The HfP chat thread – Monday 25th October

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• Pete M says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:00

  For those of you with the Morrisons AmEx offer and in Central/North London, the Camden store has plenty of GCs, including Amazon, M&S, Waitrose/JL, Boots, Nando’s, etc.

  • Kevin says:

    25 Oct25 October 21:01

    Have anyone bought Apple store GC from Morrisons ?

• Robman says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:12

  Looking for advice on Mauritius accommodation for a week. Was considering Hilton in Flic en Flac and have Diamond loyalty level. We like to spend time by the beach/pool and eat our dinners outside of the hotel. Will have a car to explore the island. Also looked into Lux Belle Mare, which has rave reviews but the AI option is expensive £550 per night.
  1. Any advice Re these two hotels?
  2. What’s best Re car rental, hire from UK in advance or do it when there?
  3. What upgrades were you given as Gold or Diamond at the Hilton?
  Thanks

  • Phil says:

    25 Oct25 October 16:07

    We’ve been to the St Regis three times and can recommend, but doesn’t support your evening meal desire.

    The St Regis frequently have “book half-board, get full-board” offers available through travel specialists – so it might be worth seeing what Emyr can do.

    • Rob says:

      25 Oct25 October 16:25

      St Regis was downgraded to a JW Marriott and recent reports suggest it should have been downgraded further.

      • Robman says:

        25 Oct25 October 18:33

        Thanks both

• John says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:22

  BA cancelled my half price avios flights and I rebooked online for later this year. But I had a lap infant who is now over 2 so will need his own seat.

  Should BA give him a seat for free and will I have trouble getting them to do so?

  • Anna says:

    25 Oct25 October 12:32

    What did they say when you re-booked?!

    • John says:

      25 Oct25 October 12:43

      Nothing because I did it online and still a lap infant ticket

      • Anna says:

        25 Oct25 October 13:33

        I assumed the infant’s date of birth would be in the system and would have flagged up as a problem on the new booking. I think some people have had success when adding a 2 year old under similar circs and got a free or very discounted seat. CSA’s responses can be so varied, though, you’ll have to see what they say when you call.

        • Babyg says:

          25 Oct25 October 14:45

          be interested to hear how this plays out… the child turning 2 free seat was a card i played well for my daughter many years ago (she turned 2 for the inbound legs of our LHR-SYD return), but wondering how BA will deal with it given they have turned 2 before the flight, one would think they would sort it for free…

      • Sam G says:

        25 Oct25 October 15:10

        personally I think you’ll be on the hook for the seat. Don’t leave this to the airport or you could end up having to buy a very expensive ticket or not travel. The circumstance Anna is thinking of is where the child turns 2 during travel – BA very generously provide a free seat in these circumstances

        • Sam G says:

          25 Oct25 October 15:11

          *I think Anna is thinking of..

• jj says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:30

  Is anyone else having difficulty paying Amex at the moment? My mobile app says their systems are unavailable, and the website goes into an unending refresh loop if I try. My wife’s account has no such issues.

  I don’t know if my account is borked or if there is a more widespread problem.

  • Reney says:

    25 Oct25 October 12:41

    I paid this morning just before 9, using the website – no issues.

  • Max says:

    25 Oct25 October 12:56

    No issue when I paid half an hour ago.
    Had issues with AMEX one evening last week where my two AMEX cards both didn’t work.

    • Anthony says:

      25 Oct25 October 13:39

      Is there any points earning/cash back ways to pay off an Amex bill these days?

      • roberto says:

        25 Oct25 October 13:42

        Curve?

        • Babyg says:

          25 Oct25 October 13:55

          cool.. lets get everybody on hfp to try that.. worked well for N&SI/creation..

        • Anthony says:

          25 Oct25 October 13:57

          Which linked card through? I thought most had cottoned on to this route

• Luke says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:33

  Anyone else still waiting for the additional 3500 AMEX points for adding an additional cardholder? Been a while now, I believe the promo said they’d credit by end of October so fingers crossed.

  • cabal of rabid baboons says:

    25 Oct25 October 15:47

    I got mine manually credited on the phone but player 2 was told via chat that they would arrive with Novembers statement

  • xcalx says:

    25 Oct25 October 16:16

    Yes. Cancelled the card not waiting 90 days for 3000 avios.

• Anthony says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:44

  I’m using by BA Amex voucher to fly to Singapore in December. I have a separate ticket on Qantas from there to Melbourne. I’m pretty sure BA no longer book bags through to the end destination on separate tickets. I think that will mean I can only take carry-on luggage. If I need to collect bags in Singapore, I effectively have to enter the country and would then have to wait too long for another Covid test. Does that sound right? Does anyone have any experience of this route during Covid?

  • John says:

    25 Oct25 October 13:17

    I don’t know for certain but surely your preflight test would still need to be in time for boarding in Singapore regardless of whether it’s the same ticket?

