The HfP chat thread – Friday 28th May

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

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

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions. With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind. At this tricky time, and given that many of you are at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article. This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page. If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here. This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Category

General

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

bafan says:

28 May28 May 10:38

Flight was canceled yesterday. I had a connection that BA are offering to split overnight through LHR. That’s fine as I live close-ish by, but I won’t require Day 2/Day 8 testing right for a 20 hour layover? Plan on going home until it’s time to come back.
- Pete M says:
  
  28 May28 May 10:43
  
  Correct, but make sure you have everything printed out as proof. Where will you be travelling from?
  - bafan says:
    
    28 May28 May 12:20
    
    Crete. Then overnight at home then off to Stockholm early the next morning. OK. I’ll make sure I print it all off and obviously do the test.
    
    Actually one more question. If I do antigen in Crete morning of for UK entry; I can use it again for entry to Sweden right?
    - Pete M says:
      
      28 May28 May 14:09
      
      Assuming Sweden accepts antigen tests and you are still within the time frame then absolutely. Sorry, not an expert on Sweden to confirm those assumptions though!
      - bafan says:
        
        28 May28 May 15:26
        
        No I appreciate it – I’ll keep an eye on the rules of course, it’s just useful to run my line of thinking by someone 🙂.
Travel Strong says:

28 May28 May 11:30

Donald Russell: Looks like offer codes Steak10 and Facebook10 are dead now. Is anyone aware of any more £10 off codes?

All I can find is NewCust10 … but i’ve already used the 5 emails I already have and hesitant to start yet another account!

(Will be running through shopping portal and PAW, but amex/natwest/virgin 10% offers also seem dead now).
- Craig says:
  
  28 May28 May 12:38
  
  If you’ve got a gmail account just move or add a full stop. Fred.bloggs is the same as Fre.dbloggs are far as google are concerned but works for others as a new email address.
  - Travel Strong says:
    
    28 May28 May 12:46
    
    Wow! Learn something new every day!
    That’ll work. Thanks 😁
  - Yorkie Aid says:
    
    28 May28 May 13:17
    
    Thanks Craig, that’s really useful. I knew about +anything on the end of the username but not the dots trick. Wow!
  - Sam says:
    
    28 May28 May 14:08
    
    Works for Outlook too
  - The Savage Squirrel says:
    
    28 May28 May 16:04
    
    Also means you can use a unique Email for every sign-up and so work out which nobhead sold your details to spammers (or got hacked and didn’t tell anyone).
r* says:

28 May28 May 11:33

Does anyone know how hawaiian airlines partner points bookings work with virgin? Are they made available to virgin on the same date as they are available on hawaiian site or is it later for virgin? Im seeing points availability on hawaiian site but virgin are saying they have none.
Steve in Croydon says:

28 May28 May 11:59

BA15/16 LHR-SYD 787 and SeatGuru
Rob/anyone. I assume that SeatGuru is wrong in stating that the BA First bed is 73″ long on 787-9 and 787-10. First are usually 78″ (6’6″) and ba.com doesn’t say that they are shorter on 787s. I’m 6’5″/1.95m so it’s important to me.
SeatGuru says that SYD is to be operated by 787-9. Does anyone know if BA will use the 787-10 with Club Suite on their longest route? Club Suite would be fine for me with the extra length. It would make sense for BA to do this, but we all know how BA thinks versus the the rest of us!!!
- Richie says:
  
  28 May28 May 12:22
  
  Can B787-10 fly fully loaded LHR-SIN-SYD?
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    28 May28 May 13:08
    
    I’m fairly sure it’s only the – 9 with certain restrictions. Might be wrong but…
    
    It’ll be a special ultra long haul version so in all likelihood more space, not less
  - Steve in Croydon says:
    
    28 May28 May 13:19
    
    LHR-SIN 6765 miles
    787-8 range 7355
    787-9 range 7635
    787-10 range 7400
    So it looks like any 787 can get to SIN. BA can always lighten the load by cutting down the food/beverages … again!!
    - Super Secret Stuff says:
      
      28 May28 May 15:44
      
      They’re max ranges with minimal load, the dash 10 and dash 8 wouldn’t work commercially but is technically possibly
  - Matt says:
    
    28 May28 May 14:33
    
    BA ordered their 787-10s without cabin crew rest bunks, so they can’t be used for SIN/SYD. Most likely a -9 whenever the route restarts.
    - Steve in Croydon says:
      
      29 May29 May 00:15
      
      So a 787-9 as per ba.com with the 6′ CW beds on their longest route until refit comes along. Useless to me at 6’5″/1.95m. Just another reason I’ll do CX AMS-HKG-SYD/MEL and save tonnes of dosh!
a270 says:

