Bits: Miles & More online booking, 80% IHG ‘buy points’ bonus, is Royal Air Maroc joining Avios?

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• Matt says:

  20 Dec20 December 04:03

  Aegean also recently added an online award booking engine. It’s pretty slow and clunky but hey, at least it exists…

  • John says:

    20 Dec20 December 06:23

    Slow and clunky?? Better than the “new BA website” IMO.

    • JamesB says:

      20 Dec20 December 07:59

      When planning our trip to Europe earlier this year the one thing that was very noticeable was that the various airline and train booking sites I used were generally much simpler and intuitive than the BA site and others I use here in the UK. And by comparison, I already considered UK sites to be much better in general than those from North America.

    • Cate says:

      20 Dec20 December 10:50

      To be fair to BA’s website when I had to cancel an award ticket it was easy to do online and the points were deposited back in my account immediately. However getting points back from Iberia is a nightmare. I’m still waiting after nearly a month.

      • JamesB says:

        20 Dec20 December 11:20

        Yes, cancelled one last week too. The manage my booking page is now very good. The site as a whole though is overloaded with info and requires to many clicks.

      • Catman says:

        20 Dec20 December 12:11

        It’s also easier than cancelling a Reward flight from Avios.com – you have to call them or use online chat and if you call then there is no confirmation email or anything to show that they have cancelled or points/money back for a week or more

        • Rob says:

          20 Dec20 December 12:25

          Does avios.com still insist on taking the £35 cancellation fee from your credit card and then crediting back all of the taxes? This meant you had to pay £35 to cancel even if the taxes were less.

          (On ba.com, if you cancel online the cost is the lower of the taxes – which can be as low as £3 on, say, Luxembourg to London one-way – or £35.)

      • Sean says:

        20 Dec20 December 14:26

        They didn’t ask me to pay the missing fee when I canceled a flight last week, they just kept the fee paid (one way flight on flybe, so about £27 in fees). I agree with Cartman that their service isn’t great, I still haven’t received the avios or a written confirmation that my flight has indeed been canceled… Poor service!

• mark2 says:

  20 Dec20 December 08:28

  OT
  I am sure that most of you already know this, but I have just discovered that AwardWallet holds the history of your various accounts. Just click on the ‘+’ sign in front of the account name and a tabbed box appears with lots of useful information including the points added and deducted.
  Works on SPG/Marriott, BAEC, Hilton, IHG;
  Does Not work on Iberia, E-Rewards, Avios;
  partly works on Virgin.

• Prins Polo says:

  20 Dec20 December 09:01

  In the meantime, you can credit Air Maroc flights to Iberia and then move the Avios to BA.

  • Peter says:

    20 Dec20 December 09:09

    When it works…
    RAM is notoriously bad at crediting those, I’m still waiting for mine from 2015 despite raising the matter with IB and AT.
    Based on previous work experience with RAM we’ll be lucky to get anything until 2019

• Crafty says:

  20 Dec20 December 09:08

  OT: Having done all my research and planning around flying in BA First for the first time on a 777, and booking seats accordingly, MyFlights (RIP!) has just informed me the flight has changed and will now be on a 747.

  Any recommendations for how differently, if at all, to make the most of a First flight on a 747; and where to sit?

  Is 747 First any better or worse an experience than 777?

  • Rob says:

    20 Dec20 December 09:09

    If you sit in Row 1, because you are in the nose, you can see straight forward through the windows!

    • Dwadda says:

      20 Dec20 December 09:56

      You have to be Gold to reserve 1A or 1K, and you cannot book both (for you and your partner) unless you are GGL.

      I once got upgraded from club to 1K, lhr to sfo.. Have no idea what I did to deserve that.. Very pleased.

      • Stu N says:

        20 Dec20 December 12:23

        If traveling solo, Row 1 is the place to be. If it’s not taken by a Gold then it will be released to all comers at t-72 hours, or slightly before. That’s how I nabbed 1K for yesterday’s flight to JFK. 🙂

        It’s a unique place to be as you have a semi-forward view due to the curve of the fusulage at the nose – you can see about 45° forward. Downside is that you are pretty close to 1A and the foot area is slightly restricted as the fuselage tapers so much.

        For a couple, there are two middle pairs. Row 4 is really quite open so Row 5 may be nicer but you’re that it closer to the galley. 1 a/k (in the unlikely event you can get them) would be good. 2A/K you should be able to see each other but it’s too far to talk. If you both want a window go for 2A/3A or 3a/K and use the buddy seat for dining together, though it is a bit of a squeeze on the 747.

        In terms of overall layout, the 747 cabin is a bit smaller than 777 but I’m sure you will still love it – you’re really splitting hairs when looking at differences between cabins and seats.

      • Stu N says:

        20 Dec20 December 12:25

        Oh, and if you are a gentleman, the bathroom on the 747 are a unique experience. Just make sure the blind is down if your using it on the ground!

      • Stu N says:

        20 Dec20 December 12:40

        Finally, for this trip our aircraft got swapped around about 10 times across the outbound and return flights (777 747) between time of booking in April and actually travelling in Dec. Its worth keeping an eye on the booking after MyFlights closes to make sure you don’t miss an equipment swap.

      • Crafty says:

        20 Dec20 December 21:15

        Thanks for all the help, Stu. BA has chosen the row 5 seats for us, and it sounds like they aren’t worth changing.

• Rob says:

  20 Dec20 December 09:13

  Yup. Couldn’t make it up.

• Mike says:

  20 Dec20 December 10:15

  IHG launches a bonus the day after I spend 200 points downloading an E book (that I don’t want) in order to keep my IHG points from expiring!

  • Genghis says:

    20 Dec20 December 10:26

    This offer has been around a while!

  • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

    20 Dec20 December 10:42

    You can just book and cancel an award to keep IHG points from expiring.

• G says:

  20 Dec20 December 10:37

  Flying from LHR T4 tonight and with Priority Pass in hand will be heading to a lounge around 18:00. I have read Rob’s reviews of the Plaza Premium and SkyTeam lounges but they are a few years old. Anything changed since then? Is the Plaza Premium lounge still the place to go as a couple looking for a nice meal and some peace and quiet?

  • Rob says:

    20 Dec20 December 11:35

    SkyTeam is HUGE over two levels so if you want genuine peace and quiet then a corner upstairs is probably what you want. Plaza Premium is more polished though.

  • Michael Jennings says:

    20 Dec20 December 12:32

    I’m departing from T4 Friday evening with PP too. I’ll likely want a meal. Which has the best food?

    • Rob says:

      20 Dec20 December 13:11

      Skyteam has the most food. Since it has been a while since I was there I’m not really in a position to say whether it is better than PP.

      • Pierre says:

        20 Dec20 December 15:57

        Was in May last time, food-wise definitely Skyteam

• Graham Walsh says:

  20 Dec20 December 11:11

  OT

  Amaris Hospitality has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Jurys Inn business and brand together with The Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow hotel to Pandox AB (“Pandox”), a leading European hotel property investor and owner. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2017.
  Pandox is being partnered in the acquisition of Jurys Inn by the Fattal Hotel Group (“Fattal”), a leading Middle East and European hotel owner and operator. Leonardo Europe a wholly owned subsidiary of Fattal will acquire the operating platform for all 36 hotels and the Jurys Inn brand, and operate the management contract for Jurys Inn Prague.

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