The HfP chat thread – Friday 11th June

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Ryan says:

11 Jun11 June 16:25

Amex sup offers:
Just received the Amex Nectar card, are they still offering bonuses for new Supps? Any limitation with using the same nectar card as my own for the details?
- Genghis says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 16:29
  
  Using same “nectar card”? Only primary card holder gets the points. If you’re on about an AC, sure. I have ACs, though not labelled as such.
  - TGLoyalty says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 16:58
    
    For some reason supp card application asks for a nectar number.
    
    I use the same account for the All the nectar Amex in my household without issue
    - Ryan says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 17:02
      
      Ideal, will use the same one for all 5, bag a few k’s of additional nectar points in the process…
    - Genghis says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 19:15
      
      Ah. Don’t remember entering it.
Rh says:

11 Jun11 June 16:34

Just leaving a U.K. airport and was asked the purpose of my trip by border control/police. I didn’t think they were meant to ask for an Amber country as it is advisory only?
- Babyg says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 16:38
  
  yeah thats weird… travel is no longer banned…
- Jonathan says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 16:44
  
  They can ask you the question but can’t punish you if you say I’ve been on holiday. Same as the police sometimes made an appearance & pulled people to one side for flights from Amsterdam, Dublin etc pre Covid.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 16:59
  
  It’s all advisory
- Harry T says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 17:07
  
  They can ask you whatever they want, but it has no bearing on your legal right to travel.
- MJ says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 17:52
  
  They were allowed to ask this before Covid!!
  - Anna says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 17:59
    
    Quite, they can ask whatever they like, it’s whether or not you are obliged to furnish that information that matters. They might just be making polite conversation like a hairdresser!
    - George1976 says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 18:27
      
      You sort of are obliged to answer their questions because they’re allowed to hold you for x hours (might be 3 or 4) without having to give a reason, like the normal plod would.
      - Nick G says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 18:38
        
        If they suspect you be a terrorist!
      - Anna says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 18:53
        
        Where did you get that nonsense from?! The police can’t hold you for any amount of time without reasonable suspicion that you’ve committed a crime. And as Nick G says, there are very limited circumstances under which they don’t have to tell you why.
      - SteveJ says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 19:11
        
        Not really nonsense though is it Anna. If border ask you where you’ve been and you give them short shrift you’ll get their back up and are more likely to look at you with suspicion. They’re paid to be sceptical.
      - TJones says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 19:58
        
        Border Force are not Police.
      - A says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 20:22
        
        @ Anna, @ Nick – the powers under Schedule 7 TA 2000 don’t require them to have reasonable suspicion you’re a terrorist – the powers are unusually broad (and offensive) in that regard
      - Anna says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 20:33
        
        A – it actually states in the TA 2000 that an officer can arrest anyone they “reasonably suspect” to be a terrorist!
      - A says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 21:20
        
        @ Anna – yes, it does say that re: power to arrest; but there are extensive detention powers elsewhere.
      - Anna says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 23:34
        
        The powers relate primarily to examining (as in questioning) someone, obviously these can’t be exercised if someone refused to remain with the (specially accredited) examining officer and therefore a power of detention becomes necessary to carry this out. It’s not a power primarily to detain someone. There are also strict criteria around deciding if someone is going to be questioned. There are multiple safeguards against someone just being shut in an interview room and left there!
      - A says:
        
        12 Jun12 June 06:53
        
        @Anna – right, so in other words when George1976 said they have a right to detain you for a few hours, they do in fact have that power. Glad we’ve established that now…
        
        There are in fact relatively few safeguards to a Sch 7 TA stop, and if an individual refuses to answer questions and attempts to leave they will very likely be detained under the Sch 7 provisions and required to remain in the relevant location. And reasonable force can be used to make you remain in that location. There are multiple stories of this power being used fairly egregiously.
        
        Long story short: Sch 7 is generally a bit rubbish and gives the police fairly broad powers to stop (and search you).
- meta says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 20:08
  
  Something doesn’t add up. There is no border control in the UK on the outbound. There can be police presence, but they are not border force.
YC says:

11 Jun11 June 17:26

Will amex allow you to move an offer from 1 card to another? Looking to hit a SUB but offer is not on that card. TIA
- Blenz101 says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 18:01
  
  No
James says:

11 Jun11 June 17:30

BA have just changed my flight times for a BA Holidays booking. Do I have the right to cancel and ask for a refund?
- ChrisC says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 18:05
  
  by how much time are the new flights compared to the old flights as that will determine whether you can cancel for a refund or not.
  
