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The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 24th August

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General

Comments (511)

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

  • KevMc says:
    24 Aug24 August 12:48

    Anybody got any tips for the best time to call BA without getting the ‘we cannot take your call at the moment’ auto hang up nonesense? Been waiting almost 90 days now for a refund which I was told would take 30, and no matter what time of day I call, I can’t even get in the queue to speak to anyone.

    • SteveJ says:
      24 Aug24 August 12:53

      I called this morning, new booking line (0787) went into queue no issues at 8am.

      Turned out I needed to call Exec Club line (0747) and options 1 & 2 were as you say, the hang up. But option 3 got you in a queue. This was 8.15am.

    • Chrisasaurus says:
      24 Aug24 August 13:06

      Refund to card? If documented call the card company instead, 90 days is more than long enough to have waited

  • KevMc says:
    24 Aug24 August 12:54

    Thanks – will give it a go tomorrow

  • LS says:
    24 Aug24 August 13:06

    Question re: cancelled flights.
    My JNB – LHR in F for Sept has been cancelled, booked using the 50% avios sale.
    Can I just leave it in its cancelled state, until I have a date for rebooking (obviously very dependent on red list actions)?
    Or do I have to guess when things will change now, and choose a flight now?

    • ben says:
      24 Aug24 August 13:22

      you can leave it in cancelled state and then rebook to a date of you choice later on

      • LS says:
        24 Aug24 August 13:26

        Thanks. Can I leave it in the cancelled state after the original flight was meant to have flown??

        Flight due Sept 2021, I would probably want to decide to book Feb/March 2022, depending on what happens. I know flight must be taken by Sept 2022 (within 1 year of cancelled flight). So I can leave it unassigned past the original Sept 2021 flight date?

  • Fazzy Bear says:
    24 Aug24 August 13:33

    We have two businesses that are vertically integrated. Usually one business invoices the other business at market rates and gets paid via BACS.

    Say the cost of processing a Amex payment is 1.9% (merchant fee ) – Is there ever any scenario where it is beneficial to start making payments via Amex rather than BACS?

    As its in the multiple thousands per week, it wouldn’t be about hitting a one off spend limit but a long term decision. I’ve discounted it in the past but I want to make sure I am not overseeing a detail.

    The 2p Avios offer recently would have made it financially viable on paper but that was only marginally better than the merchant fee and it is only a temporary offer so can’t rely on it.

    One way I’ve thought of it as is that if we paying say 10k per week, the cost of processing the transaction for the parent business is £190 so we are effectively paying £190 for 10,000 points as the 10,000 would have been paid anyway. Then when I see the cost of buying Avios it is £175 for 15000 (10000 + 5000 bonus currently). Then I have to factor in this tax write off 19% as our profit will be reduced by 19% so that £190 is costing us £153.90.

    Anything that I’m missing out?

    Thanks

    • Joe says:
      24 Aug24 August 13:39

      I would have thought you would incur income tax at some point in extracting the money from the business to then use it to buy the Avios. So perhaps your cost should be net of corporation tax and also your marginal rate of income tax?

    • Super Secret Stuff says:
      24 Aug24 August 13:40

      Also you need to factor in VAT that can be claimed back. As well as other taxes if you’d have spent that £190 as dividends or pay. Plus the cash flow benefits, depending on how quickly Amex pay you and so on

      • Fazzy Bear says:
        24 Aug24 August 14:02

        AFAIK you don’t get charged VAT on Amex fees or Worldpay for VISA or Mastercard merchant fees.

        • Ryan says:
          24 Aug24 August 14:23

          Merchant fees = Exempt from VAT
          Rental of equipment etc = Standard rated VAT

    • Sina says:
      24 Aug24 August 13:52

      BTW with those forecasts, you can get the payment fees down to at least 1.2%, look for an indirect merchant service provider (not AMEX)

      Also, note that Amex T&C isn’t broken as they are very sensitive about the merchant (or the owner) and cardholder being the same!

      • Fazzy Bear says:
        24 Aug24 August 13:54

        Seperate owners but related.

