BA Holidays flash sale – New York in Club World with hotel from £1,293

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• Tom says:

  29 Jul29 July 07:25

  My partner and I have just booked this deal, ironically while on holiday! We saw the flash sale and managed to get some good flights which means a decent length of time in NYC 21-24 December. As the article says the 280 tier points and decent avios bonus is a benefit in getting to silver and helping our household account get a decent kick.

  I’ve been reading HfP Since Christmas last year (never posted) and I have to say that the good advice has meant that we have managed to take our household account from 20,000 points to 90,000 points this year alone. We’ve done this through Amex points and referrals, Clubcard conversion, Heathrow rewards bonus, some decent bonus kickers through the BA partner shopping programmes on made.com (we’ve just moved house which helped) and I can certainly see why this is a bit addictive!

  Thankfully after a few weeks of eye rollling my Mrs is now one to tell me when she sees something that will help the household account grow! Thanks for the help, all.

  • Stu N says:

    29 Jul29 July 08:44

    My girlfriend is a very willing Avios hunter now she has seen the link between collecting Avios and travelling at the fizzy end of the plane. If you have the inclination there’s reasonably good Avios availability in First that week before Christmas – worth checking to see if your specific flights have seats available and BA Holidays fares are definitely upgradeable. If they don’t at the moment there is every chance they will open up nearer the time so worth checking regularly.

    • Tom says:

      29 Jul29 July 09:40

      Thanks for the tip, Stu! We set ourselves a target of trying to hit 100,000 points this year which should now be easily achievable. Our plan is to have a really good balance so that we can (hopefully) pick up a decent flight in the Jan sales.

      Like you my Mrs now seems keen to ensure that our account can help us fly at the fizzy end (great saying)!

      • Polly says:

        29 Jul29 July 23:21

        Tom, great to see another convert. Fizzy end will become the norm unfortunately! My OH now asks me which card to use to buy something! So he’s well trained.

        If you can manage another couple of referrals to each other. It’s very well worth upgrading to F on the way home from JFK. We did the upgrade quite close to departure, hardly anyone in the cabin. Think ours was 20k pp. The concord F room there is just AMAZING. Pre dine, champers all the way. Almost as good as the Pier, and Wing in HKG, we think. HKG you must put on your wish list…
        At some point try an ex EU QR J sale trip to Asia, almost get to silver too. Loads of avios and TPs to earn. Your new motto will be “never turn right”

        • Tom says:

          30 Jul30 July 07:51

          Thanks Polly! We are definitely going to try and see if we can bump up to first! That said the boy has decided that he’d like to join us now so we might have another seat to pay for!

        • Tom says:

          31 Jul31 July 11:46

          Hi Polly / Stu,

          I’ve had a little look to see what the avios costs would be for upgrading to First, but the BA website suggests that I have put a call in to them as the booking cannot be changed online, yet when I search as a new booking there is some availability on our flight back. Presume this is the norm?

          T

        • Tom says:

          4 Aug4 August 09:50

          Just an update, Polly (if you check old articles), we’ve managed to get First on the way back from NYC for 20k avios per person! My other half is beyond excited….!

      • Polly says:

        4 Aug4 August 14:54

        Tom,
        Really thrilled you got F back from NYC. There will be no stopping you both now. Well and truly converted. Hope it lives up to our descriptions for you. And don’t forget, if you don’t want your free massage, they will happily give another one to your OH. My oh conveniently “was on an urgent business call” when it was his turn, so l had a facial in that time…wonderful?

    • the_real_a says:

      29 Jul29 July 11:51

      Stu – Marry her…

    • Anna says:

      29 Jul29 July 13:32

      The fizzy end – love it!!

  • David says:

    29 Jul29 July 11:18

    I can’t imagine a worse time to be in New York (I lived there for a while too). It is likely to be way below freezing so really uncomfortable; possible snowstorms & sudden flight cancellations. A lousy time for seeing the sights … and before the sales start in the shops as well.

    • Tom says:

      29 Jul29 July 11:38

      Bloody hell, David, thanks for that.

      Been to NYC plenty of times through the year, I quite like Christmas, and the trip includes my birthday so I’m ok with it.

