Bits: Virgin cooling off period for buying miles, €29 Vueling sale, Cathay business sale

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• owain thomas says:

  6 Jul6 July 06:24

  If you need miles for a reward flight you can purchase them at the time of booking so there’s no risk that the flights will have gone by the time the miles post.

  Also, VS are really good about putting reward seats on hold for 72 hours if you have other stuff you need to get lined up. I’ve got a LHR-LAX-SFO-MAN trip for next Easter on hold at the moment pending hotel reward booking.

• Alvin C says:

  6 Jul6 July 06:55

  Doesn’t the law require at least 14 days for any online purchases? BA does offer the bare minimum – 14 days.

  • the real harry1 says:

    6 Jul6 July 08:05

    he’s right! naughty old Virgin, you could simply invoke the rules 🙂

    BA:
    8.You have the right to cancel contracts for the purchase of Avios points within 14 days of purchase provided the Avios points have not been used. To exercise the right to cancel the purchase of the Avios points, you must make the request in writing (including by email) or by telephone to the Executive Club in their country (contact details can be found on ba.com). You may use the cancellation template below but this is not obligatory. If you cancel, we will reimburse to you all payment received from you without undue delay and no later than 14 days after the day on which we were informed about your decision to cancel this contract.

    Cancellation Template
    Contact email address
    I/We hereby give notice that I/We {*} cancel my/our [*] contract of sale of the following goods [*}
    Ordered on [*}/received on [*}
    Customer Name
    Customer Address
    Signature of Customer
    Date

    • Rob says:

      6 Jul6 July 08:57

      Interesting, thanks!

    • Callum says:

      6 Jul6 July 09:18

      The distance selling regulations don’t apply to financial services or flights (how are miles classified?), I’m not sure miles purchases would qualify?

      • the real harry1 says:

        6 Jul6 July 14:17

        distance selling regs have been replaced by consumer contracts regs
        http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations

        I see no reason why Avios/ Virgin miles would not be included: they are not a special case or obvious exclusion

  • John says:

    6 Jul6 July 09:14

    How do that work with flights then? If I purchase a flight online with BA or Virgin does it mean I can cancel free of charge within 2 weeks? I’m pretty sure all non refundable tickets are non refundable after a 24 hour cooling off period. It’s probably some legal technicality but why would a flight and buying miles have different rules?

    • John says:

      6 Jul6 July 09:15

      How DOES that work – should have re-read after editing!

    • Callum says:

      6 Jul6 July 09:19

      Because the rules have exceptions – one of which being that they don’t apply to flight bookings. I have no idea whether they apply to miles purchases though.

• Talay says:

  6 Jul6 July 07:04

  Cathay “sale” numbers might be good compared to their regular fares but BKK for two grand is hardly earth shattering considering the pretty large detour via HKG.

  Still a good option if you specifically want to go to Hong Kong and then onward.

• Ah says:

  6 Jul6 July 07:22

  im sure I collected avios points via vueling last year?

  • Sam Goss says:

    6 Jul6 July 07:28

    I thought you could via IB on some fares?

    • Rob says:

      6 Jul6 July 08:00

      Yes, via IB you can but not on the cheap tickets IIRC

      • Ah says:

        6 Jul6 July 14:35

        Yes it was IB
        Your Optimum Fare includes:
        Vueling points or Iberia Plus Avios

  • xcalx says:

    6 Jul6 July 08:05

    I definitely did, booked on Vueling a cheap BCN-MAN 873 Avios and 35 Elite points. Also a cheap IB express MAN-MAD 223Avios and 20 Elite points booked on IB express.

    • xcalx says:

      6 Jul6 July 08:14

      Vuelling page showing earn Avios https://tickets.vueling.com/Contact.aspx

      Basic fare No Avios Optima and excellence earn Avios

      • xcalx says:

        6 Jul6 July 08:19

        This one https://tickets.vueling.com/Contact.aspx

    • Michael Jennings says:

      6 Jul6 July 12:21

      I have encountered situations where buying Vueling flights with a BA flight number (and therefore gaining Avios) has been cheaper than buying them directly from Vueling (and not gaining Avios). It is not usual, but it does occasionally happen.

