The HfP chat thread – Monday 27th September

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

• gav says:

  27 Sep27 September 10:23

  Just received my Amex Gold rewards card. Should there be a mention of the 30,000 points for spending 3k in first 3 months? I can’t see the offer on my account at all.

  • Travel Strong says:

    27 Sep27 September 10:32

    Standard tracker can be intermittent. No tracker for bonus offers IME. Do the spend and only worry / raise with amex if it doesn’t then post (…it’ll post).

  • Rob says:

    27 Sep27 September 11:51

    No. Once you’ve started spending a tracker should appear online though.

• Richard says:

  27 Sep27 September 10:30

  Hi. Just received my Platinum card. Can any one help me with Priority pass question as had confusing info from Amex and PP on phone? Do Amex automatically enrol me or do I need to enrol personally. If the latter how? Thanks

  • Reney says:

    27 Sep27 September 10:44

    you will get a card in the post some time later, no action needed. See other chats in this earlier today.

    • Richard says:

      27 Sep27 September 11:24

      Thanks very much Reney. I spoke to PP who said it should happen automatically but if I got enrolment number from Amex they could set up straightaway. Spoke to Amex who didn’t seem to know anything about enrolment codes or process!

      • Pete M says:

        27 Sep27 September 11:29

        Did you speak to someone in Brighton, Richard? If not, I’d call again and ask to speak to them.

    • Alex says:

      27 Sep27 September 12:32

      As Reney said. No need for all those phone calls.

      Usually arrives within a week-10 days.

      • Pete M says:

        27 Sep27 September 12:48

        Unless Richard wants to use the PP benefits tomorrow…?

        • Alex says:

          27 Sep27 September 12:54

          That’s not relevant. You don’t sign up for the Platinum so you have instant access to Priority Pass.

          And in fact, Richard asked if the enrollment is automatic or not and the answer to that is that yes, it is.

        • Richard says:

          27 Sep27 September 13:00

          That’s great thanks everyone. Quite new to the points world so really appreciate the info that those of you with more experience provide through these comments pages. Not travelling until 16/10 so all should be good

  • Reney says:

    27 Sep27 September 15:06

    Richard, I suggest you go to the earlier chat today on this and take a screen shot on how to get a virtual card if your card has not arrived yet.

    Your travel date is some time away, so should be fine. But having the screen shot on advice provided already saves you asking again if you get close fo travel date and nothing has turned up.

• Rh says:

  27 Sep27 September 10:54

  Morning, for those of you who know a bit more about Dubai than me. If I was to get a BA flight that lands at 07:45, do you think I would be able to make a flight to Male that departs at 10:15 or would that be cutting it a bit fine? From memory the Emirates flights go from another terminal. Would 2.5 hours be too little time as we will need to collect checked bags? Thanks.

  • Richie says:

    27 Sep27 September 11:09

    Is the flight always on time?

    • meta says:

      27 Sep27 September 11:24

      I’d say too tight. Bags can be delayed, etc. You also need to present yourself at Emirates check-in 90min before the flight, go through security 60min before the flight. I’d only attempt this if hand baggage only.

  • ChrisC says:

    27 Sep27 September 11:30

    You don’t have 2.5 hours for a start.

    You have that less whatever the Emirates bag drop deadline is.

    • Rh says:

      27 Sep27 September 11:48

      Good points. I won’t risk that then. Thanks for the replies.

  • fivebobbill says:

    27 Sep27 September 12:12

    Not a chance!!
    I landed in Dubai on an Emirates flight just over 3 weeks ago and it took a full 30 minutes just to walk from the gate to the security check!

    • fivebobbill says:

      27 Sep27 September 12:18

      Also, on return, also with Emirates. The airlines have been tasked with checking all the official paperwork, PLF’s, PCR’s, Covid Certs etc, there were only 10 to 15 parties in front of me in the queue at check-in, but it still took over 45 minutes to get my luggage sorted and boarding pass.
      Some of the other queues I seen had so many in them I couldn’t see the end of the line, god knows how long it took them to get through!

      • Rh says:

        27 Sep27 September 13:05

        Thanks. I will choose the later flight and allow plenty of time then.

• Mr. AC says:

  27 Sep27 September 11:26

  Hi folks! I know that Randox an Nationwide Pathology are currently considered best for Day 2 / 8 tests. Can anyone recommend a good option for Test to Release in Central London? Main idea is not too expensive but with a fast result. Last time I paid 100 quid at Boots and they took 3 days (so in essence we only “won” an extra 2 days of freedom).

  • Pete M says:

    27 Sep27 September 11:33

    Gosh, I’d forgotten this is even still a thing! I’d say Collinson, for £95, at St Pancras, the O2 or City Airport. They say “Same day results for tests taken before 12pm”. And I think there’s 20% off with AmEx.

    • KS says:

      27 Sep27 September 12:25

      +1 for Collinson. A friend had a test in the morning at 10 am, I’ll let you know how long it takes to get the result.

  • Cats are best says:

    27 Sep27 September 11:51

    Biogroup have a few walk-in centres in Central London, various options for cost-speed of result.
    https://biogroup-laboratory.co.uk/

  • Sarah says:

    27 Sep27 September 13:57

    Haven’t needed Test to Release since June, but I used DAM Health when I did and they worked fine. They have a number of clinics in London and offer a results by midnight service for £69 https://www.dam-health.com/day-5-test-to-release

    • Mr. AC says:

      27 Sep27 September 16:49

      This looks like a winner based on the price… Thank you!

