The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 6th October

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• Josu says:

  6 Oct6 October 12:39

  Quick virgin CC voucher Q –

  If I wanted to buy 2x one way PE flights for myself and SO, can I apply 1 single voucher to upgrade both of us to UC (if there is availability)?

  Any status req for that ?

  Thanks!

  • Jonathan says:

    6 Oct6 October 12:49

    That will work with no status. Voucher can do return upgrade for 1 or o/w for 2.

• Andrew H says:

  6 Oct6 October 12:41

  So – shortly when availability comes up will be booking either Virgin UC or BA CW back from NY next October for OH and myself after a QM2 crossing.

  Will try to get A350 and supposedly Suites or New UC respectively.

  But as people point out, plane allocation a year in advance could well change.

  So the question is – if it ends up being old CW or old UC, which is the better. I don’t really like the old CW (went on them probably almost 20 years ago)

  Leaning towards VS UC as would be using 2 for 1 (or rather 1.5 for 1) voucher which you can’t for a BA flight not starting in UK, at least with the old vouchers, though charges a little higher on VS.

  • Blair says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:23

    If this is a holiday of a lifetime with QM2 on way over, perhaps save the vouchers for another time and instead choose an airline with no bad seats? Otherwise you might well end up in old CW and end the holiday on a downer. Delta’s 767-400s are now refurbished so they should be a safe bet to London regardless of aircraft.

    • Sam G says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:43

      BA JFK flight is almost certainly going to be a CS Suite 777 so you’re pretty safe there. Virgin swap about quite a bit on JFK from what I see and I’m really not a fan of the older seat especially as a couple, equally availability is usually OK so you could potentially swap closer in if there is an aircraft change

      But to be honest it’s a 6hr flight, probably at night – I wouldn’t over think it !

      • Anna says:

        6 Oct6 October 14:29

        There is a day flight back from JFK on BA, departs about 8 am. I am booked on the equivalent one back from BOS next March, much better use of a CW seat IMO. Champagne (or possibly cava by then) breakfast on the way back beats trying to get comfortable for 5 hours of poor sleep.

        • Lady London says:

          6 Oct6 October 14:59

          If you have Silver status though you could eat dinner on the ground in the lounge at JFK now?

        • Sam G says:

          6 Oct6 October 15:34

          Yes – favourite flight of mine if you don’t mind the early start from the city (no traffic though!)

      • Andrew H says:

        6 Oct6 October 15:16

        There is that. I used to fly the Boston . LHR a fair bit on business. Way too short to have a meal and watch a film!

    • Andrew H says:

      6 Oct6 October 15:17

      Yup it is – Queen’s Grill in the QM2

• Aston100 says:

  6 Oct6 October 12:45

  An update regarding a query I had recently.

  After two unsuccessful attempts to get BA to apply a voucher against an existing companion voucher flight, they’ve agreed to it on the 3rd attempt.
  Money is being refunded to my cancelled Amex, so no clawing back Avios for the refund.

  The voucher was for cancelling a BA Holidays I was disinclined to travel.
  The first two rejections cited something about not being able to use vouchers against bookings containing Avios.

  I did the equivalent of HUACA. Is there a suitable acronym for delete and mail again?

  Also, this highlights the lack of consistency with BA customer services. I know Anna and others were successful on first attempt, and I was ready to give up after the 2nd attempt.

  • John says:

    6 Oct6 October 14:14

    DAMA

  • Anna says:

    6 Oct6 October 14:32

    Glad you were successful in the end, Aston100. Yes, complete inconsistency. Quite astonishing I managed to get 4 vouchers refunded with no quibbles, I think they all ended up with the same (helpful) CSA!

    • Lady London says:

      6 Oct6 October 15:01

      Or alternatively, you have now become famous the BA CS, Anna

• Andrew H says:

  6 Oct6 October 12:46

  Data Point – took 45 mins to get through on BA chat this morning.

  Rather that than holding on the phone

  • Jas Gill says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:00

    Hi
    I cant find the chat icon on BA.com; can you direct me please.

    • Pete M says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:06

      Log into your account, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on “Help and contacts”, “Start chat” should be in the bottom right corner.