  Also are the flight numbers the same as that also affected the position
  - mart says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 18:21
    
    recently booked some of those cdg-lhr-lax-hnl-lax-lhr-cdg fares for next year fingers crossed it happens
    is it true if the flight numbers change on the cdg-lhr or lhr-cdg legs you can request to drop them?
    - ChrisC says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 18:58
      
      I hoestly have no idea.
      
      Be interested to know the answer just in case. Would save having to do the positioning flights …
  - James says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 18:46
    
    Sadly I don’t think I have any grounds for a refund; same flight numbers and only 1 hour 25 minutes maximum difference in flight times.
Memesweeper says:

11 Jun11 June 17:59

If I do 2 * £8 on Amex in a corner shop, same card different days, does that trigger Shop Small?
- mark says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 18:22
  
  No
- AJA says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 18:22
  
  I’d say not. I thought the minimum is £15 in one go and for one shop.
  - ChrisC says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 18:41
    
    I think it’s taking the pee to do this.
    
    Whilst the £5 is being funded by Amex the retailer will be paying two sets of card use fees.
    - Memesweeper says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 18:56
      
      The “corner shop” I had in mind is a cafe I really struggled to load up on £15 in grub yesterday. Deep breath, and back again next week with my sup card then…
      - Genghis says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 19:12
        
        Start a tab and go in credit?
    - Genghis says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 19:11
      
      Aren’t the card fees percentage based?
      - KBuffett says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 19:52
        
        Some have a percentage + authorisation fee subject to a minimum fee. Depends on how the contract has been negotiated
    - Callum says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 20:38
      
      Are credit card fees not normally a percentage? Though if a shop is happy to take card payments for an £8 purchase I don’t see how you could possibly be “taking the pee”? It’s not like you’re tricking them into it…
Ian M says:

11 Jun11 June 18:25

Is it no longer possible to cancel Avios redemption bookings with BA? Only option is to receive a voucher.
- r* says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 18:34
  
  No idea if they have disabled it for avios but I had to ask them on twitter to cancel a fully flex ticket as they had disabled the ability to get cash back from fully flex, offering only a voucher lol
  - r* says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 18:36
    
    Assuming you mean online vs calling that is.. its absolutely still valid to get avios+fees back on an avios booking – you do not have to take a voucher.
    - Ian M says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 18:38
      
      Ok, so I need to call to cancel an avios booking now? Great customer service from BA…
  - Ian M says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 18:37
    
    I had the same problem recently. Fully flex cash ticket but no option to cancel online for a refund. Making a lot more work for themselves and their customers but we all know why they’re doing it, they want to keep our cash
  - Fred says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 18:51
    
    What Twitter handle are people using? I have a 241 booking still not refunded (no cash, avios, voucher…nothing) since last year!
    - Sam G says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 20:57
      
      best channel for this is to register on flyertalk and private message ” BA refund helper” – Twitter doesn’t seem to be able to do much more with refunds than the call centre (i.e. not a lot!)
- ChrisC says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 18:37
  
  You have to call if you want a full refund less the £35 admin fee
  
  If you are happy to have it all wrapped in a voucher and avoid the dee then you can do it on line.
  - Ian M says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 18:44
    
    Is there still a £35 fee if the cash element of the booking was less than £35? In this case the taxes and fees were only £4
    - Gavin says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 19:58
      
      No, you just lose the £4
      - Ian M says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 20:08
        
        awesome
- Anna says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 18:54
  
  You can cancel online only if BA has cancelled the flight. The refund facility has been disabled for over 12 months now.
Josh says:

11 Jun11 June 18:37

Where can I get the cheapest day 2 & and 8 amber testing ?

Also same for test to release, any same day options that don’t require mail in would be great thanks!
- Nick Burch says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 12:30
  
  Go to https://www.gov.uk/find-travel-test-provider and search for nationwide, then sort by price. However, be aware that the lowest cost ones can be a bit iffy and can struggle with the volume of orders that being the cheapest brings, so you might want to pay a bit more for one of the airline discounted options like Randox.
  
  For TTR, head to your nearest airport, ExpressTest or Collinson should be able to do you a test with results same day. Not the cheapest, but the quickest!
Aston100 says:

11 Jun11 June 19:25

KLM call centre agent on the phone told me that if *they* cancel a flight in 2022, you can’t have a refund but must accept a voucher which has to be used within 30 days.

What kind of bollocks do airlines teach their staff?
This is worse than the rubbish I’ve heard from BA in the past.
- bafan says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 21:16
  
  KLM and Air France both have the most delusional staff I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Both in call centers and on the ground. Someone should tell them it’s not the 1980s anymore.