The HfP chat thread – Monday 19th July

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Matt says:

19 Jul19 July 09:49

For anyone like myself who hears Bitter Sweet Symphony and Move Your Feet in their sleep, you’ll be pleased to know that the VS hold music has changed for the first time in… forever. Now just loads of interruptions from a guy shilling the wonderful comforts of their economy seats.
- Degsy says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 11:06
  
  Yeah I noticed that the other day! Most disconcerting
- Nigel W says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 16:30
  
  oh no! I had VA in a top tier for call holding/wait music for companies!
thehornets says:

19 Jul19 July 10:03

I noticed in the app that Virgin Atlantic have moved my flight to Miami by 24 hours and not informed me. The flight is less than than 14 days away, although they had already cancelled the return flight back from Orlando by email.

Does anyone know if this would be grounds for a 261 claim or does the cancellation of the return flight effectively cancel the (now delayed) outbound?

Thank you!
- Jonathan says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 11:22
  
  People will argue about the merits & justification of the Covid exemption clause but essentially I wouldn’t bother fighting over this. Less than 50% (I’d say 20% at best) chance of winning at MCOL plus the cost & time required to claim.
  - Lady London says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 11:46
    
    as Jonathan says, forget the compensation side of 261. Since at least one flight on ypur ticket is cancelled, though, you do still have the substantial rights still remaining to you in 261
    - thehornets says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 14:59
      
      Thank you both @Jonathan @Lady London for taking the time to answer. Much appreciated!
QwertyKnowsBest says:

19 Jul19 July 10:05

Morning, any suggestions for day 2 home in UK Tests? As coming from Amber and double vaccinated , see no reason not to buy the cheapest and home testing?

Thanks
- Aaron C says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 10:07
  
  Cheapest postal day 2 I found was expert medicals which was £35.99 including postage. It’s £9.99 if you can visit them in person but they’re based in Bradford so I guess that’s of limited use unless you are too.
- Alastair Dickenson says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 10:13
  
  Randox £43 I think with BA discount code
  - Rob says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 10:17
    
    This article makes a good case for why you should use Randox – https://www.gridpoint.consulting/blog/the-true-cost-of-travel-test-packages
    - BP says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 10:51
      
      Really good analysis and article. Do you think the testing requirements will change anytime soon? I’ve a mates stag party to Lisbon in September and the ~£100 a head on testing may put some people off going.
      - Rob says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 11:03
        
        Portugal may remove the requirement for fully vaxed to still do a test. The ‘fit to fly’ test is a waste of space so those could go – clearly the Govt isn’t worried about infected people being on aircraft, because if it was then a) they’d make you do a PCR test before flying and b) they’d make you take one before leaving the UK too.
        
        Can’t see much changing on arrival PCR tests for the next few years. Someone has clearly said the same to Collinson etc because they wouldn’t be spending huge sums setting up in-airport labs otherwise – the payback period will be chunky.
      - TGLoyalty says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 11:21
        
        At £80 a shot the back won’t be that long … Israel airport is offering on site PCR test for £10!
        
        Yes the Airport gave them the space for free but the equipment and staff isnt / wasn’t.
    - Aaron C says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 11:05
      
      Disadvantage of Randox is that they don’t use Royal Mail so you have to take it to specific locations.
      - HBommie says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 11:11
        
        I see how that could be problematic, but if it’s via their own system I’d hope there’s less to go wrong.
      - Ben W says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 13:09
        
        Though advantage is you can often drop it off late Sunday afternoon and have the results today as was the case for me with just a fifteen minute walk to a drop box. If you’re a walk or short drive from a Dropbox then Randox seems the best choice.
      - David wakelin says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 21:11
        
        Not correct. I posted mine to Belfast on Saturday morning and got the result Monday afternoon !
    - Toppcat says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 11:45
      
      That’s a great article Rob, thanks for sharing. Really informative.
    - Aaron C says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 11:58
      
      Rob I’m struggling to see what the advantage of Randox is over Expert Medicals? Even with the postage the expert medicals day 2 home test is £35.99 which is less than Randox with BA.
      Even if they are unreliable given that the day 2 test is a box ticking exercise I don’t see what you’re losing by going for the absolute cheapest.
      - Rob says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 12:05
        
        Depends if you are happy with the risk that they are shut down between the time you order and the time you arrive back in the UK. The article is pretty clear about why Randox makes most sense. The author is ex-BA senior management, he has no skin in the game personally.
    - will says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 14:43
      
      Is there anything to stop you ordering a day 2 test and using it as the day 8 test (ie expert medicals cheap day 2 test, simply order 2 day 2 tests and do one on day 2 and one on day 8)
      
      It’s the same PCR so even if it’s branded as day 2 surely you’ve complied with the law in completing it on day 8?
      
      The expert medicals website is absolutely horrible. It’s pretty outrageous that the sites the government are promoting are set up as confusingly as possible, it actually feels like a scam site.
      - Aaron C says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 15:35
        
        Ok fair point. I think expert are a fairly established company doing drivers medicals for lorry drivers etc.
        I also guess it’s good to reward honesty and Randox offer the price they state which is unusual.
- Sam says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 10:36
  
  Do these providers all email you the reference code immediately for your passenger locator form? Do the immigration officers actually check the code and see where you booked it…?
  - mr_jetlag says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 10:38
    
    1. Yes
    2. Not in my experience.
    - Rob says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 10:40
      
      Although, as it is an automated form, your average GCSE IT student could write a script to compare the number submitted to a database where the registered test providers submit the numbers they have issued ….
      - BP says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 10:53
        
