New British Airways business class lounge at New York JFK airport about to open

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• Boi says:

  26 Apr26 April 14:36

  OT:
  want to visit USA this August. Any suggested itinerary that
  A. USA west coast 2 weeks
  OR
  B. west coast/hawaii multi centre 2 weeks
  OR
  C. Another combination
  Must include disney.
  3 kids: 7, 8 and 11 years.

  • BJ says:

    26 Apr26 April 16:15

    LA to include Disney and Universal studios. Drive up cast to San Francisco with one night stop en route to make more leisurely for the kids. Stopover with kids probably best in Santa Cruz as kids will like Boardwalk. 3 nights in San Francisco onwards to Tahoe where kids can cruise on the Lake and take cable car up the mountains, Circus Circus casino overnight in Reno. Head back south via giant redwoods and Yosemite national park. Go pony trekking in park for kids. California is awesome, just a few ideas.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      26 Apr26 April 19:06

      Very good suggestions from BJ except WAY more than 1 night’s worth of stops between LA and SF, especially if doing just West Coast. Do not just blast up i5 because it’s easy and fast (it’s like thinking you’ve seen Western England because you drove the M5 and M6 :D).

      Santa Barbara (v. kid friendly), Morro Bay, Hearst Castle, Route 1. Big Sur, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove and Monterrey (aquarium). Santa Cruz.

      • BJ says:

        26 Apr26 April 19:36

        Problem, as in most cases , is time. With a week going to be taken up with LA and SF alone the dilemma is to do the coast justice and spend a full week on it or try to get an overview by filling in more places like Yosemite and Tahoe. I tried to be mindful of keeping the kids entertained with changing activities in my suggestions.

      • Chris says:

        26 Apr26 April 20:12

        You sound informed sir!

        I’m doing 7 day fly-drive in late October LAX – SFO two adults (going with a mate, not the missus)

        Might you have other ideas (that are also allowed to include wine!) ?

        Is Yosemite (and/or north of San Francisco) viable for our timescale?

        Many thanks!

      • BJ says:

        26 Apr26 April 20:34

        @ Chris, if you are happy to skip LA you could do a great 7 day loop from San Francisco comprising the city, 17 mile drive, cut across to Yosemite, back north via San Joaquin Valley for wine, into Sacramento the Capitol and back to San Francisco. Depending how much time you wanted in each stop and how much driving per day you could detour as far as casinos at Tahoe or Reno for a night after San Joaquin Valley. I am suggesting latter as opposed to Napa because Napa takes you a different direction complicating the route. Check when Lodi grape festival is but I think you’ll be too late.

      • Chris says:

        26 Apr26 April 22:22

        Thanks BJ, but we fly into LAX ?

    • Anne says:

      26 Apr26 April 22:57

      Chris – I think you’ll struggle to do north of SF or Yosemite justice in 7 days from LA. Personally I’d make the most of the scenic coast route LA to SF and see the great places on the way – would personally recommend San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Cruz. And despite what I said above I’d leave a couple of nights to spend in SF at the end, it is a fascinating city.

      • BJ says:

        27 Apr27 April 07:18

        +1 I suppose I’d do 2 nights LA, 3 nights along the coast and 2 nights SF. If you base yourself someplace convenient for 2 nights along the coast a decent day trip to Yosemite is entirely possible and so worth it.

  • Anne says:

    26 Apr26 April 19:52

    We did San Diego – Long Beach – Anaheim – Las Vegas – San Francisco last year, all road trip apart from LAS to SFO which we flew to save time. Think it took us 18 days in total.

    Would definitely recommend San Diego, we loved it there and felt two nights wasn’t enough. Similarly we did three nights in Anaheim for Disneyland and could have easily filled another whole day – despite hitting the parks for two full days until midnight. Cars Land is just something else, the theming is amazing and Radiator Spirngs Racers is one of the best rides I’ve done anywhere in the world. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo Anaheim, which was a steal on IHG points and easy walking distance to the parks each day.

    We were disappointed in San Francisco this time around, they have a real issue with homelessness and drug use in the streets and the atmosphere wasn’t as we’d remembered. That said it’s always worth a visit.

    We didn’t go there this time but Monterey was a fabulous place when I visited before. Another recommendation would be the Jelly Belly factory near Fairfield, which is easily driveable to/from San Francisco. The factory tour is free and you get free samples!

