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The HfP chat thread – Thursday 12th August

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We are running this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind.  At this tricky time, and given that many of you are at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Comments (618)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Zoe P says:

    Morning all. I am getting pretty frustrated trying to get through to BA. I want to ask about upgrading my flights on our holiday to Antigua on 26th. Live chat doesn’t do holidays, called many times over last few days – not accepting phone calls and Twitter DM ignored. Is there another magic way I can figure out what it will cost and how to do it (also upgrading on my booking is not an option – I have to call a number that isn’t accepting calls.) Steam is starting to come out of my ears.
    Failing any actual contact I assume this could be done in person at the airport?
    Thanks

    • Ls says:

      I would wait for the airport anyway – on-day cash upgrades are far cheaper than standard ones. Unless you’re using avios.

    • Dave says:

      Airport Upgrades (AUP) (if available) can only be done at the airport.

    • Number9 says:

      They sorted my holiday query out on live chat.

    • ledcran02 says:

      Ring the U.S. BA Holidays line (1-877-428-2228). I did this the other day to add an extra night to a holiday, after a week of constantly getting dropped by the UK line without so much as getting on hold. Rang at about 430pm, was put on hold, somebody picked up just under an hour later. I’m UK based but did this via Skype and it was free to call as it’s a toll-free US number.

    • Harry T says:

      If your problem only needs to be addressed by the 26th, please stop clogging up the BA phone lines lol. Some of us need to get through before Friday for urgent problems!

      Just message them on Twitter or email BAH and they will definitely reply before the 26th.

      • Anna says:

        Do you have the email address for BAH @Harry T? I want to do a complicated itinerary and they might be eager to respond if it’s for a new booking!

      • Zoe P says:

        Oh god yes I hear your pain! Will stop now. Hope your issue gets sorted.

    • C says:

      Phone at 8am on the dot!

    • ChrisC says:

      Live chat does do holidays!

      It’s a specific option when the bot appears.

      • roberto says:

        I phoned the 03444930787 number and was answered in less than a minute this morning. Was a complicated BAH enquiry with an super cheap ex-EU fare and a token 3 day car hire to turn it into a holiday. Caught me by surprise it was so quick. Almost choked on my cuppa tea. Sorted.

  • Vin says:

    Lufty from MAN to FRA – no lounge access for J passengers.
    At FRA passport control – reason for travel incl PLF and Vacc status checked .
    OH on German passport goes through eGates with no checks at all which makes a mockery of the system of elaborate checks in place 🙂
    Lufty T1 lounge – hot and cold breakfast options available , vacc certificate checked before entry and masks on except when eating .

    • Pete M says:

      All European passports go through e-gates 🙂

      • John says:

        Does that include passports from the European countries of Belarus and Russia?

        • Pete M says:

          Nah, that’s bad Europe, like the UK 🙂

          • WaynedP says:

            🤣 excellent.

            Got to ask yourself what all three have in common …

            Putin, Lukashenko, Johnson …

    • Blair says:

      MAN T1 Aspire reopening now scheduled for Sat 21 Aug. Though we’ve heard reopening announced before only to never happen.

  • Reney says:

    Is the Amex Plat 70k uplift sign up bonus offer over and changing?

    Logged into the account this morning and saw:
    You’ll earn 24,000 Membership Rewards® points for each approved friend.

    Your friend will earn 65,000 Membership Rewards points if they apply for the Platinum Card, are approved and spend £6,000 in their first 6 months of Cardmembership.

    Rob can put us in touch if the team doesn’t have a link or their 70k still working.

    • meta says:

      It’s now it’s 65k on my account as well and it was 70k yesterday. Seems Amex is doing some serious offer changes today…

      • Reney says:

        I wonder what the referral offer is if someone takes out a different card. Just did a referral 2 days ago across players (for nectar) in prep to close Plat card, so annoying to miss out for the extra 12k if that is the case.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Also has an End date – 2nd November

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Per MR account.

      As multiple MR cards usually share an account it would normally be 90k per person but YMMV

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      Gold is still on my card exactly the same

    • Craig says:

      That’s brilliant, just a couple of weeks away from referring Mrs S for a BAPP.

  • David says:

    When did the Hyatt offer end? – it has disappeared from my Amex card that I had it saved on.

  • Joe says:

    Have an Avios booking from 2020 made with a Lloyds upgrade voucher for later this month. Can’t travel to destination currently (US) and flight has been cancelled. Will Avios refund and extend my voucher? They haven’t been in touch yet about options.

    • meta says:

      If flight cancelled, you can get a refund of Avios/surcharges and your vouchers extended till 31 October this year. This is book by date, not fly by date.

  • Sukes says:

    Don’t think this has been posted… French authorities have announced that non-EU tourists who have tested negative or have been fully vaxxed will be able to obtain a French health pass. This has to be obtained through a manual email submission. Seems to be of use to those of us vaccinated in Scotland or NI (the French system seems to already work with the England& Wales issued Covid certs) or those vaccinated in other non-EU countries.

    https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/how-can-non-eu-tourists-apply-for-a-french-health-passport/

  • Rui N. says:

    Has anyone managed to get an increase in the credit limit on a Creation card using the online form? How much did you request and what justification did you use? (“Easier MS” is not listed unfortunately)
    I tried for £3k yesterday and the “other” option and no luck.

    • Pete M says:

      Think the advice recently was not to ask at the moment, as it often led to either closures of account or lower limits, particularly if a human reviewed your account.

    • Ja says:

      I was amazed when I got a letter from Creation last week increasing my limit by £2k. I hadn’t asked for it.

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      I got an increase a year back to 15k. Requested through the app.

  • Dan says:

    My friends have spare day 5/8 tests they no longer need as rules changed whilst they were away.

    Are they OK to give them to me to use as day 2 tests? Randox website seems to say the codes won’t work on locator form.

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.