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The HfP chat thread – Friday 10th December

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Comments (375)

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

  • Anna says:
    10 Dec10 December 09:41

    IS there any way of changing the room you’ve selected in the HH app? Apparently I have picked the unfurbished wing of the Doubletree Chester! I’ve emailed the hotel but it’s very slow progress getting a coherent response.

    • Anna says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:03

      Though they have now replied and advised us to stay put if we want a quiet couple of nights!

      • Algor says:
        10 Dec10 December 10:16

        Not possible to select a new room, you can ask Hotel staff to change the allocation for you.

      • Lady London says:
        10 Dec10 December 10:37

        ?? Sounds like they’ve sold the rest to a large noisy party.

        Is it still possible to refund or change dates?

        • Anna says:
          10 Dec10 December 10:55

          It’s the only chance we’ve got to get away before Xmas LL, it was supposed to be our Berlin Xmas market trip but that became impractical! OH is working right up to and including Xmas Day so deserves a treat lol.
          We’ll be out doing stuff most of the weekend so not too bothered, and it was a very decent redemption deal.

        • Anna says:
          10 Dec10 December 10:57

          Just to clarify, they’ve advised us to stick with the original room choice, which is well away from the function suites!

          • BJ says:
            10 Dec10 December 11:23

            Sounds like hotel staff know something and have your interests in mind. Thus, I’d be tempted to stick with their recommendation. If still not happy try another hotel? Perhaps DT Dunblane or one of Glasgow options?

          • John says:
            10 Dec10 December 12:31

            Turn up early and ask them at check in

          • Anna says:
            10 Dec10 December 13:01

            Not got time to get to Scotland and back this weekend! We have Edinburgh booked for the end of the month, as long as we’re still allowed!

    • E says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:52

      They may have a wedding on and are keeping the wedding guests in one area. It’s a popular hotel for big weddings.

    • Gormlesstraveller says:
      10 Dec10 December 16:48

      Would be interested to know if you find £151 to be good value at this hotel. (40,000 = 200 dollars = £151)

      • John says:
        10 Dec10 December 17:07

        I wouldn’t pay more than £100, but then I wouldn’t pay more than £100 for a night in any hotel in the UK. My stays here (before covid) have ranged from £50 to £100.

        People do pay £150 and may consider that to be a bargain. It’s quite nice, and when they try hard enough the restaurant is good.

        • Gormlesstraveller says:
          10 Dec10 December 18:39

          Thank you, and I am guessing that as a DT, the free breakfast is not really worth more than £10pp

  • Russel says:
    10 Dec10 December 09:48

    Anyone know clearly or what to get get info how virgin airways household account actually works?

    • AL says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:53

      You can pool points with up to nine others in the same household, which can be redeemed for flights or upgrades by any traveller in the household for anyone travelling VS so long as a household member travels on the PNR (the “lead booker”). Virgin Red has no notion of household accounts so each individual would have their own Virgin Red account. This benefit only exists if you’re Silver or Gold. 2.19 in the VSFC Terms relates as does some fluff on the VAA website.

  • ediflyer says:
    10 Dec10 December 09:48

    Watch out – BA clearly doing some aircraft reassignments – upcoming booking for May to Boston in Club Suite has just been replaced with old Club World…

    • Richie says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:26

      BA213 has A380 scheduled, the upper deck is a great ride.

    • Anna says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:58

      We’re coming back from BOS in CW on the day flight in April, really looking forward to it even if it’s the old seats!

      • Richie says:
        10 Dec10 December 11:09

        The BA lounge at BOS is great Anna, have a lovely trip.

        • Anna says:
          10 Dec10 December 13:02

          Thanks, yes, we were there in 2018 not long after it opened, enjoyed it very much and really hoping this doesn’t end up being another cancelled trip, especially as outbound is in F!

  • Simon says:
    10 Dec10 December 09:54

    QQ re: LFT test back from theUSA to the UK, if I may?

    (Apologies in advance — I’ve been off Chat since the government announcement about the need for pre-departure testing when returning to the UK.)

    Would anyone kindly be able to confirm whether a supervised LFT is now a requirement or whether, in fact, a non-supervised LFT would suffice?

