Bits: BA quietly changes Sharm tier points, good Turkish Istanbul business class deal

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• mialtb says:

  23 Oct23 October 06:16

  Nothing from BA really is strange anymore…but you have welcomed this change if it meant Sharm flights would now be eligible for RFS.

  • mialtb says:

    23 Oct23 October 06:17

    * but would have welcomed the change

  • Rob says:

    23 Oct23 October 06:43

    That is a good point – if it is short haul, it should be RFS …..

    • Mark says:

      23 Oct23 October 08:58

      Though if you turn that on its head, Moscow shouldn’t be on that basis.

• Idrive says:

  23 Oct23 October 07:34

  You would not earn avios on TK but indeed on M&M joking but obviously as lufthansa miles are so difficult to earn in UK that is ideal to topup an account, i will check how many miles those flights would earn! The pricing is not bad if you need to fly there. By the way i have to say that having flown with BA short haul in june, even if it was eco (got the seat the day before with RFS!) the 4hrs flight was good and offered amazing views on the so green Bulgarian woods on the way to Ataturk! I tried the lounge there with ppass, to the hsbc one near the terrace..have a nice day all!

  OT tesco quarter now closed!

  • harry says:

    23 Oct23 October 08:05

    …with 140K Avios in the bag 🙂

    Go on, chaps, high time for 800 bonus conversion!

    • idrive says:

      23 Oct23 October 09:53

      how did you generate 30k on two accounts in one quarter nowadays??
      or is that your total balance(which would be ok) it would be nice to have a bonus! now that there are so many options for redemptions!

      • harry says:

        23 Oct23 October 10:05

        It was an easy quarter, so 2 x 30K, I agree some quarters are like getting blood out of a stone. Raffles has actually posted all the deals I used, so no hidden tricks this time.

        • Blog reader says:

          23 Oct23 October 20:38

          Do you think the current promotion that lets you convert 2.50 quid of club card vouchers into 600 avios is a good deal? Sorry, newbie here, just wondering what your thoughts were on this as I have never converted tesco vouchers into avios before

        • harry says:

          23 Oct23 October 21:34

          I would say I think Tesco is flirting with losing a lot of users. The occasional bonuses keep us keen. £2.50 to 600 Avios is OK when balanced with the bonus conversions.

          I’m rather disappointed that loyal Tesco customers such as myself have not been rewarded with a bonus conversion for so long!

          So – Blog reader – you could convert to Avios if you need them now, but don’t go holding your breath that Tesco will reward your loyalty and custom with a bonus conversion.

        • Erico1875 says:

          23 Oct23 October 22:53

          The best actual value in the “travel category” is Apartments4you which currently has £30 of CC vouchers = £100 off., so approx 1/ 3.33
          Its mostly timeshare accom., The ones we have stayed in have always been of a good standard., better than most hotels IMO
          Last year they were offering a voucher at up to 5 to 1 value. for July/Aug so it may be worth holding off converting to see what offers appear
          Last Easter we used them for our twin centre Easter holiday to Goa.

• Rohan says:

  23 Oct23 October 07:37

  Any goof business class deal from Manchester ?

  • Rob says:

    23 Oct23 October 08:36

    The Turkish deal may be on, did not check.

    • James67 says:

      23 Oct23 October 09:12

      Last night I was checking both returns and one ways all over se Asia to/from EDI, GLA, LON and DUB. I noticed many of the better deals were on TK but nothing amazing. However, might be a good idea for those seriously looking for a deal check out what TK currently have available from the usual European sweet spots.

• Dom says:

  23 Oct23 October 07:41

  I thought TPs were based on distance travelled in a leg? In which case have they altered the thresholds and potentially affected other routes also?

  • Guesswho2000 says:

    23 Oct23 October 08:24

    Generally yes, but BA have offered better TP earning on certain routes before – the baby bus LCY-JFK used to award long haul 210 TPs until April.

  • Rob says:

    23 Oct23 October 08:35

    No, not that simple unfortunately!

• Cheshire Pete says:

  23 Oct23 October 07:45

  When I booked the new BA Iceland route starting this Sunday, it initially showed as being in the 40 (CE) / 10 (ET) TP category in my booking. I’ve now noticed all my earnings have doubled, so they have now moved it into the 80 / 20 band. So I guess good news there and shows BA can change things for both good and bad!

  • Guesswho2000 says:

    23 Oct23 October 08:22

    This always should have been the case, LHR-KEF is similar to the HEL route, distance wise, so should’ve always give SH+ tier points. I think the assumption was that it would, but I know BA’s calculator didn’t reflect this when the route was first announced.

• Greg Morgan says:

  23 Oct23 October 07:51

  Having recently used Turkish to fly to and from China and Japan I can thoroughly recommend their Business Class service which beats BA in nearly every respect. Not only did we enjoy a 777 with the above 180 degree lie-flat seats for our 12 hour flights, but also the last leg from Istanbul to Heathrow.

  As for the THY Lounge in Istanbul, it has to be seen to be believed and if you are a bt of a Lounge Freak, this one is for you. THY had a full page advert in Time or Newsweek earlier thisyear which read “Our business class lounge in Istanbul is bigger than some airports” and I can vouch for that. Not only is it HUGE, but there are facilities like a cinema, a golf driving range complete with a full set of left and right handed clubs, pool tables, TV screens showing major news channels, complete with wifi headsets for sound and even a Sceletrix track for the lads amongst us. Oh yes, and freshly cooked food in every corner. This really is a lounge where you hope your flight is delayed.

  • harry says:

    23 Oct23 October 08:27

    Return of the hot ‘Oh man!’ empire?

    • Polly says:

      23 Oct23 October 13:15

      V funny!

• flood says:

  23 Oct23 October 07:53

  OT: Any word on when the amex plat enrolment for le club plat status will be up and running again?

  • Rob says:

    23 Oct23 October 08:35

    Already is.

    Hilton Gold for UK now confirmed too but not launched yet.

    • Peter Taysum says:

      23 Oct23 October 08:50

      Further OT I got Hilton Gold as per Air Berlin. It’s suggesting I still need ALL the additional nights for Platinum, rather than just the extra. Is this their deal, or just the computer glitch. I was planning on ten stays or 20 nights… Ta

      • Kai says:

        23 Oct23 October 11:33

        Get a status challenge. You will be fast tracked to Diamond after 21 nights within 90 days.

    • Mark C says:

      23 Oct23 October 09:18

      Rob, will that be available to existing plats or only those who apply after it goes live? Thanks.

      • Rob says:

        23 Oct23 October 09:23

        Everyone

    • Alan says:

      24 Oct24 October 06:58

      Oh excellent – any word on whether it’ll be ongoing status as per Accor or whether it’ll be a one-off as it used to be?

      • Rob says:

        24 Oct24 October 08:16

        Not clear but appears to be ongoing.

        • Alan says:

          24 Oct24 October 12:13

          Great – perfect timing for me as my Diamond status runs out in March with not even enough stays for Silver so will save me having to do a fast track to Gold!

  • The_Real_A says:

    23 Oct23 October 10:19

    OT – I was about to cancel my AMEX Plat (might wait for the Hilton Gold now!)… but does anyone have any sucsess with retention deals this year?

    • AndyGWP says:

      25 Oct25 October 10:45

      I didn’t when cancelling in May

• Tom C says:

  23 Oct23 October 07:58

  Our 1 hour flight in J from IST -> BJV got changed to a 777. Without doubt the best food, service and seat I’ve ever had on a short-haul flight – if only they were all like that. The food was in fact right up there with Qatar J on a long-haul flight.

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