      • Leo says:

        29 Jul29 July 15:17

        Early December 2015 I remember sitting in Central Park and it was 19C! The immigration guy told me to take off my overcoat at JFK – he wasn’t wrong. I’ve also had snow in December and it was fantastic. Christmas period in New York is peak tourist season so ignore David.

        • Genghis says:

          29 Jul29 July 15:22

          Never been in Dec but late Nov. It was close to zero initially then got up to 20°C

        • Tom says:

          30 Jul30 July 07:53

          Thanks Leo. I’ve been twice around Christmas and loved it. Personally it also means I finish work earlier than the usual xmas eve so I can get into the spirit early. Oh and as it’s my birthday on the 22nd Dec I think it’s not a bad place to spend it!

      • mike says:

        29 Jul29 July 17:44

        Tom – You will have a great time in NYC and at the fizzy end

    • Clive says:

      29 Jul29 July 11:51

      Yeah, David, that’s a pretty lousy response to somebody who is rightly looking forward to their trip.
      Bon voyage, Tom!

      • Tom says:

        29 Jul29 July 12:09

        Thanks, Clive, appreciated!

        • Polly says:

          29 Jul29 July 23:24

          Honestly, it’s fab there Nov, Dec, Jan, plenty to see and do…and you seem to know NYC anyway. We did a fab Airbnb stay last July in Hell’s Kitchen with a garden! A real treat. Love NYC any time of the year.enjoy….

    • Alan says:

      29 Jul29 July 12:20

      Interesting view – must say I enjoyed NYC in the winter, found it more uncomfortable in the height of summer!

    • Anna says:

      29 Jul29 July 13:34

      We’ve been in February, it was stunning, blue skies and crystal clear air, much better than the grey dampness of the UK. My photos from that trip get loads of compliments.

    • Barry cutters says:

      29 Jul29 July 14:01

      NYC should be experienced at different times of the year. The vibe is totally different in December to the summer. those date the week before Xmas will be fantastic. The city really takes Christmas to heart . It wont be warm, in fact it will likely be cold -but thats part of the fun. Bryant park is a great place to visit with the ice rink, Rockafella centre and actually everywhere is decorated and you can really feel the seasonal spirit. Its nice because they will all still be working at that point. (most N yorkers will work right up to Xmas eve) but you can feel the excitement for the upcoming holiday. Nothing better than escaping the cold and sitting in a nice warm bar with a seasonal craft beer . If it does snow its a good experience to see the city from the top of one of the towers, statue of lib is also very different in the winter.
      Dont be put off , if its your first time you will love it . For me its the best city in the world.

    • barnaby100 says:

      29 Jul29 July 14:06

      I was in NYC that time in 2015-left on 23rd pm. Very warm. No snow at all. It came in between Christmas and new Year. Shirt sleeves on 24th in Connecticut. Very disappointing as we wanted snow for a Christmas. Got it for a Maine new year.

    • Doug M says:

      29 Jul29 July 14:19

      I was in NYC when a (then?) record 28″ of snow fell overnight as measured in Central Park. Made the break different but in no way worse, It’s a proper city, a little winter chill doesn’t change anything. If you get to go a few times then try all the seasons, as others have said it changes the vibe and makes for a great place to visit repeatedly.

      • wgbalf says:

        29 Jul29 July 17:33

        +1

    • dave h says:

      31 Jul31 July 15:47

      That is not correct at all. NYC is delightful right before the holidays. Yes, it’s cold, but if you dress for it, the shop windows themselves are worth the trip. Saks Fifth Ave, Macy’s, Bergdorfs, just to name a few are magnificent. Rockefeller Center, and its amazing tree are fantastic. Most sales do start a couple of days before Christmas, and in NYC there are always sales going on. The city is festive, and folks are in a great holiday mood. It is actually one of the best times to be in NYC.

• Trevor B says:

  29 Jul29 July 09:33

  Really can’t face Club World any longer, not even at these prices. Other airlines offer a business class which is just much more comfortable.

  • Tom says:

    29 Jul29 July 09:36

    BA are rolling out the new Club World in autumn this year which seems to be a response to other airlines upping their game. Has anyone flown in the new cabins? Apparently they have been doing some soft runs of late.

    • Rob says:

      29 Jul29 July 10:10

      There is no new cabin. They may be trialling the new food trolley service here and there but there are no new seats, will not be any new seats until the A350 aircraft appear in 2019 and may never be new seats on the existing fleet.

