The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 26th October

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Rich says:

26 Oct26 October 10:12

HELP! I am looking to cancel a flight with BA and they are only offering me a voucher for the following refund policy. “Refunds: If the booking is cancelled before the first flight, a cancellation fee of £150 per direction applies. At any other time there is no refund apart from gov taxes”. Is this correct? Flight is cash booked in August. Thanks!
- Pete M says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 10:14
  
  You want cash back or are you happy with a voucher?
  - Rich says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 10:18
    
    Cash ideally but they are claiming I can only take a voucher and that there is no £150 fee at the moment due to covid.
    - Pete M says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 10:23
      
      Well… You are freely choosing to cancel a ticket that came with a cancellation policy that you agreed to. BA are offering you the option of taking a voucher for the full amount, which you can use in the future. How is this in any way unreasonable?
      - meta says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 10:31
        
        The cancellation fee is pretty generous as well at £300 return if it for long-haul. How much was the ticket anyway?
      - Rich says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 10:34
        
        Well the tickets at £9k and I might not spend it in time.
      - Pete M says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 10:34
        
        Middle of 2023?
      - meta says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 10:53
        
        So the cancellation fee they are offering represents about 3.3% of the ticket cost… I’d take that offer any day over FTV.
      - Rich says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 10:54
        
        I’m not trying to cheat the system. The wording is a bit misleading as it is doesn’t specify the refund is a voucher
      - SteveJ says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 11:59
        
        Seems like BA are refusing the option to cancel with the £150 fee deduction which was the cancellation policy agreed to. Is unreasonable from BA.
    - AJA says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 11:40
      
      Are you saying BA are only offering the voucher when you call and speak to an agent? Or is this what you are seeing online in MMB?
      
      In order to get a cash refund you have to call to cancel. If you try do it online BA will automatically offer a voucher for the full value of your booking. You cannot cancel online for a cash refund .
      
      If you are happy to pay £150 cancellation fee in each direction then call BA. What cabin did you book and for how many passengers? If you are booked in First phone YouFirst to get the refund.
- ChrisC says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:04
  
  So a voluntary cancellation of a flight only booking?
  
  In which case book with confidence applies so it’s a voucher.
  
  If BA have cancelled the flight or there has been a 4 hour change in the schedule then you can have a refund.
- Anuj says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:10
  
  How far away is the flight? Might be worth seeing if the flight gets cancelled at which point you’re entitled to a full refund (but will take effort to get this).
- SteveJ says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:13
  
  If I understand, you’re happy to pay the fee/have the fee deducted but you’re being told you can only take a voucher? If that’s the case they are wrong, hang up and call again.
  - ChrisC says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 11:50
    
    Who knows? We’ve so little info it’s really not possible to give proper advice.
    - Rich says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 13:53
      
      YouFirst informed me I could have a refund (minus fees). Sadly got pushed into a FTV so need to go to the credit card company. Thanks for your help!
      - Pete M says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 14:27
        
        You can get a FTV refunded as well, minus the fees. Where does your credit card company come into it?
      - SteveJ says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 15:04
        
        What Pete M said. Your FTV is your original ticket frozen in a voucher. All the same terms and conditions still apply. So a refund is still possible.
        
        Don’t over complicate this. Call them up and tell them you want a refund and let them deduct the fees as per the booking conditions. This really is a non issue.
      - ChrisC says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 16:58
        
        Perhaps if you had said this in your original post instead of people having assume what was happening!
        
        How did you get pushed into taking a voucher when you were informed you could have a refund less the fees?
ATP says:

26 Oct26 October 10:19

Hi all, looking at using my BAPP voucher for Barbados. Never been to the Caribbean area but have heard lots of fuss about the Sandy Lane. Can anybody vouch for the hotel/input their experiences? At £1k a night (need two rooms too!), I’d like to hear more about whether its worth the premium or if Fairmont RP is ‘better value’. Any input greatly appreciated. Don’t mind paying the premium, its more whether the jump in price can be justified. TIA!
- Anna says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 10:29
  
  When are you travelling? Get your flights booked before investing too much time in researching hotels in case you can’t find award availability for your dates!
  - ATP says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 10:31
    
