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Bits: amazing deals at InterCon New York, BA cuts Philadelphia, inside Cathay’s Gatwick A350

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News in brief:

Stupidly cheap deals at InterContinental New York Barclay

I reviewed the newly reopened InterContinental New York Barclay back in July.  Situated just around the corner from the Waldorf-Astoria and in front of Grand Central Station, the hotel had just emerged from a two-year top-to-toe refurbishment.

Unfortunately, things have not gone well.  Whilst the rooms are perfectly OK, the internet is awash with complaints about staffing and especially the treatment of elite status members.  This now seems to be having an impact on rates.

In February, you can book the Barclay for as little as $103 per night.  You can see this rate for Friday 10th February for example, or Friday 24th.  It is, of course, low season but on the same night the InterContinental Times Square is $221 per night.  The Holiday Inn Express on Fifth Avenue is $150 – almost 50% more than the Barclay.

To put this rate in perspective, Ambassador members will get 2 x $20 vouchers to spend in the Barclay bar, so that is 40% of your expenditure back already.

If you want a cheap weekend break next February, I recommend a brand new five star hotel in New York.  You can check out pricing via the Barclay home page here

InterContinental New York Barclay lobby

British Airways halves Philadelphia services

British Airways announced yesterday that it is dropping one of its two daily services to Philadelphia from 27th March.

The 17.15 departure (BA69 / BA68) will be cancelled.  The 12.45 departure will continue to operate, as will the daily American Airlines service.

If you have a booking to Philadelphia in the diary you should take a look to see if you have been affected.

Cathay A350-900

Inside Gatwick’s Cathay Pacific A350

At the start of September, Cathay Pacific launched its new service from Gatwick to Hong Kong.

What makes this interesting is that the airline is using a brand new Airbus A350 on the route.  This article from thedesignair.net is very detailed and is based on a tour of the aircraft.

It looks impressive and, for regular Hong Kong travellers, a good excuse to avoid Heathrow – especially as the new Cathay Pacific lounge in Terminal 3 is still not open!  Remember that, as a oneworld partner, you earn Avios and British Airways tier points on Cathay Pacific flights.

Category

British Airways and Avios, Cathay Pacific and Asia Miles, IHG One Rewards

Comments (97)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Tim says:
    27 Sep27 September 08:14

    Re IC Times Square – we stayed there recently. Don’t bank on any elite benefits. I’m an IHG Spire, and we didn’t get a room upgrade or a requested late (15:00) checkout. The latter must have been available, as they offered it for $100. Customer service was along the lines of a brick wall.

    • Leo says:
      27 Sep27 September 08:19

      Agreed. I did get an Ambassador upgrade and late check out though. Otherwise best I can say about place is that it was clean….

      • Raffles says:
        27 Sep27 September 08:25

        The guaranteed 4pm Ambassador checkout is very valuable in NYC though with an overnight flight back.

        That said, I will be back in June and eyeing 3 nights in the ‘all suite’ Conrad which I rate highly and which is only 70k Hilton on those dates.

        • nerd. says:
          27 Sep27 September 08:38

          Just back from a stay at the Conrad at the end of August and second that. Brilliant hotel, especially on the 5-for-4 points redemption.

        • YL says:
          27 Sep27 September 11:48

          I found the points and money redemption at Conrad could be also very good.

        • Nick says:
          27 Sep27 September 12:13

          Late check out is always a result with an evening flight from anywhere. I’ve just flown from NYC on BA 116 and had a late check out at the Hilton Garden Inn Park Ave. And only there for the weekend I might say.

    • John says:
      27 Sep27 September 09:05

      Unless you have purchased Ambassador you aren’t an elite at ICs.

      Of course, if they are forced to upgrade a non-elite then Spire beats Club, but otherwise you shouldn’t get anything and should expect to pay for late checkout.

      • Rob says:
        27 Sep27 September 17:42

        It is inconsistent. Le Grand in Paris gives out letters to Spires and Plats giving them specific benefits including a 2pm check out.

  • Jovanna says:
    27 Sep27 September 08:36

    I might give it a go. I’m in New York in January. Do IHG status match?

    • John says:
      27 Sep27 September 09:06

      The only way to get status at Intercontinentals is to purchase Ambassador.

      IHG status is used at the other IHG brands, and I haven’t heard of them matching status.

