Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The HfP chat thread – Saturday 23rd October

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

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Comments (327)

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

  • S says:

    Question about BA household accounts. I have 70k avios and looking to add the wife’s account and add another 100k avios. I presume combining these for a 200k 2-4-1 F redemption will work OK?

    Also what is the planned maintenance about since I can’t open account on the BA site right now

    Thanks in advance

    • Spurs drive me mad says:

      No one seems to know what the planned maintenance is. Yes you can use both lots of points from your household account for redemption. Good luck finding first availability anywhere in short supply atm.

  • S says:

    Damn I really wish there was an edit function! Meant to say 130k from the wife’s!

    • SteveJ says:

      Yes, precisely the use case for the household accounts, doesn’t matter who has the points, as long as the whole household has enough you’re good to go

  • Ilou says:

    Hi everyone,

    What it is the cheapest LFD approved provider for day 2 please ?

    Many thanks

    • Jessica says:

      Site Offline for Maintenance
      This site is currently offline due to high demand.

      Guidance for travelling to the UK
      The rules are different depending on which nation you are travelling to.

      travelling to Scotland
      travelling to Wales
      travelling to Northern Ireland

      If you will be travelling on to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man in the ten days after you arrive in the UK, you must follow the rules for testing and quarantine in those places.

      Lateral Flow Test providers
      While we work to bring the site fully online, please find below a list of providers that currently offer Lateral Flow Tests

  • r* says:

    Has anyone had a cancelled flight rebooked by amex under the voluntary ‘s75’ cover? Ive had a flight cancelled that was booked on amex plat, but I want to travel so am considering options before calling airline. Would amex book me on an alternate flight even tho theres no legal s75 cover?

    Would I need to have contacted the airline first or could I just make the request to amex and not deal with the airline at all?

    And lastly, would there likely be any flexibility on the dates such as returning a week later than original booking (same outbound) or is it basically like for like only?

    • meta says:

      S75 doesn’t work Amex Plat as it is a charge card and not a credit card. They do voluntary dispute, so at most you will be able to get a refund.

      In case you use a credit card, for S75 you do need to first work with the airline, but it can be as simple as one or two phone calls.

    • Sukes says:

      You’ll have to deal with the airline assuming you’re talking about rebooking a flight that falls within scope of eu261 – the legal obligation to reroute or reimburse is on the operating carrier.

  • thehornets says:

    Good morning! Hopefully an easy question…

    Does anyone know if it is possible to empty my wife’s Amex MR points directly to MY BA account? Do Amex/BA validate account names and details?

    Thank you

    • Harrier25 says:

      I have my wife’s account linked to my Avios account. In fact, the only account I haven’t been able to link to her Amex account is my Nectar account.

  • Mark says:

    I’m no statistician, buit it feels like 80% of the comments come from the same 20% of commenters, and the 20% of repeat commenters say the same thing 80% of the time.

  • Aliks says:

    Do IHG Spire Elite members still get automatic lounge access in Crowne Plaza hotels?

    We are looking at the CP in Paris, Republique for Xmas.

    • Ikaz says:

      They don’t, some hotels typically provide access though. CP Manchester actually stopped providing access last year with Covid (although lounge was open), they might have reinstated it now. CP Paris république doesn’t have the best reputation, check the reviews on flyertalk

    • Jonathan says:

      Never been automatic (certainly not in last 5-10 years) just the case that CP has traditionally had best track record for elite recognition (excluding IHG/Amb).

    • Lady London says:

      Isn’t there a new Voco (IHG) in Paris that’s getting great reviews, plus a new Kimpton a few posters here have stayed in and reported on?

      • Sandra says:

        Quite a few years since we last stayed at CP République and it was ok but not great. Even as IHG Spire Ambassador they didn’t give complementary lounge access unless you’d booked a room with it included or paid a supplement negotiated with the front desk.

        • Rob says:

          This CP has had a big refurb and is now quite well regarded – see the Flyertalk thread on it in the IHG forum.

      • stevenhp1987 says:

        Stayed in the Kimpton on sunday (free night voucher).

        Nice rooms. No lounge.

        There is a social hour in the library for all guests though between 5pm and 7pm (they said 7pm but stopped serving at 6.30pm then did a fire drill…
        ) with limited drinks and light snacks.

        Had maybe 3 glasses of Champagne.

        The raid the bar voucher is difficult to use due to the extortionate drinks prices!

  • Roger says:

    Trying to add BA on business number to IB booking but no joy
    How can I get BA reference number for IB flight or add BA on business number directly on IB MMB.

    currently on website or app there is no option to add this.

    • Memesweeper says:

      You may need to retro claim. I’ve done dozens of these, and it’s a pain, but it works.

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