The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 30th November

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• Aliks says:

  30 Nov30 November 02:41

  Wow – first comment!

  I’m sitting in Iberia lounge in Bogota, Colombia, and it has to be the wierdest layout I have seen at a major hub. The lounge is long and thin, and I mean really long at about 100m from one end to the other.

  Bar at one end, restaurant in the middle and snack bar at the other end. Oh yes, and no signage, not even for the toilets. The corridor running end to end has about 10 rooms, strung out on either side, presumably for meetings, kids, and just general sitting around.

  Your are allowed one trip to the restaurant only, and two drinks at the bar.

  Still, better than nothing I guess.

  • Nick says:

    30 Nov30 November 03:01

    Sounds like MAD, long and thin. But that one is very good (at least pre-covid), one of the best lounges anywhere.

    • David says:

      30 Nov30 November 03:22

      MAD T4S is still pretty good – self-service drinks and hot & cold buffet. It’s not 24 hours anymore so you can’t stay the night in the little bedrooms which was useful for a long layover !!

      • YB says:

        30 Nov30 November 05:07

        We’ll be trying this out this evening hopefully on the A380 back to London.

        • Save East Coast Rewards says:

          30 Nov30 November 05:49

          Could you ask if they plan to reopen the lounge 24 hours again in the future once travel picks up again?

  • Sam G says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:57

    I’ve been there, not too bad I thought, I’ve certainly been to far worse!

  • Shaw West says:

    30 Nov30 November 09:05

    Anybody tried the priority pass lounge in Cairo? 😛

• Yuff says:

  30 Nov30 November 05:41

  Is there anyway of transferring BA Avios to Iberia that doesn’t involve using the BA website.
  We have a household account and I cannot get the Avios out of either mine or my wife’s account.
  I did manage it about 18 months ago on my wife’s account but it won’t do it at the moment 😡

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    30 Nov30 November 05:56

    If you have an Avios.com account (Aer Lingus and Vueling use this system) then you should be able to move the points via this account. I’ve not tried this since the BA system ‘upgrade’ though

    • Yuff says:

      30 Nov30 November 06:13

      I’m the head of the household account and it won’t let me transfer to either AerClub or Avios.com.
      I registered my wife for an aer lingus account this morning account but it won’t let register at aer club currently.
      Is it possible to contact BA to manually transfer the Avios?

      • Save East Coast Rewards says:

        30 Nov30 November 06:25

        Unless it’s urgent I’d steer clear of trying to contact BA as hold times can be excessive. One thing to mention, when you use combine my avios you can only transfer your Avios, not the household amount.

        • Yuff says:

          30 Nov30 November 07:27

          I cannot even access the combine my Avios function, on either BA account, it just says currently unavailable.
          I have an Avios account number in aer club but cannot find how to pull the Avios from BAEC, or even find the combine my Avios link on aer club, I did find it initially but cannot find it now.
          When I try entering account details in ba combine Avios I put the registered email or Avios account number and it says unavailable 🤦🏻‍♂️

    • Jay says:

      30 Nov30 November 07:04

      Is the Avios account not already closed.
      How are people able to log into their Account or do you now need to open a new account?

  • Damian says:

    30 Nov30 November 09:26

    You need to transfer through Avios.com and have an Aer Club account. I’ve checked mine and it does still work, I too have a household account. The email addresses must be the same for BA and Avios.com or it will not work. Go to my personal details to check the email address in Avios.

    • Damian says:

      30 Nov30 November 15:53

      Oh and you move them on Avios.com. Go to manage my account. 1st option is check my personal details to verify the email address is the same as your BA one. 5th option down is combine my Avios.

  • Marco says:

    30 Nov30 November 14:10

    If you go to https://www.iberia.com/gb/iberiaplus/purchasing-transferring-avios/, the following error message appears: “We are in the process of updating our systems and the buy, gift and transfer Avios functions are therefore currently unavailable. Thank you for your patience.”

