The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 9th June

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Jacky says:

9 Jun9 June 10:38

Does anyone know an insurance company that I could book a Caribbean cruise for this summer?
Battleface/Staysure will only provide quotes for European cruises.
Thanks
- Anna says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:16
  
  I think it may be a struggle outside Europe for this year at least – does the cruise company not offer insurance with bookings?
  Someone I know mentioned Avanti insurance but I don’t know if they cover long haul destinations.
  - Anna says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 12:41
    
    Also the FCDO was advising against cruise travel at one point so you’d need to check if that’s still in place.
1ATL says:

9 Jun9 June 10:39

It’s not sounding brilliant for FlyBE 2.0 as the CAA just revoked their operating licence which means all their valuable slots grandfathered down for Heathrow from the incumbent are now handed back… the were the only real asset they seemed to have. They’ve already secured a new operating licence in their own right but it’s not going to help their cause ok lucrative Heathrow routes.

https://simpleflying.com/flybe-legacy-london-slots/
- Pete M says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:25
  
  I have to say I always thought the whole point of FlyBe 2.0 was to run some sort of pretend operation for a bit and then flog the slots… Screwing everyone else in the process again. So not sure it’s any loss?
  - Memesweeper says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 14:07
    
    If you’d like to see some diversity at LHR, it’s a loss. The slots will go back to BA.
    - Jonathan says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 14:48
      
      Do they not only go back to BA until anyone else fancies having a go with them? Not sure BA are that desperate for the slots currently.
      - 1ATL says:
        
        10 Jun10 June 01:18
        
        I’d quite like to see Loganair or Eastern get them
Sina says:

9 Jun9 June 10:39

anyone knows of an equivalent of NS&I for EUR? or somewhere I can deposit EUR and withdraw EUR? preferably without fees? of course other than Che or monese!?
- Lady London says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 10:51
  
  some of the fintechs are in Europe like N26
- Joe says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 11:17
  
  I have an investment account with Fineco which is excellent. It comes with a GBP and EUR account – so you should be able to transfer EUR in and out easily.
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 11:40
    
    +1 for Fineco, but beware that the only way to fund their account is through BACS. You can’t top-up using a debit card for MS purposes (if that’s what you are intending to do).
    
    But it is a good platform, and comes with an option of a GBP as well as a EUR debit card. They also offer S&S ISA for UK investments with a 0.25% annual fee.
    - Sina says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 12:05
      
      Thanks, everyone!
Tom says:

9 Jun9 June 11:04

Returning from Amber list country question. What are the actual rules for the quarantine? Am I allowed out for a walk? I have booked a test to release which is conducted from a pharmacy on the high street, am i not breaking the rules by going?
- Optimus Prime says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 11:16
  
  You can go out for the test, buy medicines and food but you can’t get out to exercise.
  - Joe says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 11:19
    
    Only food/medicines in “exceptional circumstances” where they cannot be delivered: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england
  - Aston100 says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 11:30
    
    You can hop skip & jump your way to the shops and/or test centre.
    Maybe bicep curls with shopping bags on the way back.
- Aaron says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 11:19
  
  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england#what-you-can-and-cannot-do-in-quarantine
  
  Says you cannot go out for exercise but you can go out to get your tests and to do shopping if you cannot get a delivery. I’m not sure how much of this is in statute and how much is guidance dressed up as an actual law.
  - Joe says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 11:22
    
    Great minds! It is law – it’s within the relevant regulations.
    - Nick Burch says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 11:27
      
      See https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/582/regulation/9/made for the legal rules on what you can and can’t do for the 10 days after arrival from an Amber country
      - Shark says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 15:53
        
        Reading the regulation the only possible penalty for failing to follow it is a Fixed Penalty Notice: like a parking ticket, and people get a great many of those without broad disapproval.
  - Tom says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 11:27
    
    Thank you all! I knew the rules would be somewhere!
Scottydogg says:

9 Jun9 June 11:25

Anyone else get stung by the Amex shop small ? 2 places ive been to now that were on the map (that i wouldnt normally go to) both flat out refused to accept Amex as payment. The first one a reported to amex on the chat , but they are still listed on the map days later . Annoying
- Aston100 says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 11:31
  
  This seems to be the norm.
  Amex are uninterested, even if the shop has an Amex sticker in the window.
  They won’t manually credit the £5 either.
- Paul Pogba says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 11:41
  
  I’ve been practically chased out of one of my local newsagents because I paid with an Amex (without asking). If you’re not bothered about going back you could always try paying with your Apple/Google Pay app.
  - Harrier25 says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 12:18
    
