The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 17th August

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James says:

17 Aug17 August 18:11

Has anyone ever visited Bequia in the Caribbean? Looking to add it into our Barbados trip at Christmas this year and was wondering if 3-4 nights would be enough there.
- Blenz101 says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 18:57
  
  More than enough I would think. I’ve stopped off there as part of a cruise (tendered to shore).
  
  It’s a beautiful island with a few beach bars with live music, very chilled and a nice mix of fisherman and yacht type people.
  
  Was a real highlight but there certainly isn’t a great deal to do.
  - James says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 19:07
    
    Thanks Blenz, much appreciated!
  - Hbommie says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 21:08
    
    Same, beautiful place for a stopover.
- Tw33ty says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 22:35
  
  3 or 4 nights may be much more than you need.
  It’s nice, but rather small unless all you want to do is sit by the water on the beach.
- Louie says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 06:56
  
  One of my favourite places ever. If you are after peace and quiet, enjoy snorkelling or diving, reading, chilling. I’d happily spend a week there, alternating a day doing something with a day doing not much. Go out on a yacht to the Tobago Keys, visit the turtle sanctuary, spend some time in Port Elizabeth.
  
  If you want something really quiet and enjoy your own company (and don’t need luxury) but spectacular and probably unrepeatable elsewhere, consider going back in time to the Flintstones and stay at Moonhole. We stayed at Moonrise (a long time ago but I doubt it’s changed) and the food and rum punch prepared by our cook was fabulous.
BJ says:

17 Aug17 August 18:40

Can somebody please advise me where I find this BA online chat option, and are the staff competent enough to deal with the likes of double open jaw with 241? Or would I be best to wait for the phone?
- Paul says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 18:49
  
  At present, I think carrier pigeon is the best hope….
  - BJ says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 19:11
    
    🙂 I’m trying my luck on the phone at the moment.
- ChrisC says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 19:12
  
  Given the cat (accessed via the ‘help and contacts’ tab on the website can’t proceess credit card payments it’s not a method I’d try to use to make bookings.
  - BJ says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 19:21
    
    OK thanks, I’ll give the cat a miss for now 🙂
- Harry T says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 19:24
  
  They are utterly useless and will not be able to assist you with booking/rebooking.
  - BJ says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 19:30
    
    Getting the picture now…
  - ChrisC says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 20:16
    
    That’s not entirely fair
    
    The 3 times I’ve used them they were able to help but then I wasn’t asking particularly complex questions or asking to book/rebook
    
    What could be useful if they set out clearly what chat can and can’t be used for.
    
    Mind people would still ignore than …
    - Harry T says:
      
      17 Aug17 August 21:32
      
      I don’t appreciate waiting for 70 other people to be served before being quoted BA policy from 2019 in an unhelpful manner by poorly trained agents tbh.
      - ChrisC says:
        
        17 Aug17 August 22:05
        
        Well thats unfortunate. But can also be the case with phone agents too.
Ammar says:

17 Aug17 August 19:31

Have £10 credit from booking.com in the wallet bit which expires tomorrow. Not been able to use against any plans as such but can book something for the future, wondering if that counts against a booking that doesn’t get charged for a while or should I book a non refundable rate to lock it in or am I wasting my time if the credit has to be used on a stat bwfore it expires. Can’t find the terms and conditions, so apologies for long q. TIA
- AndyGWP says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 22:27
  
  Works on anything where you choose to pre-pay as far as I know
  - Gavin says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 22:51
    
    Correct – I used it for a cancellable Holiday Inn which I plan to use next month.
- Kitten says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 11:17
  
  you can also use those for things like day trips and lounge passes
Rory says:

17 Aug17 August 19:52

Anyone got any good Barbados hotel recommendations? Looking for something fairly lux, missing out the usual Sandals or all inclusive style hotels. Cheers!
- NvT1115 says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 20:20
  
  Sandy Lane
  - Yorkieflyer says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 20:25
    
    A Winner for dinner
  - Rob says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 20:38
    
    Fairmont Royal Pavilion gets good feedback following its recent refurb, and was good when we stayed there 8 years ago.
    
