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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 22nd September

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Comments (644)

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

  • DAJ says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:37

    I have requested a FTV for an ex-EU BA holiday via the online form.

    I appreciate that the voucher can take up to 7 days to process but has anyone got any recent experience of how long it actually takes?

    The reason for asking is that I have another BA holiday booked which requires payment in 8 days time and the value of my ex EU trip is significant and I would really like to apply it to my upcoming holiday balance but will miss out in being able to do so if the FTV does not arrive in time!

    TIA

    • Harry T says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:38

      Ring and ask them to generate an FTV and apply it your other holiday.

    • Andrew H says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:18

      My FTVs have appeared in ~15 mins

    • AL says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:44

      Most people get them quickly. Recently, mine needed to be pushed through. Calling them – or the US line if they’re being super slow on the UK line – sounds like your best bet. They should be able to sort it out there and then given its create an FTV, apply it and take payment for the balance.

  • Nick G says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:38

    Any suggestions on hotels with club lounges that allow a child aged 7 in in the Middle East for a a break preferably Doha? Our usual go to hotels such as the RC Doha now have new rules that only aged 21 and above are allowed entry. Doing some digging with others there’s such a disparity that now I can’t seem to find one that allows a child supervised at all times of course evening during cocktail hours anymore. The IC Doha now want to charge for a child who barely eats and drinks as much as an adult on top of the room rate for entry.

    • Harry T says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:41

      Does anyone benefit from a young child being present during an evening cocktail hour in a lounge?

      • Sean says:
        22 Sep22 September 08:47

        I’ve never had a problem with kids in lounges or on flights. Adults on the other hand can be much worse – drunk, loud, taking calls out loud. Plenty of well behaved children and parents who manage them.

        • Yorkie Aid says:
          22 Sep22 September 08:54

          The well behaved children are not the problem!

          • J says:
            22 Sep22 September 09:57

            Nor are the well behaved adults. Unfortunately most adults don’t have anyone to manage them, so their behaviour tends to be worse than the kids.

        • Nick G says:
          22 Sep22 September 08:54

          Took the words out of my mouth. Always a contentious issue. I partly understand if the child isn’t well behaved and that’s someones experience but as you say I’ve been more annoyed by adults behaving like children than badly behaved children!

          • Nick G says:
            22 Sep22 September 08:58

            And of course we all think our child is well behaved but in public and in places such as lounges or flights he actually is very well behaved. Back to the point any suggestions folks as the more research I do the harder it now is to find a decent hotel with lounge, budget wise say £250/night ish

        • BJ says:
          22 Sep22 September 08:55

          +1

      • BuildBackBetter says:
        22 Sep22 September 09:20

        +1. Glad that hotels have banned kids. Even as a parent, I’d hate to have kids running around the executive lounge. It’s not just running around, it’s the noise and constant chatter.

        • Nick G says:
          22 Sep22 September 09:26

          Banned kids? Because you never a kid once. Sigh….

        • Nick G says:
          22 Sep22 September 09:28

          Hotels have banned kids? Because you were never a kid once? Sigh…..So it’s the running around that annoys you but then it isn’t…..I don’t need to justify that our child doesn’t do that but if that’s your experience hey ho…….

          • JDB says:
            22 Sep22 September 09:37

            Nick, all for well behaved children but I think the issue of hotels not allowing them relates to US corporate paranoia about children being near unsupervised alcohol rather than ‘banning’ children. The US hotel operators don’t care about local rules unless those are stricter than US ones.

          • Nick says:
            22 Sep22 September 09:49

            It’s not so much the individual kid, but often lounges are fed up with bad parents using iPads / phones on loudspeaker to entertain the kids. Making it adults only avoids any issues and therefore confrontations.

      • Jonathan says:
        22 Sep22 September 10:53

        I’d say it’s worse for the kids than the adults! Can’t think of anything more boring for a child than having to sit in a stuffy lounge watching adults drink cocktails! I’d say save the money on the lounge, drink your cocktails by the pool in the day while the kids are doing something they enjoy then go out for dinner in the evening somewhere like the souk where there’s a bit more going on!

        • Rob says:
          22 Sep22 September 11:15

          I can honestly say I’ve never been to a cocktail hour in a hotel lounge which actually served cocktails.

