The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 12th May

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Copperknob says:

12 May12 May 07:54

There is a Skrill phishing email doing the rounds.
Google: Skrill scam email
Obviously don’t click on any links!
- BJ says:
  
  12 May12 May 08:41
  
  Thanks, was discussing on previous page and Rob just drew my attention to your comment.
  - Jamie says:
    
    12 May12 May 11:01
    
    Er, no. It was Rhys.
    - BJ says:
      
      12 May12 May 11:50
      
      Yes, just spotted that and responded a moment ago 🙂
Will says:

12 May12 May 08:14

BA Amex 2-4-1 for 2 pax isn’t pricing the same as 1 pax avios and 2 pax tax.
it’s 18350+£25 each way in J per person. with voucher prices at 20500+£25 eg LHR-EFL
is this the new norm?
- Rhys says:
  
  12 May12 May 08:22
  
  Are you looking at different dates? Might it be peak vs off-peak pricing?
- BJ says:
  
  12 May12 May 08:30
  
  Noticed a few such comments in recent weeks. Not sure if something is really going on or if people are just misunderstanding what they are looking. When you quote those figures are you comparing identical flights during the same search session or are you comparing what you found now against what you think it should be?
  - Will says:
    
    12 May12 May 08:33
    
    identical flights
    - Babyg says:
      
      12 May12 May 08:41
      
      often you have to get click through a bit to get the final price….
    - BJ says:
      
      12 May12 May 08:42
      
      Priced in the same search session one after the other?
      - Will says:
        
        12 May12 May 08:49
        
        never trust a BA website///
      - Will says:
        
        12 May12 May 08:50
        
        same session one after the other. just done same again. also finding avios.com is pricing a little differently on taxes. a few pounds, so no drama, but perhaps more on a longer flight
      - BJ says:
        
        12 May12 May 09:10
        
        I’ll have a look at my favoured routes later to see. Baby points out about going through to final page as being likely cause of previously reported discrepancies but I don’t get impression that is case with your findings.
IanM says:

12 May12 May 08:21

Still had no comms from O2 Intercontinental about bookings being cancelled due to turning into quarantine hotel, Pretty bad customer service imho.

And how are inbound passengers needing quarantine getting to O2 from LCY…by Tube??
- jil says:
  
  12 May12 May 08:33
  
  which country is on the hotel quarantine list that flies to LCY?
  - Mouse says:
    
    12 May12 May 08:55
    
    You just need to have been in a red country in the past 14 days to be required to quarantine, not necessarily directly arrived from one. If you end up in the ICO2 after landing at LCY then it’s almost worth taking an indirect flight to LCY if you’re coming from a red country, looking at some of the pictures of the Heathrow options!
Ali says:

12 May12 May 08:28

What’s the guaranteed way to earn bonus MR points on the ARCC supplementary card – via the offers or via the supplementary card page?

I know there was some discussion around here that one of them doesn’t work for the bonus. Don’t remember which one though!
- Genghis says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:40
  
  I added a Nectar AC supp by the add supp option in online acct and got the bonus. I don’t think it matters.
The Lord says:

12 May12 May 08:42

Have BA given any indication as to what may be changing in the lounges from Monday?
- Rhys says:
  
  12 May12 May 08:49
  
  We’ve asked but waiting to hear back
  - Frankie says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:11
    
    A guy on Twitter (@lasvegasuk) asked this question to BA on Monday and this was the response from BA official Twitter account.
    
    Hi Steve, Good News! So long as the present government guidelines don’t change, you will be able to enjoy a drink in the lounge. We will not be offering bar service, so you will have to order from the Your Menu platform. Looking forward to welcoming you back!
    Angela T
    - Rhys says:
      
      12 May12 May 09:19
      
      The BA twitter team know absolutely nothing about anything. This sounds like they are referring to the current lounge offering.
      
