Bits: Virgin Trains cuts Traveller, Amex airport cashback, 20% off ALL Flybe routes

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• RIccati says:

  24 Jan24 January 05:58

  AMEX WHSmith offer did not load via Foursquare. Exceeded 10,000 registrations?

  • Rob says:

    24 Jan24 January 09:08

    I loaded one last night via iphone app. Would not work on ipad app.

• Brendan says:

  24 Jan24 January 06:38

  Doh! Just booked a load of Flybe tickets a couple of days ago for a stag do…could have saved £15 per person

• Cheshire Pete says:

  24 Jan24 January 07:31

  Sad news indeed regarding traveller as I just checked having not received an email yet!

  No travel till after 0930 on a Monday giving just a 2.5 hour window till Noon. Then blocked 4 till 7 on a Friday.

  Traveller simply used the pool allocated to ‘Advanced tickets’ so running the scheme economically was justifiable. You can still get £90 advanced tickets out of London till 7pm. On a Friday. Why? Because the loading of those trains is often less than 50% due to Virgins Peak restrictions their peak trains are loaded rather lightly in my observations.

  Ironically Traveller opens up again at 7pm which are then the most heavily loaded trains as that is when off peak starts! Justifiable? Not really as your just loading up those first peak trains more and many trains between 4 and 7 will depart even more lightly loaded than they currently do.

  I did make some comments to Virgin when they re won their new franchise which was that creating an artificial Peak from 4 to 7 is a bit old hat, and they simply pile up loading issues unnecessarily between 7 and 8 and allow half empty trains to leave Euston 4 to 7.

  So unnecessary.

• andystock says:

  24 Jan24 January 07:35

  Raffles, I am surprises you had time to visit Cafe Nero at LHR T2 since there is the Premium Plaza which is a very nice lounge with a very good interior design!

  • Rob says:

    24 Jan24 January 09:06

    That is why I was there! It was the day of the PP opening party. Went to T2 to check where it was, went to Nero, went over to T5 to do some work in Regus then went back in the evening.

    • Andrew says:

      24 Jan24 January 12:34

      I purchased a gift card to avail of the offer but use later…

• Jonathan says:

  24 Jan24 January 08:12

  Do you have more details of the Virgin Traveller email please. I’m 5 trips towards the 8 needed to qualify and would like to know what I’m getting in for.

  Thanks

  • Cheshire Pete says:

    24 Jan24 January 08:45

    Yes how come raffles got it and I didn’t!

    From what I can tell,in my account it’s just a restriction Monday till 9.30 and Friday 4 till 7.

    I have to say it was never possible anyway to use traveller on Monday Peak trains, they only eased that when they won back their franchise and everyone that was currently traveller got a complimentary extension until November 2014, which for me was almost 2 years on top of my membership. From then on they opened up Monday Peak trains. So all they have done there is close them down again after 2 years.

    The Friday evening, though, was never restricted as I recall so a disappointing downgrade there, and like I said seats will simply go out empty before 7, as they do now,

    I happened to have a conversation with them back in Novermber as all their members expiration was aligned to that month and they had massive IT problems due to this processing renewals. I happen to know that actually only a small percentage of the older members did actually requalify. So even though new members are now open again they must surely have a lot less members now than before November 2014.

    Due to the problems they only told me last week my membership was now till February 2016, but perhaps this is also guilt as next months engineering works more or less makes booking traveller at weekends in February next to impossible as Raffles also mentioned!

    • Smid says:

      25 Jan25 January 10:11

      Annoyed about traveller (though expired in November last year). I used to use the 8:45am regularly on a Monday, and the 16:43 on Friday, so that’s knackered my choices… Will force others on the ones in between though, making anything apart from long term booking to places like Glasgow pretty much unavailable.

      It was great when it lasted though.

  • Rob says:

    24 Jan24 January 09:04

    Will forward it when on desktop, remind me if I forget

• Mr Bridge says:

  24 Jan24 January 08:38

  re whsmith offer,

  I bought £10 boots gift cards in wh at Gatwick (N)..on all 8 of my amexs. they are opposite the tills ( behind you when you queue)

  • Peter says:

    24 Jan24 January 09:39

    Wasn’t the offer only valid at Heathrow?? Hope for your sake it wasn’t!!

    • Mr Bridge says:

      24 Jan24 January 09:57

      got the credits

      • Mr Bridge says:

        24 Jan24 January 09:58

        Connected Foursquare American Express Cardmembers are eligible to receive a £5 statement credit when they spend £10 or more at WH Smith Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Edinburgh airport stores on their registered American Express Card by 31 January 2015

• lucinda says:

  24 Jan24 January 11:15

  Can the amex offers be used in the outlets located on the landside at those airports too (ie pre security) ?
  If so apart from wh smith are any of the others landside?

  • Rob says:

    24 Jan24 January 11:23

    Yes. My Nero visit was landside.

• Mark says:

  25 Jan25 January 02:07

  What is four square, how do I sign up and what are the benefits?

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