The HfP chat thread – Saturday 24th July

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• RussellH says:

  24 Jul24 July 10:40

  Anyone else have problems with Award Wallet and Aer Lingus 2FA?
  When updating a 2FA box pops up, I put the SMS code in, and then the updating process starts again from scratch. Aer Lingus resends the code, but no box to enter it the second time. Finally it just errors out. Using Pale Moon and Firefox.

  • Andrew M says:

    24 Jul24 July 11:53

    Yes, I have similar issues with AW and Aer Lingus on Firefox. I don’t have a solution though. I tried with it a few times, then gave up. I’m tempted to turn off 2FA but am a little concerned about potential security issues with Aer Lingus. Wasn’t that discussed recently when people first started receiving the emails from them?

• Rachel Robinson says:

  24 Jul24 July 10:56

  If I have used an amex 241 on a booking can I switch it for one that expires earlier that’s since been returned? Sorry if this has been asked before. Could find it on a search.

  • Anna says:

    24 Jul24 July 11:05

    I have a feeling that someone on here did exactly this by calling BA!

    • Rachel Robinson says:

      24 Jul24 July 11:09

      Thanks Anna. I had a vague recollection of having seen it but was keen to check because the second booking and refund haven’t actually happened yet!

      • BJ says:

        24 Jul24 July 12:13

        I remember the comment too, probablybdepends on CSA though do if at first you don’t succeed try, and try again.

  • Toby says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:42

    You may be remembering my comment from a while back. I called and explained I’d booked using the wrong voucher and could I swap it over. I was flustered and apologised a lot, the agent did it immediately with no pushback.

    The situation was different though, as I had two vouchers in my account at the time of booking. All the agent did was look at my account and confirm which one I wanted applied to the booking and swapped it.

    I would definitely try it – and please do report back as in intrigued if the agent was supposed to be so helpful!

    • Rachel Robinson says:

      24 Jul24 July 14:15

      Thanks for the replies. I called and asked about it before making the second booking. Agent said it was no problem to do it manually and gave me his name etc. So on that basis made my second booking. One of them will end up being cancelled so will see what happens.

      • Toby says:

        24 Jul24 July 16:14

        Oh great! Fingers crossed for you Rachel

• Simon says:

  24 Jul24 July 11:41

  Mike (Pu) sorry for the wide distribution, all, but Mike, we first chatted via HFP Chat about BAEC. Your email is returning postmaster messages to my inbox, so could you contact me via an alternate email address? Many thanks (and sorry all once again for this!)

• George K says:

  24 Jul24 July 11:57

  Hey folks – I’ve christened a tax-free shop in Europe for the first time since, well, the abolition of intra-EEC duty free, and the company providing the refunds at the airport was charging (a considerable amount) if you opted to get the money back in cash. I tried to use Revolut, but apparently it wouldn’t go through (it was set to my Euro stash). I used Curve in the end (with Lloyds credit card linked), but it may take a week for the refund to come through so I won’t know what the damage is in terms of FX and conversion rate.

  The question is… has anywone run into trouble using Revolut for such matters? And if Revolut isn’t the best option for tax refunds, what could be the best alternative?

  (Clearly in this case a card in EUR would do the trick, but my question is what to do in absence of one..)

  Many thanks!

  • Anuj says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:07

    I would try WISE formerly known as transferwise. Much more trustworthy. Failing that Finecobank have a free euro account and debit card. They also do very cheap share dealing.

    • Anuj says:

      24 Jul24 July 12:41

      Just realised you don’t mean a iban bank transfer but a refund into your card. In that case Monzo, Starling, Curve (not on weekends) should all be fine.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:19

    There won’t be much damage via curve.

    Rate used is spot

    • YC says:

      24 Jul24 July 17:26

      Globalblue T&Cs say they will charge a FX conversion fee (region of 3-5% from my experience). The refund in the underlying card would also see some deduction in points (like a normal refund). So picking a no points, no fx card seems best unless you have a EUR credit card

• David Birkbeck says:

  24 Jul24 July 12:06

  Mid August Heathrow to Sicily flights just cancelled after being moved by BA from Gatwick. Are others getting rebooked Italy flights cancelled?

