The HfP chat thread – Friday 22nd October

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• Alex says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:01

  Yesterday, den mentioned that the Amex 100 off 400 travel spend offer applies on cumulative spend. Has this always been the case? Anyone had a similar recent experience? Want to confirm before I pull the trigger on 2 smaller transactions.

  • den says:

    22 Oct22 October 09:37

    Just to confirm mine was on the Business Gold card, ~£300 on car hire for work trip and £120 on a hotel (both in Germany), took about a week for the £100 to credit to account.

    • Alex says:

      22 Oct22 October 09:53

      Thanks for the detail. I can’t imagine this would work differently on different cards.

• ledcran02 says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:16

  Does a BA Holidays payment count as an airlines purchase, for the purposes of the 2x Amex Gold points for “purchases directly with airlines”?

  • Matt says:

    22 Oct22 October 09:29

    Yes. And 3 avios/£ on BAPP.

• davefl says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:17

  Booked a trip to Cyprus for Dec, MAN-LHR-LCA about 5 weeks ago with BA Holidays to take advantage of the double TP offer. I had several emails 10 days ago saying my flights has moved from the closed T3 toT1 at MAN. Nothing from BA since.

  Checked the BA app yesterday, 3 flights gone from the booking only the LHR-MAN showing, checked the website and it’s as if the 3 flights never existed but the one remaining is showing cancelled. Balance for holiday still due in 3 weeks.

  The LHR-LCA flights are still running and seats available but they’ve cut some of the MAN_LHR flights every day. HTF can BA just cancel all flights and not auto notify, it’s appalling customer service

  Options please from the braintrust? What do I do, Cancel and rebook would cost several hundred more at this point.

  • meta says:

    22 Oct22 October 09:23

    Not notified? You’re due EU compo of 400 euros (or is Cyprus further so 600 euros) per person. I just got it from BA legal because they failed to notify the agent (Amex Travel in my case) and me.

    • meta says:

      22 Oct22 October 09:27

      EU compensation is not suspended for airline’s failure to notify of cancellation.

      • JDB says:

        22 Oct22 October 09:36

        @meta when does the airline have to fail to notify you by of any cancellation to receive compensation? These flights are ? in about six weeks time of the deposit isn’t due for three weeks.

  • Matt says:

    22 Oct22 October 09:32

    When are you due to travel – 6 weeks away I’m guessing from the balance due date? If so, there’s no compensation due, as you’re outside 14 days. They do need to get you to your destination though. You’ll need to phone them up (set aside a few hours!) and ask to be put on alternative MAN-LHR flights. Work out which flights you want to be on first.
    If you want to change the LHR-LCA flights as well you will be able to, if you want to change the dates. BA should shift the hotel dates as well, although you’d have to pay for extra nights.
    If you want a refund you can have one, but it sounds like you want to travel.

    • davefl says:

      22 Oct22 October 09:43

      Travel is 7 weeks away, but the ridiculous thing is the flights no longer even show. There’s no hotel, just a week’s car hire and that’s been removed from the booking as well.
      Grumbles… phone someone… uggh. perish the thought.

      • JDB says:

        22 Oct22 October 09:52

        Have you tried looking at your booking in something like CheckMyTrip? Sometimes the BA system (BABS) does/shows strange things temporarily and if you look in Amadeus onto which BABS is sellotaped you see more.

        • davefl says:

          22 Oct22 October 10:04

          Thanks, hadnt seen that before, cool app. Same thing there just the one flight – your booking may have been cancelled and then the one remaining leg still showing

  • davefl says:

    22 Oct22 October 12:40

    Thanks ChrisC, I wasn’t looking for compo, just BA not messing up my ****ing holiday yet again 🙂

    I’ll try the email option as you suggest as a 1st stab.

    Trouble is that it looks like they have slashed the schedule so hard from man-lhr that it now means either a 4am start, or arriving at 11.30pm or a 4+ hr wait or overnight at lhr to connect. This was supposed to be an easy trip with sensible flight times and that’s out of the window.

