The HfP chat thread – Thursday 24th June

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• Gavin says:

  24 Jun24 June 07:42

  Amex offer – NCP – national car parks, spend £8, £2 back valid online only once. On my ARCC

  • PMG says:

    24 Jun24 June 07:58

    Also on my BAPP…

  • Crafty says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:37

    Was this even worth typing? £2, once!

• Gavin says:

  24 Jun24 June 07:59

  Having rebooked a Hilton night for September on Monday as it had dropped by 1000 points, I checked it again last night and it had gone down by another 4000 points.

  • John says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:07

    Have you checked the cash rates for comparison?

  • Paul says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:08

    Where, out of interest? A drop in points most likely means a respective drop on the cash rate also.

    • Gavin says:

      24 Jun24 June 08:11

      Cobham – dropped in cash too but I prefer to use points for this trip.

      • Njb says:

        24 Jun24 June 17:29

        Have you stayed there before? Whats the hotel like?

        • Gavin says:

          24 Jun24 June 19:48

          I don’t know but reasonable reports on flyertalk. It’s the nearest hotel to Brooklands which is the reason for my visit.

• John says:

  24 Jun24 June 08:08

  Delta seems rampant in London now. At least 50% of people on my train sniffing and coughing. 50% no mask. Oh well.

  • Matty says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:13

    Are you sure it wasn’t hayfever? 75% of us in the office yesterday were sniffing and popping the Piriton.

    • AJA says:

      24 Jun24 June 08:46

      Are you actually buying Piriton for hayfever? May I suggest buying cetirizine instead? It is not only much cheaper but is also a non-drowsy alternative although some people can be allergic to it.

      https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/cetirizine/#

      • Degsy says:

        24 Jun24 June 08:53

        Top tip, thanks AJA. I shall be switching.
        I will though still be popping a Piriton before long haul overnight flights – works wonders!

        • AJA says:

          24 Jun24 June 11:32

          You’re welcome. I take one tablet a day and have no hayfever symptoms at all. Only found out about it 2 years ago. Asda chemists is the cheapest although Lloyds Pharmacy’s inside Sainsbury’s is OK too. Specifically ask for generic cetirizine as they have a habit of pushing you towards the brand names which are more expensive.

      • @mkcol says:

        24 Jun24 June 13:27

        Cetirizine was my default allergy go-to….until this year when the 2 times I’ve taken it I’ve been wiped out for 12 hours, now changed to Piriton which although drowsy doesn’t kill me off for half a day.

        • Tariq says:

          24 Jun24 June 14:10

          Drowsiness tends to be person-specific. Loratadine theoretically is least likely to cause drowsiness.

          I take year round as well, online (registered) pharmacies on eBay and Amazon do 6 month or 12 month bundles fairly cheaply.

  • Gavin says:

    24 Jun24 June 09:10

    I’m sniffing and sneezing a lot in London the past few days. It’s hayfever.

  • dave says:

    24 Jun24 June 09:30

    Which train line/tube you been on John? i[d put mask wearing at around 90% on the trains and tubes i’ve been on (except for the central line coming in from Woodford where it’s significantly less for some reason.)

    But it’s hayfever crazy down here at the moment anyway

    • Pete M says:

      24 Jun24 June 10:10

      I’d also recommend Fexofenadine if over the counter stuff doesn’t help. You can get a prescription from your GP or buy it online.

      • Mouse says:

        24 Jun24 June 14:58

        +1

    • Dubious says:

      24 Jun24 June 16:43

      Wouldnt wearing a (medical grade) mask help prevent hay fever in the first instance? A somewhat ironic situation…

  • Travel Strong says:

    24 Jun24 June 13:06

    The most common hayfever tablets – cetirizine hydrochloride (aka piriteze), loratadine (aka claratin), and chlorphenamine maleate (aka piriton) can all be purchased online for rock bottom prices. Just buy the unbranded versions – they are exactly the same. 180 tablets from Pharmacy first usually = £6, and is on the voldemort portals for 18.5% ca$hbacc. Other sites have 240 and 360 tablets for similar low prices too.

    The only other ‘off the shelf’ UK tablet option I know of is Acravastine (Benadryl allergy relief) and this is proprietary and only available as the branded item at significant cost… but it is good if the one-a-days are not doing the job.

    Also excellent if the tablets are not doing the job is Beconase hayfever release nasal spray.

    Personally, if ranking them, the nasal spray and acravastine are supreme by a long way – but comparatively expensive.

    • David says:

      24 Jun24 June 16:20

      It’s all indivifual. Beconaze does zero for me whereas Priniase works wonders. You just have to find what works best for you.

      • Anuj says:

        24 Jun24 June 16:32

        Yes also a common mistake is people taking them for two days and thinking they don’t work. You really do need to take them for a while for the effect to build up.

• slonik says:

  24 Jun24 June 08:20

  Has anyone flown from LCY recently? Wondering if it’s still safe to arrive 1 hour before the flight (an internal UK flight) or whether there’s some new delays/extra queues now in pandemic eta?

  • Richie says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:28

    Is there an A221 flight near yours?

