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The HfP chat thread – Monday 26th April

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Comments (308)

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

  • Benilyn says:
    26 Apr26 April 10:09

    Marriott – “You can Transfer up to a maximum of 100,000 Points, per calendar year, to other Accounts”
    Anyone tested above this?

    • jason says:
      26 Apr26 April 10:11

      yep done last week and several times last year

      • TGLoyalty says:
        26 Apr26 April 11:02

        You transferred more than 100k points to the same person multiple times last year?

        • mark2 says:
          26 Apr26 April 11:03

          I read this as 100,000 per year total.
          Can anyone correct me from experience?

          • TGLoyalty says:
            26 Apr26 April 11:05

            It is.

            Benylin is asking if anyone transferred above 100k and Jason seems to have replied yes multiple times.

          • Matthew says:
            26 Apr26 April 12:38

            I’ve tried more and their system automatically stops it so the max 100,000 transfer out per account is enforced.

          • Secret Squirrel says:
            26 Apr26 April 13:11

            Don’t you have to call up CS to transfer Marriott points between accounts these days?

    • Benilyn says:
      26 Apr26 April 13:45

      Yeah you have to call

  • Mighty Hunter says:
    26 Apr26 April 10:20

    I posted this late last night, presumably when there were better things to do, so only one reply (thanks!) from AJA, who thought it was the case.
    Now everyone’s up and about, can anyone confirm for sure – I’d hate to tell my wife she has 2 years of gold, only to find it changes to silver in a years time!

    Here goes again:

    My wife has had to travel up and down to Glasgow from LHR for a few months to help look after her mum. We decided early on to bite the bullet and pay the extra J class for safety, and by crossover booking flights outbound/inbound so each stay was over a weekend, we got some very decent prices. As a result (plus a couple of holidays in last year), she’s a silver card holder with a membership year date of 8th May and, I think due to an earlier BA extension, a card expiry date of 30 June 2023.
    On return tomorrow she’ll be in the happy position of 1135 tier points, so gold card awaits.
    Since the silver card has been extended to June 2023, will the gold status also expire then, with a soft landing to silver until June 2024?

    • MW says:
      26 Apr26 April 10:40

      Your wife’s new Gold card should have the expiry date of the current card. so if it was extended to June 2022 (or even 2023), that’s what the new card should have. I didn’t think cards with June got 2023 extension though!

      Obviously, there may be an IT glitch when Gold upgrade goes through that will revert it to an earlier date but nothing that the Gold line can’t fix, especially if you screenshot the current silver card pre-upgrade. Others may be of more help though.

    • ChrisC says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:21

      There’s a lot in there that’s irrelevant to the actual question.

      My view is that she will be gold for the rest of her current status year (end of June 2021) then for the next status year – until June 2022 as that’s the rules anyway.

      After which (assuming she doesn’t requalify for gold in her new collection year ending 8th June 2022) she’ll have an automatic soft landing to Silver for the year ending June 2023.

      BA only ‘protected’ (as they called it) your current status.

      • Mighty Hunter says:
        26 Apr26 April 11:32

        That’s not so good. I suppose the new status will be processed by Wed/Thu, so we won’t know for sure until we see what it says on the digital card

        • Rob says:
          26 Apr26 April 11:34

          The card will still says 6/23, I’m sure.

          You might not find out until 7/22 ….

          And other future extensions may change it anyway.

        • Mighty Hunter says:
          26 Apr26 April 11:35

          It does seem odd that the new card will have an expiry a year earlier than the old one though

          • Mighty Hunter says:
            26 Apr26 April 11:40

            Sorry crossed, Rob! Thanks.
            I’m a retired 747 captain and as an employee never got to use the first class lounge!
            Not that I’m expecting too much, having once flown back in first from JNB on Emirates when I got a last minute deal. Unbelievable experience!

          • ChrisC says:
            26 Apr26 April 12:45

            New card is for a different (enhanced) status though.

            As I said BA stated they were ‘protecting’ existing status. Becoming gold is a new status.

            There is a thread on flyer talk that has loads of examples on this so have a look at that.

  • DR says:
    26 Apr26 April 10:33

    If I book using Amex 241 voucher LHR/MIA in CW (F has not been showing, even
    at 1am) but return from either BOS or JFK, BOS seems to have F coming up fairly regularly, if I then want to change from CW to F on the LHR/MIA when and if it comes available, will this change from CW to F be allowed on an open jaw.
    I have still a few weeks to go for my date range but I am checking out now how general availability is going, I have done a change before from CW to F before
    in and out the same airport but not on an open jaw. Thanks

    • Stu N says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:23

      Yes, no problem at all. You’ll need to phone to upgrade but if your inbound is in F, you can use YouFirst so should be fairly painless.