• Sandra says:

  27 Sep27 September 11:55

  Data point – although there was no tracker for the BA Blue bonus points spend (mine was £1k for 1500 points) I got a email from Amex last night to say I’d just used my offer, first I’ve had in a long while when I’ve used an offer. Now switching to PRG spend. Tried to save both the Selfridges and Harvey Nicks offer on my PRG card but get a message saying sorry, unable to save at the moment so tried others at random (with no limit on save number) and same message so it seems Amex have a IT problem this morning.

  • elguiri says:

    27 Sep27 September 12:37

    I had same issues this morning on selfridges and harvey nicks offers on BAPP

    • Sandra says:

      27 Sep27 September 12:59

      Has saved them now so glitch must be sorted, just need a Fortnums offer and that will be my Xmas shopping completed!

• Paul says:

  27 Sep27 September 12:04

  Hi all, I appreciate this may be a question that doesn’t have an easy answer and no one has a crystal ball, and this is buyer’s choice but wanted to seek advice/opinions anyway!

  Had a holiday booked for me and the missus to Peru, Brazil and Argentina for May 2020, then postponed to May this year and now May 2022. Previously had PE with BA to Lima and CW back from Buenos Aires on a 2-4-1. I’m now considering booking PE on Iberia from Madrid to Lima (no BA flights) and then CW Buenos Aires to LHR back. My questions are:

  Am I better getting this on one ticket? I appreciate I will have to call and prob wait a long time to do so. The reason I would think this is in the unlikely event all 3 countries are off the red list by April and BA start to fly there again (so could go direct and use 2-4-1), I would save £70 by cancelling only 1 booking than 2.

  Is there any point in even booking at all? If as expected the countries stay red, I wouldn’t be going anyway. If they go off the red list, is there a likelihood of BA resuming flights? The only reason I would book now is in case they go off red list and then there’s no availability.

  Sorry, I know it’s probably a question only I can answer as to what I want to do, but hoping some of you may have more of an idea as to likelihood of BA resuming to South America in 6 months or so.

  Thanks, Paul

  • Richie says:

    27 Sep27 September 12:13

    I did fly LGW-LIM on BA, the flight wasn’t full. It’s a long sector, I doubt it’ll be back for May. IB are operating A350 aircraft at peak times between Madrid and Lima, which would be a good experience. Other countries, America and Spain, don’t have Peru on a red list. Who knows what the UK government will do.

    • Pete M says:

      27 Sep27 September 12:40

      I think it’ll be a long while before BA returns to LIM, remember it’s a much smaller airline than it was in 2019 and I don’t get the impression this was a super profitable route. But I would definitely hope Peru and other South American countries come off the red list in the next few months – it’s getting a bit ridiculous…

  • JDB says:

    27 Sep27 September 12:45

    None of these points are very easy to answer! We have a trip planned to Argentina in Feb so hoping it will come off the red list but may be over optimistic. Things there are finally improving very rapidly, vaccination rates are accelerating and borders opening. The BA flights to EZE have been rescheduled to go via GRU on an A350 which may help you. This will be our 12th trip to Argentina and surrounding countries, so one observation I would make is that unless you are going for an extended trip, say 3 weeks+ it’s quite ambitious to visit and enjoy those three countries in the same trip.

• MiddleEngland says:

  27 Sep27 September 12:10

  Does anyone know if you can take an antigen test at LHR for fit to fly return from Mad 48 hrs later or must it be done in the country of departure?

  • Simon says:

    27 Sep27 September 12:15

    You can definitely do this. We did it in the Car Park at LHR before a quick 48 hour trip to Mallorca.

• AndyGWP says:

  27 Sep27 September 12:22

  I’m unfamiliar with Household accounts and RFS pricing. I’ve tried a search and found this article, but its not covered here: https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/04/11/how-do-british-airways-household-accounts-work/

  If RFS pricing is valid based on an avios being earned in the past 12 months, how does that work with household accounts? Is it based on anyone in the household earning a point?

  • Pete M says:

    27 Sep27 September 12:31

    Sadly no, it’s individual.

    • AndyGWP says:

      27 Sep27 September 12:41

      Thanks Pete – I thought that was the case, although:

      a) I always travel with the people in my household, and my partner hasn’t earned for 12 months, but I would normally redeem the tickets anyways – so in theory, it shouldn’t matter as I have earned in the past 12 months

      b) in the past month, my partner in the household account who hasn’t earned any avios for over 12 months, has had 1 point deposited in their account described as “Avios Reward Flight Saver Activation”. Is this a move by BA to give all members RFS for the next 12 months (I don’t recall reading about this anywhere?)

      • Pete M says:

        27 Sep27 September 12:58

        Sure – you should be able to redeem on behalf of anyone in your household account and use “your” RFS even if you are not travelling.

        Really interesting point on the 1 Avios described as a “Flight Saver Activation”. I hadn’t noticed that before, but doing a dummy booking it does appear to activate RFS on the individual account within my household that hasn’t earned any Avios in the past year. Which is nice!

      • AJA says:

        27 Sep27 September 14:24

        There were reports on FT of people receiving1 Avios with the wording “Avios Reward Flight Saver Activation” and yes that is exactly what it was for. It allows you to book RFS fares even if you hadn’t earned any Avios in the last 12 months. Conveniently it also automatically resets the 3 year Avios expiry counter too.

        • AndyGWP says:

          27 Sep27 September 14:32

          Thanks to you both for confirming 🙂

  • Tracey says:

    27 Sep27 September 13:32

    If there is a gold member in your HHA then I think you are ok.

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