British Airways closes the New York JFK Galleries First lounge

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Sam G says:

  8 Jan8 January 04:24

  Have had two great deals from Luxury Travel Diary in the past (not dirt cheap but ~50% off so still v good) but am finding the latest auctions to end up being pretty expensive – definitely check the pricing elsewhere – particularly in Asia the RRP is often beaten by other public deals available

• Alex W says:

  8 Jan8 January 07:17

  I’ve just dropped to Accor gold, too.

• john says:

  8 Jan8 January 07:20

  My Accor also dropped to Gold.

  Aside from the (basic) welcome drink, I never found any significant advantage from Platinum, never had a room upgrade even when hotels were sparsely occupied, brand-specific benefits were often not offered or were unavailable when I asked.

  Undoubtedly varies with which hotels one stays at, but it’s not going to be a big change for me!

  • Alex W says:

    8 Jan8 January 09:21

    +1

    • shd says:

      8 Jan8 January 10:05

      Accor Platinum once got me lounge access at the Sofitel T5 (booked via lastminute.com!) but apart from that, it’s been almost as useless as IHG Spire….

• hypascend says:

  8 Jan8 January 07:28

  Not sure if this has been mentioned but for anyone wanting an easier route to get Accor Platinum back: If you are Accor Gold and can get 5 stays or 10 nights with Fairmont to reach Premier, you will get Accor Platinum till Dec 2019.

• N says:

  8 Jan8 January 07:32

  OT – Would love some HfP input into my upcoming hols to South Africa;

  Flying in and out of JNB (first First – 2-4-1),
  2 nights in Kruger (via a Luxury Travel Diary auction),
  7 nights in Cape Town (Marriott Rewards cert),
  1 night in Franschoek (Marriott Rewards redemption),
  1 night in George (Marriott Rewards redemption),
  2 nights at the Conrad Pezula (cash booking via a BRG claim),
  1 night at Port Elizabeth (Marriott Rewards redemption),
  before flying to JNB for one night (Marriott Rewards redemption) before London.

  Definitely a holiday sponsored by Marriott Rewards points!

  What to do/see/experience/eat in any of these places?

  • Gomigo says:

    8 Jan8 January 09:09

    JNB- we did Pilansburg so couldn’t comment on Kruger. If you have spare time in JNB, then Soweto is a must visit. What a cultural celebration that place is !! Of course, good to be accompanied by a local.
    CPT- 1 day to Robben Island ( you need to prebook in advance to avoid disappointment), 1/2 day at Table Mountain ( weather dependent ), 1 boulders beach ( penguin capital of Indian Ocean) and rest of days for wine tour, water front (My fav hangout) and some stunning beaches all over.
    PLZ – we did Mandela bay (suburb) , SANCCOB Penguin rescue centre ( you will love it and it’s very close to heart if you are maritime & animal lover ) and whale watching at Algoa bay ( season dependent ).
    We drove through Garden route from PLZ to CPT, it’s about 1000kms journey connecting Indian Ocean to Atlantic Ocean via scenic landscape ( I would rate it as best drive in SA )
    We also did Victoria Falls, Zambia & Zimbabwe as part of this itinerary but yours look like very planned & pre-booked so looks fine. You will enjoy It!! Cape Town was my personal favourite of all 100 + cities & 55 countries that I visited.
    Ps: Interest level vary from person to person so you may do your research on places before you plan.

    • Kinkell says:

      8 Jan8 January 11:49

      CPT: go to The Heart of The Cape Museum at Groot Schur (?)hospital where the first heart transplant took place with Christian Barnard. Absolutely fascinating. Highlight of our Cape Town visit. Also enjoyed Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. I,too, loved CPT.. Hire a car and drive down to Cape.
      Have a lovely tme

  • Paul says:

    8 Jan8 January 09:10

    When in Franschhoek you’re a bit spoiled for choice, but Bread and Wine for lunch, simply fantastic, both location, quality and value. Probably worth booking, but we’ve been lucky just turning up in the past. Michelin star quality for about £35 a head for 3 courses and drinks.