      • Andrew H says:

        6 Oct6 October 13:09

        It starts as a chat bot but keep on typing “speak to agent” even if it tells you they are all busy

        • Jas Gill says:

          6 Oct6 October 14:07

          Many thanks.

  • Rich says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:19

    What can chat do?

    Can they book me a redemption using an FTV?

    • Michael C says:

      6 Oct6 October 14:33

      Pretty much most things that don’t involve taking payments, I believe.

    • Anna says:

      6 Oct6 October 14:34

      I think they can as long as the cash element is the same for the new booking. The problem seems to arise if you need to pay extra, as they possibly can’t take payments via Chat.

    • Rich says:

      6 Oct6 October 15:31

      Useful, thanks. This will save me hanging on the phone.

• Stairali says:

  6 Oct6 October 12:47

  Has anybody entered Portugal without undergoing a test recently? The Visit Portugal site seems to indicate that as long as reciprocal measures are in place (which they are in England) then individuals can enter with a Vaccination Certificate.

  • Will_ says:

    6 Oct6 October 12:54

    When I flew into Porto last week, they were insisting on an antigen test both at check in and immigration.

  • Jonathan says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:00

    I get where you’re coming from as the wording isn’t the clearest regarding vaccinated passengers without an EU Digital Covid Certificate, particularly the use of the word reciprocal, but looking on TIMATIC (which is what the airlines will use) you need a test.

    “Passengers entering or transiting through Portugal must have:
    – a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken at most 48 hours before departure from the first embarkation point; or
    – a negative COVID-19 NAAT, PCR or RT-PCR test taken at most 72 hours before departure from the first embarkation point; or
    – an EU Digital Covid Certifícate (EU DCC); or
    – a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arrival and issued in Albania, Andorra, Faroe Isl., Israel, Monaco, Morocco, North Macedonia (Rep.), Panama, San Marino, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine or Vatican City (Holy See). Vaccines accepted are: AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Janssen, Moderna (Spikevax) and Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty).

    It’s not worth trying to argue the toss with a check in agent.

    • Pete M says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:04

      FR won’t argue with you, they’ll just leave you behind.

    • Stairali says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:20

      Good to know and agreed on arguing with a check-in agent. The Eur-Lex website confirms that list above too, although I think 2 more countries have been added to it recently (the UK not being one of them).

  • TGLoyalty says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:24

    You need a test.

    Before you travel to mainland Portugal
    NHS COVID Pass holders, who do not also have an EU digital COVID certificate, must

    take a COVID-19 test to enter Portugal (children up to the age of 11 are exempt)

• Laura says:

  6 Oct6 October 12:57

  All this talk of Dubai…

  Which areas should I be looking to book a hotel in?

  I’m going in January for the Expo and would like to be at the beach, I think. Not really interested in shopping.

  No status/points so not tied to a chain (and prefer small/independent hotels anyway). Budget is probably about £75-£100 a night, but could increase for somewhere special.

  I’ve been looking at Booking and overwhelmed with choice!

  • Andrew says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:07

    Unlikely to get a beach hotel for that budget in the winter.

    • Blair says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:27

      Agree with Andrew. Anywhere for less than £300 prob isn’t woeth your time. It will be peak season and do you really want to be on a crowded beach/pool with £75-a-nighters? Part of the high prices is to buy your way out of their reach.

      • Blair says:

        6 Oct6 October 13:28

        Check Amex FHR or a specialist agent so you at least get some extras on a cash booking. But generally UK winter is when loyalty points are usefully deployed in Dubai.

    • Rob says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:43

      For context, for midweek dates in mid Jan, Jumeirah Beach Hotel starts at £550 inc taxes per night. And this is a fair way down the list in terms of quality.

      There is a new Hilton and a new Marriott opening at the base of The Palm very soon, with beach. I reckon buying points for either of these when a promo is running would work out ok.

  • Sam G says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:50

    Rates are pretty crazy for Dubai at the moment but I imagine the occupancy may not be there midweek once Xmas is passed especially at the non-brand hotels – so I’d keep a very close eye on secret escapes, luxury escapes, third party sites via Tripadvisor etc. My dad paid ~£100pn B&B at Dukes on the palm when it was £250 a night public rates in Jan 2019 for example.

