How Jason got to the World Cup semi final at 48 hours notice using his Avios, miles and points

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

• Metty says:

  14 Jul14 July 09:49

  At late notice I booked a ‘Dad and lad’ x2 trip for the group games. Cash tickets were, at the tome, silly £ in economy but managed to get 4 RFS on BA to Moscow (not being an expert I had forgotten that it was a RFS route despite being a World Traveller service). Then we were upgraded to WTP, my second upgrade in 1500 flights.

  I agree that the Russians did a fabulous job, Volgograd was particularly well organised, Moscow great and Kaliningrad had more of an cold war feel in parts but everyone lovely.

  The comment from Paul suggesting similarities to the Nazi regime….well that’s an opinion that was shared by the press here and a factor why so very few Brits travelled. Politicians rule the world, good and bad, but there are billions of people in this world who just want £ to feed their kids, enjoy education and a laugh. We are all the same, so for those more interested in the country and its people than politics, don’t be put off travel to Russia, Myanmar, Iran….

  • Perkypat says:

    14 Jul14 July 10:56

    Just about the most sensible thing Ive read about Russia in the last 4 weeks. Thanks.

  • Callum says:

    14 Jul14 July 14:19

    You completely miss the point….

    The Nazis used the Olympics to legitimise their regime and had scores of people saying the exact same thing as you – “I don’t know what people are complaining about, they were just lovely!”. That is exactly what has happened this time.

    It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to these things (I’m personally desperate to visit Burma and Iran), it just means you should keep your eyes open and don’t get so easily duped.

    • the real harry1 says:

      14 Jul14 July 15:10

      that’s why I called it massive PR success

      PR was never the naked truth 🙂

      • Callum says:

        14 Jul14 July 18:02

        Its been a huge PR success! I’m sure Qatar will achieve the same thing too.

  • Delbert says:

    14 Jul14 July 16:53

    Would love to visit Moscow with the good lady wife. Would go to see the Bolshoi Ballet as well. If you like the ballet and want to see the best in the world then you go to see the Bolshoi. Saw them at ROH in London and they blew our socks off.

    Obviously, missed a trick with the Fan ID as a visa as could have gone for a few days with minimum aggravation.

• Tony says:

  14 Jul14 July 11:02

  This BA changing the admission rules always makes me laugh. I remember distinctly how signs used to appear in the summer outside lounges saying ‘don’t even think about it – we’re really busy because it’s summer’.

  Was in T5A north lounge last Sunday – few seats, not enough staff to keep empty plates from piling up and that was before the rule change.

  Does rather take the p1ss when it comes to those paying for premium tickets in the summer…

  • Tony says:

    14 Jul14 July 11:02

    Oops – wrong thread….

• Lady London says:

  14 Jul14 July 11:43

  Not a bad result…just a shame about the football!

  Wondering if he already had his Russian visa as also needing time and cost?

  • Dean says:

    14 Jul14 July 11:58

    You didn’t need a visa. You could apply for a FANID (which they issued online in PDF format within 20 mins) and to get this all you needed was a match ticket number or booking number which they didn’t match to your name so you could use anyone’s multiple times (even one from an already played game). The FANID allowed you multiple entries and you could stay up to 10 days after the tournament finishes.

• Will says:

  14 Jul14 July 11:52

  Absolutely brilliant. Despite the result Jason must be fairly smug about getting over there so craftily

• Sam Collins says:

  14 Jul14 July 12:04

  Well done. On the Sunday I was able to get 4 tickets in my basket for the semi (US$450 per ticket though) – and then set about finding out how to get there. Managed to get an Aeroflot from Helsinki to Moscow ticket & Miat Mongolian from Moscow to Berlin for £300 cash, then lost my tickets fiddling about trying to get RFS to connect. And completely forgot about S7.

  Rather glad I lost the tickets in the end. Intrigued how one above poster got BA RFS tickets to Moscow?! There was absolutely zilch in any class the numerous times I was looking.

• Ed Warrick says:

  14 Jul14 July 12:16

  I got RFS to Moscow for the first weekend booking 355 days out.

  For the semi-final, I got S7 MUC-DME return and an RFS LHR-MUC which I booked on the Sunday. Sadly however didn’t get tickets for the match from FIFA! A blessing in disguise…

• whiskerxx says:

  14 Jul14 July 12:32

  For anyone who might be interested, the listed FIFA ticket price for a category 1 ticket for the final is 66,000 rubles or nearly £800 !!!!

  And Harry, no I’m not in Moscow, I cancelled and let a Croatian friend have my ticket

• Simon Higgins says:

  14 Jul14 July 12:35

  So he just happened to already have a visa to Russia?

  • Justin says:

    14 Jul14 July 12:56

    Think if you have a ticket they have visa free entry. Just need a fan ID

  • whiskerxx says:

    14 Jul14 July 12:58

    I guess if you had read the other replies you would be aware that no visa is required, a Fan ID is used in its place, and you don’t need a ticket to get a FAN ID

    • Steve says:

      14 Jul14 July 17:23

      Yes, but he must have already had a fan ID in place as there is no way it would have come through in time for the outbound flight. Not as much of a spur of the moment decision as is being made out.

      • Doug M says:

        14 Jul14 July 17:38

        The Semi-Final decision was spur of the moment, we don’t know what other games he’d previously attended, or why he may have already had a FAN ID. So much assumption on so little information.

      • Dean says:

        14 Jul14 July 17:46

        FanID comes electronically within 30 mins as a PDF. That acts as your visa. If you then want to go to a game you have to pick up a laminated one at the FanID Center’s.

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