The HfP chat thread – Monday 23rd August

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

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.

Category

General

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

Sina says:

23 Aug23 August 09:01

So I booked two tickets with cash & Avios part-pay, my question is, if I cancel a flight, would I get an FTV with the cash amount or cash+ Avios?
- Andrew says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:12
  
  Discussed at length across 339 comments here: https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/08/21/2p-per-avios-discount-booking-cash-flights/comment-page-12/#comments
  
  You get an eVoucher to the value of the flight
  - Sina says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 09:46
    
    Thanks @Andrew not sure how I missed this?
Crafty says:

23 Aug23 August 09:08

My wife assures me we can go to Jersey with nothing more than a PCR test provided for us on arrival (both double vaccinated plus two weeks, children 5 and 1). From reading their website this seems right, but it makes me nervous – can any recent travellers confirm this is as smooth as it seems (unless you test positive!).
- Rob says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:50
  
  Jersey Govt website is very clear on the rules – you are not relying on a dodgy translation for once 🙂
- Ja says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:59
  
  We went in June. Very easy . Off plane, collect baggage and go and queue up for test. About 1/2 hour from getting off the plane to getting out of the airport. 6 hours later had test results. Just make sure you have filled out the form before you queue up
  - Crafty says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 10:41
    
    Brilliant, thanks.
    
    How well would people recommend 4-5 nights there, with two kids 5 and 1? Would be next week.
Paul says:

23 Aug23 August 09:12

Have asked this previously however have forgot to return to look for any answers! For those that have purchased tickets for the PGA at Wentworth via Hilton, have you heard from them yet, and if so whom did you hear from?
- JohnT says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:31
  
  Main comments were not yet – apart from just confirming who is going. Is through a 3rd party, think it was on Fri or Sat chat!
  - Paul says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 12:03
    
    Great, thank you! I can no no longer view Fri / Sat’s chat article and forgot to return to the comments to view any answers.
- Danny says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 10:29
  
  Keep asking Paul and you will get an answer to your satisfaction soon…
Blair says:

23 Aug23 August 09:33

Barcelona lounge update for whoever was asking yesterday (apologies; I’ve clicked off yesterday’s thread). The Schengen lounge (Casals) is large and light-filled and looked to be a decent food and drink spread. You queued to be served on a tray, rather than self-serve or table service. However that’s all I saw from the entrance. The lounge staff were directing all non-Schengen flight passengers to the Miro lounge after passport control. Amex lounge site had suggested this lounge was closed. It was indeed open, and was pretty much identical to the Casals lounge. Really spacious, with large well spaced seating areas and plenty of privacy partitions stretching out both sides from the entrance. Spotlessly clean, including toilets and showers inside the lounge. A small spa inside the lounge too (closed). A quiet room and prayer room were available, and some bar style seating with power points. Though every seat had a table with 2 sockets. Food and drink was above par for an airport-run lounge. Filled rolls and crossaints were being continually brought out, cold cuts and cheeses and other nibbles too. No hot option but frankly I’d rather fresh cold food than warm slop. A decent cakes/pastries/biscuits selection too. Drinks were free flowing and decent brands. There were around 30 people in there on Sunday evening; mostly premium passengers of Royal Air Maroc and Royal Jordanian. Well worth your time. The windows look down onto the main concourse and some of the food outlets looked unpleasantly busy.
- Andrew says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:43
  
  Yes the lounge BA uses is quite pleasant and spacious
  - ChrisBCN says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 17:14
    
    The above comments are for T1, and agreed the lounges are a lot better than the norm for airport run lounges. Also if you are inter-schengen, T1 has the outdoor space if your tan needs topping up 😉
Anna says:

23 Aug23 August 09:39

A bit niche but definitely one for fellow travellers with hair who need to pack light! Asda currently doing Garnier shampoo bars half price at £3.95 – really useful as they don’t count as liquid so can go in your carry on bag and don’t use up space in your zip lock bag! Order 6 bottles of wine as well to save 25% and qualify for a home delivery.
- Sukes says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:49
  
  Thks Anna I may try this! Also £3.95 on Amazon.
  - Anna says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 09:52
    
    Well it was a good excuse to also stock up on wine! Delivery driver said he is delivering a lot of alcohol this week 🤣
    FYI, I bought one of each fragrance and they all smell lovely!
- BJ says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:54
  
  They might think you’re carrying plastic explosives Anna…
- Andrew says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 10:02
  
  These things are very handy to know.
  
