The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 9th November

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James says:

9 Nov9 November 08:47

Staying at the Sheraton Fallsview and overlooking Niagara Falls but also the USA land crossing. Genuinely surprised how dead the crossing is especially as it’s just opened for nonessential travel!
- Andrew says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 09:10
  
  The main Highway crossing is a bit further North and avoids the town centres.
  
  From memory the Rainbow Bridge was relatively quiet when I last visited Niagra too. Isn’t it cars only?
  - davefl says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 11:19
    
    You can walk across the rainbow bridge and back
  - James says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 12:29
    
    Definitely only been cars, looks a very serene crossing, obviously not representative of other locations I’m sure!
- Michael says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 09:11
  
  Is there a hotel/hotels on the US side overlooking the falls?
  I hope to be there for 1 day and 1 night soon.
  Recommendations please!
  
  On another note, does the AMEX Platinum Card Insurance, rental cover bring down the excess of Collision Damage Waiver to zero excess, or does it depend on the contract with the rental company?
  I need to be sure there will be zero excess for whatever when hiring a rental car and relying on the Platinum card rental insurance.
  - Rob says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 09:26
    
    Off topic, but here’s our review of Embbassy Suites on the Canadian site which actually has the best falls views, albeit not the best hotel – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2015/08/12/review-embassy-suites-niagara-falls/
    - Mick S says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 11:12
      
      I’ve stopped here, very busy hotel and not the best. But as Rob said, great views. We got upgraded to the highest floor as being a diamond member. Word of warning though, check you bill – they tried to charge me for the upgrade which of course I wasn’t prepared to do.
    - davefl says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 11:22
      
      I booked the Embassy a while back based on Rob’s article. Car parking charges are high but if you’re travelling light you can park at the casino a couple of hundred yards down the road for free.
      
      I used the saving to book a junior suite and the way the room was arranged you could sit in the bath, open some dummy panels and see across the bedroom to the falls.
      
      Good view of the fireworks from there as well.
    - Tariq says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 20:13
      
      Chose this hotel based on the reviews when I visited a couple of years ago and didn’t regret it.
  - r* says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:50
    
    IMO the US side has view of nothing as the only time you see the falls from the US side is if you take the boat trip.
    
    I stayed at the hilton fallsview, room had a view of both falls (I booked a room in the highest floor section, then got upgraded, as I wouldnt have wanted to be in a low floor room) – they have stopped giving breakfast and just give a voucher that works out to be 9 USD, which is kinda symptomatic of how ‘cheap’ the place is – the falls are amazing but the town around it is a bit of a dump and everything other than the actual niagara park area has the low quality cba feel to it.
- Tracey says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 09:42
  
  I was genuinely surprised how awful the hotel was. Other than the view, the rooms are in shocking need of an upgrade. The carpet on the bedroom floor was totally worn away and the furniture was cheap plastic fake leather.
  In fact the whole town was tacky.
  Having completed the trio of Iguazu, Victoria and Niagara, Niagara was definitely the worst
  - Mel T says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 09:46
    
    I am preparing myself for tacky. Hopefully it will live up to my expectations then.
- Mel T says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 09:45
  
  OOh, hotel review please- am there at New year!
  - QwertyKnowsBest says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 11:45
    
    Marriott fallsview (not the other Marriott) on the Canadian side. Stayed 3 weeks ago. Best view of both falls especially the more impressive Canadian (Horseshoe falls). Typical Marriott chain hotel, so so, but recently refurbished, room OK. Worth paying the upgrade for a better (higher) view. Watch out for those extra charges on the final receipt.
    
    Of course do the ‘Hornblower’ boat trip, but also the walk behind the falls is worth doing. Niagara on the lake a pleasant drive from Niagara and worth a visit.
    - James says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 12:24
      
      We really struggled to decide on a hotel in Niagara Falls due to very mixed reviews online and some of them seem to be showing their age.
      
      We’re having a great time at the Sheraton, our room is very modern and views are great. We were able to access the room 2hrs 30 early and the mobile key is very useful as we saw some long queues for check-in later on.
      - Mel T says:
        
        9 Nov9 November 13:04
        
        I also struggled with hotels and we have ended up in Niagara on the lake for a few nights and just the one night at the Falls. Thinking that was a good move reading the comments!
Andrew says:

9 Nov9 November 09:05

And if you ever get access to it, try not to lose it if you leave the company

It’s a valuable perk that I’ve been enjoying for 20 years or so – and I left that firm 11 years ago.
- Rui N. says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 09:17
  
  How do you do that?! Just keep logging in with your old work email?
  - Aston100 says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:35
    
    I log in to mine with my personal email address.
    
