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The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 17th November

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Comments (445)

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

  • Charlie says:
    17 Nov17 November 07:57

    Looking for tips for a hotel in Tokyo next October. First time in Japan ! I have a decent stash of IHG points but not convinced from reviews that that’s my best option.

    • YC says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:26

      I have a tentative booking at the Kimpton Shinjuku for 44k/night. The other hotel chains (5*) are all priced at top end of categories so IHG with dynamic pricing actually comes out to decent value.

      • Charlie says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:22

        Nice rate, same hotel is 72k for my dates !

        • YC says:
          17 Nov17 November 09:29

          Keep monitoring. I started at 72k and now I’m at 44k! But borders are unlikely to be open for my dates (which is why rates are falling)

        • APPL says:
          17 Nov17 November 09:37

          With dynamic pricing on IHG, it’s definitely worth checking rates often. I have some nights booked at Kimpton Shinjuku and some at IC Strings. I have managed to get them down to 46-47k/night now. Rebooked several times, as originally they were much more.

    • Ikaz says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:40

      Intercontinental hotels in japan seem fine based on reviews, I am booked in the IC Tokyo Bay before our flight home, it has a direct train link to Haneda, and is under 40k points per night

      • Steve says:
        17 Nov17 November 10:47

        IC Tokyo Bay is a lovely hotel and right opposite a metro station so easy to get around. I stayed there Feb 19 when I did the marathon and even got upgraded to a suite even thou only Spire and no ambassador at the time.
        Half points/free night certificate & half cash stay. Obviously points and fre night for the Saturday Sunday night when the cash rates were astronomical

      • Charlie says:
        17 Nov17 November 14:50

        Thanks Ikaz, I had read some negative stuff on FT site about lack of loyalty recognition

    • Thywillbedone says:
      17 Nov17 November 10:57

      Stayed at IC Strings during RWC. A good 5* hotel with excellent transport connections. But it is not 5* Plus like a Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Andaz, Peninsula (to name some I have tried in the city)

      • meta says:
        17 Nov17 November 11:44

        Stunning views from the rooms at the IC Strings. Not good for first timers though. You want to be either near Shinjuku or Ginza.

        I actually have a booking at IC Strings for 38k points a night. It’s really great for Haneda, only 15-20 minutes. However, cash rates have fallen significantly too… Never seen them so low at some of the high end hotels.

        • Charlie says:
          17 Nov17 November 14:54

          Thanks Meta .. have looked at Peninsula .. its £250 which looks like a bargain, have only stayed at the one in BKK and that was very nice.

          • Thywillbedone says:
            17 Nov17 November 15:12

            That would be a bargain for that property …I recall spending north of £400 about 7 years ago (not high season). A highlight was service recovery on an issue that arose: we were given the use of the house Rolls Royce plus driver for the day …

          • meta says:
            17 Nov17 November 15:34

            Yes, that’s a total bargain. Tokyo prices have gone really down. Kyoto is still very expensive. I also booked Diplomat Suite at GH Fukuoka for £130 per night a month ago.

      • Charlie says:
        17 Nov17 November 14:55

        Thanks Thywillbedone … good info

  • The Savage Squirrel says:
    17 Nov17 November 08:04

    So USA car hire prices USED to be trivial to the point I spent about 2 minutes tops considering car hire. Now post covid of course they are, er, less trivial 😀 . Any tips from the assembled wisdom for securing best available deal out of LAX (about 4 months out if it makes a difference…)?

    • Mikeact says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:14

      And for a four week deal ?

    • Can says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:20

      Think of it this way, at least now you can get some more extra points or miles for it.
      There was a chart about US inflation in FT yesterday. Car rentals and used car prices, it showed, skyrocketed

    • Paul Pogba says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:34

      If you’re picking up from an airport try Qantas car hire: https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/cars.html

    • Louise K says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:36

      Have you tried a city location rather than airport?

      Someone recently suggested Using Hertz, but change country of origin to USA.

      I find Expedia rates favourable (most of the time)

    • ianM says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:38

      I don’t think there’s any answer to this, it is gonna be at least 3 times what you would pay pre-Covid. The longer you hire for the cheaper it will be, I was quoted $200 a day for MIA recently for a 4 day hire.
      There is the option of TURO but far less straightforward in terms of insurance etc.