      • Fazzy Bear says:
        24 Aug24 August 14:00

        I’ve checked out the usual izettle and sumup and they hover around the 1.6% which is improvement. If I could get 1.2% it would be a gamechanger.

        When we set up Amex before via Worldpay, we had to go contact Amex directly to set up a seperare merchant account so that’s where I got the 1.9% from.

        • Sina says:
          24 Aug24 August 15:41

          Stripe charges 1.4%, you can get personalized pricing as well. Also, you can get up to $20K free processing if you get a 12 month complimentary FoundersCard (or $50K if you pay $295 for the Elite card)

    • JDB says:
      24 Aug24 August 14:06

      When none of us know all the details (nor wish to) it seems quite dangerous to ask for advice on related-party transactions which need to be carefully handled for tax and other reasons. One thing that you have been correctly advised on is that you could get the Amex fee down a lot.

      • Fazzy Bear says:
        24 Aug24 August 14:23

        Thanks for your concern.

        Like to believe things are kosher in regards to the transfer pricing especially as the businesses have different accountants so would probably flag up if there were any issues.

        Will explore the lower merchant fees route and decide whether it is worth it.

        Thanks

        • Memesweeper says:
          24 Aug24 August 16:12

          Two more things to consider:

          Using Amex FX to make the payments. This is a flat 1% GBP to GBP if you bundle it up into large chunks, and if you’re not interested in bonuses it works out nicely. Contact Rob if you need an introduction.

          Be aware that the separation of the businesses may be examined by Amex if you use a card account, need to be different directors, addresses, people of sig. control etc. They have automated systems to flag abuse up.

          • Fazzy Bear says:
            24 Aug24 August 17:55

            Thanks

            The Amex FX route is interesting as we could potentially rack up a lot of points as we have other suppliers who don’t accept Amex.

            Will explore in more details.

            The 1% – 1.25% transaction fee certainly nullifies the need for card transactions between the businesses.

  • Colin MacKinnon says:
    24 Aug24 August 13:47

    Don’t quite understand Kabul figures.

    The UK has evacuated 8,458 people from Afghanistan since 13 August, according to the Ministry of Defence.

    That’s about 850 a day – yet Edinburgh airport can handle 45,000 people a day when it is really busy!

    And it is not as though there are very few aircraft and pilots available at the moment!

    • DI says:
      24 Aug24 August 14:06

      Not sure if this is a fair comparison.

      How many passengers would Edinburgh airport handle if there were people on the tarmac and shots fired in the airport?

      With regards to available pilots – surely this is not that simple and only military pilots are actually flying from there?

      • Rui N. says:
        24 Aug24 August 14:10

        Besides this, the UK is not the only country taking people out…
        Also, the bottleneck seems to be reaching the airport, not actually departing it.

    • Rui N. says:
      24 Aug24 August 14:17

      From the Guardian:

      “About 21,600 people were flown safely out of Taliban-held Afghanistan in the 24-hour period that ended early Tuesday, the White House said.

      Thirty-seven US military flights — 32 C-17s and 5 C-130s — carried approximately 12,700 evacuees. Another 8,900 people flew out aboard 57 flights by US allies.”

      • Harrier25 says:
        24 Aug24 August 14:54

        When I put the TV on half an hour ago, both Sky and BBC news channels were covering a Taliban press conference live. What a world we now live in. Frightening. 😱
        I chose to switch off the TV and switch on TalkSport. Hawksbee and Jacobs are much more palatable!

    • Pid says:
      24 Aug24 August 14:54

      They also going to be manually processing them rather than using the terminal so that takes longer. The key is that there are only so many military aircraft available. Even using a local hub to shorten the loops, this will restrict capacity. There is also a limit on how many will fit on a C17 and I suspect the UK is sticking to their usual aircraft limits rather than packing them to the limits as the US photos showed.

    • Chrisasaurus says:
      24 Aug24 August 15:06

      Colin you might have missed this but Kabul airport is in Afghanistan and at the moment much of the country and certainly all of Kabul and the area around the airport is in control of the Taliban.