    That said, my employer has signed up to some basic version of PAW which doesn’t seem to give many of the offers that others talk about on here.
    - EwanG says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 15:40
      
      You can have multiple PAW accounts from different employers. Current employer has 10% Morrisons whereas 2 previous employers only offering 1%.
      
      I’ve said it before… some employer PAW flavours offer the ability to set up an account for friends and family too!
Ashraj says:

9 Nov9 November 09:42

Good Morning- do anyone know if BA will be reintroduing First to Tokyo. Was originally planned to go last year. Thanks
Josh says:

9 Nov9 November 09:59

Hi Rob/all

Bit of a niche q here. I’m looking to get to GCM on award availability but nothing is showing for my dates.

GCM on BA has a refuel at NAS where it stops for an hour.

If I were to secure LHR > NAS, and had a NAS > GCM avios booking, would that even be allowed? I would be on the same plane for both flights yet they are booked separately.

Is there a way BA can combine these so that our bags arrive at GCM or is this not possible?

If not possible, would our only option be to stay overnight and get the following day flight from NAS-GCM?

Thanks
- Anna says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 10:42
  
  Hi Josh, I’ve done this route a few times and as far as I know the award seats are the same for both NAS and GCM, i.e. there won’t be availability for one and not the other. Are you saying NAS availability is showing but not GCM? If so I can only think that this is one of the current services which is not flying on to GCM as GCM is still very restricted for tourists entering.
  If you post your dates and what you’ve looked at so far I may be able to help a bit more. You should probably make absolutely sure the route is running before going to the trouble of trying to book NAS-GCM!
  - Anna says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:45
    
    And if you’re planning to visiting GCM in the next few months, be aware that you will need prior authorisation to travel, negative covid tests before departure, on days 3, 5 and 10 and will need to quarantine for 10 days if not fully jabbed (including any children!)
    - Josh says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 10:57
      
      Thanks 🙂 we’ve been following the rules closely since the announcement of the reopen. Luckily we are fine with all the above!
  - Josh says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:48
    
    Hey Anna,
    
    Thanks for the response.
    
    Actually there is no currently availability to NAS via BA, however there is via Virgin Atlantic.
    
    This is me more planning all potential outcomes.
    
    Essentially we are hoping to see my family over christmas who live in GCM. There are 4 of us which is why I was hoping 2x BA 241’s wouldve unlocked availability, but it seems like the GCM fare classes (and NAS) are locked to J/B/C and not I.
    
    Im currently thinking of all potential options however I am uncomfortable with my Mother/Sister flying via the US.
    
    Our only options seem to be:
    
    Hope for LHR > GCM to open
    
    LHR > NAS, most likely have to stay overnight if it’s via Virgin and then NAS > GCM
    
    LHR > MIA > GCM (No award availability for MIA though)
    
    or LHR > JFK > GCM (seems to be most likely option but I dont really want to do an additional 4 hour flight from JFK)
    
    Also, my partner is a US citizen + I have global entry, my 2 family members are not, so I’m super reluctant to put them via US and connections as it will stress them out + they will have 3 suitcases.
    
    I’m alternatively thinking of my SO and I going via one of the above complex routes, and simply putting my family on a direct economy flight to GCM (which are still ridiculously expensive)
    
    I’m still praying that some availability will open for reward seats direct to GCM. Looking at the seat map are plenty of J seats available, just as ridiculously high cash fares.
    - Anna says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 11:07
      
      Oh gosh, has your family been stuck there for the whole pandemic? I think even Paradise might get a bit restrictive after that amount of time!
      BA has been doing a repatriation flight once a fortnight for the past year or so (hence the ridiculous prices) and I haven’t seen any mention of when they are re-starting the normal route. So don’t book NAS until this becomes clear, as you would be stuck there. We’ve booked to go next July and hoping travel will be a bit more normal by then!
      For December I suspect your main option will be via the US as there is no guarantee that BA won’t cancel the direct flights as they have been doing throughout (basically they have been selling cash and avios seats then cancelling a few weeks before the departure date as they know full well they are not going to be flying the route!)
      - Josh says:
        
        9 Nov9 November 11:11
        
        Yes my brother and sister-in-law have yes!! We originally planned to go over easter next year but I think they’ve really gotten hopes up to see us sooner since the announcements.
        