    Chased out of the newsagents for paying with Amex 😂…..that seems a little over the top from the retailer!
- the_real_a says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 11:44
  
  Pop your card on google pay and wave your phone on the reader. In my area the staff have no idea what cards they accept.
  - Scottydogg says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 11:50
    
    Think ill give the Google Pay idea a shot . Thanks
  - will says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 12:07
    
    I’ve never used apple pay, can I put multiple cards on it and swipe between them like curve?
    - TheInsiderFly says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 12:32
      
      Yes
    - bsuije says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 14:02
      
      You can definitely put multiple cards on Apple Pay, with one of them the “default” card that will pop up first when you try to pay. You can, however, change the card before you pay.
      
      Note that there isn’t the same “hop back in time” feature with Apple Pay as there is with Curve. If you want the transaction on a specific card, you need to select that card before you pay.
- TheInsiderFly says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:34
  
  Happened to me too at the weekend. Spoke to Amex on the chat and they said they would report it to Merchant Services for them to take the appropriate action, which was hilarious as they hadn’t even asked me for the name of the retailer I was complaining about!
- Jonathan says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:41
  
  The biggest and most frequent flaw of Amex’s Shop Small promotion
- Phil says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 13:59
  
  Snap I had two over the weekend unfortunately that refused Amex even though they were on the Shop Small app. Have to be honest, between the £25 cap, £15/£5 and significant reduction of firms on the Shop Small app taking Amex… it would appear Amex have ruined Shop Small.
  - Babyg says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 22:01
    
    i think you will find its the punters with 5 amex cards topping up their travel cards that ruined small shops…
    - bafan says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 22:05
      
      +1.
- Char Char says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 17:36
  
  I’ve reported the same businesses for the past 3 years and they still show up despite if you phone them they will confirm not taking amex, they really don’t care and nobody will pursue it enough for them to care either.
Jonathan says:

9 Jun9 June 11:29

“ We can’t schedule the flights and then cancel them within two weeks because we have to pay compensation to customers, so it’s incredibly difficult”

Michael O’Leary on Sky News this morning. Surely he’s just killed the extraordinary circumstances defence there!
- Richie says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 11:41
  
  Exactly.
- Harrier25 says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:28
  
  Michael O’Leary….the most undesirable figure of the human race!
  - bsuije says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 14:04
    
    Oooff!! That’s a tough one to call… I personally think Trump should receive that particular accolade.
    - WaynedP says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 14:18
      
      +1
      
      The orange one has served only to remind me pointedly that my charity should be limitless and that while many behaviours are deplorable, there aren’t any human beings beyond redemption.
      
      Miserere mei, I still have a long way to go 😕
    - Ryan Gill says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 15:04
      
      Hilary Clinton for me.
    - Chris Heyes says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 19:59
      
      bsuije But if you did a survey with “The Witch” on she would come top every time and she’s been dead years
  - Ashish says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 21:58
    
    Tony Blair got to be in with a shout.
- Jonathan says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:45
  
  The guy who once said that he wanted to have people pay to use the toilets on the plane, and even said he’d wipe their behind for fiver !
  
  Some people are simply desperate for more money when they’ve already got hundreds of millions in liquid cash
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 13:04
    
    It’s Ryanairs business model to say things that’ll get them free marketing. They’re that cheap and frankly O’Leary is the only CEO that’s willing to make themselves look like an idiot for there companies bottom line
  - ankomonkey says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 13:32
    
    There are still UK town centres out there that have pay toilets. And they’re still filthy!
    - Aston100 says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 13:42
      
      The town or the toilet?
    - Rob says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 13:43
      
      Contactless payment loos are now appearing in London, which may mean more of them – a lot got rid of charging because no-one was carrying cash.
      - the_real_a says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 13:45
        
        And Skegness 🙂 0.20p contactless.
      - Yorkie Aid says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 14:00
        
        They’ve been in York for ages. Amazes me that they make any money after card processing fees.
      - Harrier25 says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 14:28
        
        Do they accept Amex?
      - Genghis says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 14:34
        
        I saw my first contactless one in Whitby last weekend. 40p. And they were filthy.
      - MattB says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 15:05
        
        We’ve got them in Wales too, all the beach toilets in Tenby have them. Massive queues for the ladies as most weren’t carrying purses and people were jumping over – 40p for a wee, just go in the sea!
      - Navara says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 15:13
        
        They have them in Fowey
      - Harrier25 says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 15:26
        
        In Bakewell, Derbyshire Dales you still need to rummage around for 20p which was very annoying when we visited last month. A beautiful little town though.
      - Phil says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 17:51
        
        We must have reached a new low for HfP… we’re discussing how to obtain points for having a dump!
        
