The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 25th August

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• Mco says:

  25 Aug25 August 11:46

  Got 6hrs at LHR T5. What is the best lounge for Club pax? They only have one open right? Also have a PP is their lounge quieter?

  • Rob says:

    25 Aug25 August 11:47

    Both BA Club lounges open. Aspire PP lounge is awful.

    • Mco says:

      25 Aug25 August 12:42

      Thanks Rob.

      • Pete M says:

        25 Aug25 August 12:48

        That’s harsh on Aspire I think! It’s better than a lot of PP lounges out there!

  • Lady London says:

    25 Aug25 August 13:34

    If you stay in the airport Fortnum’s eateries near Aspire or Gordon Ramsay’s or even Pret have got to be better

  • Memesweeper says:

    25 Aug25 August 13:39

    If you have six hours and are allowed airside I’d dash to bath road , London end, and get a great cheap curry

    • Mouse says:

      25 Aug25 August 18:05

      Before a flight? Risky…

• J says:

  25 Aug25 August 11:53

  Morning all, Just received 30x charges of £7.60 on my card used for the 2p avios bookings I made. Any ideas why this has happened? Has anyone else had any charges like this?

  I’ve done a lot of cancelling for evouchers to take advantage, but I dont understand why theyve charged so much.

  Thanks

  • will says:

    25 Aug25 August 11:57

    presumably you booked Jersey-LHR flights @ £57.60 and used 2500 avios to reduce the price by £50.

    So you were charged £7.60 per flight difference.

    As the fare was cash and the Avios amount was used as a cash discount, your evoucher was issued for £57.60 which means the cash element you paid for £7.60 is charged to the card and not refunded.

    You will not have requested a refund, you requested an e voucher to the value of the booking.

    Don’t worry too much though, thats as good as the deal got and it’s an excellent result.

    • J says:

      25 Aug25 August 12:18

      That’s so strange as when I first did it, Monzo charged the entire amount. Now scrolling down those amounts have disappeared so that makes complete sense.

      Thanks!! It was a great deal. Sorry I didn’t do more tbh.

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    25 Aug25 August 11:59

    I remember someone mentioned Amex gets billed, by passenger, not by ticket. My initial 3 person tickets have now split into individual lines on Amex account.

    • Anna says:

      25 Aug25 August 12:09

      Yes you will see a charge for each ticket on Amex, together with flight info if you click on the charge.

  • Harry T says:

    25 Aug25 August 12:58

    This is the standard protocol – each passenger ticket is billed separately. My indecisive extended family booked and cancelled a lot of trips from JER to LHR too, so I also have an amusing set of charges on my Amex.

• Reney says:

  25 Aug25 August 12:05

  Thanks to whoever it was on Sunday that told me I can change departure date on chrominics. My test arrived in time for my trip on Friday. @Hak not sure if you saw my response late last night I basically passed on the advice.

• Lady London says:

  25 Aug25 August 12:05

  Especially as the leeway on flight scheduling could mean realistically on the day it will be pushed back from the gate (technical departure) 4hours+5min from the original departure time

• Anuj says:

  25 Aug25 August 12:17

  I can see you can buy a Melia gift card of 55,000 points for 220 euros. Do people think that’s a good deal? Sadly not as good as the black friday deal.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    25 Aug25 August 13:17

    It’s decent but not great. Depends if you know when you’ll be using it and if its cheaper

  • JSemity says:

    25 Aug25 August 14:24

    Given that will get you 2 nights (or there abouts) at the PALACIO DE LOS DUQUES GRAN MELIÁ which retail at $$$, yes, it’s not bad at all.

  • Red Flyer says:

    25 Aug25 August 14:36

    Where is this being sold please?

    • Anuj says:

      25 Aug25 August 16:55

      It’s on the European Amazon stores, France, Germany etc.

  • Rob says:

    25 Aug25 August 15:41

    If you have a firm plan they are great value. Risky otherwise due to small footprint.

