Get a 25% bonus when you convert TopCashback money to Avios points

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• Chris L says:

  3 Apr3 April 12:42

  I reckon the most likely scenario would be that BA would offer you an alternative routing or would return your Avios. They’re essentially acting as a travel agent in this respect. Honestly, I think they’ll still be around though, and it sounds like most flights up until the end of the summer season are going ahead as planned (today’s mess notwithstanding!!)

  • Shoestring says:

    3 Apr3 April 13:03

    I don’t think so @Chris L – BA is not the operating carrier, nor is it a travel agent here – they bear no legal responsibility & would wash their hands of the OP pdq.

    • Charlieface says:

      3 Apr3 April 14:16

      He could always cancel the ticket and get hhis Avios back. The Avios cancellation rules are set out and underwritten by BA not Flybe.
      Arguably Amex should cover the Avios as well under section 75, it’s a non-cash liability.
      I’m not a lawyer though, just an armchair

• Angel says:

  3 Apr3 April 12:55

  Very offtopic, advice needed:
  I have a BA ticket AMS-LHR-HND return
  arrive LHR 22:30 depart to tokyo 9:30 am next day
  Plan is – going to amsterdam with just carry on, then sleep in london, get my big luggage and check it in for first time in LHR
  Is there any rule that says i can’t add checked in luggage mid-way on stopover?
  Thank you

  • Jonathan says:

    3 Apr3 April 15:01

    Absolutely fine. I do this all the time on ex EU’s including checking in luggage for the long haul leg at Heathrow prior to a same day back to back which I then do with hand baggage only. If your long haul leg is on a different airlines metal eg. AA then you have to check the luggage at their desks though regardless of if it’s a BA ticket.

• xcalx says:

  3 Apr3 April 13:05

  @ Harry
  but because they have been known to swipe back confirmed, payable earnings for unknown reasons you can’t appeal – it happened to me a couple of times!

  I had a few!! accounts shut down by Quidilo ( 4 figure sum ) a long time ago due to a very generous offer of 13% cash back with a car rental site its amazing how quickly 30 day rentals in New York build up ( paid out usually 1 week prior to the rental starting I then cancelled). Had a good 8 month whilst it lasted. Then 2 years after the accounts were closed I logged in to one by mistake and lo and behold the account was active again cashed out the balances. Oh the good old days.

• Louise says:

  3 Apr3 April 13:25

  OT Tesco 2500 Clubcard pts for home insurance just posted for me, 18 days after purchase

• Shoestring says:

  3 Apr3 April 13:32

  Xcalx – Europcar is a fast payer, very flexible to hire from them as you can cancel for free with 48hrs notice.

• Colin MacKinnon says:

  3 Apr3 April 14:45

  Can anyone recommend a cheap life insurer 😉

• IMH says:

  3 Apr3 April 15:15

  I’m also in Hamburg this week and remembered a different way to avoid the ridiculous hotel prices: book a private flat via a portal (VRBO, Airbnb etc.). It’s rarely as straightforward as a hotel booking and of course it does nothing for my points balances, but there are always ‘hosts’who don’t price dynamically

  • Rob says:

    3 Apr3 April 15:23

    It must be coming. It is a huge revenue loser for Airbnb hosts who simply are not plugged in to the local demand cycles.

    • Chris L says:

      3 Apr3 April 15:54

      Airbnb give hosts the option of dynamic pricing – it’s just some choose not to implement it.

      • Rob says:

        3 Apr3 April 16:05

        But does Airbnb tell them when to implement it? The only room left at the Park Hyatt last night when I checked, which admittedly was a small suite, was €820.

      • Chris L says:

        3 Apr3 April 16:12

        It’s either on or off – they call it ‘Smart pricing’ –

        “Smart Pricing lets you set your prices to automatically go up or down based on changes in demand for listings like yours. You’re always responsible for your price, so Smart Pricing is controlled by other pricing settings you choose, and you can adjust nightly prices any time. Smart Pricing is based on the type and location of your listing, the season, demand, and other factors.”

    • Pangolin says:

      3 Apr3 April 17:47

      If they are hosts and therefore (likely) locals, you’d think they have the ‘smarts’ to know when the demand is dramatically higher.

      I remember looking at what happened to Airbnb prices for hosts in WAW during Euro 2012. Most of them just seemed to add a zero onto what they’d been asking for 6 months prior.

    • Relaxo says:

      3 Apr3 April 19:23

      Airbnb’s smart pricing is total rubbish and no experienced host will choose to activate. it is a ploy to drive prices down across the market – It almost never prices upwards, only downwards. And there is no categorization of property types i.e. a 4 bedroom house is placed in the same pricing pool as a bedroom with live-in host.

  • Alan says:

    3 Apr3 April 21:17

    Totally agree – was in Venice for a conference a couple of years ago. All hotel rooms (unless VERY far out) were >€300/night. Instead got a whole apartment on AirBnB for £130/night – central location, great facilities. Was very much worthwhile – especially with the Qantas points from booking via their portal!

    Only thing to be aware of is cancellation – have an Aussie friend that was going to be in New York for Hogmanay but then the host cancelled a week beforehand. Pricey getting accommodation at that short notice!

• Octopus says:

  3 Apr3 April 15:49

  @ Harry do you need to choose a different ins co each time for multiple policies to track or can you use the same cheapest provider?

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