• Amy says:

  24 Jul24 July 12:15

  Is it possible to get discount at DFS somehow (gift cards, CB websites etc.)? I have looked everywhere but there seems to be no avenue to get discounts at DFS. Please can someone help.
  Thanks in advance.

  • lumma says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:22

    Not sure, but I’ve heard that they sometimes have sales on at DFS

  • Andrew says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:25

    Negotiate in person?

    Or save even more by paying for better quality in the first place, and it’ll last 15-20 years instead of 5.

  • Dave says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:29

    They do have a sale now and then

    • Amy says:

      24 Jul24 July 12:34

      Funnily DFS has a sale going on almost everyday. The sofa I want to buy is already on “sale”, and I did try to negotiate the price in-store to no avail!

      Even with the sale price, it seems a lot (at least to me) to pay £2k for a sofa. I am sure the quality is great and it will last more than any other sofa, but a part of me is dreading to part with cash right now.

      • Anuj says:

        24 Jul24 July 12:42

        DFS definitely do deals, but have you tried looking at made.com, swoon etc? They do similar sofas with better fabric quality for less price.

      • Harry T says:

        24 Jul24 July 12:52

        Just buy a sofa you feel comfortable purchasing 😊

      • Andrew says:

        24 Jul24 July 12:52

        Have a look around English Sofa Company (Showroom by their factory in Manchester) or Hastings Sofa Company (Also a showroom alongside their factory). Hastings website is a bit clunky, but they are very good.

        Don’t forget to check out the Ercol Clearance website too. Bits are always turning up on there from their photoshoots and cancelled orders.

  • Chris Heyes says:

    24 Jul24 July 14:33

    Amy Sometimes there’s a sale on or go through BA shop and pay by Amex if its listed on BA shop

  • Zoe P says:

    24 Jul24 July 19:41

    Where do you live? I live in Cambridgeshire and there is a massive outlet near me that has a lot of made.com stuff at a lot less than online price. Worth establishing if there is similar near you.

• Andy says:

  24 Jul24 July 12:33

  Any insights on when BA may resume international short haul flights out of Gatwick? Looks like they have a pretty heavy schedule out of LGW for Q1 next year but I don’t want to end up with a cancelled flight and getting moved to LHR. Last I saw is they don’t plan to resume flights before November

  • ChrisC says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:45

    I’ve booked a couple of ex LGW short hauls for after November because they are actually cheaper than the current LHR/LCY fares

    If they do get switched / cancelled then I’ll decide when that happens whether to make the switch or cancel for a refund.

    Sorry dosen’t directly answer your question though but it’s how I’m dealing with the uncertainty

    • Andy says:

      24 Jul24 July 13:44

      LCY would be great for me but unfortunately still a very limited number of destinations. Until Crossrail opens I will be avoiding LHR as much as possible. Decisions, decisions 🤷‍♂️

  • Rob says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:06

    ‘Never’ is the most likely answer, because BA has to protect its Heathrow slots.

    • Andy says:

      24 Jul24 July 13:38

      Makes sense, but why bother selling tickets then if they are just going to move people to more expensive LHR flights free of charge?

      • BuildBackBetter says:

        24 Jul24 July 13:51

        Get cash upfront and lock in the vouchers. Cheaper to move passengers across to other flights than restarting routes at the last minute and providing discounts to attract travellers.

      • Rob says:

        24 Jul24 July 15:20

        Er … to stop you booking a different airline from Gatwick, because it is more convenient for you than Heathrow? By the time the flight is switched, the cost of the other Gatwick options will make it prohibitively expensive for you to take a refund off BA and rebook.

• Kevin says:

  24 Jul24 July 12:40

  It is understood from comments among HfP that Amex IHG offer is triggered via accumulative. How about the Amex Intercontinental, regent & kimpton offer, would £100 cash back trigger via accumulative stay at different hotels?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    24 Jul24 July 12:50

    Yes

  • Rob says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:05

    Don’t see why not.

  • Char Char says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:24

    If its in the list of participating hotels which when I checked some were not

  • Ikaz says:

    24 Jul24 July 15:13

    Worked cumulatively for me

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