    The comments on the original HFP article about this seemed to suggest that some thought supervision was mandatory whilst others thought it wasn’t… I’m just a little unsure as a result.

    Any pointers would be gratefully received. Many thanks in advance.

    • Anna says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:05

      It doesn’t have to be physically supervised, just reported to the testing company and a certificate of proof emailed to you. So e.g. the Chronomics test you do yourself and upload a picture of to their website is still fine, AFAIK.

    • Rob says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:09

      You need a certificate showing all the key information the UK Govt requires. If an non-supervised provider will give you the certificate anyway, you’re fine.

      • Simon says:
        10 Dec10 December 11:46

        Thanks a lot, Rob 🙂 I’ll make sure that I find a provider whose certificate ticks those boxes in that case. Might look at Anna’s Chronomics suggestion.

    • Aston100 says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:20

      Where in the USA are you going?
      In NYC there are lots of walk-in pop-up centres in popular public places doing free tests, and you get an email with the relevant information / certificate.
      Or so I’m told by numerous people elsewhere.

      • APPL says:
        10 Dec10 December 11:00

        Similar in Miami. Just had a test yesterday. I only wanted antigen, but they insisted on doing both antigen and PCR at the centre. Got the antigen results in 20 minutes, and PCR in 10 hours. All free and without any queues. I was very impressed.

        • Simon says:
          10 Dec10 December 11:47

          Thanks, Aston100 / APPL. I’ll be in NYC, so will certainly look out for those tests as well.

    • Paul says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:37

      make yourself a certificate, don’t see anything in the legislation why you can’t become a sole trader testing company.

      • Rob says:
        10 Dec10 December 10:40

        The rules are on gov.uk. To offer testing you must employ a fully qualified person to oversee testing and certification.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          10 Dec10 December 12:47

          What qualifies you? if you’re a medical professional ie doctor nurse pharmacist etc?

          Or Tory donors only?

      • JDB says:
        10 Dec10 December 11:06

        @Paul – your post doesn’t really merit a reply, but it does at least make it clear beyond peradventure that you haven’t read the legislation.

        • Comrade Chag says:
          10 Dec10 December 11:21

          JDB, don’t waste your time typing for people like Paul.

          • Greg says:
            10 Dec10 December 15:59

            Totally agree. If he wants to bend / break the rules then hey ho. Paul, you don’t have to wear a seatbelt either if you chose, but at least that will probably only kill you and not others.

      • Greg says:
        10 Dec10 December 16:00

        This is probably the most stupid post ever seen on HfP.

    • dougzz99 says:
      10 Dec10 December 14:13

      You can buy an Abbott Binax test for about $25 for two in Walgreens/CVS. Then book the basic service from klarity.health for £10 to provide you with the certificate. You upload them a picture of the test through their app and they provide the certificate. This is well documented on FT. If Rob is OK with the link look at https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33799537-post399.html

    • jj says:
      10 Dec10 December 14:20

      In addition to the pop-up centres that never seem to be around when you want them, CityMD has a large number of walk-in medical centres in NYC that offer antigen tests and which appear on Google Maps. Covid tests are free.

  • Lee says:
    10 Dec10 December 10:18

    Anyone used Chronomics before? I am looking for Test to return antigen test kit, they have one for £18 includes posting which seems good price.

    • Pablo says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:27

      Yes they’re reliable. If you’re buying more than 1 then Excalibur works out cheaper. Click through from jet2 website.

    • JandeW says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:49

      Have used Chronomics and they are good. Whatever you do, do not use COLLINSON! Paid £110 for Day 2 PCR and they did not arrive. No contact available to the company.Thankfully we have lamp tests to confirm negativity. Re visiting the USA, we just bottled on postal tests (Chronomics) yesterday and have doubled down and booked an In-Clinic test for day before departure, just in case!! Our BA 212 return on 2/1/22 from Boston has also just had departure time changed and aircraft change from 777 to a 788 – old style CW layout…

      • Scott says:
        10 Dec10 December 11:38

        Fine for me. Have done 3 tests with them ( 1 x PCR, 2 x allergen) and ordered a day 2 test from them (arrived in 2 days).

