The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 15th June

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.

kitten says:

15 Jun15 June 17:13

Eurostar if anyone’s interested has made trains available to book as far ahead as 10 May 2022 (Paris) now.
- meta says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 18:32
  
  Still only two trains a day…
kpk1981 says:

15 Jun15 June 17:59

What a day!!! My BAPP had £12k added to it in one day due to a glitch with a coffee subscription (4000 x £4 payments – IT glitch taking one payment per minute!) As a result my careful planning to get my 2-4-1 in September has been hit as it has triggered. Once the refunds hit can I ask Amex to delay/re-issue the 2-4-1? Has anyone had any experience doing this.
- AJA says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 18:06
  
  Ouch! Normally once the 2-4-1 is issued that’s it but in this case I think it’s worth asking Amex.
- kpk1981 says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 18:07
  
  Interesting side note – learnt that Amex systems can only show 1000 transactions and even the CS staff can only see 1000 as well!!!
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 18:24
  
  I’m shocked the card wasn’t blocked by amex after the first handful.
- Toby says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 21:00
  
  Woah that’s wild. Agree that in normal circumstances they can’t do anything, but maybe if you point out their system should have blocked this, they may be able to do something. If they don’t, maybe ask for the fee to be refunded as a gesture of goodwill? Then chalk it up to experience
- ChrisC says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 22:18
  
  You should definitely get Amex to hold back on all of these transactions which they need to eliminate from your account and just credit back.
  
  You shouldn’t be out a voucher for a problem that wasn’t of your making.
Jon says:

15 Jun15 June 18:00

I called Amex today to chase up x2 missing Economist credits for subs taken out via Rob’s link on 8 June. They said that they are aware of the issue Rob reported recently and that we would have to wait up to 90 days for the credits to appear.
- Sam says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 18:13
  
  Same response I got. Got a copy paste from the agent from a script about it so looks like it’s going to happen.
- Guernsey Globetrotter says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 23:27
  
  Economist data point from today- took out £179 digital sub which returns 15,000 avios and the £45 Amex cash back was also triggered immediately so it seems all working as intended for new subs now! Hopefully also bodes well for your credit, albeit annoying if you have to wait…
BuildBackBetter says:

15 Jun15 June 18:19

Minicabit- a taxi aggregator is in shop small.
Gothbe says:

15 Jun15 June 18:28

I have a uk economy reward flight. What is the charge for changing to a business reward flight. Does this require a call or can it be done online?
- David D says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 19:43
  
  The short, snarky answer is that it depends.
  
  Though, to be able to answer or have someone be able to direct you to the information, the questions are: Who are you flying with? Where are you flying from and to? When are you flying? How many passengers (adults and/or children)? Have you used any vouchers?
  - Gothbe says:
    
    15 Jun15 June 20:12
    
    Sorry should have said BA between belfast city and Lhr. 2 x reward flights. Outbound leg is economy and return leg is business. Want to upgrade the outbound
    - Gothbe says:
      
      15 Jun15 June 20:13
      
      Business wasn’t available when I booked. Now it is
      - Genghis says:
        
        15 Jun15 June 20:33
        
        Request FTV then use FTV. All free.
Luke says:

15 Jun15 June 18:41

How strict are Amex on their sign up bonus restrictions? If I’ve had a gold card within the last year and apply for the platinum, are their systems accurate enough to pick that up? (Maybe I’ve been a VA+ card holder for too long and have gotten used to terrible IT systems…)
- HeadingForNoPoints says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 19:17
  
  I had a BAPP bonus come through despite closing another BAPP 12 months prior, this was in early 2020
- Harry T says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 19:24
  
  The odds are not in your favour.
  - Rob says:
    
    15 Jun15 June 21:00
    
    Strict to the day BUT they do not always spot your earlier applications.
Ollie says:

15 Jun15 June 19:02

GWR now showing that Pullman services have restarted, albeit on a limited timetable and with no bookings (not even for First Class passengers). Not sure what that achieves, other than a queue of people clamouring to get the invariably restricted availability.
Anyway, good to see that they’re coming back and I hope to give Pullman a try soon. https://www.gwr.com/travelling-with-us/pullman-dining
- Jay-Marc says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 20:51
  
  According to a reviewer of the first resumed service he was the only person dining but there is no publicity yet. It is now priced at £25 for two courses and £30 for three.
Chrisasaurus says:

15 Jun15 June 19:27

Virgin upgrade voucher. Looking at upgrading a cash booking from premium to UC. Understand there needs to be reward availability in UC for that to be possible – does the ticket then keep the restrictions of the underlying fare? I can’t see the list of fare buckets you can upgrade from and even the Virgin T&Cs essentially just says ‘it varies’ so does anyone have relevant experience on it?

I cannot see the info in the article on the card here or elsewhere
- Travel Strong says:
  
  15 Jun15 June 19:54
  
  What restrictions in particular are you interested in? The fare rules on all redemptions are pretty much identical.
  All of them will be cancellable etc.
  The only real differences start when redeeming on partner airlines.
  
  Re: the list of fare buckets you can upgrade from.
  This is no longer a thing – one of the changes last summer did away with this.
  It used to be listed on the miles tables, but it has gone and now the only restriction is that you can’t upgrade from economy light.
  Backed up by the press release at the time:
  “Upgrade vouchers can now be used in conjunction with a ticket in any booking class, for a one cabin upgrade for a return flight (excludes original bookings made in Economy Light).” .
  - YC says:
    
    15 Jun15 June 20:37
    
    Is this true? So if upgrading a non-cancellable ticket, this now becomes fully cancellable (with £30/35 fee)?
  - Chrisasaurus says:
    
    15 Jun15 June 20:47
    
    It doesn’t seem sensible in face value that upgrading a cheap case fare could make it flexible though? So does it stay non-refundable and if you do cancel do you lose the voucher too?
  - Travel Strong says:
    
    15 Jun15 June 21:09
    
    Apologies, missed that you were making a cash booking . Fare rules on all points bookings similar. Cash is a new one on me.
    Direct query to the virgin whatsapp team may be best.