The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 12th May

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chris1922 says:

12 May12 May 09:23

The George IC in Edinburgh get some love on here, I’ve just used my Creation/IHG free night voucher to book a room, and the booking states it’s an “Urban double” room, which is tiny by all accounts. Can anyone on here shed some light, is that the room I’m likely to get ? Are these OK ? I’m IHG Plat, by way of the credit card obv. if that makes any difference.
- Andrew says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:30
  
  IC don’t recognise general IHG status, only AMB.
  - Genghis says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:39
    
    Totally not true.
    - Anna says:
      
      12 May12 May 09:43
      
      +1 – sadly I had to cancel a couple of bookings last year but both times I was upgraded (Spire but not sure if that makes a difference), AND was also offered a very reasonable cash upgrade on top of that (about £80 per night for standard room to junior suite). The manager was a Mr Carter, as I recall, and was extremely helpful – I don’t know if he fell foul of last year’s staff cull, however!
    - Kai says:
      
      12 May12 May 10:47
      
      Correct, normal benefits apply although nothing is guaranteed of course, unlike Ambassador.
- BP says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:17
  
  As a Spire member, I’ve a couple of upcoming points bookings here and have been upgraded in advance from the base room to a King Superior. I also got some great eStandby Upgrade offers of £60 a night for a junior suite and £150 a night for the top suite in the hotel.
  
  I’ve accepted the junior suite offer but I may miss out as this looks to be the suite spot for Ambassador member cash bookings – book the forth view room for £50 over the price of the base room and get upgraded to the junior suite.
- lumma says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:36
  
  Unless it’s physically difficult to get around the room and the bed is a decent size, why do people care about the size of their bedroom in hotels? Especially if you’re a great city like Edinburgh?
  - chris1922 says:
    
    12 May12 May 10:45
    
    I normally don’t care that much, but by all accounts these rooms are especially small, and my wife and I don’t really fit comfortably in a standard double bed. We have a super king at home. I was just curious.
  - BP says:
    
    12 May12 May 13:40
    
    More space is always nice as well as a decent seating area. 20sqm for the basic room is pretty small! I’m also used to a superking bed so a double would just be too small.
Josh O says:

12 May12 May 09:39

Good morning all.
Firstly, thanks Rob/Rhys et al for the great articles as always!
I have a quick question that I hope the knowledge of the HFP crew can help with::
Last June I booked 2 x Club Europe seats from Heathrow to Istanbul, for the end of May 2021, with avios and a 2-4-1 companion voucher (50k avios + 2 x £50 fees). The flights have now been cancelled and I wondered if I am allowed to reroute somewhere else, and if so, what are the rules?
I should find out today the destination I would want to reroute to – which looks likely to be Porto. Currently there is no avios availability on the dates I would require.
I know I am due a refund or a FTV but that is not the optimal solution.
Very grateful for any advice! 🙂
- Rhys says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:43
  
  Normal rules for re-routing are within 300 miles of the original destination, which Porto is decidedly not!
  - Josh O says:
    
    12 May12 May 09:53
    
    Thanks for the swift reply Rhys. Does that mean there is zero chance? I may be reading too much into your reply, but as you say “normal rules” – does that mean, that normally it wouldn’t be possible but as we are not in normal times they may be a bit more flexible and/or if I get the correct operator they may be able to slide it through? Or is it a slam-dunk no-go?
    - Rhys says:
      
      12 May12 May 10:00
      
      Yes, you’d have a better chance of being struck by lightning 🙂
      - Aston100 says:
        
        12 May12 May 10:17
        
        Sadly, someone in our town was struck by lightning during yesterday’s storms.
        
        Not sure if they were a BAEC member or not though.
      - Josh O says:
        
        12 May12 May 11:20
        
        damn!
- Pablo says:
  
  12 May12 May 09:59
  
  Sofia and Bucharest both within 300 miles range and if you speak to them nicely they may agree to Rhodes, Kos or Thessaloniki.
  - Josh O says:
    
    12 May12 May 11:22
    
    Thanks for this Pablo – very kind of you to look into this. Unfortunately it looks like the Champions League Final will end up in Porto tho.
    - kitten says:
      
      12 May12 May 14:47
      
      could this be a clue as to why no avios seats being added that destination that time
      - Josh O says:
        
        12 May12 May 18:44
        
        Absolutely. 2-3 days ago there was availability. In hindsight I should have taken a punt
David D says:

12 May12 May 09:45

I’m still not seeing the Deliveroo Offer on my PRG – any idea when it might show up?
- Travel Strong says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:04
  
  Same here. Also on desktop I see a banner on the Amex account summary for ‘3 x Points at Sainsbury’s – Add to card here’… but clicking add to card takes to the offers page which doesnt have the offer on. Feels like theres some ‘ghost’ offers out there!
  - Rob says:
    
    12 May12 May 10:05
    
    I thought everyone with Gold had that – have you not already saved it?
  - David D says:
    
    12 May12 May 10:11
    
    I have the same issue – I see the banners for certain Offers but when I click through, there is nothing on the Offers page.
    I can’t see the Deliveroo benefit anywhere (there may have been a banner last week) and nothing in open/saved Offers.
    - Aston100 says:
      
      12 May12 May 10:19
      
      Same here.
      Mostly on newish Amex cards which have barely any offers loaded at present.
      - Aston100 says:
        
        12 May12 May 10:19
        
        That was in reference to ‘ghost offers’, not Deliveroo.
- Rob says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:06
  