        Think every company has its bad days.
        A lot don’t seem to make it easy to contact them if you need to do something.
        Simplytestme have been pretty quick to reply though.

  • J says:
    10 Dec10 December 10:20

    Hi! We’re flying with Easyjet into Basel this weekend. Basel airport is unique because it is geographically located in France, but also services Switzerland. So when arriving there you can chose the exit into France or the exit into Switzerland. Easyjet lands in the Swiss half of the airport.

    France needs an antigen test and Switzerland needs a PCR test to get in. I am not sure which rules to follow.

    I called Easyjet a few times and am getting different answers. 2 people told me I need to follow French rules (got that in writing), 1 said Swiss rules. Called Basel Airport, they say they follow French rules and from their side Antigen is enough, but they did hear about Easyjet denying boarding to a few people incorrectly.

    Any advise how to progress? Does anyone know how to contact Edinburgh Airport Easyjet to doublecheck what they need to let me board?

    I can’t get appointments for PCR tests or they are very far away, I got a broken leg and no car, so it would be a huge financial & practical relief not to do the PCR test.

    • Lady London says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:39

      Not unique.
      Geneva also.

    • JDB says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:42

      Obviously you must satisfy yourself of the requirements, and it depends on your ultimate destination (the airport also serves Freiburg, Germany which can only be accessed via CH or FR). The airport is in French territory and follows the French rules, but clearly you can’t use these different, slightly easier rules to get into Switzerland and if you exit directly into Switzerland you evidently need to follow the Swiss rules. The airport website sets it out fairly clearly, as do the official French, Swiss and German government links they offer.

    • JDB says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:53

      @J one additional – if you have a broken leg (ie in a cast) you would be wise to carry a doctor’s letter to say it is safe to travel. I recall my wife having problems with this as a break or lower limb surgery can increase the risk of a blood clot.

    • EvilDoctorK says:
      10 Dec10 December 12:09

      While you can choose to pass French or Swiss immigration from my memory of it the arrivals path then just ends up in the same place and you can walk from France to Switzerland in the baggage hall and landside .. ( Years ago this wasn’t the case )

      No idea how this works with Covid entry requirements .. but certainly a few years ago you could pick your own immigration but you ended up in the same place anyway afterwards.

  • Louise says:
    10 Dec10 December 10:20

    Haven’t used my curve card in a while, does anyone know if mbna horizon card are charging fees with it?

  • Aston100 says:
    10 Dec10 December 10:23

    So, assuming this pre departure test is still needed in the coming weeks when returning back to the UK, what happens if you test positive in New York?
    In terms of contacting BA and whether you are entitled to a date change (avios booking), and what the rules are for isolating.
    They are doing free tests in NYC that qualify for the UK pre departure. I’m assuming they report the results to an authority. Not sure what happens at this point.

    • Rob says:
      10 Dec10 December 10:41

      If that’s your concern, do a Qured video test. Qured won’t report you to the US authorities. You can then do what you please in the US for a week until you test negative and can fly home.

      • Aston100 says:
        10 Dec10 December 12:44

        Thanks Rob.
        Do you know what BA’s view would be about changing dates if I’m positive and can’t get home for a week or so?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      10 Dec10 December 12:54

      Take a box of NHS LFT and do one before you go for your free travel test in NYC

    • jj says:
      10 Dec10 December 14:22

      Surely you wouldn’t plan to be out an about infecting people if you test positive? Remember that vaccination rates are low in NYC. You could easily kill someone.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        10 Dec10 December 14:41

        By low you mean pretty much in line with the UK

      • TGLoyalty says:
        10 Dec10 December 14:42

        Btw I still agree. Positive test = stay home right now. There will become a point when it’s not 10 days but we aren’t there yet.

      • Aston100 says:
        10 Dec10 December 15:26

        JJ, what made you jump to that conclusion?
        I literally have no idea what happens if you test positive in NYC. Whether you need to go into a government isolation hotel or find your own; what happens with your flight – whether BA will happily accommodate a date change despite having booked with avios and no avios availability at this time; who do you notify etc etc

        • Rob says:
          10 Dec10 December 15:58

          I think most people would prefer to ‘keep out of the way’ under their own steam rather than be placed in a Government facility or face official Government monitoring of their movements.

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