The HfP chat thread – Saturday 4th December

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• Can says:

  4 Dec4 December 08:22

  I remember vaguely this was answered before , so apologies.
  I’ve hit the £5k for my SUP for Amex Acc Biz, when should I expect BA to post my SUP?
  And, if I cancel the card, would Amex offer a prorata refund of the fee? If it does, where does it go? After all I’ll be closing the card.

  • Blindman says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:15

    Pro rata refund.

    I was offered for it to be credited to my other Amex-Was there in 24 hrs.

    Mrs B the same-Got a letter saying refund to bank. Asked for refund to other Amex-Still waiting after 15 days….

  • Sam G says:

    4 Dec4 December 11:06

    They’ll credit directly to BA after your statement is generated

    Pro rata credit to your account, never had a problem getting a bank transfer via chat

  • Can says:

    4 Dec4 December 18:38

    Thanks!

• Kevin says:

  4 Dec4 December 08:26

  Morning all!

  Anybody still looking for a viable ski holiday? Currently looking at France at the moment, though the idea occurred to ask if anyone has had experience skiing in eastern europe? Any resorts that are recommended?

  We have 1 person in the family who is neither vaccinated nor recovered unfortunately, so it would be interesting to gather all the options.

  Thank you!

  • Anna says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:37

    I wouldn’t book anything just now, let alone for an unvaccinated passenger, rules changing too quickly!

    • Geoff 1977 says:

      4 Dec4 December 11:51

      Yep. Things can change very quickly in the new normal

  • TGLoyalty says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:54

    Glenshee, Lecht, Cairngorm or failing access to Scotland Snowdone Tamworth …

    Unvaccinated 12+ will probably have issues once actually in France, Switzerland, Austria etc with their 2G pass role out.

  • Christina says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:36

    Buy this book:- “ Where to Ski & Snowboard 2015”

    It’s great and details all the main resorts. The publisher stopped publishing it in 2017, but the resorts don’t change that much so information in the 2015 edition will still be reasonable up to date. The 2016 edition is about £100 used online. The 2015 edition is about a fiver.

    • John says:

      4 Dec4 December 11:34

      Why is the 2016 edition so much more? Or was it a typo and you meant £10

      • Christina says:

        4 Dec4 December 11:39

        Due to supply and demand I guess.

  • Lady London says:

    4 Dec4 December 11:49

    Generally Europe is getting very close to denying entry for the unvaccinated.

    If no particular reason not to be vaccinated I would guess you’ll retain more options if vaccination is possiblr.

    • Geoff 1977 says:

      4 Dec4 December 12:21

      Yep. There’s not many options for the unjabbed (apart from those with genuine exemptions etc?) and there probably won’t be for a while. Third jabs might be required soon too

    • Kevin says:

      4 Dec4 December 14:15

      Should clarify that we are already in Europe!

      It seems that France at least does not require vaccination or recovery status for both lodging and skiing, whereas Austria for example requires “2G” for all hospitality venues as well as skiing.

      Also fortunate to have Amex Plat insurance which would cover the costs if the entry requirements did suddenly change, so the goal currently is to find any resort that would under current rules allow our visit!

      • Lyn says:

        4 Dec4 December 16:59

        Is the unvaccinated person an adult or child? I think they might need a recent negative test to enter France even from a “green” EU country. And certainly to actually stay in hotels or go into restaurants / cafes etc.

        • Lyn says:

          4 Dec4 December 18:07

          I’ve just read that the French rules have recently been changed. They now require a negative test within the last 24 hours, rather than 72 hours, for unvaccinated people (above a certain age) to enter restaurants and many other places in France.

        • Lady London says:

          4 Dec4 December 18:41

          Yup Lynn basically anyone unvaccinated has tl get tested every 24 hours in order to be admitted literally anywhere.

          Big hint to get vaccinated I guess. Otherwise load your 2nd vacc ( not sure about booster yet, think app being updated) into TousAntiCovid

        • Lyn says:

          4 Dec4 December 19:02

          Lady London, this was actually for Kevin, as I can’t imagine that France would be a very good option for anyone that isn’t vaccinated at the moment. Or for the foreseeable future.

          I agree it is a deliberate big hint for the French to get vaccinated, as well as the fact that they now have to pay for the tests themselves, unless of course they have symptoms or have had contact with someone who has Covid. They are starting to drop bit hints about booster vaccines as well.

      • Lady London says:

        4 Dec4 December 18:39

        They’ll need the TousAntiCovid pasd to get into any restaurant or other venue whilst skiing.

        Is it going to be practical to order takeaway and carry it back to hotel or outside to your Unvaccinated One?

