The HfP chat thread – Friday 13th August

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Tracy says:

13 Aug13 August 10:24

I have 2 nights booked end of April 2022 for the intercontinental in Rome from when the reward nights were 40k points as highlighted on here. Went to tag a night on at the end and ihg saying hotel not opening until June 2022??
- meta says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 10:44
  
  I am in similar situation.
  
  The website says March 2022, the app says June 2022.
  
  Best case scenario is that they might be doing a soft opening like Kimpton in Paris earlier. I guess they thought it would be good to get some elites in to test the service before official opening.
  
  On the other hand, most probably they are uncertain when they will open, so have stopped accepting further bookings. In any case, just keep on checking and they might eventually open up once they are more certain.
  - Tracy says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 13:20
    
    Will just keep the booking and see what happens…..
- Peggerz says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 12:57
  
  I had two nights at 40k in March and have cancelled. It’s now 90-100k per night so will be looking elsewhere I think.
- Dr C says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 13:01
  
  I guess my Feb ones are out of the question then!
  - Blair says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 13:26
    
    Feb 2022 booked here too. I’m going to wait them out and if I get cancelled at their end, work on the assumption that I’ll choose future dates post-opening that suit me at the points rate I originally booked.
Mrs H says:

13 Aug13 August 10:30

When are VS likely to let me know a flight is cancelled? Playing chicken with them at the moment . MAN-ATL Monday 30th August. MAN airport shows no flight going , cannot see it on booking website , but still showing in my account and no email. Booked in half price rewards sale with 2-4-1 voucher. Any advice ? Keep waiting ? Would like to rebook for next May.
- Babyg says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 10:36
  
  i recently moved my LHR-BGI flight (also 50% off, double vouchers etc) that i was due to take in 2 weeks, i was lucky my flight was moved by more than 3 hours so Virgin allowed me to move it to Feb next year without any issue, i used the virgin whatsapp… they can take a day or two to reply, but if youre not in a rush its a good way to get an answer – +44 344 874 7747
- Blindman says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 10:43
  
  Tends to be about 10 days out.
- JSemity says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 10:58
  
  we had our Sept 11th flight to MCO cancelled yesterday by VS
Alex says:

13 Aug13 August 10:41

Does anyone have a SAS voucher that would like to get rid of?
- Matt says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 15:50
  
  I could do – what have you in mind? (I have some flights I will be taking a voucher for in due course, if they’re not cancelled/changed, around £100 worth)
Phil says:

13 Aug13 August 10:57

Hi, Can anyone recommend a nice family beach side resort on Honolulu that’s not on Waikiki beach? Aiming for 4 star hotel. Many thanks in advance
- Louise K says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 11:16
  
  Hilton Hawaiian Village is near Fort deRussy beach but gets very mixed reviews.
  
  I like the Embassy Suites on beach walk for their spacious suites and not too far to walk to FDR. They throw in a cooked breakfast too.
- MisterE says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 11:22
  
  We generally found Aston Hotels pretty good for Hawaii beachfront for family trips
  - Louise K says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 11:32
    
    Yes, Aston have nice properties in Waikiki.
    
    If you book direct use code SECRET20 for 20% off stays up to Aug 2022.
    - Phil says:
      
      13 Aug13 August 21:31
      
      Thanks all!
DLab says:

13 Aug13 August 10:59

Hoping for clarity on Covid testing requirement upon re-entry: coming back from Amber list country. Fully vaccinated. Permanent address in Wales but officially re-entering UK at LHR and spending a night in hotel hear airport.

Concerning the Day 2 PCR test: would I be able to opt for an ‘English’ option or must I go with the costlier NHS Wales option?

