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The HfP chat thread – Sunday 23rd May

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We are running this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

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Comments (230)

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

  • VickyTM says:

    I Have a flight booked with Qatar from LGW to BKK in Dec. The LGW- DOH is on BA metal and the DOH -BKK is on Qatar. All booked on a single ticked. Just received an email from Qatar saying the DOH -BKK leg on both flights is cancelled due to “operational reasons”. They have said I can have a refund or change the flight, but if I change, must pay additional costs. Am I correct in thinking this is not correct, and that they have to offer an alternative at no extra cost to me?
    I still want to go there, and am happy to change to LHR if necessary to make connecting flight, or to change the destination to HKT.

    • ChrisC says:

      No they don’t have to offer you an alternative at no extra cost. The cancelled flight is on a non EU airline on a non EU/UK261 routing.

      If you want to start at LHR and have a resonable alternative routing to get to BKK then I would ask them about that but they may still charge the fare difference.

      Though if they have cancelled flights from DOH-BKK then I’m not sure starting in LHR would get around that.

      • meta says:

        UK261 is valid from UK/EU on non-EU/UK airline and EU courts have long time ago ruled that it also applies to connections if they were on one ticket.

        • ChrisC says:

          As I said the cancelled flight is DOH-BKK so not an EU flight on a non EU airline

          Provide a link to that case please because I’m not aware of any such ruling by the ECJ.

        • meta says:

          For further reading

          https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62017CJ0537

          “Article 3(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91, must be interpreted as meaning that the regulation applies to a passenger transport effected under a single booking and comprising, between its departure from an airport situated in the territory of a Member State and its arrival at an airport situated in the territory of a third State, a scheduled stopover outside the European Union with a change of aircraft.”

          • meta says:

            @ChrisC the key here is that it is on one booking, so it is treated the same as if direct.

          • ChrisC says:

            Thanks

            Interesting. Wasn’t aware of that and it’s not mentioned (as far as I can see) in the comprehensive BA FT board guide to the regulation so it snuck under their radar.

            I think Vicky may have to push QR to meet the rebooking obligations though we could all be surprised at what they do of she quotes that ruling to them.

          • VickyTM says:

            Thanks for your help with this – They changed my flight without a fight!

    • BJ says:

      @meta is correct, but somewhat academic. I doubt any of us are going to Thailand in December. I’m booked too but also locked in Japan/Thailand for Songkran in event December is a no go.

      • meta says:

        I am booked to Maldives/Thailand/Singapore for 3 weeks in Dec/Jan. I am still hopeful. It’s too far away to have doubts.

  • AndyGWP says:

    Re: Hertz Pre-Pay Rates (EMEA for US bookings)

    I’m sure it used to be free to cancel USA pre-pay bookings made from the UK – I even read something on here the other day that agreed, however on recently checking the T&C’s, I’m interpreting that this is no longer the case (and there are indeed now cancellation fees) – agreed?

    https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/reviewmodifycancel/templates/rentalTerms.jsp?KEYWORD=CANCELLATION1&EOAG=LAX

    EMEA CUSTOMERS BOOKING PAY NOW RATES DESTINATION UNITED STATES

    LEISURE PREPAID (PAY NOW) RATES ONLY

    Hertz applies Cancellation and No Show/Lost Rental charges on all prepaid rates booked from the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, ………….. etc etc…….. Switzerland, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.

    • Yorkie Aid says:

      Not surprised, I avoid Hertz like the plague after a very bad experience in France. Enterprise have always been great for me and Alamo in USA.

    • Travel Strong says:

      Scroll down further / read the whole thing.
      (It was me who did *not* read the whole thing the other day!)

      “A full refund of the prepaid reservation will be made if the cancellation is made no later than midnight two (2) days before the date of your scheduled pick-up;”

      Once that was pointed out to me, I happily made a prepay reservations for £300 instead of $1100 pay later.

      • AndyGWP says:

        Yeah, apols – gave it some thought whilst eating my curry – all makes sense now (I was mixing up the “there is a cancellation policy” with the prices given for the USA… instead of reading on to see how it then actually worked)… I should know better!