          If it did, we’re not talking about some Downton Abbey drinks party where the men arrive in suits and the women in flowing dresses. You’re talking about a hen party in one corner who booked an executive room because it was cheaper than buying 10 drinks in Wetherspoons and a group of short sleeve white shirted computer server salemen in the other who are in town for a conference.

          Any kids in the room will be perfectly happy running around to find every plate of free crisps that has been left, downing the lot.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            22 Sep22 September 11:54

            “I can honestly say I’ve never been to a cocktail hour in a hotel lounge which actually served cocktails.”

            You’ve been to the wrong hotels Rob

            JWM Marquis Dubai and Hotel Icon HK to name a couple. tbf any hotel with spirits and mixers is serving ‘cocktails’

          • xcalx says:
            22 Sep22 September 13:44

            “You’re talking about a hen party in one corner who booked an executive room because it was cheaper than buying 10 drinks in Wetherspoons ”

            Argh Rob you must have visited the Leeds Marriott on a Friday night. You missed the bit where they leave with all the wine from the fridge.

            A few years ago we used to book in most Fridays, a great mix of folk using the lounge. I’m probably biased (live in Leeds) it’s the friendliest lounge I have visited bar the Grand Hyatt Bali.

          • Rory says:
            23 Sep23 September 00:27

            Can confirm the RC in Doha has 10 hour open bar. Only one in Doha that it’s not just “Happy Hour”

    • Michael C says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:41

      Our son is also 7, and having been on “both sides”, I completely understand both points of view, so just go with what the hotel says. If they say no kids, that’s the atmosphere they want.
      No ME experience, but in Singapore, say, both the Conrad and IC set up separate “family” areas where the parents could still enjoy the cocktails/snacks, but where the kids were also entertained, and that worked brilliantly.
      Having said all that, the loud mobile talkers are STILL the worst!!!!

      • mutley says:
        22 Sep22 September 10:05

        Again, been on both sides, we have 4 boys, a nightmare when younger with constant bickering, now 2 in their twenties, guess who hates kids in the lounge…

        Also one of the boys has special needs, he at 14 will go up to complete strangers and engage in conversation, it always tells me a lot about a person to how he/she reacts to him. Those that engage, I will then intervene after a few minutes and interest him in something else. Those that choose to ignore him, then I tend to let him pester them in the lounge until the flight is called.

      • Michael C says:
        22 Sep22 September 13:26

        Also agree with @TGLoyalty, the Icon bar is quite spectacular. So good, I was a little worried it wasn’t actually included and I’d just spent the week’s budget on cocktails!!

    • roberto says:
      22 Sep22 September 11:57

      Re kids in lounges, try Shangri-la Hotels

  • Olly says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:47

    BA.com question…. I’ve had FTV vouchers unwillingly forced upon me by them, as they wouldn’t refund me the cash from a cancelled trip to NYC earlier in the year for me and the wife. I’ve been trying constantly throughout the last two days of the sale to re-book new flights for November, which, because they’re FTV s, must be done over the phone AND can only be for flights, not holidays. I did manage to get through in the early hours on the first night to an Indian accented rep after about thirty minutes on the umpteenth attempt but the price she gave was more than double the online price. She claimed the prices are fast moving and that was what it was, which I took as nonsense and confirmed it yesterday morning when the prices were the exact same. I tried throughout the day yesterday to speak with them but kept getting the call terminated by them after enduring a two minute expansion message of his busy they were,to go onto saying they were “too busy, try later” This was the same on the Live Chat.
    Can anyone advise me 1. It’s there a alternative, little known number, I can call should I find the prices not to have gone up now the sale has ended? ( I’m a BAEC member but no status)
    2. It’s there any way of getting my FT vouchers converted to a refund due to the inability to actually use them?
    3. A third alternative I’ve not thought of? Many thanks in advance

    • Anna says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:20

      I’m not sure how you had FTVs forced on you, you were either entitled to a refund or you weren’t!
      People have had success calling at different times, 8 am seems to be a relatively good bet.
      I have several FTVs but given the current difficulties I intend to wait until next year to try and use them when BA may have addressed these. If they haven’t, I’ll be requesting that the vouchers be refunded as it’s clearly not realistic to expect people to wait indefinitely to be able to contact them.
      You could try Twitter to ask that your FTVs be refunded as you are struggling to use them, replies are slow but pretty reliable.
      Lastly, what kind of FTVs are they? Presumably cash, if you were hoping to use them for a holiday as opposed to flight only? If they are from a cancelled BA holiday you can email BA to get the cash refunded once you’ve made a new booking.

