Tesco is quietly dropping some hotel redemptions from Clubcard

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• Sam G says:

  17 Jan17 January 04:40

  Booked a one way to Bangkok for 600 quid after Christmas to return from my visit home – bargain! Travelup via Skyscanner seems to have these very cheap – note it is an overnight connection outbound (in the winter season at least)

  Note that from what I could figure out this books into D- which all the D fares in ExpertFlyer have change/cancel rules for 100 quid – but when I look in my booking on their website it says no changes, no cancel – so seems these are some kind of private fare

  • Sam G says:

    17 Jan17 January 04:46

    Fare basis is ILOXSOUK – an IT fare so not pubically being sold

    Taxes are apparently 336.71 – so not actually sure these are correct/being sold correctly….

    • Anna says:

      17 Jan17 January 06:46

      I do hope you mean publicly lol !!

  • JamesB says:

    17 Jan17 January 06:46

    Hi Sam, thanks for this, very interesting that you got a one way exLHR at that price. How did the overalljourney heel to you? I am guessing about 15h and 4h although the overnight flight compensates. Was the connection in Jakarta straightforward?

    • Rob says:

      17 Jan17 January 08:42

      This fare is bookable as a cheap one way, yes.

      • Lumma says:

        17 Jan17 January 09:42

        Very tempted with one way for £609 and using avios/virgin miles to come back from Hong Kong

      • JamesB says:

        17 Jan17 January 10:21

        That’s awesome!

        @Lumma, back from HKG for cheap avios redemption. Althougm more expensive than just doing the return on Garuda, a one way back in J with Sri Lanka gives opportunity for a stopover for a two centre trip if that interests you.

      • Lumma says:

        17 Jan17 January 10:33

        @JamesB do you mean a one way cash ticket with Sri Lankan? Starting from where? BKK?

      • JamesB says:

        17 Jan17 January 11:57

        @Mumma, yes, one way on Sri Lankan is a great way to get back to UK for cash if insufficient avios are available. It was typically £600 but increase to £800 as a result of the falling pound. Sometimes cheap from other Asian cities too but exBKK is generally the best option.

      • JamesB says:

        17 Jan17 January 11:58

        *Lumma

    • Sam G says:

      17 Jan17 January 10:52

      It’s going to be this December (advanced planning !!)

      For my specific circumstances this works out great. For getting to Bangkok the overnight connection is pretty tedious and I would definitely not want to have to route back via Bangkok on my way home.

      Connecting between Garuda flights is simple – other terminals and to reach a hotel for transit you have to clear immigration but that is a lot better these days and no visa required

      So I think the post above planning to use this one way and then out of HK (no tax from there ) is smart

• palcsaky says:

  17 Jan17 January 04:44

  Would this Garuda fare alone earn Skyteam Elite Plus status in any of ST programs or get close to earning it?

  • Sam G says:

    17 Jan17 January 04:55

    by my reading post April 1 you’d get 36+15+15+36 = 102 XP on Flying Blue – but that only gets you Elite

    The Delta program you seem to need a PHD but I think you’d still be far from the Gold status you’d be looking for

    • Polly says:

      17 Jan17 January 10:05

      Qatar still the best for silver or equivalent status chasing in any of the programs. The 4 sectors counting. Obv you still need the 4 x ba coded sectors.
      I got a so called Gold offer on as yesterday it’s only like basic status.. hope nobody bothered taking that up…ok it gets you a free bag but no lounge etc…
      James l always agree with you about the AY and TK routing straight there but many of us are actually chasing tier points sadly!

      • AndyGWP says:

        17 Jan17 January 13:10

        “I got a so called Gold offer on as yesterday it’s only like basic status.. hope nobody bothered taking that up…ok it gets you a free bag but no lounge etc…”

        Hi Polly – can you expand on this a little? 🙂

      • JamesB says:

        17 Jan17 January 16:50

        Yes I know Polly and that’s an understandable goal. I don’t do enough flying OW airlines in Y or longhaul to make status perks pay off for me personally

• Michael C says:

  17 Jan17 January 05:11

  For what it’s worth, the Garuda price to BKK was around 1200-1300 GBP in Nov. too (when I was looking to book for Easter) but not daily so I couldn’t quite make it work.

  • JamesB says:

    17 Jan17 January 06:54

    Also worth noting that thoughout 2017 £1100-£1400 could be found on TK which offers a substantially shorter journey time. I have checked lately as I’m already booked for tge year but presumably TK remains competitive.

