The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 21st July

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• Reney says:

  21 Jul21 July 10:16

  Saw this over on hot_deals, Airtime Code – spend £5 get back £1 by end Saturday, code is HIGHSTREET1, first 300 people.

  • Sukes says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:50

    Thks, worked at 13:50.

    • Tracey says:

      21 Jul21 July 16:14

      In my experience it always accepts the code, you only get the bonus if you are one of the first X people to download or use it. Not sure which as I’ve been denied in the past.

• David says:

  21 Jul21 July 10:29

  Hi just double checking if you are double vaccinated you don’t need a PCR test to fly Ryanair to Malta -thanks

  • stevenhp1987 says:

    21 Jul21 July 10:34

    Malta are only accepting travellers who are fully vaccinated. No PCR test required.

    • David says:

      21 Jul21 July 10:35

      But you don’t need a negative PCR test to get on the plane – I’m getting mixed messages.

      • stevenhp1987 says:

        21 Jul21 July 10:45

        No. Just need your vaccine passport and fill in the Maltese passenger locator forms.

        I printed mine off when I flew Ryanair to Malta for the weekend a couple of weeks ago.

        No problems.

        Prepare for queues at their border though. They are checking all documents from all passengers. Took around 2 hours to get in. The queues spiralled all around the baggage reclaim area!

      • Prune says:

        21 Jul21 July 12:51

        No PCR needed if had both doses of vaccine! Sitting on the balcony at the Westin after flying this morning.

        • Aristeides says:

          21 Jul21 July 16:01

          Hi Prune – any issues with your Westin booking in the end?

  • LessCleverAndrew says:

    21 Jul21 July 12:16

    “Effectively”, you can only take accompanying under 12s from the UK
    … unless your teens (I am making a big assumption) have been double vaxxed which UK dos not do.

• Gulz says:

  21 Jul21 July 10:48

  I’m a little confused re Amex lounge access. I got a Business Plat a few months ago. It came with a priority pass. Reading articles on here, looks like priority pass gets access to some lounges while presenting amex at the entry gets you access to some other lounges (such as Eurostar). Is there a list of lounges that I can access via amex that I wouldn’t have access to via PP?

  • Sam G says:

    21 Jul21 July 11:33

    Eurostar, Plaza Premium & some Lufthansa I think are the key ones (+Amex lounges and Delta though US focused at the moment, I believe Amex is opening a T3 lounge though)

    • Sam G says:

      21 Jul21 July 11:41

      No Eurostar for biz platinum though, only personal.

  • Rob says:

    21 Jul21 July 12:54

    https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/airport-lounge/

• Pete M says:

  21 Jul21 July 10:57

  I promised to share my experience at the InterContinental Presidente Mexico City at couple of weeks back.

  The good: the location is great, in Polanco, which is a lovely and safe neighbourhood with loads of great restaurants and close to various museums.

  The passable: the building looks very much like an Intourist hotel from the outside.

  The not-so-good: we had one night booked through the Ambassador free-night offer, followed by 3 nights booked via Emyr. Emyr asked them to link the bookings, which they didn’t do. When we went to check-in we had to query this and they managed to link the bookings. Emyr’s benefits didn’t come through on the booking at all, so we had an argument about getting free breakfast. When I forwarded them the confirmation email, they eventually agreed we could have free breakfast.

  We got told we got upgraded to a club room. But at this hotel the club room doesn’t come with club lounge access. You could add that for $30pn (which I guess makes sense if you haven’t got breakfast), but still feels rather odd. Once we got to the room there was mildew and dry rot around the shower and toilet and the bathroom vanity unit was peeling – just like you’d expect in a 2* hotel, not an IC. We got changed into another room where the shower was broken and the bathroom tile skirting was coming off. I gave up asking for another room. The club rooms are identically small to standard rooms, except they have a Nespresso machine and electric blinds and are on higher floors.

  • Pete M says:

    21 Jul21 July 10:59

    (There is more, but think it may be in moderation)

    • rams1981 says:

      21 Jul21 July 12:03

      not sure if they have changed approach. I had a points booking and cash booking for 2 rooms as Spire Ambassador and they gave lounge access to both rooms (5 guests). This was Feb 2020.