        • Lady London says:

          4 Dec4 December 18:44

          …and not even sure if Covid passes are not needed for ski lifts.

          If Omicron fizzles out of course all this might change.

        • Lyn says:

          4 Dec4 December 19:04

          How is the unvaccinated person even going to be able to stay at the hotel without daily negative tests?

  • Mike says:

    4 Dec4 December 12:42

    I certainly wouldn’t risk booking travel with an unvaccinated person during this ski season- I would aim for next season

    • Geoff 1977 says:

      4 Dec4 December 13:19

      I’d be surprised if unjabbed are allowed in without quarantine etc even next season.

      New normal

• Steve says:

  4 Dec4 December 08:27

  Landed from the US at 6:30 this morning, PCR test taken at the Sofitel with Halo at 7:15, let’s see when I get the result!

  • Polly says:

    4 Dec4 December 08:32

    They just told me 4-5 hrs…what time did they open, varying reports say 6 then 7am? Good service?

    • Steve says:

      4 Dec4 December 10:29

      They say they open at 6am, but I didn’t ask. The service was pretty good, held up by people who didn’t have the app and went ready to go.

      Once they handed me the kit I was done and on my way home within 10mins

  • Aston100 says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:50

    Were you hand baggage only?
    Seems like a very quick journey from the plane to the Sofitel?

    • Steve says:

      4 Dec4 December 18:19

      Of course 🙂

      Results in 4 hours 50 minutes. Negative and free to go out this afternoon

• Mouse says:

  4 Dec4 December 08:33

  I’m thinking about converting 241 to FTV. Do people think that BA will give some notice when they decide to withdraw FTVs, or just announce that they can no longer be taken at the passenger’s convenience with immediate effect?

  • AJA says:

    4 Dec4 December 08:59

    I think if BA withdraws the FTV it will be with little or no notice.

    • Lady London says:

      4 Dec4 December 11:50

      +1

  • Geoff 1977 says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:12

    Dunno. Could be either

  • John says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:15

    If they don’t extend it, flights up to August 2022 can be FTVed – I guess that you will be able to get FTVs until that date too. Remember there is a deadline to travel on FTVs by Sep 2023.

• Craig says:

  4 Dec4 December 09:11

  Today was 90 days from taking out a supplementary card on the BAPP, 3000 Avios were added manually using the chat function.

  • Magarathea says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:22

    Amex have said to me that the T&Cs of this offer say that you do not qualify for the supplementary card bonus if you have EVER had it before. Does anyone know if this correct?

    • Rob says:

      4 Dec4 December 09:32

      The giver or receiver?

      • Magarathea says:

        4 Dec4 December 09:41

        Giver. Happy to be proved wrong.

        • Rob says:

          4 Dec4 December 10:43

          This is correct then, unless Amex is running a promo. I can currently had 5 at 5k to
          my Business Plat for example.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      4 Dec4 December 09:39

      Ever meaning even on a previous BAPP which was closed years ago?

      • Magarathea says:

        4 Dec4 December 09:46

        This was for an Amex Platinum card ie 5,000 points for supp card.

        Here are the words I was quoted on the chat.

        “The bonus Membership Rewards points offer is valid for the first approved Supplementary Platinum Card only. Please note, in rare circumstances it may take up to 90 days for the 5,000 Membership Rewards points to be applied to your Account. You may apply for several Supplementary Cards but you will only receive the 5,000 membership Rewards points for the first approved Card. You will not receive this bonus if you have ever received it before. This offer is subject to change and may be withdrawn at anytime.”

        Any thoughts? As noted above, happy to be proved wrong.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          4 Dec4 December 09:57

          It’s been like that for months and it’s not clear if the ever applies to 1st supp on the card account or ever if you have ever held a platinum card before (seems very odd).

          What I will say is I got 5k under these T&Cs and I’ve had the 5k before under previous platinum accounts.

    • Craig says:

      4 Dec4 December 09:47

      That is how the T&Cs are now worded, this was Player 2’s card and she has had a BAPP before. However, it was cancelled and we waited 2 years before reapplying. I wondered also whether this is a permanent change?

• VickyTM says:

  4 Dec4 December 09:22

  Are the Sofitel T5 not offering “Park and Fly” packages at the moment for December or am I doing something wrong on the website?
  Thanks

  • Ikaz says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:55

    Have you tried adding parking to a standard rate by clicking through to the add-ons for a Standard rate? I think that I remember Accorhotels working like that in the past

    • Michael C says:

      4 Dec4 December 10:18

      I tried that with T5, but could only add 1 night, not 4, etc.
      Anyone have a direct line tel. number?

