The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 6th October

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Graham says:

6 Oct6 October 10:31

Getting infuriated trying to get through to BA Holidays. Any tricks worth trying?

I called at 8am twice and was told the Flight + Hotel team don’t open until 10am?

I have travel scheduled to JFK on 30th Oct with a flight cancelled but the deposit would be due on Saturday so I need to get through sharpish. Folk have noted about the chat function on BA.com but I have never seen this pop up. Is there anywhere I should be looking?

Emailed the contact centre email two weeks ago but nada.
- Graham says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 10:32
  
  Just to clarify I tried again now and was just cut off because they’re too busy.
- Harry T says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 10:39
  
  Chat function should be in the bottom right hand corner on the contact us page of the BA website.
  - Andrew H says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 10:44
    
    Currently chat is too busy as well
    - Andrew H says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 10:46
      
      Keep on trying – I am now number 81 in the queue…
      - Andrew H says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 10:47
        
        Now 82… HEY, how does that work?
      - Graham says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 11:03
        
        Thanks! Need to head out but will try later. Good luck trying to get sorted.
      - Andrew H says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 11:12
        
        Down to number 19 in about half an hour
        
        Less frustrating than holding on a phone
  - Graham says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 11:02
    
    Thanks Harry.
    - Harry T says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 12:18
      
      You’re welcome, Graham. Twitter messaging can also be worth a punt but replies will be slower than chat. Unfortunately, we did find recently that the BAH agents on chat were badly informed about rebooking options and we had to keep persevering until we got through to a great agent on the phone. I hope you have better luck.
Froggee says:

6 Oct6 October 10:35

Anybody else get a letter from Creation today? My one welcomes me to my IHG rewards Club Credit Card. I applied for it on Black Friday when Creation told me they were cancelling my IHG Rewards Club Premium card . That’s almost an Amexesque turnaround time for new card issuance. I have activated it and spent £200 and look forward to my 10,000 bonus IHG points. I’m so tempted to use it to top up Che just to see if they notice but I’m going to be good. So I bought Waitrose gift vouchers on my employee perks website which is totally not MS as I will these use these gift vouchers to buy food.
- Rui N. says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 10:45
  
  The rational thing to do is call them, ask them why you can’t add your new card (that you’ve been so eagerly waiting for!) to Curve, and then ask for compensation when they tell you it’s not possible to do so.
- Andrew says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 11:05
  
  I’ve been trying to open one, but Creation new accounts has been down for maintenance for a few days now.
  - Froggee says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 11:16
    
    You had to get in quickly on Friday. I applied less than an hour after reading my closure letter. The King is dead, long live the King!
    - Anna says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 11:21
      
      Let us know how you get on as the lonely HFP holder of an IHG card which isn’t going to be cancelled in 2 months 🤣 (as far as we know).
      I went for Virgin instead, have held the white IHG previously and it’s very slow and laborious building up points on it. I imagine it will be even worse without Curve!
      - Froggee says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 11:48
        
        Oh I’m not going to use it for building up points! I just didn’t want to let Creation get the better of me. And 10,000 IHG points for £200 spend is excellent. I’ll use it every few months to buy a sandwich just to keep it active (and keep my IHG points active) and see how long it lasts. I have Hilton Visa and HSBC World Elite for proper points earning.
      - Guernsey Globetrotter says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 11:49
        
        Well being in Guernsey I had thought my cancellation letter would eventually arrive by carrier pigeon but still no sign of it so there is still one other HfPer in the Solihull game! There has been plenty of Beardy/Che action on my Marriott and IHG cards but no Bendy as they won’t play nice with us Channel Islanders so perhaps that is my saving grace … Still have a about 20k to go for Mrs T’s spire status so no let up from me at this stage 😉
      - Harrier25 says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 11:51
        
        I agree with what someone mentioned yesterday that they wouldn’t be surprised if all Creation credit cards cease working from the 3rd December.
      - John says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 14:24
        
        Haven’t received a cancellation letter from Creation either, post has been reliable this week.
      - David says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 15:28
        
        You get a half point more on the Virgin + Card. I’m not sure it will feel massively different.
- Harry T says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 12:24
  
  I’m 90% sure all creation credit cards in the UK will go dark on D-Day in December.
- Craig says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 12:34
  
  Another day and no cancellation letters.
  - Harrier25 says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 12:38
    
    I would probably still start preparing for your card to stop working on the 3rd December just in case.
    - meta says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 12:42
      
      I said that. No letter doesn’t mean it’s not been sent as anyone who does bulk mailing knows, many letters get lost in the post.
      - Craig says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 12:44
        
        I agree, but considering myself and player 2 are in the same boat I’d expect at least one to arrive.
      - Lady London says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 15:11
        
        I’m pretty sure that regardless of any t’s and c’s it’s always the responsibility of the provider to prove you actually received notice of the required number of days, and not just that they sent it.
      - Tariq says:
        
        7 Oct7 October 07:23
        
        Would usually send them in batches as well, to mitigate inbound call load when people receive the letter and want to ring up to discuss it…!
Blair says:

6 Oct6 October 10:40

Shangri La GC. I have never stayed, hold Jade status via legacy Plat benefits. I received no email about status extension and app still shows 31/12/21 expiry for Jade. Am I alone?
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 10:49
  
  I’m Jade via plat, did 1 stay this year and have had the Email about extension but my account still shows 31/21.
  
