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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 26th May

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Comments (296)

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

  • bafan says:
    26 May26 May 02:50

    Just to triple check, looking at going to Funchal last minute (either Sat or Mon). I’ll have had both my vaccines for two weeks. Present the certificate at BA check in and I’m all set – correct? If I can avoid the cost of a test I will…🤣.

    • Pablo says:
      26 May26 May 04:31

      You’re good to go without a test if you are fully vaccinated and have a certificate to prove it.

      • Lord Doncaster says:
        26 May26 May 04:59

        Hmmm weren’t you the Pablo who was suggesting people miss their ‘connecting flight’ to save on covid test costs?

        • bafan says:
          26 May26 May 05:49

          Both my parents work in government functions that are COVID related – no I am not 😂. Where on earth did you pluck that from.

          • bafan says:
            26 May26 May 05:50

            Oh excuse me Lord Doncaster – reread your message and it wasn’t aimed at me. My bad. I’ve been lectured on the importance of following the rules too many times…

        • Pablo says:
          26 May26 May 06:58

          The scenario was of course purely hypothetical 😉😜
          @bafan Use https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php for info on current entry requirements.

    • Worzel says:
      26 May26 May 06:14

      Rubbish! Delete.

  • Craig says:
    26 May26 May 05:42

    This may already have been covered but after a recent couple of cheap stays I can confirm that the AMEX Hilton spend £200 to save £50 works on cumulative spend, as previously. Credit applied the day after I checked out of second hotel.

    • Rich says:
      26 May26 May 09:38

      Hotel I’m currently in isn’t on the participating hotels list. Is there any sense in paying with the card anyway just in case it works, or is that just a waste of paying the forex fee?

  • Adrian says:
    26 May26 May 05:59

    There’s a gap in my BA Amex 241 knowledge that I can’t find the answer to. I’m thinking of flying from Edinburgh to Singapore but when adding the return I just want to fly back to London and not continue to Edinburgh. Is this allowed or do you have to return to your departure airport? I’m guessing it is but just want to double check before booking.

    • simon says:
      26 May26 May 06:13

      Allowed but you will need to call up to book

    • mr_jetlag says:
      26 May26 May 06:39

      Yes you can do open jaws on 241.

    • Rob says:
      26 May26 May 08:14

      Ok AFAIK but you need to call to book.

    • Phil W says:
      26 May26 May 09:49

      This is definitely possible. I’ve just (optimistically) booked EDILHRSIN return for next year. As I was booking on day 355 I had to make separate calls to add each leg. I asked whether I had to call back to add the LHREDI leg and they said I didn’t. As it happened I chose to.

    • Andrew M says:
      26 May26 May 10:48

      The LHR-EDI leg wouldn’t be costing you anything except maybe some extra taxes. You could keep it in the booking with a very long stopover in LHR and use it for a future trip.

      • Andrew M says:
        26 May26 May 10:52

        Actually, you could fly the last leg to anywhere in the UK for free so you could make it Inverness or Belfast etc for a future trip.

      • Colin MacKinnon says:
        26 May26 May 13:09

        It always seems to cost me more in taxes, fees and surcharges than it would to buy a separate LHr-Scotland ticket!

      • Adrian says:
        26 May26 May 23:21

        Ah that very useful to know. I’m actually only planning to be in London for 4 days so hopefully I can just treat it as a stopover. Thanks for the advice.

  • Lou says:
    26 May26 May 07:01

    I’ll be checking into my 4th Hilton chain hotel today, since Friday. We’re off to the brand new Hampton one in Torquay. I hope this one has the mythical waffle maker, but I have set my expectations accordingly…

    • Henry says:
      26 May26 May 08:16

      Have a stay booked there next month, so would be interested to hear your impressions!

    • TicknBash says:
      26 May26 May 08:53

      Checked out yesterday.
      If checking in via app, you want the 4th floor odd number with partial sea view.

      Condition is as new as it gets but didn’t notice anything mythical at breakfast .

      • Lou says:
        26 May26 May 10:14

        I guess I’ll have to buy some waffles and stick them in the toaster!

      • Henry says:
        26 May26 May 11:17

        Thanks TicknBash. Did you get upgraded to sea view or booked the category?