      • Tom says:

        29 Jul29 July 10:34

        Ah ok, thought I read an article about the CW improvements from this autumn (white company goods, better menu etc) but it could have been lost in the holiday daze.

        • Clive says:

          29 Jul29 July 11:52

          No, Tom, you’re right – improvements start on the New York route this year.

        • the_real_a says:

          29 Jul29 July 11:53

          Tom – there are some new matress toppers, pillows and blankets – very welcome to replace the dog blanket thats currently given out.

  • Archie Bob says:

    29 Jul29 July 10:25

    Totally agree Trevor. Everything about this deal is great (price, location, timing, TP’s and avios), but BA Club World is just so poor I won’t use it anymore. Would jump at this deal on almost any other airline. 8 abreast in Business – really? BA First is their true J cabin, wouldn’t waste my money on the current joke offering.

    • Clive says:

      29 Jul29 July 12:02

      BA F is a great business class. Club World is the best premium economy in the world and at about £1k, it’s at about premium economy price.
      Pointing out that you’d get a better J product elsewhere for a twice (or 3x) as much money as this CW offer… well done you

    • Genghis says:

      29 Jul29 July 15:17

      How many abreast isn’t a fair comparison. Anyone fancy doing a floor space analysis?

  • Clive says:

    29 Jul29 July 11:54

    Trevor B – could you please post a link to the better J offerings you’ve found on these UK-US routes? Presumably they are equivalent prices?

  • Alan says:

    29 Jul29 July 12:22

    I enjoyed many aspects of my recent VS UC trip, but the seat wasn’t one of them. Direct aisle access, yes, but CW window seat more comfortable IMO.

• Mike says:

  29 Jul29 July 09:47

  Sound advice , it works too

• Rob says:

  29 Jul29 July 10:16

  Earlier in the year when you started talking about Avios redemptions being targeted for downgrades I was worried as I had just booked a flight specifically as I wanted to fly in Club World. I tried to not stress too much as I knew the chances were low – just got to the airport and I have been downgraded, it is definitely nothing to do with when you check in because I checked in exactly the second I was able, it must have been because it was an Avios ticket. Apparently they will give back the Avios difference between Club World and World Traveller plus but that is no compensation as I wouldn’t have bought a WT+ ticket at that price. It’s like ordering a cake for a birthday and getting a loaf of bread and the difference in cost – you may have got bread for the cost of bread but it doesn’t fulfill your needs.

  • Genghis says:

    29 Jul29 July 10:26

    Do you have status?

  • roberto says:

    29 Jul29 July 10:30

    Youre probably more likely to get an upgrade than a downgrade.. Yes it happens but its not something to stress over IMHO…

    • Rob says:

      29 Jul29 July 10:42

      Until it happens!

  • the real harry1 says:

    29 Jul29 July 10:32

    you assume it’s because you’re on an Avios ticket but there are several other factors to consider, such as how many other CW passengers on your flight have higher status than you; when did you book your ticket compared to others; what time you checked in/ went to check-in at airport compared to others (I know you checked in online but did you print your BP/ have luggage to check into hold?); was the algorithm looking for 1 person to downgrade when there were couples travelling together etc

    • Rob says:

      29 Jul29 July 10:52

      I booked my ticket 8 months ago so unlikely to have been the last booking.

      I arrived at the first Airport (Barcelona at 4am this morning) the flight isn’t for two hours yet so I doubt I was the last to check in – and I am annoyed that they didn’t tell me in Barcelona before we got our first flight and there may have been alternatives.

      I know there is a chance that everyone else in the cabin has better status than me but it definitely seems to also make sense that I am simply a cheeper problem to make go away as all they need to do is give me back 20k Avios but now I am stuck with having spent thousands of Avios on a flight I don’t want.

      I am hoping that I will get good news from the duty manager in an hour but it doesn’t seem likely.

      • Optimus Prime says:

        29 Jul29 July 12:19

        That sucks. Best of luck and enjoy the rest of the trip. Try not to worry about pursuing compensation till you’re back.

      • Leo says:

        29 Jul29 July 15:07

        So you don’t have any status?
        Ghengis already asked this. It could be the answer or part of it. I’m guessing this is not a 241 which was the main area of debate a while back?