  It might just be the email bounced and the extensions haven’t all been processed yet so wouldn’t worry just yet.
  - Sina says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 11:19
    
    Mine says 12/22, never stayed in Shangri-La and got the status by getting a platinum card in 2018, the card was canceled in 2019.
- Rich says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 10:50
  
  Same here – no extension.
  
  Wasn’t expecting one anyway, until I saw on here that others had had one! Last stay was Jan 2020.
- meta says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 10:50
  
  It won’t show now. It will automatically renew at the start of next year. They haven’t announced points expiry though.
  - Froggee says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 10:55
    
    yes – I’m nervous on the points. I have 9,000+ earned the traditional way which expire at the end of the year. I’m not coming to London just to eat at the Shard (what a meal it would be though) which means the best I seem able to do is about £200 worth of Apple or Amazon vouchers for HK/Singapore which I’d be able to use at some point. That’s a lot of pain to take though as I was expecting it to be US$1,150 worth of food and beverage in Singapore during a family holiday that hasn’t happened for obvious reasons.
    - Sam G says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 11:11
      
      Yes I have some expiring – not as many so the Shard will work for me. You can redeem for the F&B vouchers and they have 6 months validity once issued which may work for your plans but bit of a risk!
- Sam G says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 13:56
  
  there is actually a 50% off redemption sale on currently – so London is 10k points
Beardless Hipster says:

6 Oct6 October 10:40

Is it possible to use evoucher for payment of BA fees on an avios ticket?
- Harry T says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 10:41
  
  Not an evoucher for cash flights.
  - will says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 16:55
    
    can’t use for upgrades either
Dave says:

6 Oct6 October 10:42

Looking for nice hotel options for a December family birthday celebration in the London area (or within an hour or so) that have room options for families with 2 adults 3 kids… Suitable suite or 2 interconnecting rooms would be OK but not two separate rooms. Advice appreciated from anyone with experience in this area! It seems to be strangely difficult to find a suitable solution.

Had booked King suite in Hilton SP (£375/night) but frustratingly have been told max 4 in room despite earlier indications to the contrary. It’d be nice to have something of similar ‘quality’, FS Hampshire for example is massively overpriced at the moment… Have Hyatt offers on Amex etc…
- Michael C says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 13:15
  
  Depending on your “distribution”, Hilton Bankside has the “Family interconnecting room” – in theory for 4, but guess you could get a kid to hang round reception?!
  - barnaby100 says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 18:36
    
    The rooms at the back corner that interconnect have a sofa bed as well as a bed and a connecting room (not sure of bed layout)
    - barnaby100 says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 18:37
      
      Plus they would put a roller bed in the interconnecting room- not sure if they charge but they have them
Zoe says:

6 Oct6 October 10:53

Amazon Amex MR points offer – can you use it on Gift Cards?
- HH says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 11:00
  
  I did yesterday on a £200 GC. Nothing in the T&Cs suggested you can’t, and they’re processed like a normal purchase. I didn’t get the offer redeemed email, but I expect the points will post in a few days and will challenge if not.
  - Zoe says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 11:14
    
    according to web chat “Gift card are also excluded from this offer.”
    even though the word gift isnt mentioned at all – i would challenge this now HH
    - Rob says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 11:19
      
      I have done Amazon top-ups multiple times when similar offers were running and always got the points.
      
      I think that wording may be a get out incase someone buys an Amazon gift card in Boots and expects the bonus ….
    - HH says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 11:25
      
      They say GCs excluded from the usual Harrods, Harvey Nichols etc offers yet they always work. The only pitfall is if online GC purchases are processed by a third-party then they don’t work, but that’s definitely not the case with Amazon.
    - HH says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 11:49
      
      Offer now showing as redeemed in my Amex app, even though I didn’t get the email. FYI I ordered a physical gift card, but topping up balance has also worked previously.
      - Youllnever says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 13:38
        
        Amex doesn’t send the offer redeemed emails anymore, as confirmed by CS.
- Harry T says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 11:21
  
  Amazon gift card balance top ups always work for Amex offers involving Amazon spend, IME.
KS says:

6 Oct6 October 10:59

Interesting datapoint, I triggered IHG Amex £50/£200 offer after the offer expired on 30th September.
– It was a 1 night stay on 1st October. Authorisation was taken on the same day.
– Charge posted to card on 2nd October.
– Offer shows up as triggered on 3rd October. Received £50 credit same day.
Mike says:

6 Oct6 October 11:08

Anyone applied for and received the Virgin credit card recently in the UK? How long does it take to arrive? I have a fruity purchase on Friday so would be nice to put the spend towards the bonus.
- Pete M says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 11:10
  
  Applied and got approved on 27/Sep, still waiting. People have commented previously they are very slow – I am in the same boat as you, with a bunch of things that need paying, which I am delaying…
- Zoe says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 11:11
  
  7-10 working days after the approval
  - Jonathan says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 12:22
    
    Mine took about 11-12 (working days) !
- Scallder says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 17:11
  
  applied on 21st approved on 22nd. Called up today and they told me it could be up to 17 working days right now! Clearly they’ve had a lot of people rushing to them…
  
  As a data point, I said that given there’s the 90 days to spend the £3k, the person I spoke to said that the 90 days could be reset to the start on the date that I received it