• JamesB says:

  17 Jan17 January 07:08

  Had you booked in November you could have had Easter on TK exLHR for about £1150. QR from HEL makes little sense IMO unless you value the tier points because AY usually offers comparable fares from regional airports in Scandinavia with overall journey times that are substantially less than Qatar. There are frequent bargains to BKK and most of Asia in reality so if you want to go back I would recommend tracking fares on skyscanner. Me and others frequently post cheap fare here in the HfP comments as OT so worth a quick scan through articles that might not normally get your attention.

  • JamesB says:

    17 Jan17 January 07:57

    Skyscanner is a but of a nuisance because the month long view is not available for premium fares. It might be worth setting up their fare alerts but I have not used it myself and have no idea how good it is.

  • Michael C says:

    17 Jan17 January 09:48

    Hi James, I signed up for the Skyscanner alert specifically for my LHR-BKK, and it was beyond annoying: frequent emails with subject in caps PRICE HAS FALLEN…and it would be by 4 pounds, literally. Day after day. Had to scrub it, obviously.

    • JamesB says:

      17 Jan17 January 10:24

      Thanks Michael, that was my fear and why I never tried. Now I will certainly avoid it.

• Andrew M says:

  17 Jan17 January 07:14

  Rob: Re “Despite what Tesco tells you, it is possible to book and search availability online if you know the right corporate code.” Is it really possible to actually book online? If so, how do the mechanics of using Clubcard voucher work? Your article seems to suggest still need to call to actually book, having searched availability online.

  • Rob says:

    17 Jan17 January 08:41

    That article is being cautious. In reality it seems you can just book it and then order the vouchers. All the call centre does is make an identical booking using the same corporate code.

• Yuff says:

  17 Jan17 January 09:38

  OT ; looks like the Qatar sale didn’t go that well….it’s been extended for 3 days.
  There was a cracking fare from Muscat, in J, to BKK £300 return 400tp points 😉

  • Yuff says:

    17 Jan17 January 09:42

    Ignore that, I forgot to double the fare ????

  • Polly says:

    17 Jan17 January 10:07

    The route l was looking at still have the same number of special red box J seats left. Not many biting at those prices. First time we haven’t got ours in a few years. Next sale might be better. Have to wait it out now!

  • Leo says:

    17 Jan17 January 10:15

    I thought the same thing – I wasn’t interested at those prices. If I’m going via Doha in the middle of the night it has to be worth my while to be blunt; TPs or £s. I can find better more direct routes which I can mix and match with points and cash flights etc. I was going to ask if this extension had brought any further reductions with it but Polly’s comment indicates not.

  • JamesB says:

    17 Jan17 January 10:29

    Qatar is the DFS of airlines…but good while it lasts 🙂

• Sam says:

  17 Jan17 January 10:24

  The Garuda £1080 is an IT fare so shouldn’t be sold as seat only! But if they have messed up and are selling it on their website so be it… the taxes are correct (£487.61), but the compulsory overnight on the way out is a pain (look at the Bandara Airport hotel / FM7 for cheap options) and a 06:35 start on the return. Remember it’s a 3h30 flight from Jakarta to Bangkok, so very much a long way around to Thailand. The Business Class is fab though so very recommended. Flights are Tue/Thu/Sat in both ways if you’re looking for them, but really restricted I Class availability in 2018.

  • JamesB says:

    17 Jan17 January 10:34

    Cheers, takesbtge gloss off but still eorth considering for a cheap one way I guess.

  • Delbert says:

    17 Jan17 January 20:16

    Very attractive fares on Garuda but the stopover is too much and further than BKK just to have to fly back.

• Louise says:

  17 Jan17 January 12:46

  Oh I wonder if Trailfinders could book this fare too. I have the £100 off on Amex offers.

  Looking at doing this and one way return from HK, but only have 10 days to play with, 3 would be travelling. Would 7 days between Bangkok and Hong Kong be worth it? Or should we go for longer

  • JamesB says:

    17 Jan17 January 15:40

    3 nights in each is about perfect IMO, if going all that way though I’d add a week to relax at the beach or countryside too.

    • JamesB says:

      17 Jan17 January 15:47

      Sorry, missed the ten days…add on 3 night stay at Koh Samet, a taxi and ferry or minivan tour from Bangkok. Or Chiang Mai if you prefer countryside. It Asia for cash fares or CX or EY for avios on the short flights.

    • Louise says:

      17 Jan17 January 23:05

      Thanks James

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