The HfP chat thread – Sunday 6th June

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• zark says:

  6 Jun6 June 10:16

  BA have cancelled Heathrow-Rhodes flight for Monday 21st June at 12.40 & put me on now their only flight that week, out Saturday 19th June at 07.55.
  Received this announcement by email this morning, so outside 14 days. I am prepared to accept travelling two days earlier though will have to pay for a cab to airport very early, rather than be dropped of.
  Am I entitled to claim for any costs – cabs, extra 2 nights in hotel etc?
  Thank you

  • Anna says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:34

    Yes, you are entitled to duty of care to cover all these but will have to proactively claim.

    • Zark says:

      6 Jun6 June 10:40

      Anna,
      I thought Duty of are only kicks in if flight is cancelled within 14 days of travel?
      Zark

      • Chrisasaurus says:

        6 Jun6 June 10:53

        Not at all, compensation (currently still suspended I believe for some reason) has a 14 day rule but it would make no sense at all for the airline to make any changes it wants 15 days ahead of a flight and leave you potentially in a foreign country having to figure out days of board and lodgings yourself in order to aid their scheduling efficiency.

        It’s basic game theory – the risk has to be borne in part by them else why would they not serve their own interests exclusively?

  • ChrisC says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:49

    They won’t cover the lost two days of hotel. That’s for an insurance claim.

    • Jonathan says:

      6 Jun6 June 12:37

      This is correct unfortunately. Duty of care doesn’t cover consequential losses (ie. lost hotel nights). It would cover the extra nights in a hotel plus food, non-alcoholic drinks, a couple of phone calls etc. if you took the next available flight after original return date. £250 per room, per night is the level they’ll pay without argument. If it’s more then you need to justify but will get assuming you choose cheapest option. You would be expected to move to a nearby Holiday Inn at £200/night rather than remaining in the £800/night Four Seasons however.

      • Anna says:

        6 Jun6 June 12:41

        As I read it, Zark isn’t actually losing any hotel nights, he needs 2 extra ones?!

        • ChrisC says:

          6 Jun6 June 13:09

          Was due to return on Monday, flight cancelled and rebooked for the preceeding Saturday so loss of two nights of his holiday.

        • Lady London says:

          6 Jun6 June 14:06

          no he needs 2 extra ones *before* his original date. IIRC eu261 duty of care talks about only care for flights later not earlier (poor drafting most prob but BA will use it).

          if you take 19th so 2 days earlier going out do not do so without written/screenshotted/recorded commitment of BA to pay alk your extra transport, meal and hotel expenses.

          possibly be ready for then to mess around with your return date as well if it is the same day of the week as your outward was.

      • Optimus Prime says:

        6 Jun6 June 13:42

        If you have a BA holiday (flight + hotel) and they cut it short, do you still have to submit a travel insurance claim? They don’t have the obligation to refund you for the lost hotel nights?

        I guess if this happens before going away you can still cancel and get yet another FTV…

        • Lady London says:

          6 Jun6 June 14:09

          they should refund. they might turn around and go for cancelling and refunding the whole holiday also if it’s booked as a BA Hol as the regulations are so strong you could do that I suspect.

        • zark says:

          6 Jun6 June 19:23

          Zark
          Thank you for opinions about the 2 days earlier situation with my London -Rhodes .
          Seems like I’ll ‘have’ to spend to extra days in Rhodes at my own expense.
          I don’t mind 2 more days in the sun as it’s a weekend anyway, but I do feel It is pretty poor for BA to cancel a regular 3 day/week schedule, raised to 6 days/week only a few weeks ago, anticipating that the bureaucrats would see some sense ( when did that ever happen!) & then cancel everything down to 1 flight a week.
          Sad world.
          I was brought up in a better one,I feel.

        • Lady London says:

          6 Jun6 June 22:58

          No Zark make them pay do not accept before tbey commit and keep a record as email, screeenshot, recording etc

• Blair says:

  6 Jun6 June 10:33

  Short about 1100 Miles&More to move from one distance threshold to another and thus empty my balance. Quite keen to empty out M&M till the expiration mess is sorted out with the loss of the Diners Club card. Is the best route to book a cheap hotel through their hotel portal? Just wondering if I’m overlooking another helpful route.