• HAK says:

  25 Aug25 August 12:28

  Am I right in thinking that one only has to book their day 2 PCR test (and get the reference number for the passenger location form) and not actually use it/submit when back in the UK? I am trying to fathom if this is the case then what is the point of this testing other than as a confidence building measure/money making scheme for the government?

  • His Holyness says:

    25 Aug25 August 12:29

    Correct, it’s not checked

  • LS says:

    25 Aug25 August 12:38

    Legally you do have to take the test, and there are financial penalties if you don’t. In reality, given the poor performance of the private companies involved, noone ever checks. I have not heard of anyone ever getting in trouble, let alone penalised, for not taking their pre-booked test

    • AnotherUser says:

      25 Aug25 August 12:49

      On the other hand, you’ll already have paid for the test and there’s a public health benefit in doing it. You’ll also be protected in the (admittedly unlikely) event that the government gets organised enough to do some enforcement

    • Tracey says:

      25 Aug25 August 13:25

      I’ve heard of people having phone calls reminding them that they need to do the test.

  • Beardless Hipster says:

    25 Aug25 August 12:47

    You are legally required to take the test though. For day 2&8 destinations if you don’t undertake the tests your quarantine is 14 days.

    • Anna says:

      25 Aug25 August 12:56

      This is interesting because it looks as though my EM Day 2 test isn’t going to arrive. I am considering taking a free LFT, sealing it up and posting it back to EM. I am fairly confident it would be held that I have met my legal obligation as I have provided the testing company with my swab – after that it’s down to the company to process it and provide a result.

      • HAK says:

        25 Aug25 August 13:00

        This is precisely my predicament. I am loath to buy another set of PCR tests and then set about trying to get a refund from EM. I may just follow your approach.

      • Beardless Hipster says:

        25 Aug25 August 13:29

        Take a free NHS PCR test Anna, either in person at a testing centre or postal.

        • Anna says:

          25 Aug25 August 13:32

          Are you allowed to do that without symptoms?! The last time I did that I had to book it online and give symptoms.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      25 Aug25 August 15:00

      @Beardless Hipster no where says that.

      Anyway if you get a call and explain your test hasn’t shown up they’ll send you an NHS one to take instead.

      I doubt any fine will ever been upheld if you take all reasonable steps to take day 2 test such as purchasing in advance from a Gov approved supplier and phoning/emailing if it hasn’t arrived.

• MD says:

  25 Aug25 August 12:37

  Apologies if I’ve missed previous comments, but have any readers of these hallowed pages made it to the new Royal Senses Resort and Spa, Curio collection, in Crete yet? Any good? And any recognition as diamond HH? Many thanks.

  • DZOO says:

    25 Aug25 August 12:52

    Can’t speak to Diamond HH. Has been mentioned a few times on here quite favourably – we stayed end Jul – hard product good (unsurprisingly feels new – so 95% “finished / slightly rough around the edges” e.g. some lifts still had the protective plastic over the metal if you know what I mean…) but overwhelmingly understaffed. Great if you have kids, less so if not… Just my 2c

• AnotherUser says:

  25 Aug25 August 12:40

  Thanks for the info people shared about Prestwick and Barcelona airports! Prestwick was better than I anticipated – quick, easy, quiet and well-staffed. People working there are very helpful, and seem happy to have passengers 🙂 Not a luxury experience, but a very nice, easy start or end to a journey.

  The T2 priority pass lounge at BCN was nice enough. Wasn’t there long, but seemed to have a decent selection of drinks (tried two types of cava) and ok sandwhiches and cakes. All served from the bar. Was very quiet with comfy seats.

  Security at BCN airport took a middling amount of time, and was much less friendly than Prestwick! Was ok enough, though. QR readers at BCN didn’t seem great – print out boarding passes etc. unless you want your phone to be passed around until they can get something to work 🙁

  Got antigen tests from here https://laboratorioechevarne.com/en/ 40 euros, including a print out or online result. The central Barcelona site could have been a touch more organised, but getting the test done took less than an hour at what I’d guess was a busy time (and we went back later for printout).

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