The HfP chat thread – Sunday 19th September

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• u old git says:

  19 Sep19 September 08:56

  thank you to Rob and you guys. I had a 2 4 1 voucher expiring in February 2022, as suggested I booked a one way economy LGW to MAN and cancelled after 24 hour period. Phoned and got 2 4 1 rewards flights to Canada in August, apart from the 40 minute telephone wait it was an easy transaction. Thanks again

  • JohnT says:

    19 Sep19 September 09:08

    Just got through to Avios team – dialling at 8am on the dot – took 20mins to get through (after 2 x 1hour waits yesterday). Booked a Gatwick flight for April using FTV including a 241, just hope some pilots are working there by then! Bonus (had missed this) is that all remaining Avios and cash are being returned to accounts! He also kindly refunded my other FTV Avios back (US internal so trivial cash).

  • BJ says:

    19 Sep19 September 10:33

    Anybody have any thoughts on how long this roundabout may last? Any possibility BA might scrap it or reform it given travel options and opportunities are increasing? One thing I have missed: what happens if OP now cancels the Canada flight, is the September 23 expiration now permanent even if voucher is returned to BAEC accounts or are we then stuck with requesting FTV to keep the voucher alive in eventnof further changes or cancellations?

    • Anna says:

      19 Sep19 September 10:52

      You would think it might occur to them that if they made it possible to use the FTVs online, people would be less likely to ultimately request refunds!

      • BJ says:

        19 Sep19 September 11:06

        One thing I’m sure of is that it has already occurred to them that even when you request a refund you’ll be back online within hours feeding them some more cash to fund your next getaway 🙂

        • Nick says:

          19 Sep19 September 11:13

          @Anna it has of course occurred to them. But there are enormous technical difficulties in doing that… so they’ve had to trade that off against the inconvenience of having to call. Everyone at BA would much prefer online serviceability, and if it were achievable, they’d have done it.

        • Rob says:

          19 Sep19 September 11:37

          No technical difficulty in putting back the button which lets you cancel an Avios booking online ….

• Kevin B says:

  19 Sep19 September 08:58

  Amex BA Business card: You don’t get the bonus if you already hold a Amex business card. Is that at the time of application or at the time when you’ve spent the required amount and the bonus is awarded? I.e. If you get a Gold business during your first 3 months of having the BA Business, will you still get the BA business bonus?

  • Memesweeper says:

    19 Sep19 September 13:18

    Time of application determines eligibility

• Jenster says:

  19 Sep19 September 09:00

  The pain of trying to get through to BA on the phone, ahhhhhh!! Just how I love spending my Saturday and Sunday mornings at 8am, then to get cut off after 1 hour.
  We are travelling in 3 weeks and never received our e-ticket yet, (booking was made about 3 months ago), it’s showing in manage my booking but with no luggage allowance.
  Do you think they are just working their way through all the bookings and the e-ticket will come through? Is it formally booked/confirmed until this happens?

  • Sam G says:

    19 Sep19 September 09:02

    It’s still booked and at this stage they can’t actually do anything to chase it so no real point calling in . Maybe try call back within 1 week of departure and make sure the CVV hasn’t dropped out of the booking otherwise only need to worry 24hrs before. The app is the best place to check as you can see if you have a ticket number or not

    • Jenster says:

      19 Sep19 September 09:14

      Thanks Sam G, just getting anxious as changed this trip a few times due to covid and want to make sure it happens! Will keep checking, I am sure they have a back log and are working through.
      Gone are the days of booking a holiday stress free, it’s all fun and games 🙂

      • Sam G says:

        19 Sep19 September 09:35

        This was often a “feature” of BA trips long before COVID if you played around with your ticket but only once have I had to call in and get them to force it through at T-24hrs so hopefully yours will get done soon. Enjoy the trip!

  • Grimz says:

    19 Sep19 September 11:20

    Have you been charged for it? I had this issue recently but it turned out it wasn’t ticketed because I hadn’t been charged.

    • Jenster says:

      19 Sep19 September 14:58

      @Grimz I paid for the taxes ages ago on another booking then changed it to this new booking so yes all paid for although we are due £45 back for the change we made. I will try calling again tomorrow, I am sure it will all be ok

  • Pid says:

    19 Sep19 September 17:52

    Definitely make sure it is fixed at least 24 hrs in Advance. I nearly got caught out and missed my flight as they had not ticketed the outward flight.

• Fair Dinkum says:

  19 Sep19 September 09:15

  What is the lowest x/10 score on the Amex eligibility checker worth actually making an application on? I have a younger sibling (mid 20s) that has some how managed to avoid having any financial product other than a current account and is getting results between 2-4/10 for most of the cards – is it worth making an application or are they so likely to fail it would damage their almost non-existent file?

