The HfP chat thread – Monday 3rd May

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• Vinz says:

  3 May3 May 09:31

  Does anybody know when avios from Barclays are transferred to the nominated BA account? Thanks

  • Craig says:

    3 May3 May 09:42

    Last lot showed on my Barclays app on the 31st March, arrived in the BA account on the 6th April.

  • Wollhouse says:

    3 May3 May 10:05

    Their t&cs say 2nd working day of the month which is also when they take the fee. If you look in your app: More, Rewards, activity it will show your Avios credited and if you scroll down, there’s a faq link

  • Vinz says:

    4 May4 May 08:14

    Thanks. My app doesn’t work as normal because I have some other company accounts attached to it so many of the app features disappear. But good to know. I’ll see if they get credited tomorrow.

• Paul Pogba says:

  3 May3 May 09:52

  Bit of a weird question, does anyone have hotel lists from IHG, Marriott and Hilton (ideally in Excel format)? I’m trying to add them as layers to Google Maps.

  hotel-finder.co.uk have a reasonable list for UK hotels but I was hoping for something more comprehensive.

  • DT says:

    3 May3 May 10:24

    Haven’t got a list of them, but I sometimes use this Google map for all Hilton properties https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Zwe2pTn4bzZsz5vaC9sW8EnO3XQ&usp=sharing

  • Anna says:

    3 May3 May 10:26

    https://millionmilesecrets.com/resources/

    Already has maps and lists but I’m not sure how current it is.

  • Reney says:

    3 May3 May 12:06

    awardmapper.com? Sometimes a bit out of date.

  • Paul Pogba says:

    3 May3 May 20:57

    Thank you for all the replies, really appreciated. They’re all pretty much what I was trying to create myself – a tool to visually plan an open jaw road trips (layers for each airline destination, and other layers for hotels).

• Olivia says:

  3 May3 May 09:55

  Hawksmoor at Home offer posted on my BA Amex today – £20 off £100. Anybody tried it and recommend? Isn’t a better steakhouse in the country when I’ve dined in in my opinion, curious to hear thoughts on their at home option.

  • Stu N says:

    3 May3 May 10:26

    Highly recommended, the meat is fantastic, very clear instructions around how to cook to get as close to restaurant steak as possible given limitations of domestic hobs and ovens. The rib starter was excellent and the “at home” chips are a triumph. We has the chateaubriand last month and have a prime rib for May. This will probably encourage me to order something for June now.

    • Olivia says:

      3 May3 May 15:07

      That’s it, i’m sold – 3 course sirloin box bought for later this month. 90quid for 3 courses inc gimlet and red wine.. cannot wait!

      • Stu N says:

        3 May3 May 21:12

        The gimlet is awesome. We ordered some extra cocktails with our second box 🙂

  • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

    3 May3 May 12:16

    Hawksmoor gift cards seem to be in the same checkout flow. Might trigger the offer if you want to dine in.

    • Alan S says:

      3 May3 May 16:31

      Giftcards work for anyone interested. Their home boxes are ace too.

  • cinereus says:

    4 May4 May 06:47

    If you can’t beat Hawksmoor quality at home with decent dry-aged butchers cut, there’s not much hope for your cooking skills.

    • Stu N says:

      4 May4 May 13:08

      There’s always one, isn’t there?

      It’s more than just a bit of meat. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone do the hard work for you to put a meal together, box it up with a clear set of instructions and all you need to do is assemble and finish it. (Almost) everyone will get a great result from it and you’re supporting a hospitality business and their supply chain along the way.

      And in the case of Hawksmoor, if you can do the triple cooked chips at home even half as good as theirs, then hats off to you.

• Wally1976 says:

  3 May3 May 09:59

  Is it correct that BA.com is quoting a different amount of taxes and fees for an Avios booking according to whether a 2for1 voucher is used or not (for the equivalent amount of points)?