    • ChrisC says:

      22 Oct22 October 12:56

      I feel your pain.

      On Wednesday I managed to get a BA hols flight changed from LHR to LCY after the LHR had been cancelled and the LCY times were better for me.

      Thursday email saying ‘your flight time has changed’. Still at LCY, same flight number and I’ve lost most of the time I gained!

      Still much better than last year where I booked at 11.30 AM and got a cancelation email at 11.30 PM

• Graeme says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:21

  Sorry, another EC261 query.
  BA flights only to the US booked Nov 20 for flights in Oct 21. UUA inbound leg for x4 to CW.
  1 flight cancelled early Sept 21. I accepted change of dates to later in Oct 21.
  These flights cancelled soon after in Sept 21 (as hoped and expected), requested date change to Oct 22, 364 days later than rescheduled dates but BA are refusing, first via Twitter then email, offering 12 months since last ticketing date in Sept 21. Ghost sector added for 1st Jan 22 however.
  My understanding is EC261 allows rerouting at my convenience, not from BA ticketing, is this correct?
  I complained to BA and received email back sticking to 12M from ticketing date.
  I’ve been on holiday, I did scan read meta’s comment last week re writing a letter to the BA legal department but I can’t find it now and can’t recall if it was a similar situation.
  Is a letter the best course of action or MCOL?

  TIA

  • meta says:

    22 Oct22 October 09:26

    Yes, just write to BA legal department with your reasoning. They’d want to avoid all the costs associated with going to MCOL.

    • Graeme says:

      22 Oct22 October 09:33

      Thanks Meta. I’ll do that.

    • John says:

      22 Oct22 October 11:31

      You keep saying they want to avoid costs associated with MCOL but many people on here (including myself) are currently going through MCOL and BA are not just capitulating.
      My concern is you make it sound as though BA always give in and it is a formality – my and my friends experiences where BA are defending the claims show this is not the case.

      • Lady London says:

        22 Oct22 October 11:41

        Yes but they lose, don’t they

        • ChrisC says:

          22 Oct22 October 12:19

          Not always. We tend not to hear about those cases.

      • meta says:

        22 Oct22 October 16:04

        @John perhaps you/your friends didn’t present the case convincingly and BA will exploit this to their advantage. I’ve done several claims before and during covid and helped friends and family. No-one of us ever had to go to actual court. Take any emotional attachement in your LBA and present just the facts, that’s the best advice I can give. I’ve seen some poorly written LBAs and if I was BA, I would defend it too.

        • John says:

          22 Oct22 October 16:32

          Think we have no problem presenting case convincingly and never said BA exploit this 😀
          In legal profession, unfortunately like all cases in our legal system some cases that should win easily don’t!

• Young L says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:27

  I booked a return ticket with Cathay Pacific, using Avios, on BA website. Is it possible to cancel the outbound and keep the inbound?

  • Rhys says:

    22 Oct22 October 09:53

    Should be. Give BA a call.

• den says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:33

  Having never used the contactless key feature on the Hilton app, I have used it twice in the past two nights and it has saved me probably 30 mins in the queue each time. Wednesday night at the HGI Hatton Cross and last night at the Hampton Stansted, would thoroughly recommend it if you have the app and there is a queue.

  • Scott says:

    22 Oct22 October 10:11

    I’ve used it twice.

    First time at the Hilton in the D.C. area near their headquarters (forgotten the name).
    Second time at the HGI next to Hatton Cross.

    Both times it worked once and then I had to return to the desk and queue for a keycard as it stopped working.

  • Dave says:

    22 Oct22 October 11:22

    I think it has flaky written all over it.

    • den says:

      22 Oct22 October 13:00

      It may do, but the bonus points you gain from your wife by skipping the huge queue and going straight to the room is worth it. Even unlocks the elevator for you.

  • John says:

    22 Oct22 October 11:45

    I always request a digital key unless I want to try for a further upgrade by going in person. It works at hotels which put some thought into it.

    Some of them will put a key card in the room as well as drinks vouchers and bottled water (which I don’t really care about) and before covid they often put an additional Diamond gift too.