    Apologies, looking at Sept next year and found lots of availability, and generally we are v flexible on dates so anytime late next year would work fine too.
    - Anna says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 11:17
      
      Ah, have you got an “extra availability” new voucher?
      - ATP says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 11:40
        
        That’s correct Anna, and my children work now so if anything, we prefer to go off-peak.
      - Anna says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 12:05
        
        Counting down to when we get to that lol!
- Rich says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 10:34
  
  I’m going on Saturday so can let you know…
- JDB says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 10:39
  
  Re Sandy Lane, it rather depends what you like and whether you are with children or not. It’s quite flash, as is the clientele, but it is very comfortable and has great facilities including golf. If you don’t need the ‘big name’ hotel and are just travelling as a couple, something like Cobblers Cove is an altogether more civilised and sophisticated experience, but can be difficult to find space.
  - Rob says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 11:09
    
    I am typing this at Sandy Lane having moved from Fairmont. Give me a couple of days to settle in.
    
    Bottom line – huge difference in hard product, but essentially both have huge beaches (biggest stretches of any hotels), free watersports and good staff. If you can afford SL then the huge difference in pure luxury (not facilities, just opulence) is probably worth it.
    
    No spa or kids club at Fairmont.
    
    All Fairmont rooms have uninterrupted, astounding, sea view. Only some SL rooms are sea facing and are still blocked by trees.
    
    Can share some photos etc offline next week if you want.
    - NvT1115 says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 11:39
      
      Sandy Lane is definitely on another level! Sheer opulence. The beach is amazing but worth walking north of you want to explore the reef and wreck off Holetown
    - ATP says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 11:44
      
      Thanks everyone, really appreciate the insights, will chat with the family now. Rob, that would be fantastic. I’ll get in touch in a couple of days then at hello@hfp
      - Anna says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 12:07
        
        Feel free to share on here, both of you! My half term is a mixture of intermittent showers and mock gcse revision 😥
- Graham Walsh says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 21:32
  
  Elegant Hotels now owned by Marriott. I stayed at the adults only 2 years ago but appears to have gone downhill. The Taramaind appears still to be good.
  - Rob says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 23:43
    
    I wouldn’t touch any of those until they are rebranded, because rebranding means they have been refurbished.
Joseph AJ says:

26 Oct26 October 10:30

Hello everyone! A question for those who usually or traditionally book through hotels.com. Are people still using it, any idea when the current scheme ends? What have peopled moved to? Just hit my 10th night so feels like a time to break from it.
- Matt says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 10:44
  
  Used them once over the summer just to reset the expiry clock on my free nights. No problems with the stay. Was just looking at them yesterday while planning a trip round Kenya. Very useful for independent travel where chain hotels don’t reach. Most hotels have free cancellation. There was trouble in some countries (eg Greece) with the cancellation, which I believe was due to local government policy. Personally I will continue to use them if I haven’t visited a particular hotel before or there isn’t a chain/points angle available.
- Jonathan says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 10:50
  
  I’m in the same position, if you look at yesterday’s article on earning Avios / Virgin Atlantic Flying club points via rocketmiles, this might a suitable alternative as opposed to booking with hotels.com.
  
  Either way, I highly doubt that hotels.com will change their reward system overnight, and stitch a load of their customers up. There’s also nothing to suggest that their reward scheme is changing, it’s more of a speculation than anything
  - Blenz101 says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 11:40
    
    Plus they are the last decent Tesco partner left outside of Railcards.
    - Anuj says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 14:04
      
      Virgin atlantic?
Anna says:

26 Oct26 October 10:37

Virgin app still not showing any transactions since last Thursday – is this normal?
- Harrier25 says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 10:53
  
  By transactions not showing, do you mean Virgin Atlantic credit card purchases? If so, then all of my recent transactions are showing up in the app.
  - Anna says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 11:22
    
    Yes – a payment from this morning is now showing but the last 3 or 4 seemed to show up briefly then drop off completely. I know I have spent the money, not least because my spare freezer is full to bursting!
James says:

26 Oct26 October 10:46

Asked the other day on the BA Holidays Double Tier Points article if my Maldives Holiday would qualify. Flights were QR (BA Code share) – QR going and BA return. Contacted BA at the weekend and got confirmation (and points) this morning. Some thought I might not qualify due to the DOH – MLE flight not being a BA code share.
- ChrisC says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:07
  