      I would be shocked to see BA withold bar service from the 17th, which is also when indoor dining re-opens. It makes no sense.
      - Frankie says:
        
        12 May12 May 09:27
        
        I think this person at BA Twitter was saying you would be able to have an alcoholic drink (just not be able to go to the bar), a previous reply to this tweet has said the opposite, and was challenged. It make more sense if you read the thread (the question from from @lasvegasuk)
      - Andrew says:
        
        12 May12 May 09:29
        
        Have a look on TLFL – they have apparently got confirmation from BA that alcohol will again be served from Monday.
      - Rhys says:
        
        12 May12 May 09:30
        
        Seen that, but not wildly helpful on its own. Hoping BA will confirm which lounges they will re-open etc.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        12 May12 May 09:33
        
        They are saying you’ll need to order at your seat via the website not at the bar/free pour like it used to be.
  - David wakelin says:
    
    12 May12 May 10:55
    
    No doubt someone reading will be trying it out on Monday and reporting back here in time for me on Tuesday – looking forward to a Speedbird breakfast 🙂
    - Frankie says:
      
      12 May12 May 12:15
      
      I’ll be trying it on Monday! I’ll let you know via here 🙂
Oh! Matron! says:

12 May12 May 08:55

Virgin Atlantic: I messaged VS yesterday on facebook to see if they’d extend status again.. My status expires in June. Nothing planned right now, sadly 🙁 Whilst there are bigger things to worry about in the world, I’ll be losing a 10 years streak of gold with VS 🙁
- Jonathan says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:15
  
  They should almost certainly do something, but things aren’t often mentioned until the last minute. Virgin Atlantic were clearly very keen for the US to be put on the green list. Although since Israel will let (vaccinated) tourists in soon, they might increase the amount of flights to Tel Aviv, since there’s not many green list countries that’ll let UK based tourists in, I think Israel is the furthest away
  - Rhys says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:17
    
    They’ve already ramped up Israel flights!
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      12 May12 May 09:34
      
      I’m sure the whole world is looking forward to a holiday in Israel now
      
      All those tourist activities we all love like Rocket spotting, witnessing crimes against humanity etc
      - yorkieflyer says:
        
        12 May12 May 11:14
        
        Israel never appealed to me until their was some resolution to the occupied west bank. Compromise, which as we know is essential to conflict resolution seems forever sadly lacking in this locale.
    - Richie says:
      
      12 May12 May 09:59
      
      The overnight news is not good.
      - Rhys says:
        
        12 May12 May 10:02
        
        Yes, very sad. Hard to see how the conflict will ever get resolved.
      - fivebobbill says:
        
        12 May12 May 11:38
        
        Never will Rhys, that’s coming from someone with 60 years experience living in Norn Iron, it’ll settle down to an ‘acceptable level’ sometimes but never go away. The “them and us” situation is what gets politicians in places like the Middle East, just like NI, elected – peace and harmony is not in their best interests.
        
        Having said that, the current situation in Israel wouldn’t stop me going, moreover, when you’ve lived long enough in NI you see this latest unrest as a possible bargain travel opportunity. Had I not been twice in the last 3 years I’d be checking for falling prices right now. YMMV…
N says:

12 May12 May 08:56

A friend has 40k to put into Premium Bonds. All genuine, no MS.

Not interested in Bendy/Beardy sort of route. Che and his lot will flag up suspicion.

Is there a way to earn something back off the 40k? All while keeping any credit score mortgage-friendly!
- gareth says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:13
  
  If you are willing to do it for ms you could do via your curve etc so you gain from it and your pal transfer you the 40k
  - Jack says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:14
    
    Are NS&I happy to take deposits from someone other than the account holder?
    - Rob says:
      
      12 May12 May 09:29
      
      Yes, I’ve done it for my wife and kids.
    - Benilyn says:
      
      12 May12 May 09:37
      
      Card and ns&i account need to be same postcode so might be tough unless an‘S friend lives with him/her
- Jack says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:14
  
  No
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:26
  
  Tesco debit card?
  - Rob says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:27
    
    That new Tesco Pay card?
    - Yuff says:
      
      12 May12 May 10:16
      
      That’s if anyone can apply for it, no way to access the account.
      It might be as I already have a tesco credit card but you need to apply for a standard bank account, according to Tesco, but that application isn’t available anywhere on any of their websites……
    - Catman99 says:
      
      12 May12 May 13:08
      
      I tried the new Tesco Pay Card and it didn’t work – I was mighty surprised!!!
    - Reney says:
      
