The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 14th September

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• Harry T says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:32

  I have asked previously but I’m interested in canvassing more opinions and experiences.

  Has anyone rented a car from a rental agency based at Heraklion airport? Or can anyone recommend a transfer company to Domes of Elounda?

  Prices are reasonably high for October and I also can’t get Hertz.gr to let me log in or accept any CDPs…

  • Peggerz says:

    14 Sep14 September 10:35

    Hi @Harry T.
    I travel regularly through HER but have not hired a vehicle from there. Rob was there a couple of years ago so may be able to help.
    However I have used taxis to get to my accommodation and there are many listed to book online and I’ve never had any issues with them. There is a fixed cost that they display there too, so they won’t vary but you can maybe do a bit of negotiation.
    The public transport on Crete is excellent and I use it a lot, though I don’t suppose you will want to turn up Domes off the Ag.Nic express 😎

    • meta says:

      14 Sep14 September 10:46

      Try someone of the OTA that specialise in car rentals. I found them to be much cheaper than Hertz/Avis this summer. They also have access to local travel agencies. I used Vip Cars in Portugal. You’re only risking £8-10 deposit if you need to cancel.

      • Harry T says:

        14 Sep14 September 11:08

        Hi meta! Thanks, I will have a look. I do sometimes worry about using local agencies as I imagine it’s more difficult to manage if something goes wrong (as opposed to with a big company like Hertz where I have top tier status).

    • Harry T says:

      14 Sep14 September 11:07

      Hi Peggerz, thanks for your thoughts. Any idea what sort of prices are reasonable for taxi transfers? I don’t mind taking the bus but our flights arrive and depart very late at night.

      • Bigmaggot says:

        14 Sep14 September 19:23

        No complaints from https://www.cretebooktaxi.gr

  • aDifferentSimon says:

    14 Sep14 September 10:39

    not used either but heard good things about
    https://autorentals-crete.gr/
    https://www.anecarhire.com/
    No much use for platinum card holders as both of those are zero excess places….

    • Harry T says:

      14 Sep14 September 11:08

      Thanks, Simon!

    • aDifferentSimon says:

      14 Sep14 September 12:41

      oh and annacars.gr

  • Eoc says:

    14 Sep14 September 20:13

    Rentalcars – part of booking.com empire had much better price than Hertz even though my car was from Hertz. Like 30pct cheaper . In and out of H

    • Magic Mike says:

      14 Sep14 September 20:55

      I’ve used Athenscars, it was a slightly beaten up microcar but the service was perfect and the price was cheap…

• Peter K says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:35

  Lots of us annoyingly.

• Anna says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:38

  I’ve availed myself of the intern rate I spotted at the CP Porto (101 euros for interconnecting family rooms) for the last 2 nights of our trip next summer – is this likely to be honoured? I’ve got a cheap points back up at the HIE Exponor as we just need to be reasonably near the airport and will have a car.

  • Rachel Robinson says:

    14 Sep14 September 09:25

    That was the price for two rooms or per room?

    • Anna says:

      14 Sep14 September 10:34

      My booking says total price 238 euros (room rate plus discounted parking) – if you look on the IHG site for the last week in August next year it shows it as 2 interconnecting rooms. I will clarify it with the hotel but not until MUCH nearer the time!

      • Ryan Gill says:

        14 Sep14 September 13:12

        I’ve booked 2 nights at this bargain rate too. My partner’s father is Portuguese and lives near Porto, so it’s a good opportunity to see him with his grandchildren.

  • ankomonkey says:

    14 Sep14 September 09:47

    I’ve now booked 2 nights too, Anna. I don’t know how likely it is to be honoured, but thanks again for the tip-off 🙂

• Save East Coast Rewards says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:40

  Can someone confirm that simply transiting through a UK or Schengen (e.g. MAD) airport is enough to stop you entering the US? I only realised recently that Croatia is EU but not Schengen so should not be on the US disallowed list. Two of their major airports are also less than 300 miles from Bologna which is where my current flights to the US start.

  I got my hopes up when I saw on the AA website flights to Croatia, but it turns out they’re all codeshares via LHR or MAD. Which I *think* from all I can see rules that option out. Spending 2 weeks in Croatia being in the same time zone as Italy would be much more preferable for working my 2 weeks rather than somewhere in Mexico where I’d have to be awake at weird times.

  So if there was a direct flight between US and Croatia then it would be relatively straightforward, but the connection kills that possibility.

  • JDB says:

    14 Sep14 September 08:48

    I don’t think connections via UK or Schengen country are allowed. The wording is: “The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of noncitizens who were physically present within the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe), the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States, is hereby suspended and limited subject to section 2 of this proclamation.”