    • ChrisC says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:25

      Yes it well be allowed as long as the distances come within the rules for open jaw.

      Don’t forget that BA don’t guarantee to release F rewards and if they do it won’t necessarily be at 1am 355 days out.

      • Anna says:
        26 Apr26 April 11:52

        Not much F around at all just now! F seats to BOS and a couple of other destinations being released on limited days in 2022, happily this has tied in with one of the cities I want to re-visit and the dates we can travel.

  • Rhys says:
    26 Apr26 April 10:44

    Do we have any HfP readers in Edinburgh? I’ll be in town for two nights from today. Any recommendations?

    • Darren says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:00

      The Kitchin

    • APB says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:17

      I think the Kitchin only reopens tomorrow but the same group have a gastropub called the Scran & Scallie which is usually very consistent.

    • Stu N says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:28

      Very much depends on what you want and what’s open. Today is first day of reopening for a lot of places. NB there is no drinks indoors until mid-May – alcohol is outdoors only.

      For high end dining, Fhior, Aizle, Little Chartroom, Timberland worth a look. The Kitchin and Wishart’s aren’t open yet and Castle Terrace closed for good which made me very, very sad. Mid-range Ondine (seafood), Contini (Italian), La Garrigue (regional French) Cafe St Honore (classic French), Noto (bistro twin of Aizle) all good options.

      Sadly it looks like the end of the fine weather too…cold and showery. There’s a reason outdoor dining and drinking isn’t really a thing up here.

      • Rhys says:
        26 Apr26 April 11:52

        Yep – weather seems to have taken a turn for the worse! Thanks for these suggestions. I’ve already booked the Surgeon’s museum for tomorrow…

        • Tw33ty says:
          26 Apr26 April 12:07

          There’s “extra” more gorey things in that museum not normally open to the general public.
          If you work within the forensic or pathology field, you can ask to see them.

      • APB says:
        26 Apr26 April 12:23

        Couldn’t agree more on the sad demise of Castle Terrace – food was always spot on and the service faultless.

    • JP says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:49

      Wife and I always love the Outsider – despite its name don’t recall any outdoor tables but not sure if the rules are different in Scotland permitting it to open

      • Rhys says:
        26 Apr26 April 12:05

        Thanks – close to the hotel as well so may be a good one for tonight!

      • AnotherUser says:
        26 Apr26 April 12:44

        Restaurants/bars/cafes in Scotland can serve food inside, but not alcohol

    • Anna says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:53

      Baba at the Kimpton Charlotte Square looks nice and re-opens today (I think). We’re booked in for Friday anyway!

    • Andy D says:
      26 Apr26 April 14:09

      I love Edinburgh, if I didn’t live where I do, I would want to live in Edinburgh. A hike up Arthur’s Seat to the top is a MUST. Before lockdown got the better of me, I could do that on a run.

      Comedy isn’t just for the fringe, see if there’s any indie comedy happening at The Stand or Monkey Barrel.

      • Rhys says:
        26 Apr26 April 14:34

        Thanks – unfortunately weather isn’t looking too good for a hike, because that was on my list!

    • Wollhouse says:
      26 Apr26 April 15:51

      Dishoom – lovely indian food. they also do some great cocktails…. but half the fun was the atmosphere in the basement bar…possibly not as much fun shivering outside in the rain…. recommend them for breakfast too if you fancy something different. And Rhys…. this is Scotland… pack your waterproofs and just get outside…. if you wait for sun…. you may never leave your hotel…You can always head for the Coffee Shack in the Meadows – highly recommend their hot chocolate- toasted marshmallow, baby marshmallows and proper chocolate. Yum – and i don’t even like hot chocolate!

    • Harry T says:
      26 Apr26 April 17:08

      Six by Nico is good fun and the service was excellent last time I visited.

      The outsider serves tasty food too.

  • AndyW says:
    26 Apr26 April 10:45

    Question for those more knowledge than I. If I book non-refundable flights with BA, is there any period during which I can cancel for a full refund? For example reward flights I think I can cancel in the first 24hrs and not pay the £35 charge

    • Rhys says:
      26 Apr26 April 10:54

      The 24hour cooldown period applies to all tickets, including cash

    • ChrisC says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:33

      Yes and take the 24 hours as starting from the time you booked and not until the end of the next day.

