The HfP chat thread – Thursday 8th July

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

• Duncan Stevenson-Price says:

  8 Jul8 July 06:26

  Booked a trip to Canada next year (into Montreal, back from Toronto) in Club with 241. No First availability on those routes at all right now, but I wonder what the chances of them being added later are?

  Seat map also shows a pretty small club cabin with the old seat design. I wonder what the chances of that changing to club suite between now and then are…

  • mark2 says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:05

    I don’t think that there has ever been any F to Montreal, although I have flown F to and from Toronto.
    But who knows what will happen this year let alone next.

    • JohnT says:

      8 Jul8 July 07:35

      We are going out Toronto back Chicago in June. Chicago flight is new Club suites.!

  • VickyTM says:

    8 Jul8 July 08:18

    I flew out to Toronto on a 2 4 1 just before lockdown in the new club suite when it had just been launched and a good amount of the seats were broken. The crew were lamenting how rubbish the seats actually were. They refunded all my avios for the flight as we had to sit in broken seats, and there were none that weren’t broken to move us to….

    • Duncan says:

      8 Jul8 July 09:22

      😬 Teething problems, hopefully?

      Despite not working correctly, how did you find the seat in principle?

      • Rob says:

        8 Jul8 July 09:30

        Many airlines have found that cutting corners on seat build spec is a hugely false economy long term.

        • Stuart Evans says:

          8 Jul8 July 09:44

          Rob – does that mean you think BA were guilty of this with Club Suite? If so, do you think they have fixed it by now? Or is it doomed to be unreliable forever?

        • Rob says:

          8 Jul8 July 09:50

          Rhys knows quite a bit about this issue, hopefully he can chip in when he sees this.

      • VickyTM says:

        8 Jul8 July 10:39

        Duncan, it was ok. The crew tried their best as the seat could only be fully upright, or fully flat, and that required about 20 mins with several crew having to dismantle it. I much prefer Virgin.

  • Lady London says:

    8 Jul8 July 11:15

    I would be surprised if BA would put F back into Canada.

    Even before Covid there were rumours their plan was only to maintain F on routes where it was needed to be competitive/they could compete with other airlines’ offerings eg NYC, SFO.

    Also some routes patronised by wealthy BA loyalists would probably have kept F if BA had any sense (and BA does have sense). Such as Barbados, Nice (Club) and, the main Canadian exception that springs to mind, Calgary in a narrow winter season for high end winter resorts/skiing.

• Paul says:

  8 Jul8 July 06:38

  Following up on the Amex Platinum card insurance question from yesterday.

  FCO advice is don’t travel, not don’t book!
  It seems unreasonable to use this as basis to deny a claim. The claim is not for any reason that was known at time of booking. Italy was open, accepting U.K. nationals with a test. On return there was a need to quarantine.
  Italy changed entry requirements requiring 5 days of quarantine and this combined with BAs cancellation of flights, meant it was impossible to comply with entry requirements and still attend the event.
  AXA relying on it being connected to Covid as their basis for saying no.

  While I have some sympathy with their position, the reliance on rules in existence at time of booking is concerning. It means almost no travel is covered for up to a year ahead simply because current FCO advice is not to travel. Yet every day we are being encouraged to book! Just another hurdle in the race to normality on plague island.

  • Paul says:

    8 Jul8 July 06:59

    Sorry, other Paul, that this happened to you. But I’m kinda with the insurer on this one – it *was* because of the Covid situation that this was all cancelled, and you did know that risk all too well at time of booking. As for FCO advice; there is a reason it is how it is (or was) and surely in part that does reflect the fact that foreign government positions will change at short notice. That too was perfectly foreseeable at time of booking. I think you might have to chalk this one up to experience and let it go.

  • Sandgrounder says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:03

    The FCO advice doesn’t have an expiry date, so booking against it is always speculation.

    • yorkieflyer says:

      8 Jul8 July 10:17

      I don’t think that the lack of cover for cancellation for govt action is unreasonable when FCO advice is against non essential travel at the time of booking. What I do disagree with is AMEX/AXA position that ALL cover is void in this scenario when many folk book a year ahead. One of the reasons I finally binned Plat, that and the useless Priority Pass

  • AndyW says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:13

    There is specialist insurance that will cover this stuff, change in entry requirements, change in U.K. rules etc, but you will not get this cover with any standard policy. Looked at this a lot earlier in the year as I booked a Portugal break when it was Green and despite only booking a week ahead wanted to be covered for this sort of eventuality. The only way to book right now is fully refundable, or pay up for some very solid and more expensive insurance.

    • N says:

      8 Jul8 July 07:50

      Aren’t BA doing free changes/vouchers even on basic economy tickets?

  • Lady London says:

    8 Jul8 July 10:06

    As Sandgrounder says the advice has no expiry date on it. Therefore your claim won’t succeed.

    Your choice was to balance the loss of £600 ticket money against 5/6 extra nights in Italy to complete quarantine pre-the event(or those nights in another country from which Italy would just impose testing requirement from, not quarantine). Then you could still have attended the event.