  • Lady London says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:29

    Amazon vouchers if your market is UK. Heathrow rewards but they have been very quiet recently so you might wait a very long while for an improved spend offer on their points

• Tom1 says:

  6 Jun6 June 10:33

  Suitcase chat – I can’t afford/justify a Rimowa or Tumi.

  Any other suggestions for good value Large suitcases right now?
  The standard Tripp/revelation seem to be £60-70 – is that as good as it gets ?

  • Harry T says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:34

    Samsonite are pretty good. I’m very happy with my XL spinner. I think they are cheaper than Rimowa?

  • Aston100 says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:37

    Just assume that one day your luggage will get ruined by baggage handlers.
    Doesn’t matter if it is a Samsonite or an Aldi special – nothing can withstand a determined handler from hell.

    On that basis, look out for American Tourister deals at Costco. These seem to be the sweet spot.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      6 Jun6 June 11:02

      Yep, suitcase survival is more down to luck (and not flying through Turkey) than price and brand I’d say. As I don’t need to post my luggage on my Insta influencer feed or flash my AvGeek brand snobbery at anyone, I’ve ditched the fancy stuff a few years ago and AmazonBasics is standing up just fine.

    • Lady London says:

      6 Jun6 June 11:33

      Matalan.
      In the US Samsonites are much cheaper they do honour their guarantee practically worldwide it seems
      Travelpro has a lot of fans

    • Genghis says:

      6 Jun6 June 12:14

      Learn some of the tricks off one bag (http://www.onebag.com/) and only travel HBO.

      • Memesweeper says:

        6 Jun6 June 12:42

        +1

        I have a soft carryon backpack for … backpacking and a hard Away Travel case for everything else. Can’t see the need for more unless skiing.

  • HH says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:38

    Antler have served me very well for check-in luggage over the years, at a good price point.

  • YC says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:42

    There is Tumi at Bicester (do virtual sales) + could potentially stack Amex offer – if that moves the dial sufficiently

    • Andrew says:

      6 Jun6 June 11:12

      Samsonite at Bicester too.

  • Blair says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:42

    I used to feel Tumi/Rimowa couldn’t be justified on the basis of getting lost. But with Gego and now Airtag I feel happier doing so. As for damage, perhaps due to tenacity on my part, I’ve managed to get airline payouts.

  • Craig says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:50

    Been very happy with Tripp, they’ve covered plenty of miles. Combination lock broke on one after 4 years and they replaced the case.

  • ChrisC says:

    6 Jun6 June 10:55

    I got my last case from TK Maxx and it’s more than fine. Had a couple of Dunlop’s from Sports Direct as well.

    Handle and two wheels does for me.

    Spinners just get damaged too easily on pavements etc.

  • Stuart says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:08

    I am happy with American Tourister

    • stevenhp1987 says:

      6 Jun6 June 11:21

      +1 cheap in Costco too.

    • Clive says:

      6 Jun6 June 11:22

      Agree here and Costco often have promos

  • Chris Heyes says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:09

    Tom1 Sainsburys around £45 decent though (IT)
    Or Wilkinsons (Wilko) around £45/£48 again decent

  • KBuffett says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:13

    Tripp were food, they used to have a long warranty. But check as they were only really available at Debenhams, so not sure where you return warranty claims now.

    Also, Samsonite at Bicester were doing big discounts in May, not sure what offers they have now.

    • Craig says:

      6 Jun6 June 13:01

      Tripp are their own brand, sold at Debenhams but the warranties are still valid.

  • Doc says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:49

    We have had Antlers and their guarantee is very good and served us well. It’s on sale at CostCo currently if you are interested.

  • Niall says:

    6 Jun6 June 13:57

    Surprised Briggs & Riley haven’t been mentioned. Not as expensive as Rimowa or Tumi, not as nice looking but well made and lifetime warranty that is very easy to use.

    • Lady London says:

      6 Jun6 June 14:18

      need to buy B & R in the US though otherwise prices are up near where OP says he doesn’t want to pay.

      I hoovered up a serious amount of B&R when they rationalised their products some years back. It’s bombproof and as Savage Squirrel suggests, only Turkey had a serious go at it.