        • AndyGWP says:

          So YES there are fees, but they are not the same fees that apply to bookings made by the US / Canada customers, and if I had read on then if you cancel in time, there are no fees 🙂

          • John says:

            However there may be exchange rate differences if you pay with a GBP card in USD, then get a refund in USD later.

            Using Curve seems to refund you at the same exchange rate used when you paid, even if the rate has changed a lot since the original transaction.

          • AndyGWP says:

            Thanks. The Pre-Pay online charges are in GBP 🙂

    • Connor says:

      I booked a pre-paid yesterday for the US and in the email it says:

      a. If the cancellation is made before midnight two days before the date of your scheduled pick-up , we will fully refund your prepayment without charges (e.g. if your scheduled pick-up date is Saturday 14 March and you cancel by 23:59 on Thursday 12 March).
      b. If the cancellation is made after this time and before the scheduled pick-up time, we will refund your prepayment less an administration charge of: GBP 30.00 / EURO 45.00
      Refunds will be made to the credit or debit card that the original booking was made on.
      c. Failure to cancel the reservation before your scheduled pick-up time will result on a No-Show/Lost Rental Charge of: GBP 70.00 / EURO 95.00

      Got a stonker of a deal imo. £630 for 2 weeks rental for a Ford Fusion including younger driver surcharge (21)

      • AndyGWP says:

        Thanks – I’ve nabbed a boy racer Camaro (the 750bhp Hendricks one) for cheaper than a Group D VW Jetta.

        Only a Group A Chevrolet Spark was cheaper than the Camaro 🤷‍♂️

        • Travel Strong says:

          We’ve booked the same car @AndyGWP 😁 Hope I actually get there and hope they actually have it when the time comes!

  • The cyclist says:

    This weeks occasional shopping offers

    Taste the Difference Easy peelers 90 Points
    Diet Coke 6 Pack 100 points
    Broccoli 40 Points Semi Skimmed Milk 4 pints 60 points
    Pitta Bread 30 points
    Loose Fairtrade Bananas 10 Points
    Chopped Tomatoes 70 points
    Carrots 1KG 20 Points
    Unsmoked Bacon 50 Points
    Sausage meat 400g 90 Points
    Strawberries 90 Points

    All in all a decent haul, I find that for a relatively little outlay I am regularly getting 500-600 plus points for a few items, also been getting triple point till vouchers.

  • James says:

    Has anyone uploaded the PLC to British Airways and been successful? All that is provided in the email is a QR code – no PDF etc.

    • meta says:

      Don’t you have to use Verifly app?

      • James says:

        You can upload the documents to British Airways via the App etc. The QR code provided by the PLC doesn’t bring up any data whatsoever.

        • James says:

          Turns out the issue is with our negative PCR certificates. They’re from a registered test centre and within 72 hours of flying. QR code is perfectly readable – anyone any ideas? We fly in the morning.

  • r* says:

    Should MR points from the plat and green card all go into the same pot of MR points?

    I added a green to the same acct as the plat but the 2000 points for taking a supplementary are showing as 2000 points on the green card rather than being added to my exist MR points?

    Also how long should it take for the bonvoy points to appear for taking a supplementary card? The card is showing the supplementary user but not the points?

    • bafan says:

      Yes but mine never do until I ask them on Chat. Even then they found a canceled PRG I previously had and tried to link that instead. Very annoying.

  • Louisa says:

    On a eu261 mcol claim against an airline does the claim need to be from all passengers on the booking? If say it’s a family of 4 who are claiming or just the lead passenger.

    • SteveJ says:

      Just the lead passenger for all on the booking.

      • meta says:

        You need to separate the claims.

        • Louisa says:

          What do you mean by that? 4 claims?

          • meta says:

            Yes if there are 4 passengers or otherwise you really need to make it clear in claim particulars (where you explain your case). It can often be overlooked by both the airline and the judges, so I would always separate it.

          • Louisa says:

            Thank you meta.

  • Paul says:

    Has anyone been having issues with curve online transactions last 3 days? Mine all get declined now since Thursday. Tried various amounts. Underlying cards fine. Wife curve has exact same issue.

  • Mco says:

    What is the best way to check if you can transit a airport? Anyone know about connecting in Stockholm? Can’t find any information online.

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