mix&match with JAL.

          • Tom1 says:
            5 Apr5 April 10:58

            I don’t think it’s a GBP amount. Initially I thought it was gbpusd or gbpjpy related – but that wouldn’t make sense given Sterling is stronger now.

            Back in November I checked using the United website and it quoted me £241.14 (changing settings in to GBP). I used the virgin WhatsApp number to check and they quoted me £242.74 for the same flights – I put that down to fx differences given they were a few days apart.

            As comparison, I checked from FRA last night and taxes were around $125 return. Given I need a positioning flight, for me the cheaper FRA taxes almost pays for the positioning flight.

            Whatever it is – it’s cheap!

          • Tom1 says:
            5 Apr5 April 10:58

            https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/12/28/how-to-use-virgin-points-ana-fly-japan/comment-page-1/#comment-561234

          • Rob says:
            5 Apr5 April 11:58

            Thanks. Just found the comments to an article which said it was around £250.

      • YC says:
        5 Apr5 April 12:01

        Just locked in (FRA-HND-LON) for 2 in Jan/Feb, taxes £115. Now out of FC points but with 3 upgrade vouchers sitting in my account. Interestingly agent mentioned can’t use OH points unless they have enough for 1/2 or the full ticket (which was new to me)

        • Matthew says:
          5 Apr5 April 12:55

          Always been that way. Was it 2 in F or J? Only ever see one in F normally.

          • YC says:
            5 Apr5 April 13:47

            1 in each from FRA and 2 in J back to LON (which is also v.hard to find). A couple of mid-week inbounds in Feb was all I saw

    • Number9 says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:44

      Misteaks? 😁

      • Oh! Matron! says:
        5 Apr5 April 16:45

        You know how many times my phone wanted to correct it? 🙂

    • Tom1 says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:48

      I prefer the smelling pistakes.

  • Alex says:
    5 Apr5 April 10:22

    Did everyone’s CornerCard M&M Diners Club + MC prepaid card pack expire on April 4? That was the date noted in the letter I received in the post, so I assume the card is dead as of today…

    • Paul says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:30

      Just put 5k through today

    • TGLoyalty says:
      5 Apr5 April 11:11

      Not everyone’s. But everyone who received the letter on Feb 4th. May be linked to statement dates or just unluck of the draw.

      Mine is dead.

  • Definitas says:
    5 Apr5 April 10:47

    Mr Definitas’s IHG Reward points are due to expire in June. What is the cheapest/simplest way to extend their validity.?

    • Harry T says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:51

      Apply for the free IHG rewards credit card. Grants free gold status, which prevents points expiry. And earning points on the card should reset expiry too.

    • DJ says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:52

      Can Mr Definitas apply for Creation’s free IHG card? It comes with Gold Status.

    • Blair says:
      5 Apr5 April 11:02

      Book a restaurant on OpenTable, then either turn up or ring them and ask them to mark you as turned up. 150 points. 300 in some places like IHG hotel restaurants.

      • KBuffett says:
        5 Apr5 April 11:07

        Has anyone had issues with OpenTable removing their points? They’ve done it to me on numerous occasions ‘in error’

      • lumma says:
        5 Apr5 April 22:21

        To say you’ve turned up when you haven’t would cost the restaurant money

    • ChrisC says:
      5 Apr5 April 12:38

      This is all a bit wholly but a couple of options could be

      Can’t remember if buying IHG points extends validity or not. I know they aren’t qualifying in terms of status but could be for validity.

      Equally can’t remember if booking a redemption night extends validity and if then cancelling it later does the same.

      One night cash rate mattress run to a close IHG property?

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