      • rams1981 says:

        21 Jul21 July 12:04

        Did need to negotiate hard with reception though to be fair

        • Pete M says:

          21 Jul21 July 13:24

          Let’s see if the rest works now…?

          None of the other amenities that come with booking via Emyr materialised, so I went to ask about the $100 F&B credit. Apparently at this hotel it isn’t a $100 F&B credit, but a bottle of wine and cheese. Room service called to ask if we wanted prosecco or house wine. At this point I blew up and the duty manager eventually came up. I’d asked to speak to him several times before, but the various reception staff kept refusing to get him. We had a frank chat about our poor experience and about how every member of his staff seemed intent on fobbing me off. We got a bottle of Argentinian sparkling wine and cheese as the $100 amenity in the end – although they kept calling it an Ambassador amenity, so not sure if they ever actually worked out the terms of Emyr’s rate. The DM agreed to refund us a night in points – 35k of which they eventually credited to me yesterday after chasing by email.

          Overall, way way more stress than one should experience at a 5* hotel paying $200+ per night and being their highest-tier customer…

        • Anna says:

          21 Jul21 July 13:38

          That’s terrible – there’s no way sparkling wine and cheese are worth $100 (unless there was an awful lot of cheese!). Also the offer is often $100 credit PLUS a hotel amenity (usually a small gift) I would suggest making Emyr aware of your experience because it’s not at all reflective of the Virtuoso experience that I’ve enjoyed so far!

        • Anna says:

          21 Jul21 July 13:40

          Actually, thinking about it you do get a separate Ambassador amenity, so it sounds like that was your wine and cheese and they basically stiffed you for the $100!

        • Pete M says:

          21 Jul21 July 13:49

          That’s exactly how it feels, Anna! I have mentioned it to Emyr, but they don’t seem to care. The DM made a big deal about how they were closed for a long time and are struggling for staff, but I think what annoyed me the most was not them saying “I don’t know”, but wanting to argue and prove me wrong at every turn without actually knowing what they’re talking about…

        • Anna says:

          21 Jul21 July 13:57

          That’s such a shame and I can’t see how them having being closed or not having many staff justifies not honouring the terms of your booking!
          I used an expiring Ambassador 2nd night free certificate at the Kimpton Clocktower recently and also booked a 2nd room for my sister through Emyr – we got all Emyr’s benefits plus Spire free drinks vouchers and definitely a separate Ambassador amenity (box of local fudge and cuddly Manchester bee) plus both rooms upgraded – even though Kimpton don’t have to recognise Ambassador benefits.
          I would be having a hard word with IHG Ambassador about the way you were treated!

        • Lady London says:

          21 Jul21 July 14:43

          I’d have contacted Emyr and IHG on the spot and walked out. I would not expect to pay since they’d broken the contract by denying key features.

          Agree with Anna about their sob story. If they can’t deliver it then they shouldn’t sell it.

          I’d think less of Emyr if he didn’t refuse to book this hotel after that.

        • Super Secret Stuff says:

          21 Jul21 July 15:19

          @Pete M experience I have had with Emyr I would be surprised if he couldn’t do something now to make up for it. I would talk to him about it and he usually has a contact he can ring or might find another channel to resolve it for you

          @Lady London I think walking out without paying in Mexico is very, very brave. I would however contact IHG for a refund. I know some chains do refunds if you had an awful stay

        • Aston100 says:

          21 Jul21 July 16:23

          Terrible experience.

          However, in regards to LL’s comment about walking out… really? you’d walk out without paying in some foreign country as if there would be no consequences?
          And where would you then rockup with your luggage, expecting room availability without outrageous walk-up pricing?

        • Pete M says:

          21 Jul21 July 16:43

          Thanks for the feedback, all. I exchanged a bunch of emails with Emyr and he basically shut the conversation down after the hotel said they’d given me the 35k points. I don’t think there’s any point in pursuing this further, just a learning point not to stay at ICs in Mexico run by Grupo Presidente… Some snaps for your amusement too 🙂
          https://ibb.co/hdR6RxY
          https://ibb.co/GpCN6zd
          https://ibb.co/7yt0xZp
          https://ibb.co/MNhV0LK
          https://ibb.co/F5tcQMn
          https://ibb.co/XS0hnt9

  • BP says:

    21 Jul21 July 18:55

    Does look a little rough around the edges for an IC. Most Crowne Plazas are in better condition.