      • Olly says:
        22 Sep22 September 11:56

        Thanks Anna, the rep on the phone said I couldn’t get a refund only FTVs and that was all I was entitled to. It was a cancellation due to covid travel restrictions. It was flight only booking which I was told could only be used for a flight only booking in the future with a cash value of the previous ticket price and have to book over the phone, which is a ridiculous situation. I have the voucher numbers starting with 215- but they’re not accepted online.
        I will see what Twitter response I get but when I looked at it last night there didn’t seem to be any tweets of that nature so presumed is got the wrong feed. What address do you recommend I try?

        • Memesweeper says:
          22 Sep22 September 13:16

          You were lied to. Is this for a significant sum? Ask for a copy of the call, and demand your money back. The FTV is part of a contract and that can be voided by misrepresentation. When you’ve gathered your evidence consider MCOL. If you win you can then take your money and book what you want for cash. Make sure you add any damages & interest on everything.

          If this sounds like a lot of agro, it is.

          • Lady London says:
            22 Sep22 September 18:00

            +1 under GDPR you have a right to a copy of the call.

            I’m tired of seeing people here, on a relatively knowledgeable forum, say BA put them in a position of being unable despite huge efforts to contact BA for a refund of a booking BA cancelled a flight on, or BA flatly refused a refund.

            I think it’s time people got a copy of the recorded phone call(s) off BAvand proceedee to mcol BA for denial of refund rights and failure to inform passenger of their full rights (both Eu261 and now also in UK law).

            Or, request your refund as you were denied your rights and tell them if they don’t refund (remind them they were supposed to provide refund within 7 days under the legislation when requested) then you will take memesweeper’s steps above.

            If BA fails to produce the recording don’t worry, your own notes made at the time or any relevant emails etc. should suffice.

        • Britbronco says:
          22 Sep22 September 13:53

          Hi Olly, when you say the first booking was cancelled, did BA cancel the flight or did you cancel the booking?

    • AJA says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:38

      1) Are you sure your flight only FTV is only able to be redeemed by phoning? I thought BA converted flight only FTVs so that they could be used online.

      2) You said that you can’t use your FTVs against BA Holidays. I’m not sure that’s true. I only have a FTV from a BA Holidays booking (PNR is the ref) and the email i says I can apply it to a future booking by replying to the email saying apply FTV ref PNR1 against booking ref PNR2. It doesn’t specify it has to be a BA Holidays booking.

      3) Since you think FTVs could not be used against holiday bookings why didn’t you just book online in the sale and ignore the FTVs?

      4) And since the sale ended at midnight last night I think you’ve missed the boat. Sorry 😞

      5) in answer to your second question you could try booking a flight that is likely to be cancelled and apply the FTV towards it. Then if/when it’s cancelled phone up.and ask for cash refund. Trouble is this is a risky option since the announcement yesterday that the USA is opening up I think flight cancellations are less likely to happen.

      • Olly says:
        22 Sep22 September 11:59

        Thanks AJA but too risky for me. I only mentioned in the question the facts as told to me by the rep and condors the night before last as being telephone only and flight only vouchers. Ridiculous that I can’t go online and use them and can’t think of why it is the case, other than try and stiff me for a higher ticket potties than online.

  • DJ says:
    22 Sep22 September 08:55

    Hi,

    How long does it take to have the supplementary card holder’s bonus points applied to the account? (BAPP)

    I have had the card for over 10 days, but still not seeing the points applied to the main card holder’s account.

    Thanks

    • BJ says:
      22 Sep22 September 08:58

      Almost instant on approval usually.

    • Peter K says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:13

      Did you ask for a supplementary during application for the main card? This does not get bonus points. You only get them if applied for after the main card arrives.

      • DJ says:
        22 Sep22 September 09:58

        No, it was after the main application.

        Thanks Anna, at least now I know it’s not just me.

    • Anna says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:22

      I’ve been waiting a couple of weeks now, chat agent said it can take up to 60 days. There seems to be a lot of variation at the moment.

  • Diydegsy says:
    22 Sep22 September 09:09

    Hi I booked 4 flights to Singapore for year end using 2 x 241’s on one booking and BA have moved the flights by one day which is no use to me. Can I just ask for refund of avios and taxes as they moved it or take an e voucher not sure as this will be the first time this has happened?