  My self interest is a referral but don’t want to cause problems 🙂

  • LS says:

    19 Sep19 September 09:26

    Amex is unfortunately not good for those with poor credit. Poor credit includes those without a credit history.
    I would recommend they open a small or starter credit card with whoever they have a current account with, and just have it on the side for emergencies. Just having the presence of an account not in default will help in the longer term, including with mortgages. As will things like a mobile phone contract.
    I would not recommend trying the amex route at the moment until this is done

  • Andrew says:

    19 Sep19 September 09:55

    Seems quite low.

    Has he checked his credit file somewhere like Clearscore for unexpected content? There are definite benefits to being on the voters roll, having a contract mobile and the current account.

    Perhaps, as a starting point, a credit card from his own bank is the better decision. He may be automatically approved without the need for a credit check.

    • David says:

      19 Sep19 September 10:29

      Are all siblings male, Andrew?

  • Anna says:

    19 Sep19 September 10:59

    No credit history is not always an issue IME. Is there also an address check at the application stage which might influence the outcome? Possibly also having separate household income might be a factor, although unless you are married to that person there is no way Amex can make them liable for your debts so I’m not 100% sure how it works!

  • Jonathan says:

    19 Sep19 September 11:17

    You could always try applying, the worst they’ll do is say no. Re-applying again in the future won’t be too much of a problem, once they’ve (assumingly) got their finances into a better situation.

    If they’ve got a low score, the credit limit offered won’t be good at all, but everyone has to build up trust before more doors start to open.

    Someone could have an income of say £10K per month, and only have a credit limit of £1K, then another person could have an income of say £1K per month, and have a £10K limit, because the person with the higher limit has proved themselves trustworthy with money being lent to them, and the person with the high income could have no history whatsoever of being lent money, or just make credit lenders dubious about lending due to their credit history

    In summary, you can always apply, it was mentioned here (at some point this year on the chat thread, can’t remember when though) that some people have applied for Amex cards the year they turn 18, because of the member since number that shows on the cards, so someone born in December, could apply and then keep an Amex card until their passing. I once worked in a petrol station for a time, and saw a customer’s card showing a joining date of I think 1975 ! (This was about several years ago this happened, I can’t remember much other than that)

• Matthew says:

  19 Sep19 September 09:24

  Sorry – asking for my wife! Does she need to register the day 2 Randox PCR kit before she goes or just immediately before taking the test and sending it back when she is home? Thank you HFPers.

  • Matthew says:

    19 Sep19 September 09:24

    I wasn’t sure whether registering the kit ‘activates’ the ref number for the PLF.

    • APPL says:

      19 Sep19 September 09:38

      Pretty sure you can only register after taking the test, as one of the questions is date and time when the test was taken.

    • Ikaz says:

      19 Sep19 September 09:42

      No need to activate until you take it, you can even wait until you fill in your PLF to buy the test

      • Matthew says:

        19 Sep19 September 09:44

        Perfect, thank you.

• stevenhp1987 says:

  19 Sep19 September 09:27

  Been in France for the past week and a bit.

  Been to three different hotels. Not once were our vaccine passport checked at check-in or at the restaurant/bar.

  Tourist attractions in France were religiously checking it. In Germany it was hit and miss. When asked in Germany they did accept the NHS app.

  We were comped free breakfast at the Crowne Plaza in Lille this morning for our one night redemption stay. Is this normal? Spire elite.

  • David says:

    19 Sep19 September 10:32

    CPs will often give comp breakfast and/or lounge access with higher status from my experience, but not a guaranteed benefit.

  • David says:

    19 Sep19 September 10:34

    Meant to add: so can be very variable

• Paul says:

  19 Sep19 September 09:47

  BA premium plus question.
  At start of September I got an email offer of spend x get 5000 Avios. I clicked the link and had confirmation. I deleted everything as most Amex deals appear under my offers. But no sign of of it now!

  Did anyone else get this offer and can confirm the details.

  • VerdantBacon says:

    19 Sep19 September 09:53

    Not sure if there are different versions of the offer, but I got spend £5k get 10k Avios on my BAPP. Spend by 30th November.

• Tom says:

  19 Sep19 September 09:54

  I’d be grateful if anyone knows the answer to this question as a fully vaccinated passenger.

  If I fly back from Antigua (a green list country) and wish to fly out again to another green list country (Morocco) the following day – is this allowed. Can I just take my ‘day 2 PCR’ test as soon as I land back in London and request a rapid result to be sure I’m fine to go off again.

  • ChrisBCN says:

    19 Sep19 September 10:22

    If you’ve left the country before the end of day two, you don’t have to take the test. You can reuse the day two code when you next fill out a PLF to get back to the UK.

    • Tracey says:

      19 Sep19 September 11:15

      Agreed. You have to have bought the test, but you don’t need to use it. You can use the code (again) on your future return to the UK.

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