The HfP chat thread – Saturday 25th September

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• Lula says:

  25 Sep25 September 08:09

  have flights to Thailand booked for Nov (returning from Singapore), for which BA have cancelled the outbound. They were booked at T – 355 using a 241 that expires next April. It doesn’t look like 241s are going to be extended again, so I’m contemplating exchanging for a FTV.

  On redeeming the FTV, do both the outbound and return flights need to be available? Or can I do them 1 at a time by calling up, like you can when using the 241?

  • Memesweeper says:

    25 Sep25 September 10:59

    There’s nothing in the T&Cs that says you can’t, but BA practice and staff training might make this practically very difficult, or impossible. You’d be entitled to it though under BWC so if you have enough time on your hands and are up for a fight you could try? Having pushed back on BA for a couple of cancelled bookings they didn’t want to follow the legal rules on I’d say you’d need to be of a calm temperament and time rich when trying to get anything “off script” done.

    • Lula says:

      25 Sep25 September 12:22

      Thank you for replying. I’m currently not time rich but planning a 6 month holiday so maybe I will attempt it.

    • Lula says:

      25 Sep25 September 12:41

      I just braved it and called BA. Got through pretty quickly and they confirmed I can book outbound when it becomes available and then add return with the FTV.

      • GillyDee says:

        25 Sep25 September 15:27

        Thanks for braving it! I’m in the same situation – good to know.

      • Polly says:

        26 Sep26 September 13:41

        Well done, Tnx for letting us know. Must have got a nice csa

• Mr. AC says:

  25 Sep25 September 08:22

  Iceland question. We’re planning to take a trip in mid October (before half-term) with my SO. Ideally I’d love to find some cosy hotel or house to rent so we can spend quality time together (pregnant so last opportunity to relax for a while). Ideal situation in my head is that we’re somewhere remote where it’s beautiful during the day when we just look outside but we can stay cosy, and a good location for looking at the Northern Lights during the night if we’re lucky. A fireplace in the room / house is an absolute must – I know that’s a tall order…
  Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? And maybe a place like this in UK for that matter (without the Northern Lights angle obviously).

  • meta says:

    25 Sep25 September 08:44

    The most remote areas in Iceland are Westfjords and best chances to see Northern lights. Facilities are really basic once you move away from Reykjavik and the Golden Triangle. Closer to Reykjavik there is Ranga Hotel (part of SLH). However, if it’s cloudy there won’t be much to look at during the day.

  • Simon Miller says:

    25 Sep25 September 08:55

    I stayed at the Ion Adventure Hotel a couple of years ago which may fit the bill? I think it was called something else when I stayed though. It really is in the middle of nowhere!

  • John says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:20

    We stayed at the Hotel Budir waaaay back when (it would have been about 2010). It was absolutely wonderful at the time and would have ticked many of your boxes. It’s a couple of hours drive from Reykjavik, in an amazing location. Might be worth a look, though you’ll want to check out people’s more recent experiences!

  • GJS says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:37

    I haven’t stayed, but I have bookmarked Torfhus Retreat for a future visit. Worth a look, although pricey if I recall.

  • Sandgrounder says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:41

    An hour from Reykjavik and by UK standards Iceland feels remote, check out a dark sky map online and you will see how quickly the light pollution drops off. There are stacks of cabins with fireplaces on Airbnb to suit all budgets, if that’s the kind of thing you are looking for. Just load the car up with shopping and set off.

  • Mr. AC says:

    25 Sep25 September 10:10

    Thank you everyone, all excellent recommendations.

• Angus says:

  25 Sep25 September 08:27

  Can you collect Avios and Nectar simultaneously on the same purchase by linking my nectar account to a retailer and then using a link the same supplier from t meh BA Exec App?

  • Rob says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:01

    Works fine, yes, if the Nectar points are from a dedicated partnership eg Argos.

    • AJA says:

      25 Sep25 September 11:17

      I have missed out on a far number of Avios then. I didn’t know you could do that. You learn something new every day.

• Jason says:

  25 Sep25 September 08:32

  Morning

  I remember reading some horror stories with new Barclays premier customers – should my first deposit be my BACS salary? Don’t want my account locked…

  Thanks

  • Dave says:

    25 Sep25 September 08:40

    I’ve never paid a salary in and it hasn’t been an issue.

    • Gary says:

      25 Sep25 September 09:00

      +1, don’t think They really check once account opened

    • Jason says:

      25 Sep25 September 09:00

      How do you fund the account?

      • Gary says:

        25 Sep25 September 09:07

        Just left some money sitting there fr account opening, but didn’t switch salary BACS

        • Colin says:

          25 Sep25 September 11:34

          Did not transfer salary ( paid with my HR) but did transfer the exact amount each month to Barclays, hope to get the 25k Pts in a week. Have used account a bit but not fully. Must be doing right they sent me the premier account Summer Cocktail kit last week.

• Paul Pogba says:

  25 Sep25 September 08:34

  Sainsbury are emailing a 1,000 Nectar point (625 Avios) offer for first use of their SmartShop app. Glad I was too lazy to use the last 500 point offer 🙂

• Rma says:

  25 Sep25 September 08:41

  Richie, thank you for your reply yesterday about using e vouchers with the same family name.

  • Nick says:

    25 Sep25 September 10:49

    Indeed, but his answer was incorrect. E-vouchers can actually be used by anyone regardless of name. FTV is only for the original passengers. Trouble is, it’s BA systems rather than you that decides which one you get. Most cash bookings go as e-vouchers now but not all.

    • Richie says:

      25 Sep25 September 13:11

      Thank you for the further information which importantly clarifies flexibility that I was not aware of. I did cancel a flihjt booking and strangeley got an FTV, I did pursue an eVoucher instead and am glad it was changed.

• Britbronco says:

  25 Sep25 September 08:44

  I didn’t receive any weekly offers on my nectar card this week. Highly unusual. Anyone else?

  • mark2 says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:04

    I have now got the MyNectar prices which look quite interesting, esp with 1000 points for first use of SmartShop.
    The fly in the ointment is that they had no stock of basic own label which I am now offered 40% off when I called in this week.
    I know that all supermarkets are short of stock, but it is counter-productive to make offers that cannot be fulfilled.

    • John says:

      25 Sep25 September 10:01

      They have been giving me offers for some products which have never been in stock in my branch for several months

  • AJA says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:05

    I only received 6 this week. Normally get 20!

  • davef says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:18

    None for me, only the smartshop which is pointless since they deliver for a quid. Would cost me more in diesel to go to the store to use the smartshop

• Tony1 says:

  25 Sep25 September 09:01

  Nice small quote in Times today from Rob

  About the Chase account in the Money section

  • Harrier25 says:

    25 Sep25 September 09:39

    What did he say? “Leave well alone and move on. No MS opportunities here!”

    • Rob says:

      25 Sep25 September 10:17

      I wrote some stuff which was fare more insightful (S75 issues if you do all your spend on a debit card for a year etc) but it wasn’t used.

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