    £600 or less for 5/6 nights is eminently do-able in Italy. Italy is cheap enough to get to if BA had been unwilling to reroute you 5-6 days earlier (technically not required to give you earlier but strong chance they would have done). The moment you take a refund you lose rerouting rights btw but I am pretty sure you could have still travelled to Italy within the refund money.

    Sorry Paul insurance wins this one

• Rui N. says:

  8 Jul8 July 06:51

  Any ref codes for Bulb/octopus/igloo? (Or any others, for that matter). My 12 months with Shell are up in a few weeks, and I want to start shopping around 🙂

  • CarpalTravel says:

    8 Jul8 July 06:55

    If you know someone with Bulb they (and you) will get a £50 referral credit, if you use their link. I’ve been with Bulb for over 3 years and have benefited from several referrals.

  • Duncan Stevenson-Price says:

    8 Jul8 July 06:59

    I’m happy to refer you to Octopus, but I don’t know the etiquette of posting a link publicly here… £50 each when you get referred.

    I’d recommend Bulb or Octopus. I switched to Octopus for their EV tariff which Bulb don’t offer, but both suppliers have been great.

    • Reney says:

      8 Jul8 July 07:20

      Rhys previously outlined the etiquette which was if someone asks then you can post your referral link, he will delete the rest.

      This excludes amex, where you should ask Rob since it supports the site. So it is a game of speed 😅

      • Lady London says:

        8 Jul8 July 10:10

        🙂 Well said Reney

  • KC says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:00

    This is my referral for Octopus:
    share.octopus.energy/ready-jay-390

  • SteveJ says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:01

    Have you considered Green. Energy? £10 for being referred and they take Amex (allowing you to reduce the mandatory DD to a low amount)

  • Doogie says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:19

    Here’s one for igloo https://refer.igloo.energy/douglasb336

    • Yuff says:

      8 Jul8 July 07:36

      Anyone know the best tariff for dual fuel and EVs with a referral link

  • Swiss Jim says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:37

    Here’s one for Bulb.
    http://www.bulb.me/andrewd7858
    Just launched a new EV tariff if interested.

    • Bobby says:

      8 Jul8 July 07:52

      * Swiss Andy 😀

      • Yuff says:

        8 Jul8 July 08:42

        Thanks Swissjim/Andy
        😉

  • Rui N. says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:53

    Thanks all 🙂 any Octopus ref links from anyone?

    • Toby says:

      8 Jul8 July 08:20

      Sure http://share.octopus.energy/aglow-woods-146

    • Travel Strong says:

      8 Jul8 July 10:49

      Any reason why my octopus link gets sent for moderation rather than posted? Happened both times this week. I’m not precious amount losing out on referrals, but I’d like to be on an even playing field.

      • Number9 says:

        8 Jul8 July 11:07

        I’m the same. Maybe it’s not a level playing field.

      • Jonathan says:

        8 Jul8 July 11:56

        What’s your IP address/e-mail. I think the ability to post links is restricted to those with a posting history & with a “safe” country IP address. If you have cookies/tracking blocked then maybe the site doesn’t recognise you as a previous poster?

      • Keith says:

        8 Jul8 July 12:52

        Mine got deleted guess they let the more regular posters have them. Never mind.

      • Travel Strong says:

        8 Jul8 July 16:12

        As said i’m not precious about it – if I’m not allowed to post mine then fine. But I would rather know and stop wasting my time replying. Something just feels off.

        • Rob says:

          8 Jul8 July 17:04

          We post the first one. Rest are deleted. You don’t know when you post if others are awaiting moderation.

        • Travel Strong says:

          8 Jul8 July 17:06

          That makes sense. I can see 1 would have been submitted (and I guess also waiting for moderation) a little bit before mine. Thanks for the clarification!

• Jason says:

  8 Jul8 July 07:23

  Should standard Hilton rooms always be offered for sale on a points and cash basis? Or can the hotel block points redemptions

  • Dave says:

    8 Jul8 July 08:01

    They should be available as long as a base room is available for sale for cash.

    However, some hotels try to game the system. E.g. the Hilton Lake Como seems to have very few base rooms, and then lots of ‘Deluxe’ rooms that are identical other than a robe and slippers.

    • John says:

      8 Jul8 July 11:03

      Some hotels even have rooms that become “deluxe” during summer and then “base” during winter

• Frankie says:

  8 Jul8 July 07:43

  Has anyone any experience with using ‘Expert Medicals’ for a day 2 test please? It’s the cheapest on the government list at £28 and I need one for my return from Ibiza next week. I have read bad reviews about them, however does it matter if the test never turns up, or turns up late as long as I purchase it and have the relevant code for the passenger location form? It’s surely not my fault if a government approved provider fails to deliver on it’s service. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    8 Jul8 July 07:54

    It’s not your fault if it’s late just take it when it does. If it never turns up do a chargeback.

    • Anna says:

      8 Jul8 July 08:10

      What happens in this scenario? Are you then expected to find another provider and get yourself tested asap? Are you allowed out if you don’t take your day 2 test?!

      • meta says:

        8 Jul8 July 08:16

        Green country, so no need for self-isolation!

