The HfP chat thread – Sunday 25th July

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• s879 says:

  25 Jul25 July 11:17

  BA flights in CW were cancelled so asking for rerouting on American Airlines. No experience of them. Which aircrafts would be best suited to a family of 2 adults and 2 children? Children are 12 and 15 but the younger one needs to be kept an eye on.

  • s879 says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:19

    Also, the details for American Airlines shows Envoy Air, American Eagle, Republic Air. Should I be avoiding these?

    • AJA says:

      25 Jul25 July 11:59

      Envoy Air is the new name of American Eagle. It is a regional airline with smaller Embraer aircraft. I think they are all one class aircraft. No idea with Republic Air but that sounds like another regional airline.

      • Nick says:

        25 Jul25 July 12:12

        Eagle is a brand applied to multiple different regional players, one of which is directly owned by AA, the others are private. Mostly Embraers but also a scattering of Canadair jets and maybe a couple of others. Nothing really to avoid, AA is hot on brand standards so service will be the same as on mainline. Some of the larger Embraers do have business (branded First) class – the solo seats on these are fantastic. The tiny aircraft tend to be economy only, but flights on these will be short. I don’t actively avoid Eagle, but do try to avoid the tiniest ones at busy times (or if I’m on a J fare!). You won’t get one of these on the transatlantic leg. Hope that helps!

        • s879 says:

          25 Jul25 July 12:40

          Thanks, very helpful.

• Saiz says:

  25 Jul25 July 11:30

  In terms of aircraft in Business class, which ones are better? Boeing 777, 787 or Airbus A350? Are the BA Airbus A350 the new ones?

  • Richie says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:36

    BA A350 and B787-10 have Club Suite CS, some B773 also have CS. I find B777 too noisy for me.

  • Doug M says:

    25 Jul25 July 12:55

    I think a very overlooked factor with aircraft type is air quality and noise. A350 marginally better than B787, both better than A380 (should you ever be lucky enough to have this as an option again), then all the others. This is a bigger factor than CS/CW for me.

    • Lady London says:

      25 Jul25 July 13:00

      same here Doug. Though I’d put the A380 first if you’re a denizen of Economy, and equal to the A350/B787 in J

      • Doug M says:

        25 Jul25 July 13:33

        The A350/B787 issue in economy is straight up squeezing in more seats than intended in the design.

• Howard says:

  25 Jul25 July 11:34

  Had two Amex Cards cancelled. Shocked!! We are having major works and I just found a letter from Amex saying “fraud or unusually/inappropriate use of card”.

  I have been through past 4 months of statements and there is a recurring fee of about £7.40 per month that I have missed and I have just disputed. Apart from that it’s all named stores, petrol and restaurants. I paid a £500 deposit for our new kitchen (that was a design fee). There is nothing odd about anything on either card.

  We have moved in March and I have them new address. I have forgot to register for voting at new address but doubt it’s that?

  Can anything be done? My wife’s accounts are ok.

  • mvcvz says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:35

    You could be more organised and not forget things. I reckon that should do it.

  • Rachel Robinson says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:37

    Have you called them?

  • gareth says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:49

    If they think you are a fraudster that’s their prerogative- they won’t update anything on credit file unless they can prove it

  • Doug M says:

    25 Jul25 July 13:01

    Assuming you’re the same Howard as the other thread, there it was a £3K part payment for a kitchen. It must be obvious to you no one here can help. You need to speak to Amex and maybe get your story straight before you do. Less Shocked!! and more calm consistent facts is a better approach.

    • Howard says:

      25 Jul25 July 16:01

      It’s actually £500 we paid kitchen company not £3000. I have called them and it’s fraud of unusual transactions.

  • Lady London says:

    25 Jul25 July 13:02

    Perhaps you are *not* doing enough MS ?

    • Lady London says:

      25 Jul25 July 13:05

      Please let us know how this one goes.

      According to other posters in the past you need to get this sorted in case of being on CIFAS database and “Hunter”?