    • Jane says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:47

      wow, using that Qantas link initially didn’t look much different to what I have been seeing but selecting resort pick up and drop off my 3 week Miami to Orlando rental for next August dropped from $1800 to $800 (or $700 if I take less bags)

      • elguiri says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:35

        Are you going via Alligator Alley and through the panther forests?

        • Jane says:
          17 Nov17 November 09:41

          Haven’t got that far yet, just the flights booked and the hotel in Orlando and 6 days to get from Miami. Still trying to work out a plan for those first 6 nights – happy to take any hotel recommendations.

          • elguiri says:
            17 Nov17 November 10:05

            We prefer to stay at airport hotels on first night so we don’t have to think much after the long flight. On last trip to MIA we stayed at Homewood Suites by Hilton Miami-Airport/Blue Lagoon and we liked it. We then stayed at a rented house in the north of Miami as it was ideal for a little one, and close to Oleta River State Park (inland beach, shallow, no waves).
            If you’ve only got 6 days, probably don’t want to do the long route via alligator alley etc, as that brings you up via fort myers and tampa. You can do a day trip to the everglades from Miami though.
            A drive down to the keys is usually recommended, although if you actually want to see them properly, best to overnight nearby as otherwise it’s a long long day trip.
            If you have kids, it’s worth visiting the Children’s museum in Miami, and the Crayola Experience near Orlando.

          • Jane says:
            17 Nov17 November 10:52

            Thanks all, some great information. Will take a look. We did have the Hilton Bakers Cay booked on points for the same trip that was cancelled last year as it was a great deal but they want 80,000 points this year 🙁 . We have explored southern Florida a few times in the past pre-kids (now 9&6) so just wanted a bit of chill out time post flight and before the madness of Orlando.

    • Eric the Half a Bee says:
      17 Nov17 November 10:12

      Try Fox rent-a-car. If you have Amex Plat (or other insurance excess cover) they have done great prices from LAX. Booked for August and is up to half of what other suppliers are charging.

    • Will says:
      17 Nov17 November 10:41

      Possibly try Turo YMMV excuse the pun 😉

      • Mycity says:
        17 Nov17 November 11:07

        QEEQ has good prices but I’ve never used them, anyone any experience of them?

        • davef says:
          17 Nov17 November 18:48

          I’ve just tried looking up on QEEQ and their rates were a con.

          Tried AUS downtown to ONT Airport and it populated the page with ‘secret deals’ that were actually ONT – ONT.

          The genuine rates from AUS-ONT airports were £100+ higher like for like than the BA site.

    • Magic Mike says:
      17 Nov17 November 17:20

      Got a good price from holiday autos, about GBP 400 for 2 weeks in Seattle next spring. Don’t forget tee cee bee.

    • davef says:
      17 Nov17 November 17:28

      carhire-ba.com is giving me £500 savings over any other site/couponcode/younameit for a 2 week one way TX to CA rental for March. Ludicrous prices for anything other than an SUV with Budget.

      The old ‘rent from a city not airport location’ trick is actually adding $1000 for the 2 weeks. They just dont have any cars.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      17 Nov17 November 18:07

      Thanks for all the help, everyone! Off to check out some new options…

  • KP says:
    17 Nov17 November 08:20

    Carluccios in T5 has been replaced by Kanishka Kitchen by Atul Kochar. Opening this week I believe.

  • krys_k says:
    17 Nov17 November 08:20

    Compensation for sub-standard accomodation. Wonder if folks have some advice…wife and 18 month old daughter spent 10 days in Booking.com apartment and every day there were building works from 8 in morning until 10 at night. Have many videos of discombobulated daughter sat on bed confused having been woken up by drill sounds on the other side of wall. Clearly the person who rented property knew of the works as the new building is in a state of flux. Bought with Amex. Have Platinum. Is there anything that can be done (booking have offered compensation that equates to €2 per day; overall cost of rental was €450). Thanks for any insight.

