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The HfP chat thread – Monday 20th September

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We are running this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

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General

Comments (508)

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

  • BearingUp says:
    20 Sep20 September 15:30

    Hi all,
    I seem to recall reading on here that Virgin Atlantic CC+ doesn’t apply a FX fee for transactions abroad in euros, amongst a select band of others.
    However, on reading sec 13 of the agreement it doesn’t mention the exclusion and specifically states 2.99% will be applied.
    Where can I find confirmation of the waiving of the fee please?

    • Guernsey Globetrotter says:
      20 Sep20 September 15:48

      In their T&C’s the key part is 13.3 where it says “… we will add a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee for foreign currency conversions (as set out in our Tariff)”. I can’t immediately find the Tariff document but online they state clearly “If you use your card to make a purchase or withdraw cash in Euros, Swedish Kronor or Romanian Lei when you’re in one of the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), we won’t charge you a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee.”
      https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/service/credit-card/messages/using-your-card-abroad.jsp

  • YC says:
    20 Sep20 September 15:56

    Anyone not targeted with Creation free fx for sept but still got the savings? Is this also for just EURs or all currencies? Thanks in advance!

  • Damian says:
    20 Sep20 September 16:04

    Good news! The US is relaxing travel restrictions for passengers from the UK and European Union, ending an 18-month ban.
    From November, passengers will be allowed to travel to the US if they are fully vaccinated and undergo testing and contact tracing, officials said.

    • Richie says:
      20 Sep20 September 16:08

      Is it on the US gov website?

    • Vit says:
      20 Sep20 September 16:40

      Been following this for a while as a very good friend is getting married on the 30th Oct! I guess there is no way around it that they are letting people in earlier. 🙁

    • Roy says:
      20 Sep20 September 21:14

      Interestingly, it _seems_ like the plan is to align the rules for all countries such that vaccinated travellers can visit and unvaccinated travellers cannot.

      So although this is a relaxation of the rules for those of us living in European countries (and other countries subject to the travel ban), if I understand correctly, it is actually a _tightening_ of the rules for people in those countries that were previously _not_ subject to the travel ban.

      roy

  • George K says:
    20 Sep20 September 16:24

    Hey folks – after having to postpone it twice during the pandemic, I’m finally doing a run to Barra this Friday with a couple of friends. Very excited! It looks like we’ll have just shy of four hours on the island itself and wanted to ask the collective if there was a recommendation as to how to spend them, besides pitching up at the airport cafe (which is probably what we’ll do if it ends up chucking it down..)

    Any and all comments welcome!

    • Rich says:
      20 Sep20 September 16:39

      If you can get to Castlebay, the ferry trip to the island is fun (and free!).

    • Rob says:
      20 Sep20 September 17:29

      I seem to remember Genghis hired a driver?

    • Wollhouse says:
      20 Sep20 September 17:32

      The airport café is closed! They’re renovating the whole airport and it’s shut until then. If you want to hire bikes, tony was brilliant and will drop off and collect for £2.50 so I imagine he’d deliver to the airport. 07931 083856 we had a fantastic meal in Kismul in Castlebay. (Definitely need to book) And after our flight home was cancelled due to weather, Loganair put us up in the Craigard hotel’s flat and we had a fantastic meal in the hotel restaurant. The beach over the dunes behind the airport is stunning. We swam last weekend. It was COLD but life affirming 😉 so, hire bikes, ride to castlebay to eat in one direction and you can drop bikes off there or ride back the other half of the loop and have bikes collected from the airport. Enjoy!

      • George K says:
        20 Sep20 September 18:47

        Thank you ! Gutted about the airport cafe being closed, but maybe that helps us get to Castlebay quicker… Kismul is showing an amended service from 4 to 9 (!) which doesn’t help us as we’re on the 4.15 flight back. Looks like we’re out of luck in all fronts! Might end up getting a taxi to Castlebay and just roam around there for a bit before heading back 🙁 Gift shop better be open!

    • N says:
      20 Sep20 September 20:02

      +1 for Kismul

  • Rma says:
    20 Sep20 September 16:34

    Re entry to the US for fully vaccinated passengers, does anyone know what the rules will be for children?

  • Phil says:
    20 Sep20 September 16:45

    There’s probably a nursery rhyme about this, but…

    There’s a hole in my runway (St Lucia) – a Delta aircraft took off a little aggressively and melted a hole in the tarmac.

    Due to fly home today on BA – depending on whether the hole is fixed and the incoming plane comes in from Bridgetown (where is was diverted to).

    Any recommendations on best site to track flight info? The UVF site is pretty rubbish.

  • Anna says:
    20 Sep20 September 16:51

    Finally – dummy booking to NYC with new 241 showing a message saying that additional seats are available on one of the selected flights. This is not turning out to be that great, tbh! This is the only destination I have been able to see extra availability on for next summer.

  • Phil says:
    20 Sep20 September 16:54

    Does anyone know how quickly transferring Amex points to Virgin Atlantic takes? Is it immediate?

    • JSemity says:
      20 Sep20 September 16:58

      yes, I believe so

    • Voltron says:
      20 Sep20 September 18:45

      I did a amex to virgin transfer couple of days ago, had to phone up amex and points were transferred instantly

    • Peter K says:
      20 Sep20 September 18:48

      Depends if it is your first time. It takes longer if it is.

    • Travel Strong says:
      20 Sep20 September 22:22

      Always call first time. It will be instant if sorted by an agent. After that, you can self service online with instant transfers.

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