Thanks in advance for your replies!
- Dave says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 11:30
  
  We went with the English option when arriving into Manchester and then travelling to Scotland. Did get an email and text from NHS Scotland but nothing else. No issues on arrival.
  - DLab says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 11:32
    
    Thanks, Dave!
- Tracy says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 13:25
  
  In May, we flew into Manchester then drove back to Scotland. We did “English” tests rather than extortionate Scottish ones, no issues. Also just returned direct to Scotland from Malta and did £20 eurofins tests rather than £88 tests. PLF accepted the eurofins reference no issues. Assuming Wales is the same…..
  - DLab says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 15:58
    
    Got it. Thanks, Tracy!
- LewisB says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 13:35
  
  Have a few friends who recently came back from Spain and flew into Cardiff using Randox tests and no questions asked. Technically can be fined but have yet to hear of anyone getting a fine.
  - DLab says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 15:57
    
    Good to know. Thank you!
idontfly says:

13 Aug13 August 11:17

SSDV stay is coming up at the end of the month and getting rather excited. Would be very interested if anyone can recommend any nice restaurants which are reasonably priced in the area and some good vineyards to go and visit, we will have a car (hopefully). Thank you in advance.
- Heathrow Flyer says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 12:44
  
  In terms of vineyards (Quintas) we had a pleasant couple of hours with the owner at Quinta Casa Amarela, tasting some small-batch port still made the old-fashioned way (feet crushing the grapes etc). If you give him a call he should be able to arrange something. It’s 5 mins from SSDV.
- meta says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 12:51
  
  Depends on what you consider reasonable. You can get a good deal on half board if you contact them and negotiate. Other than that all the nicer restaurants are in Quintas and meals are around 100+ euros for 2 for 1-2 courses. Can recommend Quinta Pacheca (five-minutes drive) and Quinta Vallado (15-min drive). You could also check what’s on offer in towns of Regua or Lamego.
  - Idontfly says:
    
    14 Aug14 August 09:38
    
    Thank you will see what they offer on half board.
BrianEXT says:

13 Aug13 August 11:21

Hi, a couple for questions whether pooling Hilton Honors points or transferring points would be better for our situation.

My mum has an account with points at risk of expiring due to account inactivity as she does not stay at hotels now.

If I pooled her points with my account, is there a way of specifically using her points for a reward stay?

Alternatively, under this scenario, would it be better for her just to transfer all her points to me? Would this remove the risk of these points expiring?

Thanks
- mark2 says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 11:33
  
  Don’t the points have to be pooled before they can be transferred?
  Yes you should transfer them.
- John says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 12:13
  
  Pooling is exactly the same as transferring but just in the opposite direction (should be called pulling). Also pooling is free while transferring incurs a fee
  - BrianEXT says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 14:13
    
    I was reading here that transferring Hilton points to someone else is free (with certain limits) ?
    
    https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/the-complete-guide-to-hilton-transfer-partners
    
    Would transferring them from my Mum to myself basically make any expiration of these points dependent on my account activity rather than hers in future?
    
    Thanks
    - Rob says:
      
      13 Aug13 August 14:36
      
      Yes. I always move points from my wife’s work stays into my account – no value in running two pots especially as my status is higher.
      - BrianEXT says:
        
        13 Aug13 August 15:46
        
        Thanks. Will get the points transferred. Yeah I’m a Diamond so definitely can make better use of the points. especially now as my Mum isn’t really travelling. Cheers
    - John says:
      
      13 Aug13 August 14:43
      
      You’re right, they must have made transfers free because they realised it was stupid to charge when pooling is free. The difference is just which account you initiate it from
      
      Yes it’s the account which expires not the points
Simon says:

13 Aug13 August 11:33

If i cancel a cash flight for an evoucher, should the voucher come through instantly on email ? Been waiting an hour now, praying i dont need to call up ?
- Sina says:
  
  13 Aug13 August 11:55
  
  depends on the airline, it could be a day or two weeks!?
  - Simon says:
    
    13 Aug13 August 12:54
    
    Sorry, it was BA, arrived after 90 minutes…… Thanks