        • Anna says:

          8 Jul8 July 09:21

          I know, but what happens if you don’t get tested?!

        • fivebobbill says:

          8 Jul8 July 09:51

          Nothing!

        • Lady London says:

          8 Jul8 July 10:14

          You paid somebody the government nominated. Job done. Forget about the science, or the infection risk. The important thing is you paid someone who in the broadest sense of the word, is a friend of the government or its members and associated parties.

        • Anna says:

          8 Jul8 July 11:32

          £28 sounds a great deal in that case 😂

        • Yuff says:

          8 Jul8 July 12:11

          I went for the cheapest I could find, but the top of the list was £19.99 but when you clicked through that price didn’t exist.
          Nationwide pathology were the cheapest I found last week and the test arrived and we sent them off. My wife had used RT diagnostics when Mallorca was amber last month and she said nationwide was much simplier. It was a doddle to test and post.

• Andrew says:

  8 Jul8 July 08:08

  Are we expecting the Amber quarantine announcement today to say 16 August for it to end, to coincide with the end of isolation rules for double vaccinated?

  • Rob says:

    8 Jul8 July 08:10

    As Scottish schools are virtually back by then, unlikely.

  • Anna says:

    8 Jul8 July 08:11

    Hopefully it’ll be well before the 16th, July 19th or 26th is what’s being reported in virtually every media source!

  • bafan says:

    8 Jul8 July 08:42

    I haven’t seen that date mentioned anywhere for travel quarantine, not sure what made you think that. +1 Anna, 19 July is what I have heard.

    • Rob says:

      8 Jul8 July 08:52

      …. because it is weird ending quarantine for those who have been to high risk areas (albeit often with 10% of the cases of the UK …..) whilst until mid August you will still have to isolate even if fully vaxed if you were in a Tesco Extra at the same time as someone who later tested positive ….

      • Anna says:

        8 Jul8 July 09:22

        But you’ll still have to take at least 2 tests on returning from holiday, whereas there’s no obligation to get tested with track & trace. So arguably the holiday situation is safer!

        • Andrew says:

          8 Jul8 July 09:34

          And of course the NHS app is voluntary to have on your phone.

        • yorkieflyer says:

          8 Jul8 July 10:22

          and of course the chance of infection is likely significantly less in most amber destinations as opposed to plague island

        • Anthony says:

          8 Jul8 July 10:52

          I think it’s going down to just one – the day 2 test?

• ee says:

  8 Jul8 July 08:24

  Another data point on the Hilton Amex offer and cumulative spend…

  We stayed at 3 different hotels across 4 stays and the offer posted correctly after the 4th transaction which took us through the £200 threshold.

  • Andrew says:

    8 Jul8 July 08:28

    Those were some cheap rates you got!

    • ee says:

      8 Jul8 July 10:44

      Yes! £63 each for Doubletree Chelsea and Greenwich, then £41 at Garden Inn Heathrow. Followed by a slightly more expensive stay in Greenwich!

      • Lady London says:

        8 Jul8 July 11:19

        How on earth did you get that rate at HGI?

        • ee says:

          8 Jul8 July 11:38

          This was the one at Hatton Cross. I kept checking the rates daily a few months back. It was consistently £65ish but then dropped to £41 so I cancelled and rebooked. It reverted to £65ish within a day or so! I find the Hilton app excellent for quickly checking rates and allowing quick rebooking where a better rate exists.

  • John says:

    8 Jul8 July 11:04

    Yes, in 2019 I did 5 separate stays in Birmingham for £40ish each and it worked too

• Toto says:

  8 Jul8 July 08:35

  Does anyone know if Marriott Free night certificate can be upgraded to the next reward category by paying the points difference?

  If so, would your expiry date get extended?

  • meta says:

    8 Jul8 July 08:41

    Most hotels will allow you to pay cash to upgrade, it’s usually the price difference between the room.

    I don’t understand your second question. All certificates have been extended till 3 January, even the ones attached to a booking.

    • Jonathan says:

      8 Jul8 July 09:09

      That works for upgrading from base category room to eg. Suite but if your looking to use a free night certificate then you can’t (& I’ve never heard of exceptions) use the certificate for a 55k property & top up the 20k shortfall. It’s a big weakness of the certificates.

    • Toto says:

      8 Jul8 July 09:11

      Thanks. what im trying to do is to extend the voucher further by upgrading it. I want to use it in summer 2022 or later

      I think the vouchers were extended to 1st March 2022 rather than 3rd January. Think dates were americanised but happy to be corrected

      • meta says:

        8 Jul8 July 10:05

        The credit card certificate is stay by, not book by. So it has you need to stay by 3 January (and it is that date, not March!).

  • N says:

    8 Jul8 July 10:12

    No, you can’t.
    You can find a hotel in the category for the cert you have, then negotiate an upgrade directly with them to a higher cat room.

    But you can’t use your cert at a higher cat hotel.

    • Crafty says:

      8 Jul8 July 17:51

      It’s practically unusable given the points per night inflation and the fixed value of the certificate.

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