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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 18th August

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Comments (376)

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

  • Jane says:

    After trying for hours this morning to get through to BA on the phone and getting cut off I finally got through to the UK office via the american number on Skype (picked up after 59 minutes !) .
    Despite being clearly told 2 weeks ago that I could switch my outbound flight from 5th August this year to 4th August next year once the seats were released and then the inbound from 28th August to 27th August when they were released, the customer assistant was adamant that all travel had to be completed by 4th August today. Is it worth calling again for a different response ? or, do I cancel and start again or take the legal route (not sure I have the energy for the latter). So frustrating 🙁

    • AJA says:

      I think the recent change of policy by BA is ticket validity is now 1 year from date of outbound flight. So in your case the ticket is valid until 4 August 2022.

      • BJ says:

        Sadly almost certainly correct. However, I think Jane should try again at least one more time. There is clearly confusion amongst CSA and one might ticket it.

      • Lady London says:

        However that’s BA’s policy which as such is overridden by EU261/ UK261 which does not state any limit on date to rebook to if airline cancelled a flight on your booking. Obvs best to be reasonable but there is in law (that will supersede BA’s policy/incapacities) no limit.

        For me perfectly reasonable that I might have booked to travel a longhaul, in particular, at a particular time of year, and I might well only need or be able or even prefer to do the same trip around or even after the same time of year the following year. Could be my vacation limitations, attending an annual event, need to schedule around a family group etc. So if it went to MCOL I can’t see OP losing.

        Practically though I would just advise a few more calls over next 2-3 weeks to try for this.

        Remember even if your cancelled flight was booked all or part with avios, EU261 says BA is not allowed to insist an avios seat is available for your rebooking. Any seat being sold for cash you have the right to be booked into in same cabin at 0 extra cost if airline cancelled flight on you and you are taking the reroute option to choose your preferred later travel date.

    • Jane says:

      Thanks All, I will certainly try again tomorrow however the lady today was adamant that even if it were ticketed it would somehow become invalid and I would be denied boarding (not entirely convinced).

      • BJ says:

        No, that’s nonsense from her. Definitely try again, IME some of the CSA are very nice and sympathetic. The calls are stressful atm so perhaps take a day away before trying again.

  • FFoxSake says:

    Q1) Anyone have experience of what happens when an airline refunds to a closed Amex card. How will I know it has posted and how can I get access to it? The Amex card has been closed since Feb 2021.
    Q2) A further twist was that the original flight booking in Dec 2020 (Qatar) earned a statement credit from an Amex offer. Will that now be clawed back by Amex when the refund hits?
    Thanks for any data points…

    • Paul says:

      A1. They will send you a paper statement through the post showing the credit balance. You can have it transferred to your bank account or another active Amex card
      A2. No!

      • FFoxSake says:

        Thanks for the info Paul. I’m liking the sound of A2 as it was a £100 credit.

        • BJ says:

          Note th A2 is no only because you cancelled tve card already. If you find yourself in situation that a refund will be costly then try to cancel card before refund is processed. Amex is good at clawback against live cards.

  • Paul says:

    For those eligible, any guesses as to when we can expect payment from SheildPay? Just filled out a very basic looking webform with my Bank Acc info

    • Pete M says:

      21 days

      • Paul says:

        Ah, I assumed the 21 days was when we can expect an email by!

        Is there any confirmation of settlement, payment etc via post or is it all via email?

    • Magic Mike says:

      Get yourself a “burner” account with Revolut or Wise, no way I would share my actual bank details like that…

  • Gavin says:

    Anyone found a way to stack the Gousto Amex offer with a Discount code better than 50% off?

  • Alex B says:

    Is there an IHG promotion currently running? Got a couple of Holiday Inn stays coming up it would be nice to get some bonus points for.

    • Jane says:

      I had a stay two nights get 3000 points on my account. not sure if it is targeted though.

      • Blair says:

        Not targeted but you do as per usual need to register for it.

      • Harry T says:

        Yes, I have the stay two earn 3000 twice promotion as well. Plus the ones for milestone bonuses. It’s worth hunting around in your promotions/offers sections.

        • Alex B says:

          Thanks, found stay 5 nights within 90 days of registration for Platinum until December 2022 which I will be doing, So good enough.

    • Aston100 says:

      Make sure you take screenshots of any offers you register for.
      I have had to get into email warfare with them over a couple of recent offers that they were in denial about.

      • Scott says:

        I’ve noticed that every place I stayed at before this promo started has increased price wise by a good £40+.
        Could be seasonal, but Hiltons in the same area have held their prices.

  • Ben says:

    I fly to Spain next week and back on the 1st Sept, does it matter when I order the Day 2 test? ie if I order them now is that best or do they have an expiary date etc?

    • Blair says:

      Whenever is fine if you’re asking in terms of a best before/expiry date on the test materials themselves.

    • Harry T says:

      You can order them now – they won’t expire and you can just use the booking reference for the PLF. I often order them before I need them so I know they have arrived before I go away.

    • Yorkieflyer says:

      I suppose it could be worth waiting till next weeks travel review when they could cancel the requirements for day 2 tests for the double jabbed..I’m hoping 😎

      • BP says:

        No chance of that for at least a year. Too much has been invested in testing centers.

  • Ming the Merciless says:

    Just spent my last triple dip Morrison gift card…

    • Aston100 says:

      What did you buy?
      Was it a new gift card?

    • BJ says:

      Down to my last £120, would have gone on petrol already were it not for amex BP offer.

      • Polly says:

        Didn’t get the BP offer, annoyingly, got one last £100 card to use now.. probably petrol also. Been great spending thosm100s

    • Kai says:

      Are we this offer back from Morrison’s? I have saved £££s because of this offer.

      • Magic Mike says:

        One theory is they were using it to boost or bring forward revenue ahead of their sale to some US Private Equity folks. So no…

  • GoodExperience says:

    Hi folks, I have forgotten the name of the company that does Day 2 PCR tests for £28.00. Please can someone assist me with the name.
    Thanks

    • Simon says:

      Expert medicals.

      • GoodExperience says:

        Thanks Simon, what has been people’s experience – are they reasonably reliable, there are some bad reviews online. Not sure whether to take the risk or not.

        • Simon says:

          If you just want a code for your PLF they are perfect. If you want a test that will def show up and result returned, stick to Randox.

        • Aso40 says:

          They do seem to be sending out the tests as soon as you order now, rather than waiting until close to day 2. I ordered on Monday, received confirmation from courier delivery will be on Friday despite entering 5th Sept as my return date.

        • Degsy says:

          Positive thus far. The tests arrived very promptly ie within two days of ordering along with the code needed for the Locater Form in order to be let back in. We only took the tests and posted on Monday so not had the results yet but tbh it’s job done (unless one of us is +ve of course…..)

          • Harrier25 says:

            You don’t want to be using words such as “Positive” when commenting on covid tests! 😷

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