The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 13th October

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Anuj says:

13 Oct13 October 17:21

On the gold card, does spend by a supplementary card holder come off the £15,000 bonus target ?
- Harry T says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 18:04
  
  Yes
  - Anuj says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 19:21
    
    Thanks
Tarmohamed says:

13 Oct13 October 18:30

Just got an email from Hilton re double points when purchasing. Where in Dubai would they give me good value compared to real money? Planning to go in November after October half term is over.
- Peter K says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:01
  
  I think the best thing to do would be to work out where you actually want to go first. When you know that you can easily work out of cash or points is better.
  
  There is no point going somewhere because you gain a high £ per point if it’s not the sort of holiday/hotel you want.
- Patrick Cold says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:04
  
  I`ve used points for the WA Ras Al Khaimah at Christmas which is a terrific property and you`ll get excellent value.
  - Spurs drive me mad says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 19:46
    
    I agree with Patrick, lovely hotel. I’m trying the WA in the Palm in January.
  - fivebobbill says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 21:01
    
    Paid 280,000 points for 5 nights last month at WA RAK for an entry level room (4 x 70k plus a free night), and got a Junior Suite upgrade. Still 70k a night last time I looked…
    Agree, lovely, didn’t want to leave, and being more than half empty made all the difference!
  - Tarmohamed says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 14:55
    
    Thank you all. Was looking at the WA myself. Just need to convince the wife that we need 10 nights in Dubai, not 5…
GaryE says:

13 Oct13 October 18:34

Does anybody know how often the Netherlands review their Covid entry requirements? Do you think the PCR test on entry is likely to be lifted in the near future?
- Harry T says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 18:57
  
  I hope so – can’t you do a rapid antigen anyway?
  
  I haven’t seen a pattern regarding changes tbh. The more annoying thing is their inability to recognise UK vaccination for their silly pass scheme. Glad I visited this year before they brought that in.
  - GaryE says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 22:19
    
    Thanks – which antigen test are accepted – I presume the NHS ones are not?
Yorkieflyer says:

13 Oct13 October 18:37

BA9 to Bangkok now definitely cancelled for Christmas, probably as well
- Triath5 says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 18:45
  
  Isn’t Thailand opening up post-November? Why would BA do this?
  - xcalx says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 18:50
    
    Bums on seats?
  - Track says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 20:11
    
    Low on cargo (or versa prefer to run full-cargo flight instead, Heathrow slot will be safe), or yes can’t sell tickets expensively, which would be proportional to operating costs in current environment (higher fuel prices, Heathrow charges, budget for fines from Thailand authorities for carrying passengers without full proper documentation).
    - meta says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 21:46
      
      People won’t be going to Thailand for Xmas in such great numbers. We are in the minority here. Too much testing involved still.
NSL says:

13 Oct13 October 19:11

I know it’s been discussed before (I can’t find anything) – recommendations for car hire excess insurance?
- Rich says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:35
  
  Insurance4CarHire or Amex Plat
  - Ed says:
    
    14 Oct14 October 00:12
    
    If you have Amex play can you reject all the insurance on offer in Canada?
- Rob says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:35
  
  insurance4carhire.com
Jason says:

13 Oct13 October 19:11

BA has downgraded my flight to Dubai (booked with Avios)next month from First to Club. In fact there is no BA flights with First to Dubai in November……strange! From anyone’s previous experience what happens, I guess I get a refund of the Avios for the flight. Do I still get to use the Concord room and the First wing, I presume not? I still want to travel in November and really did want First, do I have any other options such as BA to find my a seat on another airline or do I just have to accept the downgrade?
Thanks for any advice!
- N says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:54
  
  75% back of your ticket – check FT for advice.
  
  Lots of people in the same boat to/from DXB. F flights start on 3/12
- Anna says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:55
  
  You’re entitled to 75% of the fare you paid under EU261 once you have flown, do some research before you make any decisions. BA doesn’t have to put you on another airline or let you use the F lounges. This has been happening a lot recently.
- Andrew says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:58
  
  They’ve switched all the flights in November to A350 though so you’ll be in Club Suite, so the seat is no worse than First, but the food is obviously dire. And like you say, no First Wing or Concorde Room unless you have the appropriate status.
Kevin D says:

13 Oct13 October 19:12

Guys does anyone know what lounges are open in Manchester airport? Thanks
- Rob says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:35
  
  Terminal?
  - Kevin D says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 19:42
    
    Terminal 1 mate
    - Anna says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 19:56
      
      The Escape lounge is open but pretty grim – the only reason to go in would be to sit at a table and take off your mask while you wait for your flight!
      - Anna says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 19:57
        
        Actually there were a couple of nice gins, that’s about it.
    - Rob says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 20:57
      
      T1 Escape is open. T1 Aspire is open. Restricted hours.
Aston100 says:

13 Oct13 October 19:14

Hello. Am abroad returning soon.
Went to do the passenger locator form and it wants me to create an account, confirmation code which requires an SMS to be sent to my phone.

If I recall correctly, my mobile provider (sky mobile) charges for text messages. It’s might even incur a £6 fee for foreign use, bit not sure if text messages trigger that though. I know I got hit with that £6 charge for sending one single text message when in Turkey a couple of years ago…
My phone is kept on airplane mode with wireless, GPS and Bluetooth turned on manually.

Any suggestions please? Any alternatives to an SMS confirmation? Or am I incorrect about the SMS charge?

Thanks.
- Rich says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:36
  
  I don’t know any UK network that charges for an inbound SMS. Make sure you turn off data roaming.
  
  FWIW I tried to create an account yesterday, and the SMS never arrived anyway.
  - Harley says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 19:41
    
    You dont need to create an account. There should be an option to continue as ‘guest’ unless its changed recently
- TheOtherN says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:42
  
  Plenty of services available for a one shot SMS reception. For example:
  
  https://receive-sms-free.cc/
- JDB says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:48
  
  IIRC you can fill in the form without creating an account, so you just need wifi but no mobile service. That still enables you to save the form and amend it later using an emailed code. When you get back, change mobile provider!
  - Aston100 says:
    
    13 Oct13 October 19:58
    
    Thanks people, I don’t know how I missed the part that said you could continue without creating an account!
    
    JDB – My Sky Mobile tariff costs £25 for five mobile phones. Nobody else can touch this.
    - JDB says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 20:02
      
      My O2 tariff is only £5/month more, also for five family ‘phones but we can use them abroad, worldwide, (essential for at least three of us) without these penalty rates and incoming SMS are free.
      - Yorkie Aid says:
        
        13 Oct13 October 20:08
        
        And don’t forget the free coffees at Nero every week! 🙂
    - Chrisasaurus says:
      
      13 Oct13 October 21:54
      
      But the thread started with you saying it doesn’t work, did it not?
- Anna says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 19:59
  
  Don’t bother with the account, I created one on my first trip abroad this summer then tried to access it for the second one and it wouldn’t recognise my log in details. You can’t even add your partner, adults need separate ones. They email the docs to you though.
- Niall says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 20:35
  
  You won’t get charged for receiving a text message abroad. As someone else mentioned, if your phone has been in flight mode for your trip, do make sure data roaming is off.
- Andrew H says:
  
  13 Oct13 October 20:50
  
  You can’t get charged for incoming texts as you have no control over them.