The HfP chat thread – Friday 15th October

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• Lee says:

  15 Oct15 October 16:51

  DP: Just received platinum card today, £200 dinning offer added by chat

  • elguiri says:

    15 Oct15 October 20:23

    ditto

• Thywillbedone says:

  15 Oct15 October 17:01

  Vox pop: Cathay J on the A350-9 or BA F on the 773 (overnight from HKG to LON) in December? The latter more Avios obviously but I have only heard poor reports about the F soft product in recent times (haven’t flown it in 2 years). Leaning towards Cathay.

  • Richie says:

    15 Oct15 October 17:07

    I had a lovely CX A359 flight. Great aircraft.

  • Ikaz says:

    15 Oct15 October 18:42

    Without 2for1, I would fly Cathay. A shame to miss out on the first class lounges in hkg though!

    • Lady London says:

      15 Oct15 October 21:22

      CX. If you’re departing HKG and not just in transit, currently apparently all CX J as well as F is in Wing First Class IIRC I saw reported this weel.

  • Harry T says:

    15 Oct15 October 19:55

    CX

• Rich says:

  15 Oct15 October 17:05

  I was surprised to read you never flew Concorde Rob, passing on a c.£1k opportunity to fly on it towards the end of its flying life was one of my regrets too.

  • JDB says:

    15 Oct15 October 17:12

    You could even use Air Miles (as they then were) on Concorde with no taxes/fees; bargain.

    • JDB says:

      15 Oct15 October 17:17

      And visit the original Concorde room in T4

    • Chris says:

      15 Oct15 October 19:40

      I took myself and 4 friends to NYC on Concorde, using my BA Miles (as they were) to treat them. This was post 9-11 but before the retirement was announced.

      Anyway what was scary was the taxes and fees. For 5 people – less than £400.

      Even scarier was availability – I booked it 3 weeks before departure.

  • Rob says:

    15 Oct15 October 17:13

    My Dad was even one of the team at British Steel that worked on it.

  • Spurs drive me mad says:

    15 Oct15 October 18:34

    My Mum and Son did the Bay of Biscayne day trip. Mum had kept all the tickets, boarding pass, menus and other memorabilia. I found all the bits when I was sorting her estate earlier this year and passed them on to my Son. He got to go instead of my brother or I as she said she could only afford to take 1 of us and it wasn’t fair to chose between us so my Son got the trip.

• Liam says:

  15 Oct15 October 18:01

  I’m arriving on a LAX-LHR flight next Wednesday, flying AA into T3. I’ll be flying in P (or however they code premium economy) but with AA Plat/OW Sapphire status. Is there anything at all available to me in the way of an arrivals lounge? It would be incredibly helpful for me to be able to shower and sit somewhere for a couple of hours and get a bite to eat, even if it’s in a different terminal. I’ve looked into a day rate at one the Hiltons either at Heathrow or in central London but most of those bookings end at 4 or 5pm. My flight is scheduled to land at 1.15pm but I’ve no idea what time I’m likely to actually emerge from immigration (it was a nightmare when I last came back in March), plus I also want to do my day-two test before I leave the airport. Advice gratefully received.

  • ChrisC says:

    15 Oct15 October 18:18

    Nothign airline based (The BA arrivals lounge closes at 2pm for example) but check if one of the commercial lounges meets your needs.

    TBH it all depends on what your onward travel arrangments are.

    • Andrew says:

      15 Oct15 October 18:57

      Plaza Premium arrivals lounges currently closed

    • Liam says:

      15 Oct15 October 19:18

      No onward travel, alas. Just flying into London for a week and then back to LA. The Plaza Premium in T2 is one I’ve used before but seemingly still closed at the moment.

      • ChrisC says:

        15 Oct15 October 19:36

        Go straight to your accommodation then.

        If you land at 1.15 I’d allow until 3 to complete immigration and getting your test so any hotel etc should have your room ready by then.

  • Lady London says:

    15 Oct15 October 21:32

    Try Premier Inn T4. Will take some transit effort but if you can’t get into Plaza Premium arrivals T2 or, I think, T3 (if open) with Amex Plat or a membership card for long enough
    then there’s a chance booking into the Premier Inn might not cost much more.

    At the time you are landing then by the time you can get through Immigration you are going to be close enough to regular check in time anyway.

    There’s an expensive Doubletree at T2 – might not be so bad on points.

    Many other hotels about but you haven’t said how long you have/need.

  • Lady London says:

    15 Oct15 October 21:58

    ..Try Premier Inn T4. Will take some transit effort but if you can’t get into Plaza Premium arrivals T2 or, I think, T3 (if open) with Amex Plat or a membership card for long enough
    then there’s a chance booking into the Premier Inn might not cost much more.

    At the time you are landing then by the time you can get through Immigration you are going to be close enough to regular check in time anyway.

    There’s an expensive Doubletree at T2 – might not be so bad on points.

    Many other hotels about but you haven’t said how long you have/need.

• Ed says:

  15 Oct15 October 18:18

  Just received an email from Accor
  2 months free access to readly and “208” reward points. Not clear whether you have to commit to a longer a subscription, but who came up with the idea of giving 208 reward points?