        You are making an assumption that the Government has a central database of test numbers. That seems far too competent.
      - mike says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 11:03
        
        you are assuming the govt actually securely holds data like that… various articles from infosec giving warnings about this
      - Rob says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 11:26
        
        A list of issued reference numbers is hardly a security risk though, is it? I ordered 4 Randox this morning and the numbers are sequential so there is nothing clever going on. Compare this to a credit card, where the final number is actually a check digit which is driven by all of the other numbers in the card number, which means it is easy to pick up mistyped ones.
  - Pete M says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 10:40
    
    I have, on at least 3 occasions in the past 3 months, been asked to show the test booking confirmation at T5 alongside my PLF.
    - Ben W says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 13:14
      
      Egates were working at T5 on Friday night. Whizzed through with no queues returning from mainland Spain.
- Harry T says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 10:49
  
  Randox is fairly cheap (Ryanair discount code helps) and reviews are generally solid. They do a lot of the testing in general, so are a solid choice.
  - meta says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 11:00
    
    I ordered Expert Medicals one for Day 2 . It was supposed to arrive on Friday. Needless to say it still hasn’t even been passed on to DPD. Since there is no self-isolation, you should really go with the cheapest option as you will still get a code for PLF straight away and nobody will hunt you down for not doing it. If it turns up, I will of course do it.
    
    This whole testing scheme looks like government sponsored fraud…
  - Anna says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 11:09
    
    I can’t find a day 2 only test on the Ryanair website.
    - Pete M says:
      
      19 Jul19 July 11:19
      
      Use the BA discounts: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/incident/coronavirus/covid19-tests
      - Anna says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 12:01
        
        Thanks! However, there is no Randox drop off centre within 40 miles of our home even though we don’t live in a remote area by a long chalk.
      - Reney says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 12:30
        
        I helped out a family friend with Randox, you can use Royal Mail at your own cost, and bearing in mind you need to return the test within x amount of hours you may have to pay extra for the faster delivery. So basically it will add extra to the cost of your test if you don’t have a near by collection box.
      - Travel Strong says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 12:42
        
        That’s useful info, I came the conclusion I wanted to use randox. But I am well over 1hr away from any drop off location, and royal mail postage route was unclear. Good to know I can just pay to ship it.
      - Reney says:
        
        19 Jul19 July 15:32
        
        @ Travel Strong, yes it was very unclear re Royal Mail I had to call them and ask! I assumed it worked, my family friend never told me there were problems.
berneslai says:

19 Jul19 July 10:05

I’m not Avios guru so could do with some help with this. My planned holiday for August (booked as cash) has been cancelled and I would like to rebook for August 2022. I’d like to change the booking to an Avios booking. I assume that the new BA flexibility (main news story) won’t allow me to do this so I will rebook fresh when the dates come into view.

My problems start when I’ve noticed that my 2-4-1 voucher expires in June 2022. What’s the best way of extending this? I assume booking a flight that will doubtless be cancelled but what’s the lowest risk option here?
- roberto says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 10:21
  
  You can book any cheap flight with your 241 and cancel for a FTV preserving your 241 until 2023. The cash , avios and 241 can be used over the phone once your know what you want but only for the same two passengers.
- GeorgeJ says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 12:02
  
  berneslai,
  The expiry for your 2-4-1 is the date for making a booking, use it when slots are available for August 2022 flights.
  - berneslai says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 12:36
    
    Thanks both – much appreciated.
Reney says:

19 Jul19 July 10:19

Sorry for asking again, I’ve not received an answer yet. Has anyone ever tried moving their statement date forward with VS card? I want to take advantage before 5 August.

Thx
- Martin Short says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 14:56
  
  I tried but they could only seem to push it to a later date!
Ukgeorge says:

19 Jul19 July 10:34

Does anyone know which date Amex platinum use for the £75 dell credit? The statement date for the purchase and dell credit shows 30 June but if I click on the credit is shows date processed 2 Jul. I am just wondering which half year credit I may have used.
Matt says:

19 Jul19 July 10:47

I have got an FTV voucher which is made up of a 2-4-1 voucher, Avios and cash. Me and my partner are no longer together. BA customer service said the only option is to split the ticket and refund each person separately. Is this correct?
- Rob says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 11:04
  
  Technically yes, but a) the Avios are yours, b) the voucher is yours and c) the cash has to go back to the original payment card, so in reality you will get it all AFAIK.
SteveJ says:

19 Jul19 July 10:49

To confirm, Solihull can top up Che directly, you don’t need Bendy? And to do so without fees need to put Solihull into credit?
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 11:12
  
  You can top up Che with any visa/MasterCard credit card. Using curve in between makes no difference as they pass through the MCC (the merchant code which the card provider uses to decide how the transaction is treated)
  
  No how the MCC is treated by the card provider is the big thing … Solihull charges interest from the day the transaction clears.
- Jonathan says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 11:29
  
  Putting Solihull in credit frequently triggers their security algorithms & leads to blocks on your card. You then have to deal with their painful CS teams to remove block. Sometimes you have to speak to fraud team rather than frontline CS, they only work Monday-Friday 9-5 so not great if you work. The fraud team have also threatened account closure for putting account in credit. You’re also prompting a human to look at transaction history…
  
  Basically just take the minimal interest charge on the chin & clear balance the day transaction appears.
  - Reney says:
    
    19 Jul19 July 12:28
    
    Solihull recently changed their T&C which basically warns you against putting your account in credit and they might refund the transaction. I tend to pay it off as soon as I topped up, if it is a small amount I might leave it for a day before paying it off.
- SteveJ says:
  
  19 Jul19 July 12:54
  
  Thanks all, paying off as soon as it clears seems the way to go, thanks.