      12 May12 May 13:10
      
      Has it been confirmed that this could earn on points for nsi or hmrc?
Amy Carpenter says:

12 May12 May 08:57

Apologies if this has been asked recently.
I hastily booked a Male outbound Avios redemption when it became available earlier this week for next April. I am now regretting it somewhat as the weather will likely be pants then and I hope to go in Jan anyway. I’m new to this, was my first attempt to score an Avios flight and I got over excited for a flight that is usually snapped up in seconds.
Anyway, I could book the inbound when it becomes available on Monday but this would involve ringing Japan (I think?) at stupid o’clock. Or I could cancel for £35 now.
I can’t book the inbound online as if I then cancelled it would cost me £70 as I’d have two separate booking refs.
I only just became aware I can get a voucher for an Avios booking and there’s no charge! Is this the best scenario do you think? Are there any restrictions on using this voucher other than it’s expiry date? I understand FTV with cash bookings but unsure how they work with Avios ones. Thanks in advance, sorry for lengthy post.
- Alex says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:15
  
  I’m confused as to why you want to book the inbound at all, if you don’t want to go? However if you do want to book it, you could do it online. Call BA to merge the booking into 1 itinerary I believe and then cancel a few days later for just £35. I think this should work but others can confirm I’m sure.
  
  A FTV will tie up the avios&taxes paid. You won’t lose the £35/70. You would need to use it by 30May2023 which gives you plenty of time. No restrictions really, you just can’t use it on an all cash booking as it has avios tied to it. You could however use it for something cheaper and get another voucher for the remaining, or book something which requires more avios&taxes and then top it up.
  - Anna says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:21
    
    They won’t merge 2 sectors any more, you’re still left with 2 PNRs and therefore 2 lots of cancellation fees (this has been my experience for the past couple of years anyway).
    - Will says:
      
      12 May12 May 09:44
      
      but can you use the 2-for-1 on both sectors?
  - Anna says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:40
    
    Validity date is April 23, not May – worth noting in case you’re planning a trip that far out!
- Anna says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:20
  
  The FTV is your avios, cash and 241 rolled together. You’ll need to call BA to use it and there needs to be avios availability, so it’s obviously less flexible than being able to grab your seats online at 1 am. I would seriously reconsider giving up your MLE seats, as you say, these are like hen’s teeth (but it’s also sometimes not possible to get the return seats, which is a consideration as well). I don’t think April would be particularly wet – we went in December one year and it was quite stormy so I don’t think you’re necessary guaranteed better weather in the winter.
  I’m assuming you can’t just change the flight via MMB – I’ve lost track of BA policies now?!
  - Alex says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:24
    
    No mention of a 241 – if you have used one then a FTV might be a way of artificially extending its date range as-well if its close to expiry.
  - Amy Carpenter says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:57
    
    This is very late April and looking at the past 5 years it’s grim weather where I want to go. No 2-4-1 on this booking, literally just me. What’s MMB?
- Rob says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:31
  
  For an easy life, pay the £70 (£35 x 2 people) and get the cash and voucher and Avios back in your account. Otherwise take the voucher and call BA to make future Avios bookings. Remember that the cash part of an Avios FTV can’t be used towards a cash ticket and you can’t change the name of the 2nd passenger.
  - Amy Carpenter says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:55
    
    Thanks all. No second passenger and no 2-4-1 on this booking. Just me. The only cash I used is the taxes. Ideally what I want to do is use my 2-4-1 to book Jo’berg for May 2022 and hopefully use the voucher towards that if they allow it.
    - Anna says:
      
      12 May12 May 12:12
      
      Going on your own sounds even better 🤣. I’ve potentially got a few free days at October half term where the menfolk could frankly fend for themselves and I’m very tempted to put some avios and hotel points to good use!
      - Amy carpenter says:
        
        12 May12 May 20:03
        
        Been on my own once and with a BF once and know which I preferred!
- roberto says:
  
  12 May12 May 13:00
  
  We were there this April, the 9th to the 19th and the weather was glorious. It did rain overnight twice but the days were spectacular.
  
  Stayed at Rangali
  - Milly says:
    
    12 May12 May 15:04
    
    That’s good to hear. I managed to grab the same dates using 241 for next year. Cant wait!