  IIRC you were originally on a direct BA flight which got cancelled and they rebooked you so I think there correct – they have given you original routing credit.
Phin says:

26 Oct26 October 10:48

Has anyone flown Austrian Airways business LHR-BKK via Vienna? Prices in Feb are excellent.
- Richie says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:03
  
  Is it PCR test on arrival at BKK for Feb? If so may explain the low prices.
  - Phin says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 11:09
    
    From what I understand, from 1st Nov you will need a PCR to travel, a PCR on arrival and then one night in a designated hotel awaiting the result.
    - Richie says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 11:18
      
      What happens if your result is positive?
      What happens if someone on your flight tests positive?
      - Phin says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 12:25
        
        All good questions that remain to be answered as yet!
      - meta says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 13:54
        
        And hotels demand that you book non-refundable rate for the first night. You also have to pay for PCR on arrival which is about £45. I also don’t think you’ll get such a quick turnaround on the PCR. I’m staying clear until they change this, hopefully from 1 Jan.
- Rob says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:04
  
  Food is meant to be outstanding.
- Stephen W says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 14:49
  
  Done this a couple of times pre-covid. Easy transfer at VIE and amazing food on flight. They actually had an on-board chef who pan-fried goose liver!
  - Aston100 says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 17:39
    
    Was he just showing off, or did someone specifically request it?
GJS says:

26 Oct26 October 10:52

Hi everyone – I’m here looking for some European inspiration. Have two final Lloyds vouchers left and we’d like to go somewhere in between Christmas and New Year (that still has Avios availability). Travelling with a two year old and a newborn. Anyone have suggestions for cities that might be good for mooching around at the end of December (preferable with lots of parks and gardens)? Blue sky would be nice but not fussed about temperature. Madrid was our first choice but a lot of the flights were cancelled last week. Thanks in advance!
- JDB says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:02
  
  Maybe have a look at Nice? Have spent quite a few Christmases there with blue skies and often warm enough to eat outside at lunchtime but quite cold at night. Lots of green spaces/parks and of course miles of sea front to walk along.
- Anna says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:27
  
  Malaga and the surrounding area are very family friendly and it should be pleasant if not actually beach weather. Similarly Barcelona, Palma, Rome.
  - Anna says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 11:29
    
    I know you said not bothered about temperature, but I’m just thinking, especially with small children, the less you need to pack, the better!
- memesweeper says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 12:15
  
  Marseille
  Porto
  Seville
  Granada
  Amman (not Europe, but not far, and fab!)
  - GJS says:
    
    26 Oct26 October 15:52
    
    Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. A few places there that we’d considered, but understandably no Avios flights at such short notice. Will do some more research tonight. Thanks again!
    - Anna says:
      
      26 Oct26 October 16:32
      
      Are there any destinations with 2 CE seats available? You could use your 2 Lloyds vouchers for you and the 2 year old (assume infant will be on your knee) and consider a BA holiday booking for partner. This would earn avios and tier points and you might get a good deal on a hotel.
      - memesweeper says:
        
        26 Oct26 October 18:19
        
        Amman has some availability in CE on the way out, and I’m sure lots of other places do to. Getting back is the tricky bit … EasyJet/BA for cash may be the best bet.
Ryan Gill says:

26 Oct26 October 11:09

I didn’t manage to add my children to make a Ba Household account, can I do this retrospectively to get the extra avios? Currently in Malaga until the 2nd November.
- AJA says:
  
  26 Oct26 October 11:55
  
  I think you can do it retrospectively and get the Avios.
  
  18.1.4. To create a Household Account:
  
  (a) the application process on Ba.com must be completed naming the relevant members; and
  
  (b) a primary member must be designated in respect of the Household Account who must be 18 years of age or over and, in all cases, an existing Member of the Executive Club.
  
  The remaining members of the Household Account (other than the primary member) can either be existing Members of the Executive Club or new Members. At the time of joining the Household Account, new Members will receive an Executive Club Membership Number and will be eligible for a Card if the required Avios points have been earned.
  
  Remember that you won’t be able to create a household account between 4 October 2021 and 17 November 2021 inclusive