  I’m looking at 2 adults, 1 young adult and 1 child LON-MCO in economy and it’s quoting the following (peak dates):

  LON-MCO return WITH 2for1
  150k pts plus £932.12

  LON-MCO return WITHOUT 2for1
  200k pts plus £1200

  The same happens for a single:

  LON-MCO single WITH 2for1
  75k pts plus £588.52

  LON-MCO single WITHOUT 2for1
  100k pts plus £600

  (It is not possible to do a comparison for MCO-LON single as you can’t do that on it’s own with a 2for1.)

  I AM using a 2for1 so it’s a benefit but I thought it was a bit odd!

  ??

  • Wally1976 says:

    3 May3 May 10:02

    Apologies for the odd formatting, it was fine when I hit submit!

  • Jonathan says:

    3 May3 May 10:15

    That’s not correct. Suspect you’re not clicking through to the final payment page where you should be presented with the correct prices. The initial page is often inaccurate or is showing different Avios/Cash options to the standard redemption chart which a 241 will price off.

    The young adult/child will also be confusing things. Essentially the full fare calculation is only done when you get to final payment page.

    • Alex says:

      3 May3 May 10:21

      It could also be without using a 241 you’re given different avios/taxes options. Where you see the avios and taxes it should say “different price options) if you click on that you’ll see a list going from low avios and high taxes to very high avios and low taxes.

  • Sean says:

    3 May3 May 10:19

    looks like with 241 is doing RFS and taking more avios and less cash.

    • Wally1976 says:

      3 May3 May 11:24

      Thanks for the replies. This isn’t about RFS prices (I am selecting the equivalent points amount) or about not clicking through the final screen (I am doing this).

      Even more weirdly I have now discovered that when NOT using the 2for1 it is quoting £1200 return whatever but when using the 2for1 it prices at £1066.88 if using LHR both ways but £932.12 for LGW/LGW, LGW/LHR or LHR/LGW!

      (Currently there is one LHR-MCO flight per day and one LGW-MCO.)

      • Sean says:

        3 May3 May 11:59

        How can they be equivalent though. On the one hand you quote 150k avios + fees with 241 and the other 200k avios without. 200 is not double 150K?

        • Wally1976 says:

          3 May3 May 12:56

          The Avios cost is 50k points each return. With just one 2 for 1 voucher you’re only getting one person free so the Avios saving is 50k.

          You’d need two 2 for 1 vouchers to halve the Avios cost for a family of 4.

• Mr. AC says:

  3 May3 May 10:04

  Want to make use of collective wisdom and knowledge here. Friend is moving to the UK from Bangkok to London around 26th of May. Business class flights are part of the relocation package and he can choose which one he wants. Has no airline status currently.
  What would be the optimal flight aiming to jumpstart his road to status? Finnair seems an obvious choice (140+90 would be over half to Silver with current reduced thresholds), but maybe he can do better? E.g. last year KLM and Air France had double XP promo, but I think that ran out?
  He’s not willing to do “creative routings”, just something that’s more or less reasonable (i.e. one transfer / stopover, and not on the other side of the world).

  • marcw says:

    3 May3 May 10:09

    Qatar with connection in Doh: 140×2 TP

    • Mr. AC says:

      3 May3 May 10:10

      Isn’t Qatar on the Red list?

  • Wollhouse says:

    3 May3 May 10:10

    I’m sure there will be other posters w way more wisdom, but I’d say Qatar via Doha…BUT I’d strongly suggest he waits until the lists are published! As grabbing extra tier points is probably not worth a lovely mandatory gvt hotel quarantine…. but assuming Doha is removed from the list, it adds a “relatively pain free” stopover. And he can select a flight with QSuite 🙂

  • Rob says:

    3 May3 May 10:37

    Qatar is the best option (140+140) but if Doha stays on the Red list he is stuffed re hotel quarantine. May want to wait until the end of this week to see if Doha comes off the Red list.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    3 May3 May 11:23

    Amidst the issues with relocation right now, I’d be minimising risk of government-facility quarantine as x1000 more important thean a few extra tier points (red country can of course change at any time and transport hubs are at higher risk than most of being on the list) so without direct flights being available, I’d be avoiding ME3 and other obvious problem areas. Happily, Finnair looks a sensible choice for that.