    • Crafty says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:26

      I feel sorry for your daughter! That must have been very stressful. The compensation sounds a bit pathetic really. The problem you will face is that the party you rented from is presumably a person rather than a hospitality business, which is likely to mean far less interest in your long term custom.

      I would go back and ask for more, but be prepared to write it off as a bad job. Next time, leave and find a better place to stay, and tell Booking you won’t be paying for the rest.

      • meta says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:06

        Was it in the UK or abroad? Did you contact the owner/booking.com during the stay? It will largely depend on that, what you could try and get as extra compo. I’d also consider leaving reviews on booking.com, TA, Google Reviews, etc.

    • Andrew says:
      17 Nov17 November 09:00

      Not sure why they didn’t move out if they found the accommodation unsatisfactory.

      Check with the local authority in the area what the rules are for building works, and if an 8am to 10pm schedule, 7 days a week was permitted. Starting building works at 8am isn’t unreasonable though. It’s an apartment, not a hotel.

      • Anna says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:06

        I’m assuming it wasn’t in the UK, no local authority allows this!

      • Harry T says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:07

        Why would they stay somewhere like that for 10 days? I would have left the second day lol

      • meta says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:08

        Yes, but that’s for UK. In other countries, there might not be such regulations. I’ve lived in countries, where you can start works at 6am and finish at midnight or where there are no regulations at all.

    • Can says:
      17 Nov17 November 09:30

      I’d dispute the charge with Amex. You paid for a service and got a substandard service.

      • blenz101 says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:43

        Er, on what basis? Paid for room and got a room. As others have said, it wasn’t a hotel. There was no ‘good night guarantee’ .

        If they have moved out and not used the accommodation then perhaps, but having stayed 10 days the credit card company isn’t going to entertain a noise complaint.

        • krys_k says:
          17 Nov17 November 10:29

          Thanks for answers. Property was abroad. Couldn’t move out due to illness and then lack of alternative properties. So had to stay, otherwise would have moved. Yes, had contacted owner, to little avail. Probably will just have to leave honest feedback and move on.

          • Lady London says:
            18 Nov18 November 01:44

            I like meta’s idea. Revenge reviews. A lot of sites won’t publish bad reviews though. If the owner has other ptoperties I’d leave reviews on those too about dishonesty.

            For some strsnge reason I thought AirBnB had a way to get such disputes sorted.

            Where, exactly, was this? Strange rhat absolutely no other accommodation available. Why do I think the apartnent being rebuilt next door belonged to the same owner?

      • Can says:
        17 Nov17 November 10:58

        Check with Platinum’s travel insurance. The basis is sub-standard service. Broken pipe, annoying noise, disfunctional heating, no hot water, bug in your cabinet…

    • Lady London says:
      18 Nov18 November 01:35

      Did you complain promptly to owner and AirBnB and demand refund and/or alternative accomm, keep complaining and ideally move out if no reault? What was the city ?

      Pretty sure I’ve seen reports of this being claimable/alternative emergency accommodation being paid out on Section 75 claim if paid on UK credit card which would includr Amex credit (not charge) cardtypes. For Plat you could ask if Amex own insurance covers it or an outside chance some other policy might.

  • Josh says:
    17 Nov17 November 08:20

    Any indication of when BA will be back online? Or is it just a waiting game?

  • Dee says:
    17 Nov17 November 08:27

    Getting short changed on the IHG points. Went to Istanbul Intercontinental last week. Spent 3 normal night and an AMBWeekend. The reservations said that these should be worth 12,932 and 11,420 points respectively. Both just appeared in IHG account as non-qualifying and non-qualifying discount rate… with 1,774 points. I was actually even expecting a x3 bonus. What’s the story?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      17 Nov17 November 13:05

      Well the second lot would’ve been wrong as it wouldn’t have taken into account Amb free night

      Other than should be eligible try contacting Amb support to rectify it.

  • Andrew H says:
    17 Nov17 November 08:33

    Get paid to eat… Hello Fresh, first box 50% off – so 4 meals for two people £15.99

    £10 off at Curve, £10 off at Lloyds. £11.50 c@$hb@ck elsewhere if you know where to look

    • Christina says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:51

      Lots of complaints online about poor quality of Hello Fresh recently.