    Sofitel sales are also worth keeping an eye out for, got a great price at the Sofitel Palm (bit far out though)

  • Blenz101 says:

    6 Oct6 October 15:43

    Just to give you some hope… you can stay pretty cheaply in many parts of Dubai and taxis are incredibly cheap. You just won’t get a beach front tourist hotel.

    But say you went JLT, there is a Movenpick, Taj and Pullman. No more than 10 mins in a taxi to either JBR or the Palm public beaches, within budget and every hotel in Dubai has a pool.

    All of the luxury beach side resorts sell day passes to access their facilities aimed at residents. You can go hotel hopping at the very best Dubai has to offer, during the week (Sun-Thurs) the entry cost will generally be fully refundable against F&B.

    You can also visit beach clubs, not all of which are pumping out loud music. Many are aimed at relaxation. Some do offer free entry, especially for ladies.

    • KBuffett says:

      6 Oct6 October 16:22

      Any recommendations for Friday Brunch? Where is the best?

      • Rob says:

        6 Oct6 October 16:25

        I am rather anti-brunch – cost is ludicrous (often over £100 per head if unlimited alcohol is included) and you are surrounded by a) blaring disco music at 10am and b) drunken ex-pats in, by the nature of the ex-pat market, male heavy groups.

        • David says:

          6 Oct6 October 16:27

          London Social as RC on JBR/the Walk had none of that the couple of times I’ve tried it.
          Many others do though, and no doubt the RC on occasion.

        • Blenz101 says:

          6 Oct6 October 17:15

          There are plenty of civilised ‘foodie’ brunches where the focus is not unlimited alcohol. As there are family brunches.

          Time out and whats on Dubai carry a pretty comprehensive listing.

          Covid has calmed down even the party brunches as there is currently no dancing and everyone is seated in smaller socially distanced groups.

        • Blenz101 says:

          6 Oct6 October 17:19

          Also typical brunch is around £60 with unlimited alcohol and food for 3-4 hours.

          Given your average alcoholic drink in Dubai will be £10 the value it can represent good value by Dubai standards.

          Like anywhere else that offers an all inclusive option some people will always over indulge.

  • Laura says:

    6 Oct6 October 16:42

    Thanks all!

    I had assumed mid-week January would be cheap. eeeek!

    Will see what’s available around the Palm or the Marina then and go from there.

    Thanks!

• The cyclist says:

  6 Oct6 October 13:07

  17 days since the announcement that UK citizens to be allowed to travel to the US, specific dates/details?

  • Blenz101 says:

    6 Oct6 October 13:12

    Nothing. Expect it to be headline news when the detail does come.

    Nothing stopping U.K. citizens going to US right now either. Just people that have been in the U.K.

    • Blair says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:30

      I think Uncle Joe has hoodwinked us to keep the politicians quiet on this side of the Atlantic. There’s no excuse for the delay (to set up necessary regulatory links in the US) as they’re already letting any bugger in from most anywhere else in the world as it is. The only upshot is as Anna suggested yesterday, points prices are falling through the floor for this winter while the uncertainty remains.

      • Pete M says:

        6 Oct6 October 13:37

        “They’re already letting any bugger in from most anywhere else in the world as it is.”

        Not entirely true – most countries outside Europe / developed countries need a visa to enter the US and they’ve basically stopped issuing visas. So if you already have a US visa you are fine, but the numbers of visitors have been relatively low because of this.

  • Jeff Greene says:

    6 Oct6 October 14:48

    It’ll be on the news first rather than on here when a date is announced

• Blenz101 says:

  6 Oct6 October 13:10

  If you look on hotels.com they will show you a map of where the hotels are and you can clearly see which a near the sea as well as set a slider to your price point.

  You likely want to look at the palm or JBR/Marina areas.

  I will say your budget sounds a little low for Dubai in winter but see what comes up.

  Dukes is often very cheap if you are looking non-chain. Also take a look at Airbnb for an apartment if you want to avoid chains.

  • Laura says:

    6 Oct6 October 17:00

    thank you!

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