    • chris1922 says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:17

      Whichever you prefer. Redemptions are fully cancellable and refundable up to 24 hours before departure, minus £35 pp fee.

      • BJ says:
        22 Sep22 September 09:23

        £35 fee would not apply in this case given the flight was changed to the next day by BA.

    • BJ says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:21

      You can ask them to try and find something suitable for you or just request a refund in cash, your vouchers and avios will be returned to your account. No fee will be charged. No need to accept evoucher or FTV. You would only want to consider a FTV if your companion vouchers are close to expiry. The cash refund to your amex could potentially result in a large negative avios balance if you triggered bonus offers previously.

    • Sam G says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:24

      Moved by one day = cancellation = full refund or move to flights at a date of your convenience without needing avios availability

      BA seem to be back to insisting you need to travel outbound within 12 months of your date of booking but your EU261 right is a date at your convenience. Plenty of comments on this if you go back a few days in the chat.

      Personally I’d take the money and run, it’ll be a good while before Singapore is open from the UK without multiple tests and local restrictions on drinking hours, hotel pool 1hr per day slots etc they are only just now seeing a real spike in local cases which has them nervous

  • xcalx says:
    22 Sep22 September 09:25

    Just had (Sept 20) a £12 charge to my IHG card from Morrisons dated 25th May. I checked through Junes statement and noticed I used Morrisons air machine to check tyre pressures and was charged the 50p from NYA air service. Convinced I didn’t do the £12 spend. Have done a fair bit of NSI so probably just have to suck it up.

    • Peter K says:
      22 Sep22 September 09:42

      Were your card details stolen somewhere and the £12 was a test however before larger amounts are put through?
      £12 also sounds suspiciously like a ‘you’ve gone over your credit limit’ fee and it’s had a few months grace before being applied to your account.

      • xcalx says:
        22 Sep22 September 10:03

        Never been over credit limit, £12 transaction was from Morrisons which is strange as I only use Morrisons when The 10% Amex deals are on and for a lot more than £12.

    • AJA says:
      22 Sep22 September 10:14

      I know you don’t want to open an investigation on you card spending habits but if you’ve got a £12 charge from Morrisons that you didn’t do then you should query it as an unrecognised transaction. It could be fraudsters trying to work out if the card is valid. I know its only £12 but it could save you a lot of hassle down the line.

      • xcalx says:
        22 Sep22 September 10:31

        @AJA I think your right. What I can’t understand is why a transaction dated 25th May would show up in Septembers statement.

        • stevenhp1987 says:
          22 Sep22 September 10:44

          Merchants have ~ 6 months to take payment after pre-auth. Most banks will release pre-auth after a week but the money can still be taken.

          They just settled this transaction really late. It happens on occasion.

          Annoying thing with Creation is it shows the original pre-auth date, rather than settled on your account date so it’s hidden at the bottom of your transaction list and is easy to miss!

  • Dave says:
    22 Sep22 September 09:41

    Hi all. Not sure if this has been asked recently but I have an avios booking for Friday I really need to cancel but I cannot get throught to BA Exec Club at all to speak to anyone. Does anyone have a working phone number I can use currently

    • Anna says:
      22 Sep22 September 10:03

      I’ve cancelled an avios booking via Twitter, slow but effective. Keep screenshots of your communications so if it goes past the cancellation time you can prove it’s not your fault.

    • Den says:
      22 Sep22 September 10:07

      I shifted a flight on Monday, after trying various numbers and waiting an hour and then getting the Call Centre has hung up! Try this number, I got through quite quickly! 0207 9493086

  • ianM says:
    22 Sep22 September 09:41

    With car rental prices in USA still mental I was thinking of using TURO….if I paid by AMEX Platinum would that provide insurance cover or would I need separate insurance?

    Any TURO experiences?….they are clearly an Amex partner with some of the offers that have run

    • Blindman says:
      22 Sep22 September 10:11

      Have you looked through Expedia ?

      Hertz seem to have sensible prices and it’s cancellable up to 48 hrs before.

      Direct to Hertz also has sensible prices, but I cannot see any cancellation terms, so I booked via Expedia

    • davefl says:
      22 Sep22 September 16:37

      If you get status on BA (silver via the current promo) you can use the BA car hire site.

      Cheapest I can get a one way rental for 14 days from TX to CA was £1700, the BA silver option knocked a couple of hundred quid off that.

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