      • Howard says:

        25 Jul25 July 16:02

        Thank you –

  • TGLoyalty says:

    25 Jul25 July 21:47

    Are these business cards

• Jimmy says:

  25 Jul25 July 11:34

  If booking a rewards flight – airline goes bust (VS?) and the taxes have been paid by credit card, am I covered by insurance? Not just get the tax back – I mean for a new flight?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:54

    As long as the tax is above £100 then yes.

    • Nick says:

      25 Jul25 July 12:14

      Not under ‘insurance’, but if it’s a UK credit card covered by the Consumer Credit Act, then yes it’ll be safe. If it’s a foreign card (or a UK charge card) then it won’t be.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        25 Jul25 July 17:15

        Amex charge cards have their own protection. S75 is more comprehensive but if all your are looking for is your money back then should be fine.

• Jimmy says:

  25 Jul25 July 11:38

  PS taxes paid with amex gold

  • TGLoyalty says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:55

    A gold credit would offer better perfection under s75 but I think you’d get your money back regardless of credit/charge.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      25 Jul25 July 11:55

      *protection. If only we could edit

• Jimmy says:

  25 Jul25 July 12:10

  Ah thanks yes – it was £2000 so that’s good. Have flights booked for easter and hopeful we can go – would have been two years since flying at that stage! 🙂

  • Lady London says:

    25 Jul25 July 13:07

    Note as soon as you first become aware of a problem contact your card asap to claim even if you’ve not got the final result as there are time limits to claim after you first become aware

  • TGLoyalty says:

    25 Jul25 July 17:17

    I’m sure it’s still fine in this example but for future reference it does have to be more than £100 per item / ticket (or person) and less than £35k.

• GJS says:

  25 Jul25 July 12:22

  Hi folks – I have a final Lloyds voucher and a 2-4-1 voucher that I’d like to use together for a family of three. Am I right in thinking I’m a bit stuck because both the vouchers are in my name (I’m assuming there’s still a separate phone line for Avios), or is there a sequence of events to make this work? Thanks.

  • Gary says:

    25 Jul25 July 14:43

    Unfortunately for both Lloyds voucher & BA 2-4-1 you need to be travelling. For Lloyds one used to be able to book online for another person travelling somehow against T&Cs, but not anymore. Avios team on 0344 49 333 49 (closed on Sundays)

    • GJS says:

      25 Jul25 July 18:50

      I though that might be the case but thanks for confirming, Gary. Will try to split them across two trips.

• M says:

  25 Jul25 July 12:35

  London restaurants spending.

  I often spend in restaurants in London (not high end, probably around £20 per person). Some example places I like are Ippudo, Honest burgers, Franco Manca, etc.

  I am usually just paying with a rewards card and that’s it. Am I missing out on some point earning opportunities? Is there some restaurant-centric loyalty scheme?

  Thanks!

  • John says:

    25 Jul25 July 12:44

    Groupon, discounted gift cards (ebay), restaurants’ own schemes / newsletters, get a discount after making a spurious complaint

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      25 Jul25 July 13:20

      Generally being on Groupon is a sure marker that a restaurant (a) is terrible and (b) will close within 6 months. Given the large ratio of want-everything-for-nothing-then-complain-when-I-don’t-get-it types it brings in, any business really has to be desperate to advertise there.

      • Mike says:

        25 Jul25 July 21:24

        SS – not necessarily so, my local bistro does groupon every 6 months, long established business, they say they they do it to get new customers through the door to convert into regulars

  • Sukes says:

    25 Jul25 July 14:13

    If you reserve through OpenTable you’ll earn their points per reservation which you can convert to cash vouchers for use at restaurants. Usual reward is 100pts per booking (£1) awarded after your restaurant visit but they often have restaurants offering 10x that. Free to join.TheFork website may well do something similar. Travelzoo often does decent value restaurant deals FYI but no points awarded.

    • Rob says:

      25 Jul25 July 14:36

      You can earn IHG Rewards points on some OpenTable bookings, and they count towards IHG status too.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    25 Jul25 July 14:18

    Some people use discount cards like Taste card etc. Feedback has been that service is generally poor once restaurants know you are using these cards. They are also making it increasingly difficult by adding restrictions.

    • M says:

      25 Jul25 July 21:14

      Thanks everyone, looks like some of the places I like are on OpenTable. 😊

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