    • Amy says:
      27 Sep27 September 13:14

      I’ve had an IHG status match, admittedly prior to ‘Spire days’. Hilton Diamond to IHG Platinum. This works the other way too!

    • Rob says:
      27 Sep27 September 17:43

      No, and only Ambassador would have any impact at an InterCon (and this hotel is refusing to honour most of the benefits, hence the problems).

  • Frankie says:
    27 Sep27 September 10:29

    Dropping BA 69/68 is a bit of a surprise as Club is usually full of GSK staff on both those planes due to GSK’s world headquarters being in Brentford (a few miles to LHR) and the US headquarters being in PHL. Those two daily flghts have run for a very long time. Maybe the AA flight is new?

  • Martin Tilley says:
    27 Sep27 September 11:27

    Thanks for the tip on ICB in NYC, booked for Feb 10th as part of a RTM-ORD-ORY TP run I booked a couple of days back, was surprised that fare wasn’t covered on here?

    Even with the exchange rate £100 for a 5 star hotel on Manhattan is a good deal, even in February.

    • Rob says:
      27 Sep27 September 17:38

      I missed it when it came up and then got nervous that it would be pulled before the article went live (which is what usually happens when I write about these things).

  • Alan says:
    27 Sep27 September 11:28

    Can you use Avios to fly Cathay? Sorry as I appreciate this is a very basic question but I’m still trying to get to grips with the whole Avios scene

    • Alan says:
      27 Sep27 September 11:29

      Yes, you can book Cathay flights on BA.com using your Avios

      • Rod says:
        27 Sep27 September 11:56

        Yes and if go for first class then availability seems to improve closer to departure date. Taxes and fees from HKG are extremely low.

        • Nick says:
          27 Sep27 September 12:18

          I paid £25 plus 60000 avios (pre devaluation) for a flight from HKG-AMS in Business on CX for my flight in January of this year. Their Business class product is miles ahead of BA too.

          • YL says:
            27 Sep27 September 12:30

            Agreed. Not to even mention the lounge!
            Before devaluation it was such a great value!! No wonder why BA decided to increased the partners award so much!!

          • Alan says:
            27 Sep27 September 14:50

            Ah, OK. So you can use Avios but it will be more points than if you flew BA to HKG then.

  • AndyGWP says:
    27 Sep27 September 12:19

    OFF-TOPIC for what it’s worth….

    re: “Triple points on all BA flights, all classes” article on 7th September

    I’m sure I’m not the first to report this, but I registered for the promo even though I bought my flight tickets in January, and had even already flown my outbound in August.

    Just received a chunk of “Special Promotion – Q3 Business Points” in my BAEC account which I can only think must relate to registering for the above, and which I assume are attributed to taking the return leg after the 6th September on an AA coded BA flight.

    Can’t relate the points to the actual flights (well, I kind of can, but it looks lower than it should be), but I’m not going to be complaining about it 🙂

    Goes to show that when Raffles mentions BA’s inconsistent IT and to give it a go, it’s worth it (unless someone comes and tells me they were for something else! haha)

    • Rob says:
      27 Sep27 September 17:36

      Yes, for tickets not booked on BA codes or booked via other airlines BA does seem to be giving triple – probably because it cannot accurately know the booking date.

      • AndyGWP says:
        28 Sep28 September 00:31

        This one actually was all on a BA ticket (but booked on an AA code for those precious extra tier points) 🙂

  • harry says:
    27 Sep27 September 13:00

    O/T bits – you Londoners all have the Uber app, right? Read on if you know somebody who likes the Fifa game series – HT HUKD – be quick only live until 2pm

    [You can grab a copy of FIFA 17 today for FREE, thanks to UBER apparently.
    FIFA 17 is released today in North America, but us Brits have to wait until this Thursday to own and play the incredible new FIFA release.

    Thankfully though there is a way to get your hands on the game TODAY and pay absolutely nothing!

    Between 11am and 2pm, Uber will be delivering FREE copies of FIFA 17 on the Xbox One to users living in London and Manchester.

    Uber has also said that a few fans might also recieve some of other EA SPORTS titles, such as Madden NFL 17 and NHL 17 for the Xbox One.

    If that wasn’t enough they teased that some fans might even score a a brand new Xbox One S console.