• pauline says:

  21 Jul21 July 10:59

  if I arrive in heathrow from edi on thursday for a connecting flight early friday (both business) is there an arrivals lounge I can use on arrival thursday?

  • Andrew says:

    21 Jul21 July 11:25

    No

    • Stu N says:

      21 Jul21 July 12:09

      The BA Arrivals lounges are only for long haul arrivals. At Heathrow you exit landslide so no access to departure lounges either.

      • Andrew says:

        21 Jul21 July 13:25

        And the arrivals lounge remains closed currently.

  • Mouse says:

    21 Jul21 July 14:20

    Maybe Plaza Premium arrivals if it’s open at the moment?

• David says:

  21 Jul21 July 11:30

  Just had my Bucharest flight with BA cancelled – why would that be ?

  • Jonty says:

    21 Jul21 July 11:58

    Usually because it’s not worth their while flying it due to low sales or low predicted sales

    • Lady London says:

      21 Jul21 July 14:45

      Er…they’ll be sure to tell you it’s Covid but it’s a near-the-time evaluation of loads and Jonty is right

  • Oliver says:

    21 Jul21 July 15:19

    Same here. Looks like they have cancelled a whole load of them. They were running 2 flights daily, so I was expecting a consolidation, but I guess they don’t foresee enough demand during August.

    Am I right in thinking I can request a re-route onto TAROM? (cash booking in Club Europe, more than 2 weeks out)

    • Pete M says:

      21 Jul21 July 16:56

      You can ask. They will say no. Make sure you have details of when you asked, ask at least twice. Don’t do anything with the booking. Once you’ve bought the TAROM tickets ask BA to pay for them. They will say no. Take them to MCOL or CEDR. You’ll get the money back for the TAROM tickets. Or just get a refund from BA and buy new TAROM tickets if cheaper obviously.

    • David says:

      21 Jul21 July 19:45

      TAROM flights were going up in price during the day when I booked was £88 one way inc 23kg and seat.

      • Nick says:

        21 Jul21 July 21:01

        You can’t demand a reroute on Tarom. You can demand a reroute. But BA is allowed to choose the airline. They have an agreement with LH and LX (among a few others) which most would consider to be a reasonable alternative to Bucharest. Be very prepared for a fight if you don’t – it’s unlikely to be worth the hassle.

        • Oliver says:

          21 Jul21 July 21:47

          Thanks all, will look at my options and report back on where I eventually get to.

• EvilGazebo says:

  21 Jul21 July 11:36

  If you were flying BA to US West Coast and had the choice of either:

  a) Club Suite out, old CW back or
  b) Old CW out, Club Suite back

  What would you do? I’m veering towards a) on the basis that a lot of people seem to like the lack of cubby for feet when sleeping in old CW. And we would aim to get a row of 4 on an A380 to avoid the strangers stepping over your legs problem.

  • Harry T says:

    21 Jul21 July 11:37

    The main issue is that flights are cancelled so frequently and equipment swaps happen all the time. So I wouldn’t bank on getting what you booked!

    • EvilGazebo says:

      21 Jul21 July 11:58

      Well yes but hope over expectation 😀

• Optimus Prime says:

  21 Jul21 July 12:07

  Yet another Hilton Honors points sale with 100% bonus…

  • EOC says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:15

    Thank you. Well spotted. Just saved me 35pct on some Xmas Caribbean hotel rooms

  • Anna says:

    21 Jul21 July 13:46

    Need to have a look at this. The old Comfort Suites in GCM is now a Hampton and base rooms start at $399 per night! (I think this could possibly be the world’s most expensive Hampton). 70k points though, so maybe worth buying for a 5 for 4 booking.

    • Alan H says:

      21 Jul21 July 20:20

      Bear in mind this hotel is now owned by dart much like most of the island and so he has a monopoly and that is clearly he’s strategy to get his money back

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