      • Alex W says:

        29 Jul29 July 15:29

        @rob, 20k Avios compensation? Tell them to shove it and don’t sign anything! Aren’t you entitled to 75% of the cash price of the ticket you’re downgraded from?

      • TripRep says:

        30 Jul30 July 09:35

        Rob – finally got settlement on my BA CW–>WTP Downgrade 5 months ago..

        It appears BA are as expected deliberately misinforming you of what you’re due. IMHO this practice should be called out as it is disgraceful.

        I’ll wager £10 to your fav charity that says BA will drag their heels in paying the correct amount that you’re legally entitled to.

        Let us know your routing, what you’ve paid (Avios&Cash) and I will do a worked example based on how BA have been forced to settle previous disputes.

        Id already offered here to scribe an article for HFP to publish, that should give you an idea of how best to get EU261/2004 compensation for your situation.

        Spoiler: avoid CEDR – try letter before legal action to Alex Cruz & co.

  • Catalan says:

    29 Jul29 July 10:49

    I can only imagine how upsetting this is. If you’re on a route with multiple flights you may want to ask if you can transfer to a later flight. Also there may be a chance that someone no-shows for flight and you get re-upgraded. Best of luck.

  • Terri says:

    29 Jul29 July 11:49

    That’s a really disappointing way to start a trip. As you have been downgraded so late there is also eu261 compensation to pursue.

  • Clive says:

    29 Jul29 July 12:16

    A minor strange thing happened last time we used a 241 – the person on the Avios ticket was able to check in online but the companion on the voucher ticket could not. We called BA and the guy couldn’t get it to check in and said to do it at the airport. I noticed the notes on that ticket had changed to say something about ‘involuntary reroute’.
    In the end, all was fine – but something different was happening with the 241 voucher ticket even though it eventually came to nothing.

    • Charlie says:

      29 Jul29 July 18:45

      After online check in has opened, the telephone agents do not normally make changes, the reservations are handled at the airport. It sounds like the companion did not have an e-ticket at the time check-in opened (the reason for this we’ll probably never know). The ‘involuntary reroute’ ticket is given to a reservation that an agent at the airport has manually resolved, fortunately it ended well for the companion and they were on the same plane.

      Having said that, I was recently in the same position with a 241 redemption, when online check-in opened neither person could check-in, and I assumed this was just a minor IT issue. On arrival at the airport it turns out that we were not issued e-tickets due to a BA backoffice/exec club issue, and so we were given the same involuntarily reroute tickets but for the next day. I successfully EU261 compensation after a lot of hassle.

      Helpful advice: To avoid any complications, always check if you have an e-ticket number assigned to your booking, do this before online check in opens. This is normally e-mailed to you. Being able to select seats does not mean you have en e-ticket number assigned.

• Rachael says:

  29 Jul29 July 12:46

  On the subject of EU261 can anyone help me. I am sat in Iceland due to a failure of the engine on a Virgin flight. We have been handed a letter saying 600€ can be claimed. I used my Virgin points to book the flight to Seattle and back. Will i still be entitled to claim ?

  • Alan says:

    29 Jul29 July 13:02

    Absolutely – doesn’t matter if flight booked with points or cash, you’re still entitled to compensation.

    Very impressed they’ve handed out letters making that clear – a rare example of good customer service!

    Hope you get on your way soon.

  • Rob says:

    29 Jul29 July 14:05

    Yes. All payments for delays are cash irrespective of how you booked.

  • Gavin says:

    29 Jul29 July 14:37

    Yes I’ve claimed 400 EUR for a delay on a redemption successfully from BA last year. No issues with them paying up promptly:

    One thing I’ve always wondered if downgraded from Business, and have no status, can you still use the lounge?

    • barnaby100 says:

      29 Jul29 July 15:25

      Don’t know about BA. I was downgraded (original flight canceled and moved to another and downgraded) from 1st on a short hop AA in the USA yesterday and they said that I then had to pay excess baggage as baggage allowance came with the class in which you were flying!