28 May28 May 12:13

Need to move 4 x CW tickets by a few days. Can this be done online for free? It’s two different bookings using 2 x 2for1 vouchers and the 50% Avios sale. If seat availability is not an issue, can it be done online for free?
- r* says:
  
  28 May28 May 12:33
  
  Unless your flight has been cancelled, I think it would cost the usual £35 to cancel and rebook but more importantly it would re-price so it would no longer be 50% avios.
  - a270 says:
    
    28 May28 May 20:02
    
    Thanks. Sometime back I read that people were able to change it for free but I have 2 separate bookings so don’t want to risk it.
MattB says:

28 May28 May 12:34

Have a booking at a Hampton Hilton this weekend. Assuming breakfast is being served, as a gold should I change my benefits to get the extra points instead of the snack whatever that is?
- kitten says:
  
  28 May28 May 12:54
  
  Hampton always includes ‘breakfast’ so don’t waste MyWay selecting it for that brand. As a rule of thumb if your status or the brand normally includes breakfast don’t waste the MyWay selection take something else instead. Keep stumm as quite often points land anyway in 2 chains I stay with.
  - Rich says:
    
    28 May28 May 13:45
    
    I thought you had to select breakfast as your my way benefit (if not included in the brand/ rate)?
    - John says:
      
      29 May29 May 06:20
      
      At Hampton breakfast is included in the rate
- Rob says:
  
  28 May28 May 13:53
  
  The snack is normally something from the shop selection – bag of crisps, Kit Kat etc.
Tiger says:

28 May28 May 12:38

O/T: Can anyone recommend a good home security system with cameras and video doorbell. Ideally, the same should be capable of recording the footage on its own.

Amex currently has an offer on SimpliSafe but I resist paying their £10 monthly subscription fee for having the footage recorded. Ring has a similar subscription plan for recording the footage. These security systems are anyway so costly, and that the thought of paying extra per month just to get the footage recorded is repelling!
- Super Secret Stuff says:
  
  28 May28 May 13:10
  
  The extra is so that the system has redundancy, ie if they steal the recorder there is still a copy on the cloud server. At the end of the day, its your own choice but I would pay the extra
- James says:
  
  28 May28 May 13:17
  
  If you already pay for iCloud storage you can use it to store recordings with a HomeKit enabled camera (https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/accessories/all/homekit?fh=482b%2B463d)
  
  More info here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT210538
- Yorkie Aid says:
  
  28 May28 May 13:21
  
  Swann do a basic cloud recording feature for free but tbh we have Ring and Swann systems and have found Ring far more reliable and user friendly in general.
- peter says:
  
  28 May28 May 14:32
  
  Other benefits of cloud storage is that if your house gets burned down, or the recorder stolen/damaged then entire footage is gone too. Downside is if your internet is down..
  If you don’t want to pay much there are Wansview outdoor cameras on Amazon for about £30 with HD recording and it costs 70 USD for yearly 7 days storage for up to 3 cameras (or 160 USD for 30 days) which could be justified as you’re not paying much for cameras in first place.
- Nigel W says:
  
  28 May28 May 15:02
  
  Personally I’m a fan of the Google Nest system.
  - Toppcat says:
    
    28 May28 May 17:05
    
    +1
- Anuj says:
  
  28 May28 May 16:35
  
  Eufy are supposed to be good for no subscription
- SimonP says:
  
  28 May28 May 17:11
  
  Blink 4 pack comes with a device into which you stick an SD card to record. No doorbell AFAIK. I use Ring doorbell and Blink cameras and storage. Works well.
- Tom says:
  
  28 May28 May 18:24
  
  Unifi Protect 100%. Excellent network gear , cameras and all footage is stored locally with no monthly fees.
- Jay says:
  
  28 May28 May 19:05
  
  If anyone is serious about breaking into your house they will cut your phone line so unless you have a 4G router connection a cloud based system is pointless. I would seriously avoid any systems that use a Chinese based server as they are insecure, unregulated by any authority and when they go wrong have poor support. Try bdalarm.com they do a self install professional alarm system that is insurance rated and graded and you can add cameras etc. Neighbour got one and nice bit of kit.
  - John says:
    
    29 May29 May 06:21
    
    My phone line is underground from inside my door
Trev says:

28 May28 May 12:47

Hi folks. Bit of a newbie enquiry. I have to book flights to a US destination on BA for August next year. I want to pounce at 355 days but does the return flight [4 days later] also have to be 355 days out? If I have to wait 355 days for the return date, I may miss the outbound flight redemption? Does that make sense? 🤔
- Anna says:
  
  28 May28 May 13:44
  
  Yes you have to wait, there are loads of articles about maximising chances of getting your return flights but nothing is guaranteed!
  - Anna says:
    
    28 May28 May 13:45
    
    Apologies, meant you have to wait to book the return leg, you can book the outbound when it’s released as a single journey.