    • Boi says:

      26 Apr26 April 20:04

      Wow, excellent suggestions. Thanks all

    • Doug M says:

      26 Apr26 April 20:04

      +1 on San Fran. The homelessness is overwhelming. The city has definitely lost some vibe too. Too many rich Silicon Valley types have changed the unique feeling it always had.

      • Lady London says:

        26 Apr26 April 20:43

        Portland seems has started going a bit that way too. Not what it was.

      • BJ says:

        26 Apr26 April 21:24

        It’s always been the case with major US cities that different ends of a street can be like different world’s. For example, Market Street in SF or pop out the wrong end of the station in DC. 30 years ago the States still felt like the happening place, more recently it just feels like most of it has been left behind with the those parts that haven’t being in denial.

    • Nando says:

      27 Apr27 April 00:19

      I agree and disagree with SF, yes there are some issues but it’s an amazing city with lots of very cultural things to see and do. To be honest though, every time I have visited, I have never stayed city centre. Mission is the closest I’ve stayed, Castro and Noe also close to city but far enough out. That is my top tip.

      My stays in San Fran include minimal time in the cbd city centre itself and enjoy the adorable surroundings around.

      • BJ says:

        27 Apr27 April 07:28

        My top tip, and only place I ever stay in SF, is the Chancellor Hotel on the corner of Union Square. Forget St Francis, just a few doors down, this place has the real SF spirit. Old and well worn it may be but it’s as comfortable as old clothes, staff are great, ambiance is breath of cookies and coffee available in the lobby round the clock, fantastic location, and last but not least the silliest gift ever at check in 🙂

      • AndyGWP says:

        28 Apr28 April 08:10

        Did you steal your rubber duck too? 😬😆

  • Graham Walsh says:

    26 Apr26 April 20:20

    Might be of use (sans Disney) https://medium.com/@emmawalshphotography/californian-road-trip-25-days-950-miles-2-kids-9-destinations-wild-fires-a-bear-864530176575

    • Polly says:

      26 Apr26 April 22:23

      Gr6rat read last time you posted this.

  • Kevin C says:

    26 Apr26 April 20:32

    It doesn’t sound if you will have time to go to Hawaii but if you do the Disney hotel Aulani has an excellent reputation.

    In LA, Anaheim is a long way from Universal City (Universal Studios) so bear that in mind. I think you can spend a lot longer at Disney than Universal but it depends what your kids are into.

    Other things for kids in LA: The Santa Monica Pier, cycling on Venice Beach, The Warner Bros tour.

• r* says:

  26 Apr26 April 14:38

  Anyone know if a UK Amex Plat refunds the US Global Entry fee in the same way that the US Plat does?

  • BlueHorizonuk says:

    26 Apr26 April 15:08

    No they dont

• Jonathan says:

  26 Apr26 April 14:59

  OT anyone know how to earn points topping up a Tax Free Childcare account besides BillHop?

  • John says:

    26 Apr26 April 15:02

    Not familiar with the service you’re talking about but curve might be an option, linked to a miles earning visa or mastercard. If you don’t already have it feel free to use my referral code DXLAX4MD to get £5 credit loaded on to it.

    • BlueHorizonuk says:

      26 Apr26 April 15:05

      Haven’t found a way and Curve does not work.

    • Jonathan says:

      26 Apr26 April 15:07

      Curve doesn’t work, wondered if Capital on Tap might?

  • Louise says:

    26 Apr26 April 15:26

    Revolut?

  • Alex W says:

    26 Apr26 April 15:47

    Revolut. Either bank transfer or revolut debit card works.

    • Jtz says:

      26 Apr26 April 16:33

      Is revolut a round about way to pay rent by loading from a visa card from curve?
      Thanks

      • Mark2 says:

        26 Apr26 April 17:31

        There is no need to use Curve. You can load direct except from Barclaycard.

• Waddle says:

  26 Apr26 April 17:22

  OT:
  What in HfP readers’ opinions is the best place to put MR points if I’m considering leaving Amex and not having a MR card for a few months?

  • Mark2 says:

    26 Apr26 April 17:32

    It depends on your current points holdings and your plans.

    • Waddle says:

      26 Apr26 April 17:39

      Ah yes of course. I collect Avios and HSBC Premier points. No hotels atm but not averse to building Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honours. I’m thinking KrisFlyer because I have been building towards flying in a premium Singapore Airlines cabin.