      • TGLoyalty says:

        29 Jul29 July 16:03

        Somebody must have banged their head! How is that customer service? Downgrade you and then tell you that you can’t have the original luggage allowance even though they ave caused the problem

        FYI I was downgraded after flight cancellations in France last summer when flying BA from CE to ET and kept my original allowance and lounge access

      • IP says:

        30 Jul30 July 07:22

        Very strange idea, presumably as you turn up at airport with perceived allowance. With my 241 last year we went outbound in F and back in CW and were given F baggage allowance for the return flight too.

• Rachael says:

  29 Jul29 July 12:48

  On the subject of EU261 can anyone help me. I am sat in Iceland due to a failure of the engine on a Virgin flight. We have been handed a letter saying 600€ can be claimed. I used my Virgin points to book the flight to Seattle and back. Will i still be entitled to claim ?
  Thanks

  • Lady London says:

    30 Jul30 July 00:29

    you are also entitled to care during the delay once it gets to 2 hours or more, e.g. transport to accommodation and accommodation if delayed overnight, drink and food appropriate to the time of day….Could be worth a google of eu261 while you’ve some time on your hands.

    • Tom says:

      30 Jul30 July 08:01

      I’ve had some difficulty claiming from EasyJet. Long story short, flight from Berlin to Manchester was due to leave at 8.45pm, but at 11pm (so we’d been in the terminal for 4 hours) it said it could leave at 3.30am. We made he decision to get a room rather than risk a very long delay, and fly back in the morning as otherwise we wouldn’t have been fit to work. There was no guarantee that we would get on the flight at 3.30am anyway.

      As we’d booked through a travel agent (using some online points we’d been given) we could bump our flight to the first one out the next morning. The ground staff said we would get compo, handed us the letter and then said if we wanted to travel home later we could.

      We got on a Ryanair flight the next morning. I submitted the claim but easyJet have rejected it as we didn’t fly with them, despite the fact that it would have meant risking sitting in the terminal for 8 hours. I’ve gone back to them explaining in detail but I haven’t had a reply. Is there anything that can be done?

      • the real harry1 says:

        30 Jul30 July 08:22

        unfortunately I think they’re right if the 3.30am flight took off as planned – did it?

        you are entitled to re-routing to get you to your original destination close or soon after to your original booking arrival time (or sooner than anything offered by EJ in this case)

        EJ would probably have refused to re-route you at the time as you were supposed to go on the 3.30 flight, presumably the first flight to your destination out of the airport

        you could conceivably have found a different carrier, booked it yourself and gone with them BEFORE 3.30am as this would have been within EU261/2004 and you would probably have won any threat of legal action against EJ

        but you didn’t – you had a sleep, didn’t present yourself for the 3.30 flight and flew with a different carrier LATER than the 3.30am flight

        if you’d tried to get the 3.30am flight then you’d have been entitled to compo regardless of whether you got on it or not (unless there were extraordinary reasons for the delay)

        • Tom says:

          30 Jul30 July 12:27

          Thank you, Harry.

          We basically found ourselves in a catch 22 situation. Sunday night in Berlin airport with no EJ staff to tell us what was going on, and the flight constantly being kicked back.

          The flight did leave at 3.30am but as we would then have got home at 6am we would have been useless at work. So, we took the decision to get a nights sleep, work on emails and calls in the morning before then being able to walk into work at 1pm. The uncertainty from EJ led to doubts and concerns that we wouldn’t make it home. Plus the first EJ flight out of Berlin the next morning was showing as full so if the flight hadn’t of left then we might have been stuck there all day.

          I’ll keep prodding EJ as IMO they need to recognise why we chose to fly with another carrier at our cost.

        • the real harry1 says:

          30 Jul30 July 20:26

          your best bet is getting a company such as Bott & Co fighting your cause

          they’ll take a % but no hassle for you

• Tom says:

  31 Jul31 July 12:02

  Thanks Harry!

• Anna says:

  31 Jul31 July 23:35

  I love this site! and this is a brilliant offer – just booked a cheer up trip to Toronto between Xmas and new Year for less than the cheapest bus class fare. In january I got LHR – Perth on Qatar for £1700 – and enough avios to pay for all my business class internal flights in Aus – plus loads of tier points. Is it shallow to hope that Qatars current issues with the rest of the Gulf states will bring down their prices to that level again?

  • Polly says:

    4 Aug4 August 14:49

    Anna,
    Not shallow at all, we are hoping for the same. Aiming for SYD tho and hop to AKL on avios. So here’s hoping!

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