    • Ishan says:

      8 Jan8 January 09:32

      I second this. Franschhoek is one of my favourite places and Bread & Wine is a stand out place.

• mark2 says:

  8 Jan8 January 08:21

  OT
  The One4All cards sold by the Post Office (sometimes Amex statement credit) can no longer be used at Amazon. But they can be used at John Lewis to buy gift cards which can then be used at Waitrose.
  There are also various gift card purchase schemes run by SVM which are available from employers etc. and a worth a look.

  • Craig Strickland says:

    8 Jan8 January 08:26

    They can also be used at M&S including food, 6 vouchers gave us £60 of Xmas treats although it was a pain having to do 6 transactions.

    • Genghis says:

      8 Jan8 January 08:30

      I bought a M&S gift card in store with the One4all cards we had and then used that online.

      • Lawro says:

        8 Jan8 January 09:35

        Did you use multiple One4all GC’s to purchase?

        Problem with the M&S website is that it treats the One4all GC’s as a Visa card as opposed to a giftcard meaning you can only use one per transaction. Been meaning to call M&S and put an order through over the phone but an M&S giftcard instore might be another way round it.

      • Genghis says:

        8 Jan8 January 09:38

        Yes, I used 4 One4all cards each of £10 to buy one £40 gift card. The cashier couldn’t do it at first but a manager then could.

      • Tom Cook says:

        8 Jan8 January 11:41

        I’ve had issues using mine in M7S which has resulted in complaining emails to One For All. They blame M&S, M&S blame them!

    • ankomonkey says:

      8 Jan8 January 10:24

      We did the same.

      • Lawro says:

        8 Jan8 January 11:37

        Thanks both – assuming you also only had the PO offer on 4 cards 🙂

        Will have a go.

• Lostantipod says:

  8 Jan8 January 08:44

  My Accor level also dropped to Gold this week after many undeserved years as Platinum. Having said that, unlike above post, I was regularly upgraded , enjoying lounge access including both breakfasts and evening canapés, free in-room mini bar in some cases, free welcome drinks, and sometimes the choice of extra points or an in-room amenity, and up to a 5pm checkout, across European and Australasian destinations. So this Platinum membership that I held often swung my buying decision in favour of an Accor Property. Today I checked out of a Sofitel and had the gold experience, compared to Platinum just 10 days earlier in the same property – no upgrade, no lounge access, 3pm late checkout instead of 5pm.

• Brian says:

  8 Jan8 January 09:03

  OT – not sure if it’s been mentioned elsewhere on here. IHG has just started a flash sale for UK, Ireland and Germany. Can already be booked on the app. Savings are on a par with the Mastercard discount – slightly more, but offset by breakfast being included. And since Mastercard bookings can’t be done on the app, this is perfect for meeting the app bookings target some may have for Accelerate.

  • Scott says:

    8 Jan8 January 10:36

    I’m seeing the exact same price for the two hotels I’m looking at, whether using the app for the sale rate, or a browser not logged in to my IHG account. Usual fake sale nonsense, or just unlucky with the hotels I’m interested in?

    • Andrew McLintock says:

      8 Jan8 January 11:16

      Rates appear pretty rubbish to me!

      • Brian says:

        8 Jan8 January 11:32

        The price you see at first on the app is NOT the sale price! Odd, but that’s what I’ve found. So it looks rubbish, but it gets better if you actually click through to see the various rates available.

    • Scott says:

      8 Jan8 January 11:47

      Brian’s comment below is correct – cheaper rates once you click through to select a room. Great IT!

  • Gavin says:

    8 Jan8 January 15:08

    Thanks Brian – I need 2 stays over Easter, and the sale price is a bit cheaper than before AND includes breakfast. This should allow me to achieve 3 of my accelerate targets for 9300 points, which isn’t bad off a £77 spend. The other targets are not possible so a decent return for once.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.