  Shampoo is fine, as is hand soap. But I’m really careful about gels and soaps for everywhere else. I use Sanex gels at home, but on holiday I take Sanex Soap bars which are usually around £1 for 2 bars. Saves the liquids in a Hand Luggage trip.
  - Anna says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 11:39
    
    Sanex soap for me too, cheap enough to ditch at the end of the trip and saves the liquid allowance for the important stuff, as you say.
    
    BJ – this is MAN so I’m sure they’ll have some problem with it 🙄 (while letting the real thing go through unchallenged 🤦‍♀️)
  - JDB says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 11:56
    
    Doesn’t sound like soap at all, no wonder it’s so cheap if you look at ingredients:- Sodium Palmate, Sodium Tallowate, Aqua, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Stearic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Parfum, Polyquaternium-6, Dimethicone, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Etidronic Acid, Disodium Distyrylbiphenyl Disulfonate, CI 77891
    
    Sounds worse than insect repellent!
    - Anna says:
      
      23 Aug23 August 12:59
      
      If it’s good enough for Andrew, it’s good enough for me!
Reney says:

23 Aug23 August 09:42

Has anyone who got the Morrison offer on their Virgin card, did a transaction which has posted and can confirm if they got 10% or 7%?
- Paul says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:44
  
  Interested as to the answer for this also
- Vit says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:55
  
  Got 10% on mine for £30+ transaction. Have not tried it (this time offer) but last offer it was all good with 10% including multiple GC! Time to stock up again!
- Jimmy says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 12:08
  
  Mine says 7% are people saying its coming up as 10%?
  
  Does it work on fuel?
  - Reney says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 16:23
    
    If you read the T&C it says 10%. The offer appears at the top for me which says 10% , later on the list of offers it says 7%. This inconsistency also appears for others, so I’m trying to established when it goes through whether it is 7 or 10.
    
    I don’t have a Morrison petrol station. Previously people buy gift cards to pay for fuel months down the line, but it always seem mix results as to whether the cashier accepted them based on my reading.
  - Polly says:
    
    25 Aug25 August 07:14
    
    Their Morrison’s GCs do, certainly. Just coming to the end of our last bunch of GCs.
Paul says:

23 Aug23 August 09:44

Have cancelled a second “Avios discounted” booking for a voucher this morning! Yesterday the eVoucher was received almost immediately after requesting, where as for the second cancelled earlier this morning I’ve been waiting over an hour, is that to be expected?
- AP says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:48
  
  Cancelled 4 this morning – all through in 5 mins of submitting the cancellation form. Last one cancelled about 20 mins ago.
- Anna says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 09:55
  
  I’ve not really been following this but assume it’s only worth it if you can’t normally get 2p per avios on reward flights? I usually get better than 2p due to using 241s or RFS on routes where cash prices are high.
  - Harry T says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 10:42
    
    Yeah but odds are you wouldn’t pay the cash prices… this is a genuine 2p per Avios.
    - Anna says:
      
      23 Aug23 August 11:40
      
      We usually do buy one cash ticket Harry! One of us can get to Bronze on one return trip.
  - VerdantBacon says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 11:00
    
    This can also be used to book onto partner airlines via BA.com, I’d rather QR J for 2p per point and not having to look for redemption availability on BA J!
    
    Although yes, admittedly QR J is a while away!
    - JDB says:
      
      23 Aug23 August 11:58
      
      Save that QR J booked via BA.com is almost always quite a bit more expensive than booking via QR directly?
  - Memesweeper says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 12:53
    
    Depends how many points you have. People with large numbers of MRs/HsBC/Nectar might want these evouchers in addition to having a pot for redemptions. Sometimes you *have* to buy a cash flight. Also I still fly for work from time to time, there’s no way I’m wasting my Avios saving the firm money, but I’ll happily throw in a voucher and claim the full cash value in expenses.
- Blindman says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 10:16
  
  I did one this Am and got the voucher within 5 minutes.
  
  Still waiting for the last one I cancelled at 10:00
- Harry T says:
  
  23 Aug23 August 10:43
  
  It should take a maximum of ten minutes in my experience, but you may find that it can take up to seven days, according to the screen when you submit the voucher.
  - Blindman says:
    
    23 Aug23 August 10:59
    
    Yeah
    
    I think we’ve broken it!
    
    Still waiting from a 10:00 cancel.
    - Blindman says:
      
      23 Aug23 August 11:14
      
      Just got it, 1 hour later.
      - Anna says:
        
        23 Aug23 August 11:41
        
        Jeez, are you lot going to be clogging up the phone lines over the next few months to use these vouchers?!
      - FFoxSake says:
        
        23 Aug23 August 11:58
        
        No. eVouchers work with online bookings.
Rob says:

23 Aug23 August 09:47

Should be fine. Amex will have the merchant code on file which is what triggers it.