  • Sam G says:

    14 Sep14 September 08:49

    Yes you can’t transit Schengen or UK. Looks like Delta still has a Dubrovnik to JFK a few times a week or you could transit somewhere like Istanbul

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      14 Sep14 September 09:22

      Thanks for the tip off about Delta, seems the route is seasonal. As the trip is partly business related it needs to be November. Wikipedia also mentions United to Newark but that’s not showing any flights either.

      I don’t really need the points at the moment as I should requalify for BA gold on the reduced thresholds so I can look at non-OW options and push my BA booking to next year.

      I have a new idea, I can look at staying within the CET timezone by staying in Croatia for 2 weeks, then see what TK, EK and QR offer in the way of connections that avoid Schengen.

      • Bagoly says:

        14 Sep14 September 09:34

        Royal Air Maroc would seem to work.
        But they don’t seem to have any current destinations in Croatia.

        • Save East Coast Rewards says:

          14 Sep14 September 11:26

          Worth considering too as I can’t remember what time zone Morocco is on but I think it’s the same as the UK and as all my (remote) meetings are either with people in the UK or Italy this would work

      • Sam G says:

        14 Sep14 September 09:43

        Yes OW will be difficult for this as by November they won’t have much in the way of non-Schengen / UK connections that I can think of. I’d have thought TK/Istanbul would be the best option without too much of a detour and actually I’d consider the Turkish coast for my two weeks anyway – temps will still be pleasant enough around that time of year

        • C says:

          14 Sep14 September 10:04

          +1 – lots of great places in Turkey that should be relatively inexpensive.

      • Lady London says:

        14 Sep14 September 20:50

        If one hasn’t been in or transited Schengen in the 14 days, can one still visit the USA without any special reason? I understood they are mot issuing ESTA,’s?

        • Rob says:

          14 Sep14 September 21:55

          I believe so. Friend of mine just spent 2 weeks in Barbados with his job before entering the US. Someone else I know had a 2 week holiday in Mexico before a work meeting in NY.

        • Mikee says:

          14 Sep14 September 22:10

          I’ve twice spent 14 days in Antigua before flying over to Miami. As long as you have a valid ESTA and take a PCR anti-gen test before departing Antigua, you’ll be fine. ESTAs still remain valid as does Global Entry if you have it

  • blenz101 says:

    14 Sep14 September 08:55

    “Travelers with a US visa or valid ESTA who are outside the EU are not permitted to transit Schengen Area airports on their way to the US Transiting the Schengen Area subjects travellers to travel restrictions regardless of where their journey began”.

  • marcw says:

    14 Sep14 September 09:13

    You either travel non-stop, or Turkish/Aeroflot/Qatar/Emirates (don’t know whether they fly to Dubrovnik).
    You cannot connect in the Schengen area or Ireland or UK.

  • Lyn says:

    14 Sep14 September 09:28

    This sounds very sensible if you can find non-stop flights from Croatia to the US.

    I think American had plans for a non-stop route to Dubrovnik but unfortunately ended up scrapping them. It might be worth checking United as well as Delta.

  • Rich says:

    14 Sep14 September 10:25

    Air Serbia fly direct BEG-JFK. I can’t imagine it’s on a par with EK, but I’d like to see a trip report!

    Connections from ZAG available. DBV and SPU seem to be seasonal.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      14 Sep14 September 11:29

      Thanks to everyone. There’s some good suggestions here. I’ll need to look at cancellation policies for all the options just in case the route I choose appears on the US block list in future. I’ll then kick my BA booking out to next year.

• AJA says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:41

  Quick question re Hilton Barclaycard credit card payment. I pay off statement balance in full each month so currently have payment set up to pay over £1k in a couple of days. Yesterday I got a refund which reduced overall balance to £300. Can I reduce payment to £300 or will I be charged interest for not fully paying August’s statement ? I would rather not pay £1k and then have to request refund but I don’t want to be charged interest.

  • KBuffett says:

    14 Sep14 September 08:45

    You should be able to pay the lower amount. But log into your online account and check the live balance due for confirmation.

    • AJA says:

      14 Sep14 September 08:48

      Thanks for the quick reply. That’s what I was thinking and hoping. Will check balance and amend payment. Strangely this is the first time it’s ever happened to me!. Your reply is much appreciated.

    • JDB says:

      14 Sep14 September 08:51

      I don’t know about Barclaycard, but Amex doesn’t operate like that. The charges for the billing period/statement need to be paid in full irrespective of subsequent credits in the next cycle.

      • Anna says:

        14 Sep14 September 08:55

        Plenty of people have said this, but I’ve had lots of refunds over the past year, and when these have taken an Amex account into credit it always subsequently shows as “payment not required” and I don’t get a payment request on the statement date.

        • JDB says:

          14 Sep14 September 09:01

          I only added my post as my wife had this exact issue with Amex a couple of months ago, so got an unexpected interest charge which they did reverse when she called.

      • KBuffett says:

        14 Sep14 September 09:00

        Not true.