    Correct that BA won’t through check

  • H says:

    25 Oct25 October 13:18

    I don’t have experience of this route during Covid. However, pre-covid there was an airside transfer desk who would arrange your bags being rechecked onto Qantas. I would call the SIN airport number for current info though.

  • Ikaz says:

    25 Oct25 October 13:21

    Worth noting that BA might refuse to let you board if you are not allowed into Singapore, as far as they care, that is your final destination

    • Blenz101 says:

      25 Oct25 October 13:37

      Not just might not let you, won’t let you unless you have a the paperwork in place to enter SIN.

      • Sam G says:

        25 Oct25 October 15:05

        Yes. This kind of itinerary is not possible without building an overnight stopover at Changi (e.g. YOTEL Jewel) and abiding by the VTL rules. Currently no VTL in the opposite direction from Aus but it is due to be announced imminently.

• Ian_H says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:48

  @Rob It might be worth re-doing your “How does EasyJet with extras compare to BA” article in light of the baggage changes introduced by easyJet.

  Its honestly the most bizarre policy as it means that the front 1/3 of the aircraft is absolutely rammed with no risk of elbow room or locker space while the back of the planes lockers are hardly used.

  I was a loyal easyJet fan, happily paid for plus and would pick them over any competition for the better quality offering.

  Since this hideous bag policy was introduced I have let my Plus lapse and actively seek other carriers where there is a more reasonable distribution of passengers throughout the aircraft, it breaks my heart to say it but Ryanair offer a better product than easyJet now as their passengers can add a cabin bag and sith throughout the plane.

  • Anna says:

    25 Oct25 October 13:05

    Doing our first easyJet flight for 2 years to BER in December (though I don’t know if it will be busy) so it will be interesting to see how they compare with Ryanair now. Have another 3 bookings with them for next year as well!

  • Ikaz says:

    25 Oct25 October 13:23

    From a few easyJet flights these weeks, the new rules are great if you book the extra seats, but just about all of the flights I flew were sold out of them. Meaning that I can’t book extra hand luggage if I want to. On domestic flights, they checked every single hand luggage in the sizers at a couple of airports. On international flights the paperwork was such a nightmare that they didn’t check sizes. I will avoid easyJet where possible due to this

    • Anna says:

      25 Oct25 October 13:35

      Yes, got 1A and 1B when I booked the flights.

    • BP says:

      25 Oct25 October 13:48

      At least they don’t have cardboard sizers like Ryanair so that you can’t squash things i to fit. There was no hand luggage checking done at Edinburgh or Lisbon in September.

      • Anna says:

        25 Oct25 October 13:52

        Part of my gradual breaking up with BA has involved treating myself to miniature hard-shell luggage which is complaint with LCCs 🤣. It’s actually amazing how much you can pack in those things when you roll up your clothes.

        • Richie says:

          25 Oct25 October 14:15

          Which size are you going for?

        • Anna says:

          25 Oct25 October 14:33

          The clothes or the luggage?!
          Whatever the Ryanair/easyJet “premium” carry on size is, Amazon knows this and makes recommendations.

        • Richie says:

          25 Oct25 October 14:42

          Btw Ryanair’s largest onboard bag is 55 x 40 x 20cm and is smaller than easyJet’s.

    • Richie says:

      25 Oct25 October 14:18

      I thought they were going to change this so that some passengers sitting after the fire exit rows could take on board the larger size.

    • Sam G says:

      25 Oct25 October 15:07

      yep. I’ve got a flight in Jan that was all sold out in the hand bag seats months ago which is a right pain as I don’t need more than a trolley bag but cannot manage with a personal item

  • Stu N says:

    25 Oct25 October 15:35

    It’s very poorly thought out and has moved EasyJet from preferred LCC to “avoid if possible” for me. They have basically killed their proposition as a reasonably priced but still civilised airline with this change.

• Tom says:

  25 Oct25 October 12:49

  Any preferences… old BA club world on a 789, or old club world on a 388?

  Solo traveller, 12ish hour night flight. EF shows the forward mini-cabin available on the 789.

  Does the extra storage space and roominess of the 388 upper deck outweigh the intimacy and improved cabin environment on the 789?

  • Rhys says:

    25 Oct25 October 12:55

    I believe the A380 has the same lower cabin pressure as the 787/A350 anyway.

    There is also some novelty value to flying the A380 before they all disappear in the next decade or so, if that means anything to you!

  • Andrew says:

    25 Oct25 October 13:57

    Upper deck A380 also has huge toilets at the front for Club (where Emirates has the showers) so if you like to change it’s better. I would personally select A380 over any other aircraft with old Club World seats and go on the upper deck, last row, by the window – it’s pretty close to a QSuite experience (except for the shocking service and economy quality meal BA serve).

  • Babyg says:

    25 Oct25 October 14:40

    Depends on the number of people travelling (1, 2 or a family) and the AVgeekness of yourself… personally I would go 388, the upper deck towards the front… thou the mini cabin on the 789 is probably better (more intimate) but it aint the a380… head say 789, heart says 388

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