      The other night there were shots fired and a security guard was killed in the process, before that there were images of people clinging to planes as they taxied and on one occasion after it took off.

      I will concede to never having flown from Edinburgh but so far as I know the situation there is significant more orderly and Scotland is not currently in need of being defended by thousands of armed troops against possible attack.

      You may find this explains much of the difference though it may also be worth considering that the UK isn’t the only country extricating its people from the country either.

    • Super Secret Stuff says:
      24 Aug24 August 15:45

      From Kabul and because of security risks you have to push the aircraft to near enough maximum “angel of attack” to get as high as possible as quickly as possible. We all know how the 737 Max reacts to that… there is a very limited range of aircraft that have both the capacity to make the risks worth it and the ability to do it. Further, gun shots will pause the operation immediately until safe again (can be 30 seconds, could be 20 mins). Further the aircraft need to land with enough fuel to take off again and reach there destination. This is because Kabul will have nothing left after the helicopter flights and you can’t have loads of fuel in the airport or lots of tankers due to the mortar risks. All of this further limiting the available pool of aircraft and pilots.

      Also a major bottleneck is nothing to do with aircraft and pilots. It is getting the people processed through the visa systems, security barriers and fences. The terror threat is also extreme, everyone will be having a full search. Likely why the PIA flight today got cancelled

    • Jeff Greene says:
      24 Aug24 August 15:59

      How is the war on terror going?

      (I think going in was the right thing to do but it would be good if they’d done a better job of it. 18 years with no tangible positive results).

      • Anna says:
        24 Aug24 August 16:48

        The women and girls who can go to school and work might see that as a tangible benefit, somehow.

        • Jeff Greene says:
          24 Aug24 August 18:26

          Yeah but how long will they be going to school now that the Taliban are back? Back to square one.

          • Dominic says:
            24 Aug24 August 18:27

            That’s because we needlessly withdrew.

          • Jeff Greene says:
            24 Aug24 August 19:07

            “ That’s because we needlessly withdrew.”

            Shouldn’t we be in a good position to withdraw after 18 years? Are we expected to be there forever?

            Again, I think the war itself was the right thing I do because the Taliban needed to be got rid of. Haven’t got rid of them though have we?

    • VerdantBacon says:
      24 Aug24 August 16:21

      When they say the people at Kabul airport are taking a lot of shots, this isn’t a bunch of people sitting in a business class lounge drinking before their flight. Maybe this is what’s confusing you.

    • Yorkie Aid says:
      24 Aug24 August 17:02

      This is either a wind-up or the OP is brain dead

      • kitten says:
        24 Aug24 August 21:48

        With respect the OP is a pilot and has been around on HfP longer than you. It’s quite natural that someone would view availability of resources to pull people out considering their own profession first.

        I think the other point being made was that the most responsible UK Minister was not reported to have hurried away from his holiday beach to act promptly on the rescue…whether those reports are right or wrong.

        • Yorkie Aid says:
          24 Aug24 August 23:32

          If that is the OP’s profession then the comment is even more perplexing

  • Rim says:
    24 Aug24 August 13:59

    Double TP for British Airways Holidays booked from 24 Aug 2021 till 31 March 2022 (last booking 22 March 2022). Min stay 5 nights / car hire. Existing bookings and solo travellers incl.

  • Chas says:
    24 Aug24 August 14:02

    Luton Airport lounges: I have a flight on Thursday evening, and the Aspire website is showing that they’re only open 4-8am that day. If I recall Rob’s article a couple of months ago, Number 1 Clubrooms isn’t likely to open again either. Any recent data points to contradict either of these positions? I’m getting ready to inform the rest of the family that they won’t have a lounge to relax in…

    • John says:
      24 Aug24 August 18:43

      Partner had an early afternoon flight from LTN a couple of weeks ago and the Aspire lounge had already closed. They claim to be opening at peak times only.

  • Sundar says:
    24 Aug24 August 14:20

    15K/32K referral offer on Amex Gold, 32K pretty good for anyone who wants a Gold credit card….

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