      • John says:

        14 Sep14 September 09:02

        Agree with Anna. Refunds are counted as payments provided they arrive before due date. Everyone except Lloyds group and tesco adjusts direct debits to the outstanding amount if there is enough time (I think DDs have to be submitted 3 days in advance)

      • Tariq says:

        14 Sep14 September 16:54

        Nonsense, every time I’ve received a refund after my statement with Amex, the full amount due that shows when making the payment online in the Amex website, has adjusted to reflect the refund amount.

      • CarpalTravel says:

        14 Sep14 September 16:58

        That is not true, it would be madness, you would end up thousands in credit if that were the case just on a single BA refund, for example.

  • John says:

    14 Sep14 September 08:49

    Direct debit will adjust automatically to the payment required

  • Thom says:

    14 Sep14 September 08:53

    THe £300 will be considered against the following month’s spend. If you haven’t spent anything on your card since the statement date (i.e. your balance is now £700) then you could just pay the lower amount so that your balance is £0. If you have spent money on the card since then to avoid interest you need to pay the full statement balance, or the amount which will reduce your balance to £0

    • AJA says:

      14 Sep14 September 09:56

      Thanks everyone for your responses. I don’t pay by DD. I always just do bank transfer so can easily amend the payment. Will reduce it to current outstanding amount. I don’t have any pending payments otherwise I’d include them in the payment.

• Andrew says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:52

  Morning all .
  Qatar rebooking question.
  I have had my ex EU Qatar flights moved again by the airline . Now departing the following day on the first flight of the day with a 10 hr stop in Doha versus a 3 hrs stopover with the second flight – the second flight would be my preference . Worried i may not reach my destination within 72 hours of Covid testing and obviously don’t want the longer wait in Doha . I contacted Qatar by Twitter to ask for my preference, they invited me to call because “there may be a fare difference to pay “. I booked Business Promo (R) back in Jan 2020 and notice that the new business lite bucket is available on the first flight but not on the second flight ( my preference) so maybe they want me to rebook into business lite rather than Classic . Back in 2020 i was told i could rebook for any date for travel before 31 December 2021 regardless of bucket availability (fare difference would apply after 31 December) . I couldn’t get through to them on the phone at the weekend now they have stopped answering my Tweets .

  If i can’t make them honour their word , I assume that under EU directive , i still have the right to select the flight that suits me ? If i booked my ticket in January 2020 does anyone know if it it valid for 2 years from Jan 2020 or might have been extended to 31 May 2022? I have viewed Qatar’s Covid rebooking policy but unsure if the latest set of rules applies. Any advice as to how to approach Qatar would be welcomed.
  Thank you !

  • Memesweeper says:

    14 Sep14 September 10:57

    Flight “Moved” … or cancelled and rebooked? The latter gives you EC261 rights only AFAIK.

• Andrew H says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:54

  Question about Virgin 2 for 1 voucher which has just appeared in my Virgin Red account:

  The 2 years does that apply to completion of a return flight (I know it only gives 2 for 1 on one leg, but could the return from NY, say, be after the 2 years if the outbound was before).

  Are they sticking with the 2 years, as I see they are extending existing tier levels and voucher validity by 6 months?

  • AL says:

    14 Sep14 September 09:18

    WhatsApp them and they’ll confirm the dates for you, so you have them in writing. They’re super helpful 🙂

• TPB says:

  14 Sep14 September 08:55

  Any experience of using AMEX Platinum travel insurance for claiming on smashed iPhone? (I have separate mob insurance through bank but keen to avoid as it’s always slow and painful with LSG)

  • JDB says:

    14 Sep14 September 09:10

    Not tried to claim, but I think there is a £500 item limit (£2k total), so that doesn’t cover many iPhones. If you have another policy that covers it, you need to tell Amex anyway.

    • Anuj says:

      14 Sep14 September 10:04

      They’ll probably pay for apply to fix it, not replace the entire phone.

  • Rich says:

    14 Sep14 September 10:29

    Not Plat, but I claimed for one through Gold (purchase protection) and it was a breeze. Just submitted the repair quote from Apple (pretty much the cost of a new phone!) and they paid up quickly.

    • Tracey says:

      14 Sep14 September 10:36

      Apple more than likely will swap it out for a refurbished phone.

      • Rich says:

        14 Sep14 September 10:46

        Yes, I think so. I didn’t get it repaired in the end. It was a smashed back, and I figured it would only lose its waterproofness. Covered in sticky tape and put it in a case instead!

  • xcalx says:

    14 Sep14 September 10:44

    I claimed for a 3 week old I phone through the Plat insurance, at first they wanted to replace with an “as new” phone, when I explained the age of the phone it was replaced with new.

  • Steven says:

    14 Sep14 September 13:10

    If you have curve metal, this includes mobile phone cover.

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