    • Stu N says:

      24 Jun24 June 09:02

      I flew to Edinburgh at lunchtime last Friday, it was really, really quiet. I was airside less than 10 mins after getting off the DLR. Even if there is a cluster of flights around same time as yours I’d expect an hour would be plenty of time. I’ve rarely arrived at City more than an hour before departure in regular times anyway and there’s not much to do airside anyway.

      Top tip – the scanner on the left side is one of the fancy new ones you don’t need to unpack your bag for. Looks like

      • Memesweeper says:

        24 Jun24 June 13:31

        +1

        It’s dead, you’ll breeze through. Bring provisions… there’s barely anything in terms of refreshments

• David says:

  24 Jun24 June 08:25

  Recently I’ve had multiple cancellations and then reinstatements of Avios awarded following purchases through the BA shopping portal/Gate 365.

  All the reinstatements award a fraction of the original Avios with no explanation beyond an identikit list of the usual ‘you didn’t click through, the purchase wasn’t eligible…’ etc.

  We all make mistakes sometimes and these portals can be sketchy but I’ve been doing this for a while and usually make sure I fulfil the criteria. Historically I haven’t had many problems with the BA shopping portal so just wondering if others have noticed similar miserliness on their accounts?

  When I challenged BA on one of the reductions they gave me some spurious reason about an item already being in my virtual shopping basket before I clicked through the portal, which has never been an issue before.

  Maybe this is just a way of them balancing out their generosity with Avios elsewhere…

  • Jonathan says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:35

    If they’re awarding you some Avios then clearly they accept you clicked through correctly?! Never seen a reference to items already in basket in T&C’s but generally advise clearing cookies before you click through to merchant.

    At the end of the day they’re a law unto themselves & there’s nothing you can do to force them to play fair so you have to take it on chin & take your business elsewhere.

    • Rob says:

      24 Jun24 June 08:48

      This is correct. Some sites allocate commission based on when an item was placed in a basket.

      It is no less fair since clearly the transaction was not done purely to get Avios as the item was in the basket already.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        24 Jun24 June 08:53

        Good to know for the future

        Not everyone shops like that though I might have just left it if I didn’t see there weren’t xx/£ on offer to make it worthwhile etc

  • AJA says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:56

    There is a dedicated thread over on FT reporting Avios awarded on purchases via the shopping portal being randomly removed months later. It is very hit and miss.

    I always clear cache and then use incognito or private browsing mode to buy via the portal. Never ever click on anything else on the retailer site before concluding your purchase. I even do single purchases at a time going through the clear cache routine every time even if its going to be multiple purchases from the same retailer. I also screen shot the you are now going to be directed to the retailer site tracking page in case of query.

    Also do screen shots whenever there is a bonus rate eg 8x Avios rather than the normal 2x Avios rate as I’ve had them argue the bonus offer wasn’t applicable.

    Also one other point, I’ve noticed recently that Avios are now only awarded on the ex-VAT price so you may find that is why the Avios are much lower than before..

    • Sam G says:

      24 Jun24 June 09:29

      I always used Edge for my purchases once I’ve decided what I want to buy, very rare I have an issue

    • Magic Mike says:

      24 Jun24 June 18:32

      No need to clear cache if you start with a new incognito session. Incognito mode is like a blank slate. It’s the cookies that track the click through anyway, not the cache.

  • David says:

    24 Jun24 June 17:21

    Very helpful feedback and lots to take note of next time – thanks everyone!

• Roberto says:

  24 Jun24 June 08:29

  Booked the Hilton Wembley for Tuesday night with points.
  I have seen on the booking that I am now unable to cancel the room and get a refund?
  I thought you were able to cancel all points redemptions?
  I also thought with covid even cash redemptions were refundable?
  Seems very strange as the reason I booked with points was to give myself the flexibility that if I had to self isolate for any reason I could cancel and get refund.

  • Peter K says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:38

    Not guaranteed to be able to cancel on points. Usually yes, but at special events (eg new year’s eve) not always. You need to check as you book unfortunately.

  • Jonathan says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:42

    Did you book it for the football or were you aware there was a last 16 Euros match on?

    T&C’s allow for modified cancellation policies for major events/NYE etc.

  • Swiss Jim says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:48

    This happened to me once before (having previously thought as you did). I simply phoned customer care and they sorted it. But may depend on status (I’m Diamond).

    • Roberto says:

      24 Jun24 June 08:52

      Thanks Jim I’m diamond so will give it a try if needed.

• Mark says:

  24 Jun24 June 08:32

  Does it take <5 minutes to get from South (where the train station at Gatwick) to North?

  How far are EasyJet’s gate for domestic flights to Scotland typically from security?

  • Bill says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:34

    Pre covid yes. I think it was gate 55 (ish) which is a few minutes walk. The photo checks slow things before the gate

• Bill says:

  24 Jun24 June 08:32

  I’m visiting Earl’s Court on Saturday and Sunday. I need the strap on a rucksack stitching to the bag. It’s only a cheap Mountain Warehouse bag but it’s worthwhile getting it fixed. Can someone recommend somewhere please? I used Alba in Baker Street a few years ago but are there any others nearer to where I’m staying. I haven’t got time to get it fixed near home

  • Rob says:

    24 Jun24 June 08:50

    Forgotten the name but there is a place in South Ken that does luggage repairs – should be googleable.

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