• Save East Coast Rewards says:

  30 Nov30 November 05:46

  Do the points for BA flights post around the same time every day or can they appear any time? They always seem to post overnight for me.

  • Stu N says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:44

    Usually post 2 days after you fly – they hit early morning on weekdays and late afternoon (4ish) at weekends. If you flew on Monday they should be there by 7 on Wednesday; Friday flights will post Sunday afternoon.

    Things seem a bit slow at the moment, my flights from last week haven’t posted as yet.

    • Distichon says:

      30 Nov30 November 08:26

      I had the misfortune of flying during the downtime. Out on the first day, in while it was still broken. Out posted after a week, but in still hasn’t posted after 10 days (neither has the double tier bonus, but we know that takes extra time) . Since I expect wait times on the phone to be excessive at the moment with omikron rebookings, is there any other reliable way to prod BA for my avios and tier points?

• Vit says:

  30 Nov30 November 06:26

  Morning all, boring question – – which is your preferred lounge at EDI that accept priority pass? Many thanks, Vit.

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    30 Nov30 November 06:36

    The choice is Aspire (old) or Aspire (new) as No 1 is permanently closed. Aspire (old) is temporarily closed so if you’re travelling soon then the only option is the newer Aspire lounge on the 2nd floor near gate 16.

    • Vit says:

      30 Nov30 November 08:29

      Thank you. Seems like it is the only option then! 😀

  • Shaw West says:

    30 Nov30 November 09:08

    With Covid and social distancing the lounges are being very picky on accepting PP with the “Over crowding” excuse

• Crafty says:

  30 Nov30 November 06:37

  Seatfrog – has it gone downhill, or any top tips?

  I’ve just started occasionally getting the train again for work, and downloaded this app for the first time, hoping to secure some good value upgrades. Howevr, both legs of the first trip I’ve added have a reserve price of £35 per leg even before the auction begins. Is this universal? Doesn’t seem like a good deal really.

  • Novelty-Socks says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:52

    Prices seemed to have increased considerably last time I tried to use it. Really wasn’t worth the extra for my 1hr 40min journey from Crewe to Euston.

    This was on Avanti, where I think they’ve bumped prices to make their new Standard Premier seats look better value. Maybe it’s different on other train companies?

    • Sam G says:

      30 Nov30 November 08:00

      Avanti only has 1 or 2 carriages of First now with prices increased to match the lower capacity. Better off in Standard Premium (the remaining first carriages but with no service) with an M&S picnic – you can upgrade on the train like the old weekend first

  • David D says:

    30 Nov30 November 08:06

    All depends on the train operator. I’ve had a couple of £5 upgrades GLC/EDB-LIV/PRE on Transpennine recently which is certainly worth it for a two hour plus journey. A lot depends on how many seats are available and of course if others are bidding on the upgrade too.

  • Harry T says:

    30 Nov30 November 08:17

    Buy it now prices have existed as long as I’ve used it. The auction itself is entirely contingent on supply and demand – I’ve had an upgrade on the LNER train from NCL to KGX from anywhere from £11 (maybe even less) to £33. The cheaper prices are found at less peak times on less popular days. Trains have been packed recently and the auction prices have gone up at weekends.

    • Crafty says:

      30 Nov30 November 08:19

      Sorry this was a reserve price. Buy it now was £75.

  • Chrism20 says:

    30 Nov30 November 11:09

    If you’re travelling with Avanti and booking with them I’ve found for at least the last six journeys I’ve made the option to upgrade on the Avanti app is anything between £8 and £20 cheaper than Seatfrog. You also get nectar by doing the upgrade through Avanti.

• Vit says:

  30 Nov30 November 06:44

  Morning, another boring question, is there any preferred travel insurance during this covid time that covers pregnant pax as well please? Any thoughts are welcome.