• Harry T says:

  4 Dec4 December 09:36

  Has anyone managed to check in online for a BA itinerary originating outside the UK? We are flying CDG-LHR-DXB and have completed VeriFLY for the LHR-DXB leg. But now BA says we need to have our documents checked at the airport and won’t let us check in or select seats for free. Does anyone have some advice or recent experience?

  • Harry T says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:39

    “ We’re sorry, your online check-in can’t be completed right now. We may not have been able to verify your health documentation – check travel and entry requirements here. Please proceed to the airport with your required documentation to check-in and collect your boarding pass.”

    • Manny_D says:

      4 Dec4 December 09:53

      My parents had this message recently when trying to check in. It turned out to be some confirmation was needed within the VeriFly app. Once completed they could check in.

      • meta says:

        4 Dec4 December 10:02

        You select seats for free at T-24 via Manage my booking without checking in.

  • Michael C says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:19

    Harry, my Iberia (bought through BA) would also not let me. Tried about 5 times, then on the morning I was leaving, it let me!

  • Pete says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:25

    I’ve had the same with single sector which i had filled out verifly but still couldn’t use OLCI. I used the link below to upload the documentation and couple of hours later I got confirmation I could check in.

    https://digitalboarding.force.com/BADigitalboarding/R5_VFP_DigitalizacionEmbarque_BA

  • Steve says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:47

    We did exactly the same route a few weeks ago and weren’t able to check in online. When we got to check in at CDG, they asked if we’d done Verifly for both sectors, despite the email from BA only telling you to do it for the last one. Perhaps online check in will unlock if you add in the CDG-LHR sector? To be honest though, they were very thorough in checking all paperwork despite Verifly, so you might be best not wasting time trying to get it to work.

    On the return, I did Verifly for both sectors and was able to check in online at DXB.

    Brace yourself for terminal 2A – no lounge, and the only shops open when we were there were duty free, Relay and a panini place selling beer, wine and a small selection of other snacks (the only F&B offering we found open).

  • babyg_wc says:

    4 Dec4 December 13:52

    There were some great *Europe*-LHR-DXB fares, I’m flying FAO-LHR-DXB on Sunday/Monday.. always struggled with the online checkin from Faro.

    • David S says:

      4 Dec4 December 22:41

      +1 and Verifly can’t be used to load documents to facilitate on-line check in at FAO. Portugal seems to be included on a very small list of excluded countries. Wish I knew why !

• FatherOfFour says:

  4 Dec4 December 09:38

  Recent stay in Copenhagen. Our hotel had a card in the room, offering a “green gift” worth up to £15 if we declined housekeeping! Is this a common thing now? We did this one day and got a £10 bar voucher.

  Mixed feelings, surely doesn’t help the housekeeping staff if it results in job cuts, but on the other hand, we don’t need cleaning every day. (We certainly don’t like having the dirty thing and 50 cushions put back on the bed!)

  • TGLoyalty says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:42

    “Dirty thing” being the runner / scarf at the end of the bed or a throw?

    • Frankie says:

      4 Dec4 December 10:02

      I remove all that stuff from the bed and put in a cupboard or wardrobe the minute I check into the room.

    • FatherOfFour says:

      4 Dec4 December 10:16

      Yes, couldn’t think of the name of it!

  • Rich says:

    4 Dec4 December 09:56

    So the ‘green gift worth up to £15’ is a voucher for £10, for something that would cost you £6 in the real world?

    I think I’ll take the cleaning.

    • FatherOfFour says:

      4 Dec4 December 10:22

      The £15 gift was bike hire for the day… probably the best value but didn’t fit with our plans.

  • Dominic says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:04

    Yes, increasingly common. Marriott and (I think) Hilton offered points for each day you chose to decline house keeping even before the pandemic.

    The excuse nowadays for reduced housekeeping seems to be ‘we have to clean things better now, so it takes longer. Before we just didn’t clean anything’

  • Andrew says:

    4 Dec4 December 10:43

    IHG have been offering extra points (500 I think) for every night you decline housekeeping for a number of years. You’re still free to request extra towels or amenities to be brought up to the room. Which increasingly hotels are also doing under the “Covid Excuse” clause in their customer service agreements.

    • Lady London says:

      4 Dec4 December 11:53

      Accor hotels I stayed in told me no housekeeping except once every three days. And offered nothing.

  • Can says:

    4 Dec4 December 11:17

    Yeah, I’ve got some Hilton points for declining housekeeping, and it was even before the pandemic.

  • John says:

    4 Dec4 December 11:37

    I’ve always declined housekeeping even if there was no incentive by putting the DND sign up – but I’ve never stayed in a hotel longer than 4 nights (I did have housekeeping once during that 4 nighter)

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