      • BJ says:

        26 Apr26 April 18:00

        If you do Marriott Bonvoy you would be transfer g from one convertible currency to another so that would be the smart move if you had no short term use for the points.

      • Shoestring says:

        26 Apr26 April 18:04

        Not so smart if you lose on the translation with a ‘middleman’. Which you do.

        I’d stick to Avios, I do like a nice stash sitting there. Burned 75K just this week so feeling slightly nervous.

      • BJ says:

        26 Apr26 April 18:42

        Depends if you think it is worth the risk to keep options open to use on difficult schemes such as LH. Despite all the complaints, my own view is that BAEC is still the best scheme around, especially for UK residents. It’s why I try to maintain at least a 2y cushion with avios at the expense of growing my M&M and FlyingBlue accounts.

  • Rob says:

    26 Apr26 April 19:51

    https://headforpoints.com/2018/12/03/what-is-the-best-use-of-american-express-membership-rewards-points-2/

• Shoestring says:

  26 Apr26 April 17:41

  Here’s one I didn’t know:
  Do Nectar points ever expire?
  Answer
  There’s no automatic expiry date for Nectar points. But if you don’t collect or spend any points for a year, we assume you no longer want to take part in the Nectar programme and close your account.

  —> you might as well link your Nectar card a/c to your Ebay a/c, which is points for free and stops expiry. I can’t bring myself to actively collect Nectar points – but I do buy things on Ebay – & I’d hate to see our Amex Nectar card accrued points disappear. Join your cards up as well if you have more than 1.

  • Shoestring says:

    26 Apr26 April 17:51

    Just downloaded the browser extension for a free 100 points on my wife’s a/c.

    Nectar keeps points earning separate on family (joined) cards! So my wife was at risk of seeing her a/c closed after 12 months. Losing half our Amex Nectar points.

    Very underhand. I guess I get all the Ebay points & since I keep both cards in my wallet that was down to me not bothering to collect Nectar points.

  • Graham Walsh says:

    26 Apr26 April 20:22

    I’m usualy pop into a Sainbury to get a few bits or a petrol and use my Nectar card. Handy having the tag on my keys. Wish I could do the same as Tesco and just have it on my phone.

• Shoestring says:

  26 Apr26 April 20:55

  O/T so 14th April 2020 (Tuesday after Easter Monday) was showing as off peak yesterday – but not available to buy as 356 days away.

  Today you can buy it but it’s peak. 15th April is showing as off peak now, let’s see if it turns into peak at midnight.

  • BJ says:

    26 Apr26 April 21:12

    Thanks for pointing this out. I need to predict the July peak cut off dates so at least I know to take the availability calendar with a pinch of salt.

    • Shoestring says:

      26 Apr26 April 21:20

      Which July? 2019 should be pretty stable – but the calendar for 2020 isn’t published yet (is it?)

      I remember feeling pretty fed up because a year ago I got 4x Avios redemptions @ T-355 & paid peak Avios so +1000, yet a couple of weeks later they’d changed to off peak (1000 cheaper). I was going to follow it up with CS but forgot.

      • BJ says:

        26 Apr26 April 22:10

        July 2020. I was going to base my plans around what I could see on the available dates calendar during award searches but if I understood you right and discussions yesterday, it now seems that info may not be reliable.

  • meta says:

    26 Apr26 April 22:34

    Yes, all very strange. I had to do a return one-way for short-haul on 14/04/2020 from Paris today. I booked the tickets (money&avios taken) and didn’t get a confirmation email for several hours. Then got an email which showed that I redeemed 1600 On Business Points. For a second, I thought I might have been logged in to On Business, but at the moment my company does not have that many points. BA’s IT seems to be all over the place last few days.

  • Annabelle says:

    26 Apr26 April 22:39

    Didn’t seem to show off peak for Tuesday 14/4/20 in advance but only weds 15/4/20. I booked return flights for 14/4/20 this morning at 1am and it was peak as expected.

    • Shoestring says:

      27 Apr27 April 06:45

      Weds 15th 2020 is off peak, confirmed

      • Anna says:

        27 Apr27 April 08:43

        This is one instance where BA ignoring the north is a positive – my son’s school holidays next year stretch until April 27th so hopefully our return flights will fall into off peak!

• signol says:

  27 Apr27 April 10:49

  Shame about the JNB cut, but as long as DUR isn’t affected (similar schedule on the other days of the week) it shouldn’t affect us too much.

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