Bits: Etihad 30% discount codes, BA stalks Norwegian, T5 Aspire lounge & Lounge Club

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• BigDave says:

  9 Nov9 November 07:48

  Took Norwegian from Spain to Edinburgh this summer and the prices were excellent and the best I could find – The planes weren’t airbus and the legroom and cabin bag room on the redesigned 737-xxx was far superior. Food options ala easyjet.

  • Natalia S says:

    9 Nov9 November 08:14

    I love Norwegian; free wifi on-board – that’s the best free extra a budget airline can offer.

• Graeme says:

  9 Nov9 November 07:55

  Reposting from Monday (apologies):

  Completely OT – I need to buy around £1000 worth of Chinese Yuan ahead of a trip to North Korea. I noticed on an old ‘Holiday Tips’ post that someone had had success reserving currency online at Tesco and paying in-store using their Curve. This was a few months ago – has anyone managed this since?

  And to answer Johnnycl and Genghis – I can’t wait. Haven’t been this excited about a trip in a long time. I collected my visa at the embassy/house in Acton (on the A406) yesterday – forms, money and passports were handed through the railings and given back 20 minutes later. Sadly I’m not in China long enough to withdraw that much, so I need to buy here.

  • Genghis says:

    9 Nov9 November 08:43

    OK – if you need to buy here, you need to be looking at where will give the best rates.
    For example, current spot on xe.com is 8.41RMB/£.
    Best foreign exchange (London based) are currently selling at 8.13, 3.4% below XE rate while Tesco travel money are at 7.88, 6.4% below xe. No amount of rewards through Curve can make up for this!
    Have a look at http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/ and select when you’re going and whether you can collect (better rates – just pop in your post code) or want delivery and go for the best rate.
    A friend of mine went to North Korea and said it was fascinating. I don’t think I’d be able to persuade my wife to go! Have a good one!

    • Gavin says:

      9 Nov9 November 09:49

      (A different Gavin). I won’t be going as my wife is from South Korea!

    • Graeme says:

      9 Nov9 November 11:53

      Thanks all. I’m actually going with another Gavin!

      Genghis – thanks. That’s basically the point I’ve arrived at now. I never normally buy ahead and just use ATMs – it seems such a shame not to earn something on that though.

      Others – I know that we can take EUR or USD, but the tour company says we’re better off with CNY so I’m leaning that way. Better for change, and we’ve got a night in Beijing and a night on the train as well.

  • Gavin says:

    9 Nov9 November 08:54

    I went to NK in ’08 and ’12. Unless the situation has changed, it’s fine to use Euros there. In fact, pretty much everything we could buy was priced in Euros (with USD and CNY also accepted). You might be better off taking Euros as you’ll probably get a better deal on the exchange rate, both here and in NK.

  • Yan says:

    9 Nov9 November 09:56

    Not really needed to get CNY unless you are also spending a few days in Beijing, Shenyang or Dandong before/after your trip to NK. As Gavin said, they (or at least the places you have access to) generally accept EUR and USD.

  • John says:

    9 Nov9 November 11:40

    £1000 seems a lot of money to spend in NK.

    If you bring euros you won’t need so many notes and you can also keep them for use later.

    • Graeme says:

      9 Nov9 November 11:55

      It’s for two of us, and it’ll cover a few other costs in China.

• Deb says:

  9 Nov9 November 09:02

  Is the aspire lounge t5 worth paying the money for? Thought I might treat son to it but not wasting my money if it’s dire ?

  • the real harry says:

    9 Nov9 November 12:43

    I think most people like it https://headforpoints.com/2015/08/04/aspire-lounge-in-heathrow-terminal-5/

  • Bob says:

    9 Nov9 November 14:47

    Good as a freebie but I wouldn’t have paid – food selection was meagre when we were there.

    • Rob says:

      9 Nov9 November 15:27

      Agree.

• Talay says:

  9 Nov9 November 09:10

  I have my curve linked to my Marriott Mastercard but Sainsburys would not do it online as their API was telling Marriott that the request was for a cash advance.

  Anyway, what happens when you cannot order online is that Sainsburys offers you the opportunity to pay in store but at the online Nectar rate. The curve card did work there.

• Smid says:

  9 Nov9 November 09:13

  Norwegian do appear to do a better WT+ than BA, though they claim it to be business class. But tends to be priced like WT+ (at the moment, that is) but can be booked one way.

• Phil says:

  9 Nov9 November 09:39

  Tried to book flights with Etihad this morning and the code doesnt work. Anyone else have same issue?

  • Rob says:

    9 Nov9 November 09:43

    Are you inside the date range for travel? Was fine last night and EY emailed me this morning to remind me about the codes.

    • Phil says:

      9 Nov9 November 09:48

      Yeah 21st Jan. Very odd

    • Phil says:

      9 Nov9 November 09:49

      Ha! That’s what you get when you put the eco code in by mistake! Thanks

• Stuart McIntyre says:

  9 Nov9 November 09:54

  I always really enjoy the Aspire lounge in T5, particularly appreciating the cream tea option they have most afternoons. Which is fortunate as it looks as though Ill be giving up my BA status this year, but I digress… One thing I do wish though, that they’d get rid of that useless unused staircase that takes up so much space in the lounge – thus allowing more seating, which is much needed.

• Mike says:

  9 Nov9 November 10:19

  I have a flight booked with Etihad already – I can save £400 with a rebook with this sale. Etihad require me to ring to cancel my existing booking though (fully flex) – will they cause me trouble if I have two identical bookings and just want the more expensive one cancelled?

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