• Andrew says:

  6 Jul6 July 08:02

  I bought FC miles six weeks ago, cancelled the purchase the following day as it said I could do in the terms and conditions and was advised the refund could take up to two weeks. Still no refund. I emailed VS over one week ago, no reply to date, very unusual for VS not to reply. I Called VS last night, after a pause I was told I will be called back in a couple of days . All very strange!

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    6 Jul6 July 08:14

    Customer.Relations@fly.virgin.com is your friend…

  • Rob says:

    6 Jul6 July 08:58

    You don’t buy off Virgin, you buy off points.com who handle the processing. It isn’t Virgin refunding you, that is why it is slow.

• Andrew says:

  6 Jul6 July 09:22

  OT: Totally bizarre conversation with Creation re IHG Mastercard. Card got blocked based on a transaction I attempted last night. Received email asking me to call their security team this morning. Did so. Didn’t ask for card number. Didn’t ask for any security details. Didn’t actually ask for anything but my surname, which the guy seemed to then check against some sort of list to see which transaction they were querying! Anyway, told him it was genuine and he said the card would be good to use again in about 2 minutes time. Never come across a card provider more amateurish! For all they know, I could have been a fraudster! Pretty shocking all in all.

  • Andrew says:

    6 Jul6 July 09:25

    p.s. he actually got the transaction they were querying wrong initially until I corrected him by suggesting what I thought would have caused the block (he had first said “was it a company called South West”, to which I said no – never spent with them, or attempted to).

    • Brasov says:

      6 Jul6 July 10:26

      Maybe ID’d you based on the number you were calling from?

      • Chris says:

        6 Jul6 July 15:12

        Quite possibly – Barclaycard do..

        • Aeronaut says:

          6 Jul6 July 23:42

          It’s possible to fake the CLI presenting number.

          Regardless, a credit card company telephone agent should run through some security details.

• Metty says:

  6 Jul6 July 09:51

  Re BKK, may be of interest to some that although the Swiss companion sale J class is supposed to have ended, I managed to book seats LHR-ZRH-BKK/SIN-ZRH-LHR last night for £672pp out and £612 back. We are booked on Thai outbound and Singapore was available for the return if (most dates) arriving back at LCY is ok.

  As Rob originally mentioned the BKK fare seemed high, which it is for a return as the return leg is priced high. Returning from SIN, HKG or BJS are all much cheaper.

  Reasonably competitive compared to the BKK Qatar options (e.g. ex-Venice £1125ish) and the BA ex-AMS option (£1250). Ordinarily would have gone for the latter but our recent couple of trips with BA have been so poor – LHR-SIN being encouraged after departure to move from the upper to lower deck J cabin as ‘it’s nicer down there’, wife being told to stop coughing or she wouldn’t be served as ‘I don’t want to catch your germs’ – never mind KEF-LHR in Y and empty BoB trolley syndrome. BA probably don’t care how many people quietly defect to other choices just because you can!

  • JamesB says:

    6 Jul6 July 18:27

    That’s an excellent deal, well done and enjoy. It is hugely superior to Qatar in that it’s one stop, shorter duration and exUK so no potential poditioning flight drama to worry about. Only downside is your Thai flight will likely have angle flat seats unless it’s one of the latest aircraft.

• Brasov says:

  6 Jul6 July 10:07

  OT: How to register for the Iberia Plus “multiple partners for 10,000” promotion?

  • the real harry1 says:

    6 Jul6 July 10:46

    https://insideflyer.co.uk/2017/06/earn-10000-bonus-avios-using-iberia-plus-partners/

    • Rob says:

      6 Jul6 July 10:48

      Covered this last week!

      • Brasov says:

        6 Jul6 July 11:35

        Here is where I first saw it. But it mentions registering and I can’t see how to.

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