Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Thursday 3rd June

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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.

Comments (362)

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

  • KBuffett says:

    I asked this a few days ago, but i can’t locate the reply in the comments, so asking again:

    A few people have mentioned land/property stamp duty directly. Please can someone post the correct link to the HMRC website. I want to try and convince my conveyancer to agree to let me to do that.
    Is there any other information that might be useful for me?

    • pauline says:

      If you have a lender you may struggle as the conveyancers have an obligation to the lender

      • Crafty says:

        Yes, mine flat out refused, one of the terms of the mortgage (NatWest) apparently.

  • Optimus Prime says:

    Does the BA holidays offer for 2xTP’s plus lounge access apply to holidays booked back in March?

    • Optimus Prime says:

      After having another look at their T&C’s I think only 2xTP’s apply to existing bookings. Lounge access is just for new ones.

  • Rob S says:

    Hi all,
    Has anyone seen or heard any rumblings about a replacement for the Cornercard/Diners Club Miles and More credit card ? I’m keen to stock up on M&Ms and just wondering if I should give up and go for Amex Gold and xfer to Singapore Airlines. Thanks in advance!

  • 747_Brat says:

    Anyone facing issues trying to log-in to Virgin Money app for current accounts?

    • Toaster says:

      Working OK for me just now.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      had to reinstall yesterday after getting a infinite face id login loop, I assume post an app update

      • 747_Brat says:

        Same issue for me. Reinstalled the app and it is working fine now.

    • Roger says:

      I was advised today to keep touchid/faceid turned off as they were having problems with it

  • Mr. AC says:

    Data point – last year I decided to jump through some hoops and did a status match challenge from BA Gold to Aeroflot Gold (Skyteam Elite Plus). Was supposed to last until Feb 2022, today got an email that it was extended to Feb 2023. Already got a lot of value flying KLM (mostly from the extra luggage, restaurant in flagship lounge in Amsterdam was closed as of last week). That particular status match no longer running, but makes me hopeful for more extensions.
    The TAP status match, on the other hand, has been €100 down the drain so far…

    • John says:

      How did you request that? Did you have to be resident in Russia to do so?

      • Mr. AC says:

        They have different rules each time. The rules for the last one are still up – https://www.aeroflot.ru/ru-en/afl_bonus/status-match, you needed to earn 6k AFL miles on AFL metal and also around ~£2000 spend on a cobrand card (which is the tricky part if you’re not resident since those are only issued in Russia AFAIK). Thankfully one of the cobrand Aeroflot cards is issued by Citibank, so I walked into their office in Moscow and they made it happen despite me not being a resident since I bank with them already in a different country. YMMV.

  • John says:

    Help please
    Never used a reward flight saver – says

    35000 avios plus £75
    25000 avios plus £175

    I am tempted to use less avios but it is likely I will need to cancel the flight.

    Reading terms suggests if go for less avios I don’t get additional cash back on cancellation – is this correct ???

    • John says:

      You get back what you paid minus £35 per ticket, or you can FTV it. Or hope BA cancels

  • Matt says:

    Currently battling with iberia.com… Is there a way of finding the taxes for a route (MAD-LIM peak in J) short of transferring the 150,00 avios across? It’s just telling me I don’t have enough avios and how much I can buy them for! Thank you for any help you can give.

    • John says:

      Try ita matrix

    • marcw says:

      Oneway: 62,500 Avios + £109.60
      Return: 125,000 Avios + £207.40

      Ignore the 75.000 Avios they quote from the beginning (it’s wrong, it’s still 62.500 Avios peak).

      • Matt says:

        Even better news!! Thank you very much for taking the time to check that @marcw

  • marcw says:

    United Airlines is back with supersonic flights… from 2029!

    • FatherOfFour says:

      I have no idea about their rewards programme, but I expect it will be hard getting rewards seats! Still 8 years to collect some points!

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