Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Friday 8th October

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

We are running this daily chat thread on Head for Points during the coronavirus outbreak.

Historically, the daily ‘Bits’ articles were the de facto repository for random comments and questions.  With the news flow being lighter, we are running fewer ‘Bits’ articles.

The comments under this article are where you should post questions about travel and, indeed, anything else on your mind.  At this tricky time, and given that many of you are at home, we want the HfP community to have a place to chat.

Please only comment under the main articles on the site if your comment is directly related to the topic of the article.  This has long-term benefits as it keeps the commentary relevant for people who read those articles in the future.

Old chat threads are hidden from the HfP home page.  If you want to look for something in an old thread, click here.  This brings up all the articles in our ‘General’ category which includes the chat threads.

Category

General

Comments (669)

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

  • Dilbert says:
    8 Oct8 October 08:09

    Morning all. I was wondering if there is a list of IHG properties that accept the credit card free night voucher? I tried to use one of mine to book a Mr and Mrs Smith hotel in Tenerife last night, and despite it having reward redemptions available, once you get to the select room page it says free night unavailable. It then offers it for an eye watering 95,000 points. I thought they were acceptable so long as there is reward availability, but it seems not.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:
      8 Oct8 October 08:12

      Perhaps Mr and Mrs Smith are different as I don’t think they’re considered an IHG brand they just use the booking system

      • Rob says:
        8 Oct8 October 08:52

        Difference is simple – redeem at Smith and IHG pays the full room rate. Redeem at an IHG hotel and IHG pays $25-$75.

        Indigo Bath got £32 when I stayed because they tried to bill it to me.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      8 Oct8 October 08:17

      Free night voucher can be used for all properties apart from Six Senses and Mr and Mrs Smith.

      reward night availability doesn’t mean the free voucher will always work via website/app either as it seems they are different inventory/tick boxes from the property the IHG helpline can usually help.

      • Dilbert says:
        8 Oct8 October 08:21

        Ah ok, didn’t know that. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll narrow my search.

      • K says:
        8 Oct8 October 14:41

        In addition, Credit card free night only works for hotels upto 70k points per night. Any higher and it will not show availability.

        • Anna says:
          8 Oct8 October 16:34

          Where did you get that from? It’s supposed to be valid at any hotel (though it’ll be a moot point soon).

          • K says:
            9 Oct9 October 11:58

            Ambassador team confirmed it. I tried to book all summer, only was able once the price dropped to 70k or under. I saw it somewhere in the T&C but can’t remember where

  • Simon R says:
    8 Oct8 October 08:23

    I have a car hire booked with hertz using a CDP which I was entitled to use when I booked (corp code for leisure use). I have since left the place I worked, but booking is not until January – discount is huge compared with not using CDP but worried they can/will check etc. I had to give back my pass but do have an old business card….

    • Phil W says:
      8 Oct8 October 08:58

      IME they’ll only be bothered about whether you have the credit card used to make the booking.

      Are you Hertz Five Star, if so and there is a Gold Canopy you may never interact with a human anyway.

      • Save East Coast Rewards says:
        8 Oct8 October 09:53

        Presumably there’s someone checking your documents at the exit booth or have they found a way to automate that too?

      • Jamjaw says:
        8 Oct8 October 11:38

        I am five star – so that is a good point and should work. I think I am entitled to it and will bring an old business card – It is a UK company anyway, so no way outside UK they could know!

    • Kwisstan says:
      8 Oct8 October 12:55

      I’ve never had an issue using old corp codes

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:
    8 Oct8 October 08:39

    So assuming I don’t have pussycat virus then I’m supposed to be in Barcelona next week. Anyone have any Hilton recommendations? So far I’ve only stayed at the Alexandra (Curio). Anything walking distance to a Metro station would be good. The “Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona” says the lounge is available but with modified service on one notice, then on another one it says it’s closed and you get drinks vouchers. This hotel looks good for a holiday as it has a pool and close to a beach.

    The “Hilton Barcelona” is cheaper and also closer to where I need to be, it’s a business trip so I doubt I’ll use the pool or beach.

    The Hampton is a little out the way so although a good price I’ve not really considered it.

    So does anyone have any experiences good or bad about any of these hotels?

    • chabuddy geezy says:
      8 Oct8 October 09:04

      The diagonal mar lounge is open. In August they were offering beer, wine and snacks like crisps in the evenings. I did not think breakfast in the restaurant was amazing, there are a few cook to order items like pancakes they don’t really tell people about. The pool is nice, it’s run by a beach club company so lots of sunbeds in the weekend are reserved for outside guests. This might not be an issue in October though. It’s a 9 minute walk to the metro. Personally I would stay a bit closer to the centre next time and probably stay in the Curio.