    • Lou says:
      26 May26 May 15:03

      Just arrived having spent the past few nights in the Hampton by Hilton Bournemouth. Definitely looks more plush, and, wait for it… a whole *two* wall hooks in the bathroom. I can’t barely contain my excitement. No fancy sea view, but then again I don’t have status (yet)

  • LS says:
    26 May26 May 07:19

    Question. I am looking on coming back from a red list country (Dubai) to the UK, via a 3rd country. I want to go to a green-list country like Portugal for 10 days, have a holiday costing the equivalent of hotel quarantine, then come to UK without quarantine.
    Looking at Portugal’s entry requirements, it appears I can’t do this, as my trip is leisure, and not essential. However it does appear I can go to Spain from 1st June,, cross to Portugal, then go to UK after 10 days. I am vaccinated.
    Does this sound doable? Would anyone recommend any other route?

    • Anna says:
      26 May26 May 07:26

      Out of interest, what are the Spanish rules on entry from Dubai? If they are allowing enfettered access from countries the UK classes as “red”, it’s not looking good for Spain going on the green list in June!

    • BS says:
      26 May26 May 07:41

      Not EU passport holder. Fully vaccinated, but with Sinopharm.

      • Harry T says:
        26 May26 May 08:10

        So partially vaccinated? 😊

        • LS says:
          26 May26 May 08:19

          Haha. No comment. The WHO actually feel it works though.

          • Oh! Matron! says:
            26 May26 May 08:59

            “Data on the efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine is varied. Brazilian trials suggested an efficacy rate of around 50.4% but results from late-stage trials in Indonesia and Turkey suggested a much higher rate – between 65% and 83%.” Source: BBC. I do hope that we don’t end up with a mixed criteria for travel based on vaccine given…

          • TGLoyalty says:
            26 May26 May 09:05

            You will be it needs to have been approved for use by either the country or the WHO

          • LS says:
            26 May26 May 10:32

            This is Sinopharm, not Sinovac (coronavac)

      • stevenhp1987 says:
        26 May26 May 08:58

        EU hasn’t approved Sinopharm so I’d be doubtful they accept any certificate for it unless they change their stance.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          26 May26 May 09:06

          They seem to suggest they will accept if the WHO has approved.

          Real issue is the certificate is only currently planned for citizens of the EU27 countries and 3rd countries like UK excluded.

          • meta says:
            26 May26 May 10:17

            They will need to approve as Hungary and now Slovakia are using Sinopharm and Sputnik, so both will very likely be valid for travel from 1 July.

    • Rich says:
      26 May26 May 09:43

      Not sure about crossing Spain > Portugal. Border is open with no checks, I think, but I don’t know if you’ll be welcome.

      But also, Spain may well be on the UK green list by the time your 10 days is up anyway. I think if it turns green, you can come straight back. (As long s you’ve been out of a red list dirt 10 days)

      • TGLoyalty says:
        26 May26 May 09:54

        tbh is it really a big deal to spend another 5 days in UK isolation after 11 days on holiday in Spain.

      • LS says:
        26 May26 May 10:33

        I could go by train? Or even by plane, it is treated as a Schengen internal flight I believe

  • Michael says:
    26 May26 May 08:38

    Hi, I’m planning to travel to France in August (if allowed) with 2 young children and return back to the UK towards the end of August. My main worry is the queue on arrival to UK, which I read now can take between 3 and 7 hours in Heathrow. I can choose to arrive in Heathrow (using BA), Gatwick (using Easyjet), or Stansted (Ryanair). Is there a hard evidence that specific airport and the Border Force in that airport handles the queue better? My preference is BA but if there is a better chance to have a much shorter arrival queue in Gatwick or Stansted, I don’t mind flying other airlines.

    • Harry T says:
      26 May26 May 08:48

      I would say it’s completely unpredictable. Depends on the day you travel and the volume of flights at that time, plus how organised and well staffed the airport staff and border force are that day. I imagine travelling on a non peak day could help. I wouldn’t consider queues at this point in time to be representative of what you can expect in a few months time.

      • Anna says:
        26 May26 May 09:09

        Also isn’t there going to be a separate terminal at LHR for red arrivals from June?

