The HfP chat thread – Saturday 24th July

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• Ant says:

  24 Jul24 July 12:51

  Meliá points- the points from my June stay have not posted. When I called Meliá rewards team they said I need to contact the hotel. I have emailed the hotel a few times and tried to call but no sign of the points. This was the ME Ibiza. Any thoughts?

  • TJ says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:13

    Have you filled out the online claim form? If not, probably worth giving that a try too. You can find the Claim Points link at the bottom of the summary page of your Melia Rewards account page.

  • r* says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:39

    gl with that. I had two melia bookings where points were supposed to go to IB acct, neither happend. I contacted them twice and got no reply, as they were only 1 night stays it wasnt worth pushing it.

    Similarly, the bookings were supposed to have some food credit as an offer. The first hotel knew nothing about it while the second said it couldnt be used for breakfast.

    Generally I assume the only thing youll get with a melia booking now is the room itself.

    • r* says:

      24 Jul24 July 13:41

      And also, the annual upgrade vouchers seem to be 100% worthless. Out of 5 melia stays Ive not once been given an upgrade when using the upgrade voucher as the hotels always say there are no rooms available for the upgrade.

      • Sam says:

        24 Jul24 July 14:45

        Bought the Melia points/voucher through Amazon sale at the start of the year. Relocating to Asia where I’ll probably not use it now. What’s the best option? Just buy the minimum amount every year to keep it active?

        • Gavin says:

          24 Jul24 July 15:01

          Try converting them to Avios. If it doesn’t work, make a room booking and then cancel it sometime later, then transfer to Avios (this worked for me a couple of years ago).

        • Rob says:

          24 Jul24 July 15:13

          I agree this route probably works. That said, what also works is spending €5 on 1000 points to extend them – given that redemptions can be excellent value I would be tempted to keep them in Melia.

        • Tom says:

          24 Jul24 July 23:14

          I would be interested in buying them off you at the price you laid if you want to get rid of them?

• Michael says:

  24 Jul24 July 13:24

  Hi, we are both double vaccinated and plan to fly from London to France next week with 2 children (both under 11). Does it mean we don’t need to do any PCR test before flying to France? I found this from France official sie.

  If you are vaccinated*: you can travel to France with no restrictions linked to health conditions.
  The measures applicable to vaccinated adults also apply to any minors accompanying them, whether they are vaccinated or not. You can therefore travel with your underage children, whether they are vaccinated or not, and they will not need to be tested or self-isolate.
  Travel documents if you are vaccinated
  • proof of vaccination. It will only be valid if it proves that you are fully vaccinated, i.e.:
  o Seven days after the second shot for two-shot vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxevria and Covishield));

  • Lady London says:

    24 Jul24 July 13:26

    Correct but you will currently have to quarantine for 10 days (5/6 if TTR) on your return

    • Lady London says:

      24 Jul24 July 13:28

      Make sure to take your NHS vaccine proofs with you as needed for cafes, restaurants, events, swimming pools etc – ideally app with paper backup

      • Michael says:

        24 Jul24 July 13:39

        Thanks. Reading today that beta variant in France has dropped by 2/3 since last announced so hoping France will move from amber plus to amber by the time we are back. We are ready to quarantine if not. So we still need to do 1 test before returning to UK and 2 test upon arrival.

        For the UK test, is it just for us the parents? I read children under 10 is exempt in gov uk website. Children and medical reasons
        Children aged 10 and under do not need to take a test.

        You do not need to take a test if you are travelling to the UK:

        for urgent medical treatment or are accompanying someone who is travelling for urgent medical treatment, and it is not reasonably practical for you to obtain a negative COVID-19 test in the 3 days before departure
        if you have a medical condition which means you cannot take a test – you must present a note from a medical practitioner at check in and to Border Force staff on arrival in England

        • Michael says:

          24 Jul24 July 13:46

          sorry double check, looks like only under 4 dont need a test. under 10 dont need a test before departure to UK but still to test on day 2 and day 8.

          Before travel to England
          Before you travel to England you must:

          take a COVID-19 test – children aged 10 and under do not need to take this test
          book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 tests – to be taken after arrival in England
          complete a passenger locator form
          On arrival in England
          On arrival in England you must:

          quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
          take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8
          Read about quarantine and taking COVID-19 tests.

          Children aged 4 and under do not need to take the day 2 or day 8 test.

• S879 says:

  24 Jul24 July 13:31

  Anyone had issues with a BA cancelled flight that asks you to check in via email, app and email. I knew my flight was cancelled from London to Istanbul for 25th July but got confused when I received notifications to check in yesteday. On clicking to check in tab via the BA website it shows that it had been cancelled. When I check the status using the flight number BA676, the flight seems to be going to CFU from London! Should I ignore the check in or call BA as don’t want them to say I never showed up.

• Roberto says:

  24 Jul24 July 13:38

  On the UK passenger locator form does each individual have to fill a separate locator form out or are you able to fill it out for your whole family?

  • stevenhp1987 says:

    24 Jul24 July 14:02

    Individually, although you can add under 18s to yours.

• kitten says:

  24 Jul24 July 13:38

  call to cover your a$$ just in case but does not sound as though you have anything to worry about

• Youllnever says:

  24 Jul24 July 14:31

  Hey Rob, should I apply for a new Barclaycard?

  • Rob says:

    24 Jul24 July 15:17

    Up to you …. I wouldn’t, personally.

    • Youllnever says:

      24 Jul24 July 15:58

      👌🏻 thanks!

• Virus says:

  24 Jul24 July 14:31

  Can someone recommend the cheapest Antigen /PCR test to come back to UK from Malaga.

  • Rob says:

    24 Jul24 July 15:17

    It will be on some dodgy back street in Malaga.

    As they have to be overseen by a medical practitioner you won’t get a super-cheap one. Why not just pay £33 for Qured via the BA code and don’t ruin your holiday?

    Plenty of comments on here recently of the ‘found somewhere locally for €20 but had to queue for two hours with no distancing to get in when I could have been on the beach’ variety.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      24 Jul24 July 15:45

      Or the delta/virgin link from project screen for £26

      Alternatively try viulings testing link they seem to have a few options in Malaga

      • TGLoyalty says:

        24 Jul24 July 15:46

        Vueling even 🤦🏽‍♂️

  • APPL says:

    24 Jul24 July 17:01

    There is Testing Center at Malaga airport. €25 for antigen test. Need to book online in advance, and slots not available everyday. I used the same company at Seville airport, and had results in 20 mins. No queues when I did it 2 weeks ago, but might be busier now with travel picking up. https://travelcovidtestcenter.com/rapid-antigen-test/
    Having done few of these tests around Europe, I agree Qured or other self testing options are probably best, if you are still in UK and can order them before going.

    • Virus says:

      24 Jul24 July 19:58

      Thanks

  • Dej says:

    25 Jul25 July 09:15

    Chronomics it’s £10 using the voucher code on the ba website.
    Order individually, as I got charged incorrectly when ordering more than one test. It was easy enough to cancel and re-order one by one

• Jonny says:

  24 Jul24 July 14:35

  If BA have cancelled my original flight and moved me to a new flight, do I need to take any action before the new flight departs, if I don’t intend to take it?
  Haven’t confirmed anything on line, and would just like to retain the flexibility to change it to another date if possible.

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