  • elguiri says:

    15 Oct15 October 20:18

    “After 2 month you will be charged a standard monthly subscription of £7.99 which can be cancelled at any time”

• Alex says:

  15 Oct15 October 18:20

  How difficult is to to book a table at Core? Virtually sold out on OpenTable as far as I can see.

  Any insights?

  • Rob says:

    15 Oct15 October 18:59

    It’s got 3 Michelin stars and is a very small restaurant. There are plenty of worse places with no tables until next year.

    • chabuddy geezy says:

      15 Oct15 October 20:41

      I think you have to book 3 months in advance and the bookings at midnight.

      • Rob says:

        15 Oct15 October 20:47

        Should have come on the Marriott Bonvoy event with me and some other readers! https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2018/10/12/my-lunch-with-clare-smyth-and-some-hfp-readers-at-core/

        • meta says:

          15 Oct15 October 22:04

          It’s no longer on Amex Plat offer. Presumably because they filled all slots till end of the year.

• CF Frost says:

  15 Oct15 October 19:56

  An advice one:
  Booked 6 nights, Oct half term, BA Holidays, Dubrovnik, Sheraton, 2 rooms with an adult and kid in each.
  BA Holidays have contacted me: the hotel has reneged; advising that a block booking has just been made and we’re flushed out.
  Two alternative hotels offered, neither appeal.
  One hotel does: BAHols says it’s too expensive (might be now, was equivalent at time of booking)
  Both of us are Marriott gold – not great, but hey, it’s something. Sheraton will not budge.
  Whacked down some payment with Amex back in September for this, with the rest (the majority) paid by eVoucher.
  Suggestions? BAHols offering full refund (as cash) but rates have risen to rebook with it being so close to half term.

  Grateful for any ideas. Thanks.

  • Harry T says:

    15 Oct15 October 20:10

    I don’t think BA are required to book you into a hotel or your choosing, unfortunately. Sounds like the hotel have screwed you over.

  • Anna says:

    15 Oct15 October 20:59

    You would think there would be penalties for breaching a contract to supply accommodation to a company like BA. Unfortunately I think you’ll be stuck with accepting the alternative or get a refund. I don’t know if you’d get compo under the “significant change” clause but it’s not a huge amount anyway.

    • CF Frost says:

      15 Oct15 October 21:12

      Thanks both. I think BAHols as surprised as I am . They’ve got nowhere with Sheraton and I have no reason to doubt their efforts. Frustrating; Sheraton’s two offers of alternatives were both hotels I’d looked at but rejected. A refund means I take a hit b/c to rebook now is poor value. All of this means that it looks like I’m being shoehorned into accepting a hotel I never wanted to stay in. All a bit pants really.

      • JDB says:

        15 Oct15 October 21:26

        Try
        ivan.gregorovic@sheratondubrovnikriviera.com

        He was the GM, hopefully still is.

        • CF Frost says:

          15 Oct15 October 21:58

          Thanks. Superbly helpful. I emailed Marriott CS a short while back to help resolve, will now include Ivan.

      • JDB says:

        15 Oct15 October 22:17

        Hope it works out for you. Essentially, in accepting a block booking when they already had reserved guests, they must have budgeted some cost for sorting them out and organising at least equivalent accommodation and allow for the fact that guests who booked early got better prices than last minute ones. I am sure BA is doing its best as they will be embarrassed but they will most likely be dealing at a junior to junior level, so hopefully if you intervene things will happen!

  • JDB says:

    15 Oct15 October 21:19

    Is it not possible to negotiate a good deal with BA on the hotel you do like? At this short notice, BA or you, or both, should make a big fuss with the Sheraton GM directly and Marriott Bonvoy customer service to re-accommodate you.

    • Lady London says:

      15 Oct15 October 22:07

      +1.
      Read the small print on your booking confirmation for compensation due to cancellation at short notice. Also check how much leeway if any, they’ve got to change your hotel.

      I’d want compo first, either in the ts and cs or on ATOL (if it’s under ATOL holiday regs) site. I wouldnt want to change the hotel I’d set my heart on at this late stage. I’d be hoping for money back + decent compo.

      If Sheraton is going to do this then Sheraton or Marriott need ro offer you a sweetener ie a considerably better hotel and deal. I am surprised BA Hols has no pull here.

      I certainly wouldnt want to walk away quietly with a refund at halfterm and this late notice so do what you have to to get them to behave decently. Noting your contract is with BA Hols who have lots of other offerings they handle.

      Let us know how it turns out.

• Shaw West says:

  15 Oct15 October 20:03

  anyone flown Ryanair recently? do I need to present a printed boarding pass? will mobile boarding pass do?

  • Harry T says:

    15 Oct15 October 20:10

    Mobile boarding pass is fine – flown them several times in the last 18 months, including in August.

    • Shaw West says:

      15 Oct15 October 20:11

      thank you.

      • Harry T says:

        15 Oct15 October 20:35

        You’re welcome, have a good flight!

        • Richie says:

          15 Oct15 October 21:00

          You may need to have your docs checked at a docs check desk prior to security.

    • Babyg says:

      15 Oct15 October 22:02

      printed boarding pass still required for kiwis… (so a manual stamp check can happen).. hence i never fly ryanair

      • Ryan says:

        16 Oct16 October 02:28

        I flown Ryanair after booking on kiwi.com

        I used the pdf that was sent over – no issues

        As a backup I had printed the boarding pass but wasn’t required

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