    • Super Secret Stuff says:
      26 May26 May 08:50

      When I was staying in a hotel over the weekend at Gatwick, there were hardly any passengers. Mostly locals and hotel guests using the train station. Also, Gatwick have an agreement with border force to fund extra staff over time when queues are long. So i would bet on Gatwick being better

      • TGLoyalty says:
        26 May26 May 09:08

        Isn’t the issue that they are in bubbles therefore unless the bubble size is increased permanently you can’t just put on extra people.

        PLF needs to be digitalised so you can you the egates (no good for those with kids)

        • roberto says:
          26 May26 May 09:16

          PLF now accepted at egates. Somehow integrated with your passport I guess, in saying that I did not get a call from T&T for the first time although SWMBO did.

          I have been through Heathrow T5 a few times this year and never waited more than 10 mins for immigration.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            26 May26 May 09:19

            It sounded like it was a development for later in the summer but happy if it’s happened already.

          • Pete M says:
            26 May26 May 09:30

            Roberto – were all the egates open then? That’d be a game-changer!

        • Super Secret Stuff says:
          26 May26 May 09:18

          It could be that however I would more likely say it is the fact that they are trying to do more time consuming checks with the same resources. Therefore, if the Gatwick policy of paying extra border force over time has survived any cuts, the queues should be alright. I wouldn’t expect pre-covid 25 min queues max, butt I would say an hour should be achievable. Particularly if they split red and green flights between north and south

        • Pete M says:
          26 May26 May 09:29

          I sadly don’t think the opening of Terminal 3 for red list arrivals is going to make much difference – the number of people coming from those countries is fairly minimal. Harry T’s summary is spot on – my experience from Heathrow over the past few months is that it varies from super easy (20mins last Monday) to very painful (several hours back in April). I do suspect the reason for not adding more countries to the green list is that the borders simply can’t cope with more people arriving, given the extended processing time – you are looking at min 2-3min per person, even if you have everything perfectly ready, compared to 15sec in the past…

          • bill says:
            26 May26 May 09:55

            Feb 2020 we had a TAP flight from LIS and queued in LHR for 90 mins to ‘see’ Border Force. I dread to think what will happen with the processing times now.

    • BuilBackBetter says:
      26 May26 May 11:26

      Is Eurostar not available or practical for your destination?

    • kitten says:
      26 May26 May 11:45

      Why not go Eurotunnel? safer and less stress

  • Joints&Piles says:
    26 May26 May 09:00

    Is Heathrow Rewards dead?
    Haven’t been able to log in for a few weeks. It says “Unfortunately this service is temporarily unavailable.”

    • MD says:
      26 May26 May 09:16

      I get that error message on opening the app too, but if you ignore it you can still see your points etc. So I assume just a technical glitch. Also the rest of the app still seems to be functioning normally.

      • Number9 says:
        26 May26 May 09:22

        I can’t even log in not been able to for weeks. Just get error msg service unavailable etc

      • Joints&Piles says:
        26 May26 May 09:24

        Maybe it’s because I have thousands of points about to expire and can’t log in to transfer out, but I’m wondering if this is more deliberate than a technical glitch, given Heathrow’s finances. It’s been this way for 3 weeks. The app shows nothing if you weren’t already logged in.

  • Anthony says:
    26 May26 May 09:23

    Advice please
    I have BA flights booked to Palma which I no longer wish to take and was hoping BA would cancel for a refund, the flights are two weeks away, would it be feasible to move the flights to a date and time which is more likely to be cancelled?

    • AJA says:
      26 May26 May 11:16

      Just cancel for an FTV. Then rebook at your leisure for travel completed by 30Apr2023.

      • Anthony says:
        26 May26 May 11:31

        I don’t really want a FTV, I’ve got enough already. Was hoping to force a refund

        • kitten says:
          26 May26 May 11:46

          Minsk?

        • Pete M says:
          26 May26 May 11:46

          You could take an FVT, then book a flight that is likely to get cancelled and then get a cash refund. The problem you may find is that, at least in the short term, BA isn’t really cancelling that many flights as the schedule is already pretty bare bones…

    • Lady London says:
      26 May26 May 11:48

      You can take an FTV now and rebook something else. Then if what you used that FTV for gets canxd you do have the right to a refund.

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