      • Nigel W says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:12

        Been a customer of there’s over the last two years and I agree, it has gone down hill a little bit. I far prefer Mindful Chef (although it more expensive).

        • Andrew H says:
          17 Nov17 November 09:17

          It doesn’t look as good as Green Chef – come to the end of their discounted 4 boxes.

          The meals that look better are all premium or premium plus!

          Still, if it comes off, being paid £15.51 to get 4 x 2 meals is a reasonable deal.

          • Sam G says:
            17 Nov17 November 10:05

            I think Hello Fresh actually own Green Chef but having recently tried both we much preferred Green Chef. For us it’s just a little too expensive at regular price to justify it

  • Jack says:
    17 Nov17 November 08:38

    Morning, am off to Munich in a few weeks (hopefully) for a weekend of Christmas markets. Staying in Hilton Munich (got a good best rate guarantee discount). Anyone got any got recommendations for food/ other things to do? Thanks in advance

    • Andrew H says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:40

      Um… I think Munich has cancelled Christmas markets.. it being in Bavaria, the worst affected part of Germany

      https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/193939/munich-cancels-christmas-market-in-face-of-rising-infections/

      • Jack says:
        17 Nov17 November 08:47

        Ah thanks, I had a look recently but looked like it was still going ahead. Need to decide whether to still go or maybe cancel. Thank you

        • Andrew H says:
          17 Nov17 November 08:51

          It was announced yesterday. Says other cities will go ahead.. Nuremberg for example. Or try further north – Berlin maybe?

    • Phil W says:
      17 Nov17 November 08:53

      Yeah the markets are cancelled but if you are interested in experiencing Bavarian Gemütlichkeit I’d recommend…

      – Augustiner Braustubn
      – Augustiner Keller
      – Hackerhaus
      – Osterwaldgarten
      – Zum Brunnwart
      – Nuernberger Bratwurst Gloeckl am Dom

      You should also visit the Hofbräuhaus, it’s a bit touristy but worth going one evening.

      Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to have a maß of each of Munich’s Big Six during your visit, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten and Löwenbräu.

      The following museums and galleries are excellent…
      – Deutsches Museum
      – Alte Pinakothek
      – Glyptothek
      – Staatliche Antikensammlungen

      I love Munich and visit several times a year normally. Enjoy.

      • Darko says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:12

        Thank you for this, I am off to Munich on business on 29th Nov and I was hoping to see a nice Xmas market. Seems it will be the proposed alternatives instead which I don’t think is bad.

      • Ben W says:
        17 Nov17 November 10:53

        If you like your art a little more modern then I’d recommend-

        Pinakothek der Moderne
        Museum Brandhorst (30 seconds from the above. Temporary exhibits variable, but a great Cy Twombly permanent room)
        Haus der Kunst (generally excellent temporary exhibitions)

        There’s also a great vegetarian restaurant with a Michelin star – Tian

      • Lyn says:
        17 Nov17 November 17:02

        The Lenbachhaus museum is probably less well known, but another possibility if you are interested in the Blaue Reiter artists.

    • Anna says:
      17 Nov17 November 09:09

      I’m wondering if Berlin will also fully cancel (some of them have been pulled already). We are due to go in a few weeks, though tbh we could easily fill the 3 days even if we didn’t do anything seasonal. Just a shame to be going in December though and missing it.

      • Andrew H says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:18

        Yes, going to go to Berlin for 4 nights in early May for; plenty of Avios availability even from LCY

      • Anna says:
        17 Nov17 November 09:39

        LCCs for us, unless you spend an extra half a day connecting via LHR!

    • bsuije says:
      17 Nov17 November 09:11

      Theme Erding (including the “textile-free” area) =D

    • Jack says:
      17 Nov17 November 09:20

      Thank you, definitely something to consider and very helpful!

    • elguiri says:
      17 Nov17 November 09:43

      Head out to villages nearby (if open), or more well known ones a bit further afield. Their Xmas markets are usually the most authentic (and cheaper). We used to visit the ones along the Rhine between Mainz and Koblenz (obviously a bit far from Munich, but you get the idea).

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