      They have honoured their guarantee on a number of occasions even for small things – K2 in Maidenhead is your go-to for any luggage/handbag repair or for airline-mangled replacement (you can send it and have it sent back if not near).

      My only problem with B&R range I use (the serious one) is it’s boooooring

      • Niall says:

        6 Jun6 June 14:40

        This is very true that it’s boring! I have a Rimowa hand luggage and B & R hold for this reason. Although the Rimowa is a pain, it scratches way too easily I’m too nervous about it.

        B & R are significantly cheaper when they are for sale on brand alley.

    • iSub says:

      7 Jun7 June 17:15

      I fully recommend Briggs and Riley too – I used to travel lots for work (i.e. weekly flights for 15 months at a time) and I had three different models of Samsonite bags fall apart (two were free replacements from Selfridges) I switched to B&R when they tried to flog me a fourth and they have lasted years of abuse on short haul and long flights. I own three different sizes and have given two to family members. I’d one issue with a damaged wheel and customer service were able to send me a replacement wheel that I could change myself in a few minutes (so the bag didn’t have to be sent away to a service center for weeks). Great lifetime guarantee and I think some of the colours look really nice (most of mine are sunset red)

• Tracey says:

  6 Jun6 June 10:51

  Anyone know any discounts for the Q hotel group, Oulton Hall Hotel in particular?

  • Mr(s) Entitled says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:12

    My Halifax account is offering 10% back. I tend to find these deals aren’t exclusive so it might be worth checking your accounts for similar.

• Jamil says:

  6 Jun6 June 10:51

  Can anyone recommend a good (ideally cheap) same day or next day PCR test for my 4 year old daughter? Long story but her uncle is over from USA and he is only here for 10 days.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:09

    Does she need it because she has symptoms? Most if not all NHS ones come back within 24hrs

    Most “guaranteed” same day/24hrs are extortionate pricing.

    • Jamil says:

      7 Jun7 June 07:51

      Thanks. I am in London and she does have symptoms, I was just concerned how long the test might take. It is hard to get a 4 year old to take the test for the third time in a year when they now know what the test is! I did the NHS test yesterday afternoon.

  • Nick Burch says:

    6 Jun6 June 23:50

    Same day is tough, expect to pay a lot. Really needs somewhere with an on-site lab.

    Next day is pretty easy if you get the swab taken in person. ExpressTest or Collinson at airports are pretty consistent at next evening, sometimes you get lucky with timing and get next morning.

• KBuffett says:

  6 Jun6 June 11:19

  Hotel Cafe Royal London
  Has anyone stayed here, is it nice? I’ve got an AmEx offer, does anyone know of any other stackable offers (NHS?)

  • Genghis says:

    6 Jun6 June 12:16

    No. But I’m a big fan of the cheesecake at Cakes & Bubbles.

  • N says:

    6 Jun6 June 14:08

    Lovely hotel, marble in the bathrooms is a bit nuts.

    • KBuffett says:

      6 Jun6 June 15:55

      Is the pool/spa very good?

• Matt says:

  6 Jun6 June 11:19

  If she has symptoms get an NHS test – as TGloyalty says, it’s free and quick. If she doesn’t have symptoms, why are you getting it?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Jun6 June 13:52

    Perhaps “here” isn’t the U.K. so needs a U.K. based PCR prior to travel to “here”

    Though I thought under 11’s were exempt for most travel test requirements.

    Just isn’t clear at all.

• Joe says:

  6 Jun6 June 11:22

  Anyone know what time Amex Brighton CS team is open? I’m going to try for a Plat retention offer….

  • Harry T says:

    6 Jun6 June 11:31

    I’m not sure if they work weekends. Usually best to call during normal working hours, M-F.

    • KBuffett says:

      6 Jun6 June 11:54

      I think retention are open until 8pm

  • Reney says:

    6 Jun6 June 12:00

    On page 1 someone seemed to have called at 7:30 am this morning and got through. So I am guessing it is opened now?

  • Aston100 says:

    6 Jun6 June 13:30

    I’ve had an easier time of it with the overseas bunch, they seem to give in easily.
    2 * PRG and 2 * Plat in recent times.
    In the past, the Brighton crew used to require a lot of counter argument.
    I would be keen on avoiding Brighton when it comes to retentions (but only for retentions, the overseas people are useless for everything else).

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