    • kitten says:

      3 May3 May 13:00

      will the employer pay for quarantine? if so then I’d just book the best flights.

      Is there any reason Emirates could be better? I am not sure if QF codeshares run on that routing, nor if they would accrue to other OW airlines other than QF.

      Personally I prefer Star Alliance airlines in that geography but that may not be any use to the flyer here.

  • BJ says:

    3 May3 May 13:08

    QR via DOH at 280 TP is not the best option. It is BKK-DOH(QR)/HND(JAL)-LHR(BA) at 300 TP. Obviously depends who can fly where when though, and whether you are willing to increase number of sectors.

    • Lord Doncaster says:

      3 May3 May 18:37

      Can’t quite follow that routeing

      • BJ says:

        4 May4 May 06:43

        BKK to LHR via DOH or HND are both 300 TP in J provided the flight into LHR is on BA.

• Pete M says:

  3 May3 May 10:13

  Interesting write up on TLFL this morning about testing if you go to Jersey – apparently not all UK labs and providers are recognised there, so worth double-checking if you are heading there!

  • Andrew says:

    3 May3 May 10:31

    Yes sounds a complete mess.

• Newbie says:

  3 May3 May 10:16

  Portugal and Gibraltar predicted to be on the green list, Spain on the amber one. In the meantime the Spanish borders with those countries will remain open.

  I wonder how many 1 or 2-weeks trip to GIB will be booked if above turns out be true…

  • Yuff says:

    3 May3 May 10:30

    The whole thing is becoming tiresome now, restaurants should be open if you have been vaccinated or do a negative LFT on the day.
    If there is a loophole to avoid quarantine of course people are going to use it, just look at what Australia did yesterday regards travelling from India.
    Data not dates they said in Feb, well in their wildest dreams they would never have expected the data to be so good by now so they should relax now not wait for more dates

  • Aston100 says:

    3 May3 May 14:12

    Aren’t most people averse to complications?
    If you want a holiday in Spain, you need to fly to Gibraltar, hire a car, drive to your destination, and do it again in reverse on way back. Possibly with kids.
    Can’t see that many people being up for such a faff.

    • Jake Taylor says:

      3 May3 May 15:05

      Gibraltar is a very convenient airport for a number of Spanish destinations, so it’s not really a “faff”. Places like Tarifa and Marbella are very easy to get to. As things stand, waving a British passport gets you over the border (in both directions) too, no need to show Gib residency.

      The only issue is if you hit the border at a bad time, in particular Friday afternoon.

    • Anna says:

      3 May3 May 17:09

      You don’t need to hire a car either, there are plenty of transfer companies who will send a driver to collect you on the Spanish side (a few minutes walk from the airport) and take you to Marbella/Estepona etc.

• Steve says:

  3 May3 May 10:18

  What exact date counts as the end of a 24 month gap as far as Amex are concerned? I.e. one member of the family in my referral chain last had a personal Amex where the account closure letter states account closed 10th May 2019.

  In this example : Would it be 10th May 2021 as the 1st day they can apply to be eligible for the sign up bonus or is it 11th May 2021?

  • Alex says:

    3 May3 May 10:24

    I would say the 11th as that’s when you would have been removed from active accounts on Amex. However to be clear I wouldn’t be getting one then! I waited about 10 days before I re-joined and my partner 2 weeks and we both had no issues.

    • Benilyn says:

      3 May3 May 10:53

      I’m guessing he’s asking because of the 12 May deadline for boosted referrals. Try ask chat function (can screenshot for proof) or call (can you record?)

      • Steve says:

        3 May3 May 11:32

        Indeed, the 12th May bonus boosts are driving the question, otherwise would leave more of a gap to be safe

        • Alex says:

          3 May3 May 11:56

          Ah I see – in that case yeah I would get said person to confirm with Amex chat as they are very helpful!

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