    • Richie says:
      8 Oct8 October 09:07

      I’ve stayed at the Mar Diagonal in late summer, mainly because I wanted a pool, I wouldn’t stay there otherwise.

    • Michael C says:
      8 Oct8 October 09:07

      Just fyi, Tuesday is a national holiday!

      • Save East Coast Rewards says:
        8 Oct8 October 09:17

        Thurs/Fri I’ll be there. After living in the UK most my life it always seems odd that other countries don’t attach most national holidays to the nearest Monday. I know in Italy when a holiday falls on the weekend then those who work Mon-Fri lose out that year.

        • Anna says:
          8 Oct8 October 09:24

          It’s a Catholic thing – every time there’s saint’s day, everything grinds to a halt!

          • Tony1 says:
            8 Oct8 October 22:27

            @Anna – its not a Saint’s day : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Spain

            I have found that there are many “bridge” days, so if the Saint’s holiday falls on a Thursday, a lot of folk will also take the Friday as well ( same for a Tuesday ). There are more Catholic Saints than days of the year ! and every town / village / house seems to have a holiday just when you arrive for yours ….

        • Genghis says:
          8 Oct8 October 09:52

          Our French colleagues complain about this. But given they have a large amount of national holidays anyway and RTT, they don’t get much sympathy.

  • Terry S says:
    8 Oct8 October 08:46

    Hi do you still get a pro rata refund when cancelling BAPP?
    Thanks

  • Josh says:
    8 Oct8 October 08:50

    Morning all!

    Does anyone know roughly the additional taxes + fees required when upgrading a cash WTP booking to J using avios – London to NYC? (return)

    Thanks

    • ChrisC says:
      8 Oct8 October 08:56

      No additional taxes as APD is the same for WTP as it is for CW but there will be BA surcharge.

      Quickest way is to do a dummy bookings for each cabin and compare the ‘taxes fees and surcharges’ section of the fare breakdown.

    • JDB says:
      8 Oct8 October 09:03

      Around £220 more. The APD and all the various real taxes/fees are the same but the carrier surcharge return to JFK is c. £400/club vs £178.50/WTP

  • Dave says:
    8 Oct8 October 09:02

    Anyone had any luck with pushing flights out past the 12 months since booking with BA? Got a cancelled 50% Avios redemption but BA refusing to budge.

    • Pete M says:
      8 Oct8 October 09:20

      Yes, but some months back, when they appeared to have loosened the rules. They do seem to be back to their old ways at the moment.

    • Terry S says:
      8 Oct8 October 11:10

      Have you tried changing it online? Had to search for individual days so it was a long process but worked for me

  • Paul says:
    8 Oct8 October 09:19

    Has Creation already came to an end? I’ve not received the dreaded letter (although expecting it), however purchases have been declined both yesterday and this morning.

    • Harrier25 says:
      8 Oct8 October 09:37

      No, all okay with my IHG black card. Just taking advantage of having a few months to accumulate as many points as possible. Just funded my BT online account with enough credit to meet my bills for the next 2 years!

      • Genghis says:
        8 Oct8 October 09:56

        “Just funded my BT online account with enough credit to meet my bills for the next 2 years”

        I think tying up cash for such a puny return isn’t worth it.

        • Ryan says:
          8 Oct8 October 10:04

          It is worth it if it’s tied up for only a few days…

        • Harrier25 says:
          8 Oct8 October 10:25

          It is when you then receive the same in Hilton Honors points too! 😉

          • Genghis says:
            8 Oct8 October 10:34

            I still disagree. Assuming 0.4p / IHG, you’re getting an extra 0.8% locking the cash up an effective 1 year (the balance is amortised over two years). I’d want a higher return than this, but each to their own. I only do similar things to hit Amex SUBs (invariably a 10% return) / Co op 5 / 10% back etc.

          • Harrier25 says:
            8 Oct8 October 12:04

            I don’t disagree with you Genghis, after all you’re a very astute gentleman, but it all depends on what I plan to do with that excess income now available to me over the next 2 years period.

  • Rich says:
    8 Oct8 October 09:21

    Haven’t looked back to the original posts about the DXB switch from 777 to 350 for travel in Nov with no F and so involuntary downgrade to J, but after about 6 weeks of waiting for a call from BA Hols customer service and having only paid a deposit they had calculated my revised fare with 75% reduction exc. tax. After reading all the comments I was expecting a fight. So the new J seat and car hire for under a grand.

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Learn more on our About page.

VAA

Latest comments

Latest Forum Posts

Get 30,000 points bonus with American Express Platinum

Amex Gold

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.3 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

Get 20,000 bonus points and your first year free with American Express Gold

Amex Gold