        If you want nice, well maintained free loos, I’d highly recommend visiting North Berwick. For the avoidance of doubt, there are lots of other good aspects to North Berwick.
      - David S says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 20:12
        
        But a Disabled Toilet key online – no charge and a cleaner Toilet
747_Brat says:

9 Jun9 June 11:57

Haven’t done this in a while, could someone remind me of table booking websites that can earn me some miles/points. I only seem to remember Open Table and their collaboration with IHG, but can’t seem to recall how did that work – was it a special page for booking for IHG Rewards members?
- WaynedP says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:28
  
  https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/12/14/ihg-rewards-club-points-with-opentable/
  - 747_Brat says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 13:04
    
    Thanks!
    - Rob says:
      
      9 Jun9 June 13:44
      
      Used this a few times recently, points always hit within 24 hours.
      - WaynedP says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 14:00
        
        No idea why it’s so well hidden on the IHG website. Can’t even find it on the site map.
      - Rob says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 14:16
        
        Do note that a lot of restaurants don’t appear on the IHG OpenTable site. This is mainly, but not exclusively, those which want credit card details for deposits.
        
        Points count for status too unless something has changed.
      - meta says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 14:07
        
        You used to get 500 MR points on the first booking with Global Dinining Programme with Amex. Not sure if that is still the case.
      - 747_Brat says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 16:17
        
        Thanks all.
        I am getting the following error: “No tables are available within 2.5 hours of your XX:00 request.”. I have tried a lot of dates and times, but this error seems ubiquitous. Anyone else facing this and knows how to get past it?
      - Rob says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 16:25
        
        That is what you get when the restaurant is full (or at least the OpenTable allocation is taken). If nothing shows for any date the restaurant has potentially not updated its listing or it is an OT IT issue.
        
        If you’re looking at a high profile restaurant it is possible there is nothing for a while – some top places are booked until September I’ve been finding.
      - 747_Brat says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 17:35
        
        Thanks Rob. But I find it strange that all the dates and time combinations I have tried at various restaurants have the exact same issue. I will write it off as an IT issue and try again tomorrow probably. But thanks for the help.
      - Optimus Prime says:
        
        9 Jun9 June 17:41
        
        I’ve actually got the same error when booking through IGH but not when using OpenTable directly…
Alan S says:

9 Jun9 June 12:07

I’m planning on claiming against BA for rerouting at a suitable date under EC261. They’ve refused outwith the 12 months date.

The flights were First to LAX, so it isn’t as simple as taking a refund and rebooking given reward seat availability.

Does anyone have a sense on current CEDR timescales? I’m not in any rush as such, so I wondered if this might be worth trying before MCOL.

Also, I’d read about booking a fully flex ticket and claiming for that, rather than for BA to rebook me. A fully flex ticket on BA for the dates I’m looking at is £35k… (for two passengers), so that doesn’t seem particularly feasible to tie up.

Can I put in a claim that basically warrants BA to reroute me to my chosen dates under the legislation, rather than refund a new ticket?

Help!
- Richie says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:26
  
  It appears that a few of you may be thinking the same, perhaps a class action?
- Ming the Merciless says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 12:27
  
  I’ve got my MCOL coming up shortly
  
  Will update you all once received.
  - Jody says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 14:08
    
    That would be really appreciated, thank you.
- Mouse says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 14:40
  
  Airlines currently have 60 working days to respond to CEDR complaints, so you’re looking at 3 months.
- Pierre says:
  
  9 Jun9 June 18:45
  
  I did a CEDR recently – submitted in early-Jan, and CEDR finished creating the case within a few days later. Then heard nothing from BA until the day of the deadline, which was end-Apr. BA paid out another couple of weeks later. So just over 4 months all told.
  
  PS, CEDR has a maximum claim amount, I have a feeling £35k will be over…
  - H says:
    
    9 Jun9 June 22:53
    
    Was your case related to rerouting as well?
    - Pierre says:
      
      10 Jun10 June 13:32
      
      Yes, also a BA refusing rerouting case. But not outside of the 12-months validity. In our case, BA had cancelled an imminent flight and refused outright to reroute us with any other airline. So we took matters into our own hands, flew back, and then claimed the replacement ticket costs from BA retrospectively.