The HfP chat thread – Monday 19th July

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• Judy says:

  19 Jul19 July 08:54

  Hi All – I’m looking for any recommendations on cheap but efficient rapid antigen testing before departing the UK. LGW or LHR areas is fine. Not home delivery.

  Thanks – there’s so many advertised online grateful for your experiences.

  • LessCleverAndrew says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:33

    I would not recommend expresstest for the following reason: they have ongoing website problems with forms not going through, errors and so on. And in the current climate you will want to change your booking or try to get a voucher.

  • Sam says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:43

    DAM Health. £29. Did it over the weekend and was fuss free.

    • Babyg says:

      19 Jul19 July 14:31

      i 2nd DAM… to be honest it felt more like a box ticking exercise, the place was modern, but staffed with very young adults…(20s)… but i was in/out in 10mins, and test results within one hour..

• Harry T says:

  19 Jul19 July 09:06

  Can anyone recommend somewhere in Barcelona for the silly predeparture tests for coming back to the UK? Thank you.

  • Rhys says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:10

    They will probably be available on every street corner in Barcelona – I’d ask your hotel. I’ve never booked anything in advance and just figure it out whilst I’m there – doesn’t take long. Either your hotel do them directly or they know somewhere that does.

    • Harry T says:

      19 Jul19 July 09:15

      Thanks, Rhys. I’ll ask the W as we are staying there prior to departure. If anyone is wondering, the Barcelona EDITION is fantastic!

      • Rhys says:

        19 Jul19 July 09:28

        Yes, I’ve heard fantastic things about Barcelona EDITION!

        • Sam says:

          19 Jul19 July 09:44

          How is the Curio Collection by Hilton in Barcelona?

          On Spanish hotels…does NH match status from Hilton?

  • Anna says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:10

    Have you checked if you can get it done at the airport? A lot of the Spanish ones seem to be offering these for about 30 euros.

    • Harry T says:

      19 Jul19 July 09:15

      Thanks, will check. We are staying a bit out from the airport, so might be a minor faff. Sounds like a solid option though.

  • N says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:24

    Harry, Quiron and Unilabs do some you can book in advance and Vueling code will get you a discount.

    https://www.vueling.com/en/passengers/test-pcr-covid

    There’s also a testing centre at BCN airport (T1) which you can book in advance, but the queues are usually a nightmare even with pre-booking.

  • YC says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:53

    If u can get prenetics/qured highly recommend. Because I didn’t and testing is not easy or cheap. U can easily spend a few hours in the queue and paying up to €60 for antigen! Hotel offered to get private to come in to do for €120/person if ur desperate

    • gtellez says:

      19 Jul19 July 10:29

      In May I bought a cheap one online (25 euros in Laboratorios Echevarne in C/ Provenza, close to Paseo de Gracia) – dont recommend it at all. More than 100 people waiting at 8 am on a Saturday morning. A couple of weeks ago I got it through Quiron Prevencion, 40 euros but I had an appointment and took less than 5 minutes. I strongly recommend that whatever provider you choose, get an appointment in advance, queues can be very bad with 30 celsius degrees.
      Regarding Curio hotel in BCN, I stayed in February 2020 (just before Covid). Really good location, but the room I got was tinny and very dark (it was the cheapest one, as I rely on been upgraded as Hilton Gold – didnt happen). Breakfast really good, but very expensive if you dont have status (I think one of my collegues paid like 25 euros per night). For similar prices (maybe a little bit more), I prefer the Renaissance that is in the same area.

• Zoe P says:

  19 Jul19 July 09:14

  Good morning everybody.
  A friend has asked to refer them to Amex card but when I go online all I seen to be able to refer is for the BAPP, which is the only card I own. Is that right or am I not navigating the website properly??
  Zoe

  • Aliks says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:17

    There is a link on the page (the one the referall takes you to) that says something link “other cards”. Scroll around and you will see it!

  • Thom says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:24

    That’s correct. You refer them for one of the cards you currently have, but they can take out any card. As Aliks said, once they click on the referral link you send them, there is a link to look and select a different card.

    • Zoe P says:

      19 Jul19 July 11:18

      Thanks for this. Do I get enhanced referral points for the other cards?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        19 Jul19 July 11:32

        Yes

• YH says:

  19 Jul19 July 09:25

  What are the morning departure (10am ish) security queues like at Stansted at the moment? Got a flight in 2 weeks and wondering if I should buy fast track.

• JustLetMeFlyAgain says:

  19 Jul19 July 09:34

  Morning Y’all! Quick one about the updated BA rebooking policy. I’ve got avios flights which they’ve downgraded from F to J on, do I have a right to request them move the flights to another day with F?

  Thx

  • Rob says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:42

    Yes, but wouldn’t you prefer a four-figure EC261 downgrade compensation payment plus a Club World seat?

    • JustLetMeFlyAgain says:

      19 Jul19 July 09:51

      Ordinarily yes, but I’d rather not spend three weeks in HK quarantine so I’m looking to move the flights anyways.

    • JustLetMeFlyAgain says:

      19 Jul19 July 09:52

      Thx for the quick reply though 🙂

• LessCleverAndrew says:

  19 Jul19 July 09:34

  Data point: Malta back on EU CDC red list.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    19 Jul19 July 09:43

    80% of locals fully vaccinated … all incoming foreign (non EU) visitors must be vaccinated what exactly is the risk!

    We will never get out of this if people just focus on cases.

• DZOO says:

  19 Jul19 July 09:46

  According to reports on FT, apparently all passengers on UK origin flights are being tested on arrival in Greece. Not entirely surprising but begs the Q, does the entire flight need to quarantine if there is a sole case on board?!

  • Chris Heyes says:

    19 Jul19 July 10:30

    DZ00 Yes and it will be enforced

    • TGLoyalty says:

      19 Jul19 July 11:32

      Not just the few rows around them?

  • Damian says:

    20 Jul20 July 08:08

    We arrived in Santorini last week, they tested one from each group but you were allowed to leave the airport straight away. I received a negative test result via SMS approx 1 hour later. Not sure what happens if someone on the flight tests positive though.

• mike says:

  19 Jul19 July 09:47

  has anyone used an unsupervised pcr test for day2+8 which are on promotional offer for a cheap price?

  • Pete M says:

    19 Jul19 July 10:12

    If you are actually relying on them to release you from isolating I would go for Randox with the BA discount codes – cheapest that actually deliver.

    • mike says:

      19 Jul19 July 10:23

      some allow you to still go to the site and get tested there, avoiding any deliveries

    • Babyg says:

      19 Jul19 July 14:25

      currently “waiting” for my wives day2/8 to arrive from randox (note she ordered on the 16th and it has arrived, and zero notification of it shipping)… the company is useless, no answers to email, nobody answers the phone, so no chance of contacting them… i wouldnt recommend them myself.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    19 Jul19 July 11:23

    Day 8 is important as without it you can’t technically leave isolation.

    Using the postal day 2 when Returning from green and amber (fully vaccinated) is less of an issue as there is no requirement to self isolate until you get the result (unless you have symptoms ofcourse)

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