  • Anna says:

    30 Nov30 November 09:01

    No policy is going to exclude anyone due to pregnancy, they just usually specify that you’re not covered if you travel against medical advice (e.g. it used to be that you weren’t supposed to fly after 36 weeks but I don’t know if that’s still the case).

    • Vit says:

      30 Nov30 November 10:47

      Thanks Anna. Just did a bit of homework and it seems yes no limitation on number of weeks, etc. as well. Quite keen on battleface based on Hfper’s feedback but they are quite expensive.

• Jay says:

  30 Nov30 November 06:58

  Randox – Heathrow
  Does anyone have experience of Randox site at Heathrow (Radisson Blue Hotel Rear Car Park? Do they allow parking? Tried Randox helpline but of no help.
  I am collecting and possibly do the test in the car itself and then drop off in the drop box on site.

  • Pablo says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:57

    If you’re driving use Eurofins drive through. Day 2 is £36 with code BA2021 and 300 appointments every hour.

  • r* says:

    30 Nov30 November 11:02

    When I went there a cpl of months ago you could park, its round the back of the hotel then the gates open when you try to exit.

• a270 says:

  30 Nov30 November 07:00

  Is there a way to earn something from a big IKEA order? It’s not on the site that can not be named and the usual BA route. Any other way?

  • SteveJ says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:05

    Do Morrisons sell IKEA gift cards?

    • Can says:

      30 Nov30 November 07:31

      You wish :))

  • Andrew says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:28

    Unlike certain retailers (I’m looking at you Betty), Ikea doesn’t participate through affiliate schemes, discounts etc and just sells at the lowest reasonable price, in the same way as over time, once the sunken costs for a product are worked through, and economies of scale mount, they reduce the price of the item. So apart from a gift card bought somewhere with a rebate, or just general spend Amex points, then no.

    • Rui N. says:

      30 Nov30 November 07:45

      They do participate in employers’ perks websites. At least on mine…

      • Andrew says:

        30 Nov30 November 09:08

        3% rebate on gift cards with PAW.

  • Can says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:31

    They are like Amazon, no extra miles or cashback. Just remember to use ikea family card for some discounts perhaps.

    • Paul Pogba says:

      30 Nov30 November 09:40

      You can use smile.amazon.co.uk to donate a hefty 0.5% to charity at no extra cost.

  • Travel Strong says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:39

    Employee perks schemes such as perks at work is all i’ve found.

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      30 Nov30 November 07:45

      Xexec also offers 4% off.

      • Anastasia Beaverhausen says:

        30 Nov30 November 08:19

        and 5% at Perkbox.

        PS Perkbox is included if you are an IPSE member so if you’re a freelancer and want IR35 protection etc join IPSE and get an Ikea discount. I can give a referral for IPSE if anyone wants it. £50 off.

        • Can says:

          30 Nov30 November 09:33

          @Anastasia I had no idea freelancers can get this. My wife is one and I think I can convince her join IPSE. Could you share the referral please?

        • Mrs_Fussy says:

          30 Nov30 November 09:47

          Anastasia – please can you share the IPSE referral with me too !

        • Anastasia Beaverhausen says:

          30 Nov30 November 17:36

          Sorry for the delay, I was working. Here’s the referral link

          https://www.ipse.co.uk/joinme/056044/

          *Your referral will receive £50 off their IPSE Plus membership. If an IPSE Standard membership is purchased instead, a discount of £25 will be applied. For Essentials membership, a discount of £10 will be applied.

          *When you share your unique referral link, your friend will be taken directly to the IPSE sign-up page. Your friend then completes the sign-up form with personal and payment details, and on submission, the discount is automatically applied at checkout.

  • Travel Strong says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:39

    Oh, or ikea staff discount if you can find an employee you know!

  • Darko says:

    30 Nov30 November 07:53

    First Xclusives if you work in train industry has Ikea vouchers at 8% discount.

    • a270 says:

      30 Nov30 November 08:18

      Thank you all.

  • Kai says:

    30 Nov30 November 09:41

    Cardyard sells it at 9% off

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