    Who will be delivering these extra special packages also seems to be a bit of a mystery, with Uber suggesting that “some players from your hometown team” may be “on hand for the ultimate assist on deliveries.”

    All you need to do to grab yourself a copy is this:

    Open the app between 11am – 2pm in London (Zones 1/2 ONLY) and Manchester tomorrow, September 27.

    Tap on the Profile icon on the left and select the Promotions menu.

    Enter the promo code GAMEONUK to unlock the special ‘GAME ON’ option.

    Receive your free copy of FIFA 17 on Xbox One.
    As expected Uber has warned that (understandably) demand will be HIGH and availability limited. In addition they’ve advised that this offer is provided for a limited time on a first-come, first serve basis. ]

  • Alan says:
    27 Sep27 September 14:20

    O/T – new partnership between Shangri-La Golden Circle and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. My Jade status in the former (courtesy Amex) has given me instance Silver with SQ. They would also give Gold if you manage 3 SQ flights in 4 months after status match (which I won’t but still pretty decent). Handy to have lower fees for SQ redemptions and higher waitlist priority.

    • Matthew says:
      27 Sep27 September 15:54

      Hi Alan. That’s good to know. I’ve recently requested upgrade to Jade via Amex Plat. How long did yours take to process? Also, how did you carry out the upgrade to SQ Silver – is it via the S-La website or SQ? I’ve got 4 SQ flights coming up in 3 weeks so hopefully will be in time!

      Many thanks
      Matthew

    • Liz says:
      27 Sep27 September 16:42

      Hey Alan I just did the match for my hubby – I signed him up for Jade with Shangri-La via Platinum but didn’t really plan to use it but now it has come in handy. The Jade status is valid till 12/18 – will the KR silver status match till then too do you think – we are saving KF miles at the moment with a possible trip to Oz stopping in Singapore in 2018/19.

      • Scallder says:
        27 Sep27 September 17:02

        Liz – from the FAQs:

        Q: I have successfully registered for a membership status match benefit to KrisFlyer Elite Gold, and have been upgraded. Can my KrisFlyer Elite Silver or Gold status be renewed for the following year?

        A: No. You will only enjoy complimentary KrisFlyer Elite Silver or Gold status for one membership year. You will need to fulfil the published KrisFlyer programme requirements to qualify for subsequent renewal.

        If people here are Manchester based – could easily rack up the 4 flights with a few return trips to Munich before the end of October on the fifth freedom route before it finishes…

        • Alan says:
          27 Sep27 September 17:06

          Ahh, thanks – hadn’t spotted that FAQ. MAN-MUC definitely an interesting option, looks like it’s available for about £160 return, personally I just don’t fly Star Alliance enough to outlay the cost but definitely worth considering for some!

        • Liz says:
          27 Sep27 September 17:08

          THanks Scallder – that match was short lived!

      • Alan says:
        27 Sep27 September 17:05

        Hi Liz – the status match seems to be for a year from date of application. Whether it will be renewed automatically after that is unclear. KF Silver itself doesn’t seem massively useful, mainly just priority waitlisting/slightly reduced fees/ability to extend miles expiry by 12 rather than 6 months. The upgrade to Gold after 3 eligible SQ or SilkAir flights is more interesting, especially if you were able to do so at a cheap price one of the short routes. I guess no immediate need to rush to match given the time limit for upgrading status – I’ve got no paid SQ flights planned anyway so thought I’d try it out as a bit of a guinea pig for HfP 🙂

        • Liz says:
          27 Sep27 September 17:28

          I should have waited – wonder if it will let you match again next year – will diary it and try again this time next year

      • Alexey says:
        27 Sep27 September 19:09

        Interesting … is there any airline which will status match from SG silver ?

        • Alan says:
          27 Sep27 September 19:24

          If you could get a Oneworld mid-tier match somewhere that’d be great, sadly the problem is within Star Alliance Silver is pretty rubbish, all the benefits really come from Gold, hence even if you can get a status match of Silver it might not be worth much elsewhere!

    • YL says:
      27 Sep27 September 17:41

      Just received the email from Shangri-La, the upgrade to star Gold after 3 eligible SQ is quite interesting, but looks like it needs to be done over 4 months after registering, so I guess it is important to get the timing right..I am also hoping it will still available next year…until my current star gold expired.

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