    As for others, you may need a card to turn on the electricity and have to resort to using a credit card until the front desk queue has cleared… They claim that housekeeping *should* have left a card there … and earlier this year you might not know you need to book a breakfast slot and then get denied entry to the restaurant in the morning!

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    22 Oct22 October 11:49

    That’s assuming you are happy with the room upgrade you got?
    Tbf, am not sure I’ll get a better upgrade by asking at check in, as I mostly travel peak time and hotels are usually full.
    If Hilton is really interested in promoting this feature, why not offer 500 points for using it?

• George M says:

  22 Oct22 October 09:50

  Flying LGW to CUN next week in club world. Have never flown it before and going with my partner. Have read the best couples seats are the bassinet ones. Can anyone else confirm and also is there much likelihood of getting them when OLCI opens? As I do not want to pay over £100 per seat just to select one of them now (one bassinet seat has been blocked out)

  • JDB says:

    22 Oct22 October 09:58

    The bassinet seats are in the front row directly behind the galley. BA has the greatest expertise of making more noise than any other airline clattering in the galley and after service chattering with the the rest of the crew who come there after the meal service. Personally, I think you are better to be a bit further back much though, in principle, forward is usually better.

    • George M says:

      22 Oct22 October 10:07

      It’s a 3 class 777 so no they are at the back not front.

      • JDB says:

        22 Oct22 October 10:15

        Apologies @GeorgeM ! The same applies however, as you have the galley (and two loos) directly behind!

        • George M says:

          22 Oct22 October 10:38

          Thanks JDB world you suggest 2 window seats instead?

        • JDB says:

          22 Oct22 October 10:45

          @George M yes, we prefer the window seats, you are facing each other rather than side by side but it’s better than having those D&G seats on either side if it’s busy. In the middle it’s quite dark and on those old 777s the middle overhead bins creak like anything. Neither of us mind sitting in the rear facing seat, but some people do.

    • Anuj says:

      22 Oct22 October 11:54

      God forbid the staff chat to each other in-between their job.

      • JDB says:

        22 Oct22 October 14:07

        There is chatting and then there is meeting up in a group to have loud chats in the front galley, often during the night and at the same having the staff clomping up and down the aisles in the F or front J cabins to get to the chat area. You don’t get this for example on QR – they walk remarkably silently and speak in hushed tones; that’s what they are trained to do, putting the passenger first.

  • Richie says:

    22 Oct22 October 10:02

    Do you want to be near an infant on an outdated noisy aircraft?

• Aston100 says:

  22 Oct22 October 10:02

  Following on from David D’s excellent information regarding obtaining a voucher from KLM (Page 9 of yesterdays discussion thread), I gave KLM another call.
  Got through to an agent in under ten minutes.
  Surprisingly, they offered a full cash refund (a voucher was also an option). They further advised that all bookings made prior to end of this year can be refunded in full (though they would prefer you to take a voucher).
  I was advised it would take 60 to 90 days for this to land back on my payment card.
  This suits me as the card in question is getting cancelled mid November anyway.
  To be clear, this was a cancellation initiated by me, due to disinclination to travel.

  Must say, this seems very generous.

  • Michael C says:

    22 Oct22 October 10:56

    Hi Aston, guess they didn’t specify if it was “booked by the end of this year, but flown by…”??

    • Aston100 says:

      22 Oct22 October 11:41

      Hi Michael.
      They didn’t specify. However, my flights were booked early this year, with travel dates at the end of Feb 2022.

    • E says:

      22 Oct22 October 12:24

      It’s flown by end of March 2022 I think.

      • David D says:

        22 Oct22 October 14:13

        @E is correct, generally. The terms state any flight prior to 31/03/2022, but does not state a book by date at present.

        • David D says:

          22 Oct22 October 14:17

          Also, @Aston100 i’m glad to hear it all went rather smoothly for you. Since the government fund injection/bail-out to both AF and KL last year they have been much more forthcoming with the offering of the cash refunds up front, but tend to prefer the voucher first.

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