  Weird. Should have dropped automatically overnight on the day of launch. It’s a guaranteed benefit.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:29
  
  Just msg on chat and they will add it
  
  Hoping to see if Deliveroo plus activates the offer next week. I know it shows up as a different name but it triggered on my plat against the £175 offer for example.
  - Ste Cox says:
    
    12 May12 May 10:43
    
    Was trying to sort out my OH’s new Gold card yesterday, on chat i got them to add the Sainsburys offer as it was showing in a banner at the top but nothing in the offers at the bottom. they have added it (apparently) but it still doesnt show on the saved offers tab. I asked about the Deliveroo offer and they said to keep checking as they cant find it on the card to add it manually.
    Also, another offer i saved on it (the magazine one) just to test things doesnt show on the saved tab either.
    - Travel Strong says:
      
      12 May12 May 10:51
      
      I feel like its just a matter of patience with new cards. I’ve never had a card not open out to having the 50+ useless offers eventually! I just thought it was interesting that they seem to be there in spirit via the banner ads, just not in body within the offers list. I just received an email saying my PRG has been activated… when I activated it weeks ago… so there’s some sluggishness in the systems overall!
      - ankomonkey says:
        
        12 May12 May 11:53
        
        I made a payment to Amex on 4/5/21 and received the e-mail confirming the payment yesterday – 7 days later. Sluggish systems all round for Amex right now. Maybe they’ve ‘upgraded’ their IT systems to what Marriott use…
Red Flyer says:

12 May12 May 09:49

Anyone have experience of how long it takes Bonvoy points transfer to Iberia Plus to complete?
Aston100 says:

12 May12 May 10:24

Email from IHG:
“Save more with the UK and Ireland Flash Sale coming 17th May”

Takes me to a page where a handful of hotels are offering a very late check out.
- Aston100 says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:27
  
  Right, so this is something that was already reported here where you can get a checkout up to almost midnight but with a limitations (Mon – Thurs only , 17th May to 2nd June only).
  
  Nothing to see here.
  Though the talk of a flash sale sounds interesting.
  - Travel Strong says:
    
    12 May12 May 10:54
    
    Don’t be drawn by those non-refundable rates when they dangle them in front of you on 17th Aston101!
Ben says:

12 May12 May 10:35

Quick BA EU261 comp query. Brother (who lives in Dubai) is currently in Mykonos waiting 10 days before flying back to UK. Originally had a flight booked to City, but BA have just cancelled and shifted him and his family to a LHR flight that arrives 5hr30 later. No reason given, and within 14 days – Can he claim EU261? Any covid regs that mean BA are not paying these atm?
- Genghis says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:39
  
  No compo. But liable to pay for their lunch etc (excl booze) they would otherwise not have incurred.
  - Genghis says:
    
    12 May12 May 10:43
    
    Actually – though at what point does COVID stop being an extraordinary circumstance? Arguably a bit of a grey area with flights cancelled due to operational reasons (not sold enough tickets) rather than COVID? I’ll let others with more knowledge (or not) opine.
    - Optimus Prime says:
      
      12 May12 May 10:46
      
      Didn’t Hfp write an article about a reader who claimed compo and won? For those exact reasons, airlines taking advantage of covid exemption to sell flights they know they won’t operate and borrow your money at 0%…
- BS says:
  
  12 May12 May 11:21
  
  EC261 compensation likely to be valid – merely cancelling due to economic reasons of the flight is not sufficient. Put a claim in anyway. Regardless of compo you are entitled to re-routing, and food/drink costs whilst waiting
- kitten says:
  
  12 May12 May 14:57
  
  He can still insist on full transport paid back to his original booked landing point. BA would try to make it public transport but Heathrow to City is a pig with luggage and often problems on weekends so I would ensure BA knows they’re paying our taxi
  
  He can also reject the change outright both on landing that much later in itself, aggravated by long further journey to LCY at unsocial hours, and see if he can take the flight he booked a day later with BA coughing up for hotel and meals.
  
  I don’t think he should arrive 7 and a half hour later at LCY with a much more trying journey just for BA’s convenience – this is very significant amount of time and inconvenience
MCO says:

12 May12 May 10:49

I have the Hilton offer saved across a few cards. Any issues settling say a £1000 bill across 5 cards. Was thinking to pay off £200 every day or so via the front desk.
- Rob says:
  
  12 May12 May 10:53
  
  Hotel should be able to take five cards at check-out. I’d try to do it the night before though when reception is quiet.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  12 May12 May 11:15
  
  Always works. I’ve done it for large bills anyway as I don’t want “problems” with the card I want to use not working at checkout.
  
  If it’s a long stay if just pop along with 2/3 cards half way through and then settle with the last two at checkout. Or night before with all 5 as Rob suggests.
  - Lady London says:
    
    12 May12 May 15:01
    
    Defo the night before, as so many hotels have that nasty habit of having their overnight staff bill the card you used to guarantee the booking, at 2am and then slide the paid bill under the door in the night ‘for your convenience’
    - MCO says:
      
      12 May12 May 19:19
      
      Thanks all
Chris says:

12 May12 May 11:14

I had an offer earlier this year on my IHG Premium for x points if stay by x. Can’t for the life of me find the details, anyone else receive or remember the deal? I think it was 10k points
- Simon says:
  
  12 May12 May 13:58
  
  Chris, you had to book by yesterday and pay with the IHG card.
  - Chris says:
    
    12 May12 May 16:43
    
    ouch, now that is inconvenient. Thanks though Simon