Bits: bizarre new easyJet service, hidden IHG Accelerate goals, airberlin cancellations

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• JK says:

  30 Aug30 August 05:14

  I get the same hidden bonuses, but 2500 apiece for me.

• hugo says:

  30 Aug30 August 06:25

  I just did the same check on this ones and had two hidden offers – only one appeared so maybe they appear when you have completed all the others.

• Adam (sigma421) says:

  30 Aug30 August 06:34

  I can actually see myself paying £4 for the easyJet service if I have liquids to check-in.

  • Graham Walsh says:

    30 Aug30 August 07:02

    I have loads missing. It really is a joke that it takes 6-8 weeks to post figures. It should be a day at the most. I guess it’s due to most IHG properties being run by others and not IHG.

    • Paul says:

      30 Aug30 August 07:59

      Tend to agree however checked out on Monday from an IC in Asia and this morning the points have posted. Very surprised by this but it shows the delays are unnecessary

  • tony says:

    30 Aug30 August 07:19

    Is the easyJet service not really aimed at people who are checking in one bag already?

    It does however smack of confusion pricing as I can’t believe for a minute that a handling agent charges under £4 for a regulation sized 10kgs carry on, but £30+ for a 20kg suitcase.

    Presumably this easyJet trying to monetise the charges they’re paying to put all those bags in the hold at the last minute….

    • Mark says:

      30 Aug30 August 07:23

      I agree. This is simply a way to generate some revenue from the airline having to forcibly check in a certain number of carry on bags. I’d be tempted to make use of the service because of liquids.

    • xcalx says:

      30 Aug30 August 07:59

      I think it’s a pretty good deal. Don’t forget Easyjet hand luggage is 23KG . So why pay up to £30 for a 20KG checked bag.

      • Simon says:

        30 Aug30 August 08:23

        Not even sure it’ll be revenue positive at the end of the day.
        A woman with a handbag containing her bits isn’t going to check it in. People that travel with a carry-on and a checked bag generally put all their valuables in the carry-on. Who would trust the hold with items valued in excess of the standard compensation?

        A price-sensitive customer would end up sacrificing a bit to check it in this way, no doubt this will eventually appear on MSE as ‘airline checked-baggage loophole’.

        They’ll end up putting a size restriction commensurate with the price.

        • Alex W says:

          30 Aug30 August 08:49

          Presumably the cabin baggage size limit already applies to these £4 bags?

      • Tim Millea says:

        30 Aug30 August 08:56

        There is NO weight limit for easyJet hand luggage as long as the passenger can physically lift it into the locker. The size restriction is 56cm x45cm x 25cm and for those booking ‘Up Front’ or extra legroom seating, a second bag is allowed of up to 45cm x 36cm x 20cm, again with no weight limit.

        EasyJet have always had the most generous hand baggage allowance in the industry.

        Being able to check-in a fairly decent sized bag with liquids etc. and no weight limit for £4 is a great deal.

        Manchester airport security now automatically search all maxi-sized hand luggage (they have removed the human watching the scanner screen) which is an extreme inconvenience when it takes 40 minutes+ standing in line waiting for the search. £4 is well worth avoiding this.

        • Tim says:

          30 Aug30 August 09:16

          Catching the train to LBA or LHR is well worth any cost. MAN is a cess pitt of a shambles run by a bunch of lardy northern pie eaters

        • Anna says:

          30 Aug30 August 11:51

          We went through MAN a couple of weeks ago with 3 maximum sized pieces of hand luggage. They only searched one, and that was because my OH’s diving equipment looks a bit odd. Agree that it’s not the best airport experience but still better than 4 hours drive (at least) to London.

          However, landing at Heathrow yesterday I was most impressed by the short queues, approx 10 mins to get through passport control and 5 mins to get through security for the connection.

        • Aeronaut says:

          30 Aug30 August 22:54

          @Tim Millea
          “EasyJet have always had the most generous hand baggage allowance in the industry.”

          Ryanair allow *all* passengers a second small bag (max 35 x 20 x 20cm) and have done for little while now. The 10kg limit for the main cabin bag continues to apply, as does the slightly smaller than IATA standard size limit for said bag.

          Of course BA allow a second small bag as well (40 x 30 x 15cm).

          The easyJet difference is the lack of any weight limit for the cabin bag.

        • Tim Millea says:

          31 Aug31 August 00:37

          No, no, no, no! Truth please.
          Ryanair cabin bag limits are 55cm x 40 cm x 20cm. This is 43.2 % less volume for the main cabin bag. 43.2%! Not “slightly smaller”.

          A 10Kg weight limit compared to no weight limit is extremely significant!

          A second bag of up to 45cm x 36cm x 20cm is 131% larger than the Ryanair 2nd bag and even 80% larger than the BA second bag.

          When I fly with easyJet, I do not need to pay for hold luggage. With RyanAir, Thomas Cook and most other low-cost or charter airlines I do. Their fares need to be around £50 lower than easyJet’s to be in the running.

          Tim.

        • Genghis says:

          31 Aug31 August 05:14

          56 x 45 x 25 = 63,000
          55 x 40 x 20 = 44,000
          (63,000 – 44,000) / 63,000 = 30.2% smaller?

        • Tim Millea says:

          31 Aug31 August 10:08

          I stand corrected: (63-44) / 44 = 43.25% _more_voluminous_.

    • Diego says:

      30 Aug30 August 10:05

      I read this easyjet policy as “if you have 2 pieces of hand luggage of 56cm x45cm x 25cm, check-in one of them regardless of the weight for 4GBP” which I reckon is great value. A trolley full of books can easily weigh 20kg.