      So if you booked at 3 pm today cancel by 3pm tomorrow.

      Last autumn I’d booked a ticket at 8pm, then saw some info on here at 6pm the next day and called them up at 7 and by the time the call was answered I was 20 mins within the deadline and the agent even said I’d managed get in just in time for a refund rather than a voucher.

      • meta says:
        26 Apr26 April 11:50

        Beware it’s actually 23hours as BA internal clocks have a different clock to everyone else. I had to argue once with a BA agent when I called at 23h to cancel.

    • AndyW says:
      26 Apr26 April 13:00

      Thanks for all the confirms. Appreciated.

  • Eric the Half a Bee says:
    26 Apr26 April 10:45

    HH credit card – just wondering whether anyone else hasn’t had the points transferred to their HH accounts yet this month? Normally goes through on 22nd/23rd if the month for me.

  • Craig says:
    26 Apr26 April 11:11

    Just an update for those that are interested, I completed another couple of sessions of volunteering over the past few days. It’s definitely getting easier as the weather gets warmer, so much so that I might have to put suncream in my pack. Turnout is still high with very few no-shows, however, there are a few refusals when people find out the only vaccine on offer is Ox/AZ. One person even asked the volunteers, the reception staff and the vaccinating team as if they expected the answer to change as they progressed through the system. I understand people’s concerns and the risk profile reduces as we work down the age groups, one refusal was even double-masked which begs a question as to where he thought the greater risk was? As I said, I’m not criticising peoples right to make an informed decision, it’s just an interesting anecdote. I’m starting to build up the group of volunteers in expectation of reduced availability during our progress to some semblance of normality. On that note, if anyone is in the Lincoln area and there are no objections from Rob and the team feel free to reply below.

    • Simon says:
      26 Apr26 April 11:17

      Thanks for everything you and all the volunteers are doing Craig. As close as my generation may get to the Blitz spirit maybe.

    • Colin MacKinnon says:
      26 Apr26 April 12:21

      Interesting to hear.
      I was asking a doctor, how many people – after hearing all the speil about side-effects etc – then stand up and leave, saying they don’t want it.
      He said none, so I asked: what is the point of all that guff, then. It is hardly building informed consent if no-one changes their mind.
      Of course, by the time they get to that stage, they have already walked out – as you point out – if they don’t want the AZ one.

    • Anna says:
      26 Apr26 April 13:15

      I’m also pro-informed choice but why take up an appointment if you’re going to be fussy about which vaccine you get?

      • TGLoyalty says:
        26 Apr26 April 13:44

        because its not clear which one you are going to get until you turn up?

        • Anna says:
          26 Apr26 April 14:02

          It’s well known that the vast majority of people are getting AZ at the moment. If you’re happier being unprotected than protected by AZ, wait till the next Pfizer delivery arrives.

          • Craig says:
            26 Apr26 April 14:14

            But the next Pfizer delivery will be second doses. At the moment the JVCI decides the risk and offers people what ever is available. I think we might get to a point in a few months when people can choose in order to catch up on those that haven’t been vaccinated.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            26 Apr26 April 14:49

            “It’s well known” perhaps to some but I’m not longer surprised at how many people have no idea how to tell the difference between their arse and elbow.

          • Navara says:
            26 Apr26 April 20:19

            Having my second dose of Pfizer on Thursday but had to wait till delivery arrived. Think they are using a just in time appointment system.

  • Harry T says:
    26 Apr26 April 11:55

    I have cancelled EasyJet flights that were meant to depart on this coming Friday (30th April). I am aware I can change to new flights for free up to the end of schedule (September 2022). Does anyone know if I will still be able to move these disrupted flights online if I wait until after this Friday?

    • BigSi says:
      26 Apr26 April 12:20

      @Harry T I have a few of these in the ”my bookings’ screen. Some from last summer and I still get the message. *We are very sorry your flight has been cancelled. Please choose a free flight change to another flight.*
      Hopefully the rules won’t change but for now, you will be fine.

      • Harry T says:
        26 Apr26 April 12:35

        Thanks! If you try to manage the disrupted flight, does it let you choose new destinations and dates?

        • BigSi says:
          26 Apr26 April 13:43

          Yes, but the country of arrival and departure cannot change. e.g. you could change man-alc, Spain to ltn-mad, Spain (if they fly those routes) but you could not change and fly to Portugal.

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