        I’m just hoping we get super lucky as this is going to be a logistical nightmare regardless and even via the US, the flight times dont align for getting to GCM on the same day, so will need to stay overnight at least.
      - Anna says:
        
        9 Nov9 November 11:15
        
        I’m in touch with some Americans via our FB group and a lot of them are finding that it’s going to be very difficult to get to GCM this winter even though they are now technically allowed in as the only flights in the short term will be going from places like JFK and MIA. The Cayman government is basically opening the borders with only a few weeks notice and the airlines will need a few months to sort out schedules and staffing for the route. I did see a mention that a Canadian airline is re-starting from Toronto soon (West Jet?)
BrianS says:

9 Nov9 November 10:14

I applied for the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card well before the deadline to receive the bonus points but have only received 15,000 and not the 30,000 advertised at the time.

Anyone else had this problem?
- BuildBackBetter says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 10:51
  
  There’s a minimum spend for the second 15k
  - BrianS says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:56
    
    And so there is! Just looked at original article again. Thanks 🙂
    - Harrier25 says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 11:07
      
      £3k, which I have hit this morning.
      - Anna says:
        
        9 Nov9 November 11:56
        
        I have £800ish to go. 17000 points for intro offer and spend seem to have transferred without any problems into the new Virgin flyer account.
      - Harrier25 says:
        
        9 Nov9 November 14:32
        
        ….and if you link your Flyer Account with your Virgin Red account, the earned credit card points show up in there too!
HBommie says:

9 Nov9 November 10:19

BA.com and app, flight sectors missing from booking. Manage my booking is doing my head in, my flights next week are not showing all sectors, last night none were showing, this morning only the outbound, god help us when the actual exec club outage starts.
- Pete M says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 10:47
  
  I had a similar problem yesterday, all bookings disappeared from my account. But seems to be back to normal today.
  - mr_jetlag says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 13:13
    
    I’ve gone back to (ungreen) paper printouts for everything. Original booking on 8pt font, 2 sides…
gillydee says:

9 Nov9 November 10:23

On the subject of BA possibly pulling Tokyo flights in 2022, would I be automatically moved to a JAL flight if BA cancelled my 241 booking?
- Allan says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 10:29
  
  Where has this rumour come from? Still bookable last night.
  - Pete M says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:52
    
    Discussed under the ‘USA reopening’ article, Allan. I am in the same boat and suspect it’s going to be a nightmare to get rebooked if they do pull out…
    - Allan says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 10:55
      
      Yes, saw that but still not sure where it came from. So far my 50% avios seats in April are looking OK and the flights are still bookable.
      - Dave says:
        
        9 Nov9 November 10:56
        
        Where on the USA reopening article? Have had a look and can’t see anything about it. Unless I’m on the wrong article?
        
        Have flights booked for May 🤞
- GillyDee says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 15:52
  
  Rumour or not, does anyone know the answer?
  - Pete M says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 16:19
    
    I believe at this stage it’s just that the restarting of the route seems to have been pushed back. Which would make sense given that there’s limited news on Japan reopening to UK tourists. Or it could mean that it’s going to be pulled. Who knows!
  - gillydee says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 20:08
    
    That is; would I be rebooked onto JAL…………….
trader363 says:

9 Nov9 November 10:27

Has Virgin stopped flying to Dubai??
- Rob says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 10:29
  
  Yes, a couple of years ago.
  
  Seemed to be a mistake to me because it impacted Virgin Holidays quite badly.
  
  We could arguably see it back if the airline has spare aircraft now. The snag is timing – because they only do one flight per day you are stuck with a 2am return flight (same with Lufthansa etc). BA is possibly the only European airline with multiple daily flights to Dubai and so able to offer more sensibly timed return options, albeit the downside of a 10am return flight is that you are paying for another hotel night at a steep rate.
  - Sarah says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:47
    
    I quite like the 2am return time, means you get a full extra day, can go out for dinner and then sleep on the plane, rather than paying for a hotel room and being up at 6am.
    - TGLoyalty says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 11:49
      
      +1
  - Blenz101 says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 11:04
    
    I would love to see them back. The must have been kicking themselves last winter when Dubai was open and filled with their target market. With the US closed the route must have been one of the busiest globally during the pandemic period. It was ripe for both the airline and their holiday business.
    
    If you are allowing 3 hours to be at the airport then 2am isn’t so bad, especially if they are trying to target a more leisure focused market in the short term who have been partying at White and Five until that time every night anyway!