The HfP chat thread – Thursday 9th December

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• BJ says:

  9 Dec9 December 16:50

  I have a FTV for the £150 deposit I paid on a BAH booking. Can I use this against tax/fees on an flight only avios reward booking or can I only use it against a new BAH cash booking? Thanks.

  • Anna says:

    9 Dec9 December 16:58

    Officially no, but several of us, including me, have done this. You need to make the booking and pay the taxes as normal, then reply to BA Holidays as instructed in the email you got the FTV on. Just say, “Please apply this voucher to new booking ref XXXXXX”, don’t mention what kind of booking it is.

    • BJ says:

      9 Dec9 December 17:10

      Thanks, I’ll give it a try.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      9 Dec9 December 17:48

      But you’ve already booked the Avios flight and paid the taxes as normal

      They apply the voucher and refund your card?

      • BJ says:

        9 Dec9 December 17:57

        That’s my situation, and what I am hoping for. I’ll report back with a DP when I hear from them. I understood it as Anna described but wanted to double check before proceeding.

      • Anna says:

        9 Dec9 December 18:59

        Yes, they refund it back to the card you originally paid for the holiday on.

      • Aston100 says:

        9 Dec9 December 19:48

        That is exactly what happened to me after initially being told no

        • BJ says:

          9 Dec9 December 20:35

          @Aston, are you saying you were initially declined, and then emailed them again and second CSA processed it? Just like the HUACA strategy?

        • Aston100 says:

          9 Dec9 December 21:00

          Yes indeed BJ.
          I got them to apply the FTV to an Avios booking that was made some time ago.
          I received the amount from the FTV as a refund onto an Amex.

          They said no the first time.
          They agreed to it via a second email request – different agent handled it.

        • BJ says:

          9 Dec9 December 21:17

          Thanks, if I get refused then I’ll know just to wait a while and try again.

        • Swalwell says:

          9 Dec9 December 23:32

          @Aston Can I ask what email address you use? I’ve never had much luck with BA & email comms. Thanks

• Asim says:

  9 Dec9 December 16:57

  Trying to book a Randox Click & Collect, but only three collection points with availability: Lakeside, Hayes and Ilford. There’s a C&C point showing near my place in South London, but doesn’t come up as an option when booking. Any trick I’m missing?

  • Grant H says:

    9 Dec9 December 17:04

    Randox London collection points appear to have sold out (supply and demand), will need to keep refreshing to see when they have some available or look for an alternative (e.g. testing at one of their clinics).

  • iamlost says:

    9 Dec9 December 17:09

    Has been like that all week – no C&C availability at Heathrow either. Hope they’re still mailing them out on time.

  • Asim says:

    9 Dec9 December 17:29

    OK – Thanks! Was just worried I may be missing something / not doing something properly!

    Wanted to C&C, take with me abroad and do the Day2 test myself as soon as I arrived at the airport and drop to their dropbox!

• Will says:

  9 Dec9 December 17:00

  Data point: BA just rebooked (at my suggestion) a cancelled GVA-LHR Avios sector cancelled on 15 days notice to LYS-LHR next day. No duty of care or other compensation, but did allow direct swap to seats on a flight with no Avios availability.

  • Will says:

    9 Dec9 December 17:02

    That means no hassle with France/Swiss border testing (PCR in ski resort by most accounts) and I can now just use a video observed LFT to come home

    • Gavin says:

      9 Dec9 December 21:46

      It doesn’t need to be a video-observed one.

  • Sam G says:

    9 Dec9 December 17:57

    yes, they’ll allow within approx 300 miles when rebooking, can be handy sometimes!

    • BJ says:

      9 Dec9 December 20:39

      Especially changes from INV to EDI 🙂

• yorkieflyer says:

  9 Dec9 December 17:15

  Official Hilton on Flyertalk posted that points expiry is now to be 24 months

  • Ali M says:

    9 Dec9 December 18:07

    oh no.
    I take it the standard if you use them then doesn’t get expired won’t be there?
    It’d be a bummer if its like Etihad miles

    • Peter K says:

      9 Dec9 December 18:25

      It’s good news. They now expire after 24 months of no activity, rather than the current 12.

  • BJ says:

    9 Dec9 December 20:41

    A non issue given how easy they are to earn or cheap to buy.

    • can says:

      9 Dec9 December 21:05

      exactly

• andy says:

  9 Dec9 December 17:20

  Can you request an evoucher from BA if you’ve flown the outbound already? If so, does the voucher amount to the original fare + taxes for the return flight?

  • Rob says:

    9 Dec9 December 17:24

    a) Yes b) probably … never seen a worked example though.

  • Sam G says:

    9 Dec9 December 17:58

    it’ll be an FTV and it’ll be the fare element + taxes for the return half of the flight. If it’s the return to the UK then the taxes element is likely lower due to no APD. Fare could be half or could be more/less depending on what fare classes you bought each way – which you can’t check back retrospectively !

  • andy says:

    9 Dec9 December 21:11

    Got it, thanks both. Will give it a go if do end up not taking the outbound and see how it works

• Rachel R says:

  9 Dec9 December 17:41

  Hello from Oaxaca! Trying to book onward travel from Mexico to Brazil, and then on to Jamaica. Just want to check something – can I earn tier points if I book on aa.com, or is it only flights booked via BA.com that earn tier points?

  • John says:

    9 Dec9 December 19:07

    All oneworld paid flights earn tier points with BA no matter how they were booked, except for special things like tour group / charter fares and aviation industry fares. (Sometimes cheap travel agents will book you on tour group fares without telling you though.)

    If you book on aa.com you will certainly get TPs

    • Lady London says:

      9 Dec9 December 20:15

      And beware sometimes Amex Travel will book you on similar types of restricted fare and not tell you. You might find out, for instance when you try to upgrade to a higher cabin, that you can’t.

• GavinK says:

  9 Dec9 December 17:54

  https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/04/01/can-i-earn-avios-and-ba-tier-points-if-i-fly-with-american-airlines-2

  • Rachel R says:

    9 Dec9 December 18:22

    Thanks

• John says:

  9 Dec9 December 18:16

  Data point for east London folks – Day 2 PCR Same Day test taken from Regenerative Clinic in Cabot Square, Canary Wharf. Samples (2 of us) collected at 1130 – results received at 1720 and 1810 respectively.
  Not the cheapest, but quick/drama free and noticeably less aggressive with the swab than the Collinson people at city airport.
  If I’m reading the certificate correctly, they’re using rapid PCR to process these.

  • Reeferman says:

    9 Dec9 December 18:47

    Sounds good – I need to book one for next weekend. Were you able to find any discount codes – I’ve looked but nothing seems to work?

    • John says:

      9 Dec9 December 21:19

      Sorry I wasn’t able to, no – so they got their profit out of me, but for a turnaround of less than 7 hours (and actually having a test done, properly) I guess I’ll live with it.

      • Reeferman says:

        9 Dec9 December 22:09

        Thanks John – thought I’d check, just in case.
        I’ll probably do likewise to be honest

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