      • Tim Millea says:

        30 Aug30 August 10:42

        The second item is restricted to 45cm x 36cm x 20cm.

  • Angus says:

    30 Aug30 August 09:21

    Or alternatively you wait until you get to the gate and they offer the same option ‘because the flight is particularly full today’ at no charge and offer sort of speedy boarding instead of policing the size of hand luggage that many attempt to take on . I can see for some with a family this might be financially beneficial , but for me the whole point is not waiting at a carousel for your luggage. First they get us to take hand luggage only, then complain because we do, then get us to check in luggage. Next move will be to charge us to take hand luggage on board….

    • Ciaran McGonagle says:

      30 Aug30 August 10:25

      When travelling on EJ (or Ryanair for that matter) with small children, I always ask can I check my hand luggage for free. They always say yes.

    • Tim Millea says:

      30 Aug30 August 10:48

      I see the main advantages as: 1) being able to take ‘liquids’; 2) faster security without the inevitable bag-search; and 3) ease of movement in the airport. Of course, I would prefer not to have the liquids restrictions and security hassles or for this service to be free but instead, I imagine that £4 charge will simply rise in time. Most ‘security’ measures are simply there to increase profits.

  • Michael Jennings says:

    30 Aug30 August 11:41

    I like to bring back local wine from places I have visited, and I can’t take them in my hand luggage due to bans on taking liquids. I will definitely use this.

• Graeme says:

  30 Aug30 August 06:48

  I have the same as Rob, just reminded me actually I didn’t receive the hidden bonus for the promo period just ending which was bonus points for a stay in August, has anyone actually received this bonuses their account? I completed the stay very early August thought the terms do say allow 6 – 8 weeks to post…

  • Jimmyjimmy says:

    30 Aug30 August 07:37

    Not received this August bonus either or the “pay with ihg credit card” points
    J

    • Andy S says:

      30 Aug30 August 08:01

      Pay with IHG card has never worked for me, and this seems to be common from what I see on FT. Similarly the august bonus not posting. I chased the points for the card in Q1 but couldn’t be bothered for Q2 as I only hit about 2 tasks anyway!

      I see the hidden bonuses in Q3 for 3k a piece.

      • Graham Walsh says:

        30 Aug30 August 08:05

        From memory I chased the Q1 card spend and managed to get the bonus points added as that was last one I needed to trigger a bonus. Their twitter account IHGService is well run.

    • Peter K says:

      30 Aug30 August 13:58

      I’ve just made a claim for missing points for this myself…

  • Globetrotter7 says:

    30 Aug30 August 08:07

    I have received my August stay bonus, which II had to chase (along with others that were missing). I’m still waiting for one more to post but it was from the same stay. So unnecessary…

  • Ian says:

    30 Aug30 August 08:09

    My August bonus points have been credited, took about a week. Though it was the second stay in August that triggered it.

  • Alex W says:

    30 Aug30 August 09:19

    My August IHG bonus hasn’t posted either. I find I am having to chase points on neat every stay at the moment. Very annoying.

  • Matt says:

    30 Aug30 August 09:23

    I spent in excess of £200 for the eat, drink and earn bonus. You had to spend $50 +. The bonus never posted and on talking to IHG buweb chat – guess what? Nnone of the food and beverage spend tracked and they can’t find it on their system. I’ve had to email copies of my bills. That was 8 days ago – no reply yet! Particularly galling at there was a hefty achievement bonus linked to it. Not impressed.

    • Genghis says:

      30 Aug30 August 09:25

      If you’re AMB, I’ve found the AMB specific email address very helpful in the past and respond within a few hours / latest 24h.

      • Matt says:

        30 Aug30 August 09:58

        Thanks Genghis but regrettably not – only standard Gold for me!

      • Rom says:

        30 Aug30 August 17:59

        What’s the email please?

• Martin says:

  30 Aug30 August 07:31

  Same hidden bonuses for me, be good to get them but wouldn’t hold my breath

• Mike says:

  30 Aug30 August 07:56

  Could this be a way to check in an extra bag for £4?
  Pay for this option, and then bin your plastic bag and use your original boarding pass to board with the masses with a second bag?
  It would be interesting to know if they have a process to flag to the gate agent that you have no carry on allowance.

• David says:

  30 Aug30 August 07:59

  The easyjet service is actually fantastic if you know how to use it. They also do 4 hand luggage bags for £10 for a family. Either way, Easyjet allow hand luggage to be any weight, this means you can put all your heavy items in small hand luggage bags and send them through for a tiny fraction of the price of if you would add another case. I just used this service in the summer, there and back. We had regular cases for clothes and took a lot of heavy stuff in 4 bags which cost us £10. The bags can be be sports holdalls or small trolley cases… As for getting them back, they go with the regular luggage and therefore as reliable as any other piece of luggage, we got them all back with the regular cases, no problem! Another useful perk of this service is if you have a lot of liquid items you can send them through without worrying about expensive luggage fees or the hand luggage ban on liquid items. Altogether..for us anyway this summer …it was a fantastic service! Thanks easyjet

  • chris says:

    30 Aug30 August 08:10

    But where do you carry valuables if you’ve ‘checked in’ your hand luggage?

    • Graham Walsh says:

      30 Aug30 August 08:21

      Murse?

    • David says:

      30 Aug30 August 08:53

      You can still take other small hand luggage bag, when boarding they also have no idea you have sent one through. For a family where you have small kids with their own allowance you can send all but one bag.

• Graham Walsh says:

  30 Aug30 August 08:08

  I get 3k bonus for each month in print preview.

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