    In October we are splitting our stay between Fairmont and Sandy Lane. Sandy Lane is undisputed king but prices itself accordingly.
    
    Cobblers Cove is also interesting but very rooms have sea view, not that it really matters. The resort itself is on a beach though.
  - NvT1115 says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 20:49
    
    Also can highly recommend The Tides restaurant just up the road from Sandy Lane in Holetown. An excellent spot on the beachfront
- Yorkieflyer says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 20:32
  
  If you wanted somewhere genuinely good the little arches boutique hotel in Oistins would be my choice
- Guernsey Globetrotter says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 23:08
  
  The House by Elegant Hotels (a Marriott resort) is a boutique place with great reviews – heading there for our 30th wedding anniversary next year 🙂
  - Rob says:
    
    17 Aug17 August 23:12
    
    Need to be careful with these as they are all being refurbed by Marriott before being rebranded, so you need to know if any work will be going on and indeed if you will get a fresh new hotel or a slightly worn old one.
Benilyn says:

17 Aug17 August 21:31

Are you getting points for each (upto 4 or 5) supp card I add to my Plat account? I know this was the case for Plat Biz 6 months ago, but not sure if for personal?
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 21:40
  
  No just the first for personal.
Tim Lewis says:

17 Aug17 August 22:04

Hi all, just to stop me throwing away a substantial number of MR points. If I have a supplementary Platinum Card in my name, I can cancel my Gold reward card as primary holder and still maintain my existing MR points in my account because the Plat card accrues MRs? That’s right isn’t it….
Thanks in advance.
- Rob says:
  
  17 Aug17 August 23:14
  
  No. Your supp Plat accrues points for the main cardholder, not you.
  
  You need to get a free Amex Rewards Credit Card – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/05/02/american-express-rewards-credit-card/
  - Tim says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 06:10
    
    Thanks Rob. Horrible mistake avoided. I shall transfer to Avios, close the account and reapply in a couple of years, using your affiliate link, of course.
Tim says:

18 Aug18 August 00:17

An observation: the HfP daily chat is now substantially more about the ‘wannabe’ flyers, where as the original HfP was more about being a useful concise version of Flyertalk with a bit of a kick. It will be interesting to see where HfP finds itself in 2022. Especially if the planned ‘chat forum’ or whatever it is called is launched. Make or break 🙂 🙂 ‘Check out the first class lounge at York station’ 😉
- Blenz101 says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 02:35
  
  Another observation: there has been a global pandemic which has made flying, and particularly long haul flying, either impossible or impractical over the last 18 months.
  
  Perhaps not a complete coincidence that there has been more domestic coverage than previous years?
- Rob says:
  
  18 Aug18 August 08:16
  
  We’ve always reviewed rail lounges!
  
  And isn’t everyone a wannabe flyer at the moment?
  
  Because a forum, by definition, forces chat into dedicated threads I think it would run ok. Trivial threads could be merged to sculpt initial impressions …
  - Jimmy says:
    
    18 Aug18 August 10:18
    
    Ignore the haters Rob! You carry on providing great content. 🙂
Ukgeorge says:

18 Aug18 August 14:50

I am struggling to understand the entrance requirements for flying to Hungary. This is a leisure trip not business.

The U.K. gov website

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/hungary/entry-requirements

Implies you can enter with a negative PCR test.

But the Hungarian border force police website, which various other sites recommend seems very ambiguous and says you can enter with a negative PCR test or a EU digital Covid certificate, I presume the nhs app does not count. But then also states foreign citizens… shall not enter Hungary.

Anyone have any recent experience? Thanks

http://www.police.hu/en/content/information-on-general-rules-of-border-crossing