British Airways airport lounge in Geneva is closing today for a full refurbishment

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• Denis says:

  27 May27 May 06:11

  @These hotels will be bookable from Tuesday afternoon UK time.

  I’m pretty sure they’re released at noon ET or 5 pm UK time.

  • Rob says:

    27 May27 May 07:13

    Has been recently, agreed, but there is no published rule.

• Paul says:

  27 May27 May 06:55

  “The BA lounge in Glasgow is also due to close for two weeks, currently planned for 2nd to 15th June, for a lick of paint. £5 restaurant vouchers will be provided to affected passengers.”

  Seriously?! £5!!!!!! That can’t be right!

  That’s insulting. It won’t get you more than a coffee and a biscuit. It won’t get you a drink plus food. If accurate it’s frankly unacceptable.

  I know BA is cheap but that’s rediculous

  • Rooster says:

    27 May27 May 08:47

    I wish they offered something when there is no lounge at an airport

• George says:

  27 May27 May 07:20

  OT: For those who contributed to my ICC payment questions a few days ago, I had a chat with American Express and have successfully paid my bill on my business ICC card with routing number 026001591 (accepts ACH) and using the first 10 characters of my card as reference.

  It’s worth checking with the ICC team that the personal card uses the same payment details but for me at least this is significantly cheaper than paying with HSBC. Payment took 4 working days to arrive.

  • George says:

    27 May27 May 07:22

    Whoops – I should have said successfully paid my bill with TransferWise using these details.

    • Qwerty Bertie says:

      27 May27 May 08:31

      There are hundreds, if not thousands, of unhappy people online who have reported their Transferwise accounts being closed without warning. It has resulted in their money being held – typically – for “60 working days whilst the compliance team investigates”. Victims are “bullied” in to handing over personal data and documentation which they shouldn’t have to release, and even at the end of it all many still seem to never get back their money. Many victims have described the company as “thieves”.

      Some of the reports reminded me of the way customs officers at airports act in documentaries, i.e. as if they are judge, jury, and executioner…but at least they have some sort of lawful authority driving them.

      I have seen numerous reports like these about all online money companies of this nature. Use any of them at your peril. They do not operate like banks, and most if not all cannot be taken to account by the FOS.

      • marcw says:

        27 May27 May 10:48

        Have used TransferWise at least 50 times in the last year: no issues at all.

      • Patrick says:

        27 May27 May 12:38

        There seem to be lot of positive reviews about it on the web. I used it for the first time yesterday to send money to an overseas bank account, money arrived already today. What are these people doing that gets them flagged up in the system?
        I normally use Midpoint for transfers (for the avios), especially as they gave me a 5000 avios bonus for being a bi-monthly regular customer between last June and Feb this year.

• Zoe says:

  27 May27 May 07:31

  As promised I asked about the new lounge at Bournemouth Airport as I passed through yesterday. It is being built above the Duty Free Shop and according to the girls who work there is delayed until December. They quoted health and safety issues with building above an area used by the public. Meanwhile a Costa has opened airside.

  • Rob says:

    27 May27 May 08:28

    Thanks Zoe, appreciate it.

• Shoestring says:

  27 May27 May 07:48

  the free 200 Avios on IB for registering x2 at Showroomprive have both got success emails, fwiw I used a VPN (Tunnelbear, free) and set my location as Spain, accessing Plustore in Spain/ Spanish setting – which gets you round the ‘for Spanish residents only’ bit

  • Mike says:

    27 May27 May 08:25

    Harry – can a VPN like tunnelbear help accessing BBC IPLAYER from overseas ?

    • nick says:

      27 May27 May 08:38

      yes it can, I used Express VPN in Canada to access my sky app to watch GoT

    • Czechoslovakia says:

      27 May27 May 08:45

      One would need a VPN with a provider that will give you a dedicated, own, individual IP number, so I’m lead to believe…. It’s possible, but not free.

    • Mikeact says:

      27 May27 May 10:36

      Of course, plenty of VPN’s…some good, some not. The one we use, sorry, not naming, has been used around Europe, AUS, NZ, the US and S America. And there ways of watching Sky, Netflix, NOW and many others if you’re desperate !

      • Jovanna says:

        27 May27 May 11:13

        I’ve got a Slingbox at home for watching my TV when I’m away. It works quite well. I’ve invested in a lightning (Apple) to hdmi lead, so I can stream directly on to the hotel TV. The App was about £21 to install on my iPad when I downloaded it a few years ago. There’s a free version now, with ads, which I downloaded to my iPhone. I use an adblocker on that on it feels the same as the paid version.

    • Shoestring says:

      27 May27 May 14:37

      @Mike – I can’t say I bother with BBC iPlayer abroad, I get CNN & Sky News free on local TV plus usually have Sky Sports, Sky Entertainment & BT Sports on the go (which are no problem accessing in the EU) so don’t mess around with BBC or ITV – I’d rather read a book!

      The problem with the free VPNs such as Tunnelbear is that they are free for a very limited amount of GB space, so a TV prog woulkd eat that up in 5 mins

  • Shoestring says:

    27 May27 May 15:42

    Don’t forget that the free 200 IB Avios – whilst only worth £2 – reset your 3 years points expiry dates

    • Lady London says:

      27 May27 May 19:24

      Wonder if my negative Iberia balance would evaporate if left for 3 years with no activity.

      • Shoestring says:

        27 May27 May 19:37

        There are better ways, as in GDPR and/ or you get a new UK passport number as often as you are prepared to pay the fee, otherwise every 9.5 years

        • Shoestring says:

          27 May27 May 19:39

          though hating Iberia as you do, you might want to spin out the compo process a few more years

• Leo says:

  27 May27 May 08:44

  OT but lounges. The Priority Pass lounge has closed at JMK as the domestic terminal is being rebuilt. No info on any replacement.

  • Gin and Tonic Please says:

    27 May27 May 17:52

    Shame. I quite liked that lounge, despite the tiny size. Here’s hoping they do a decent job of the terminal refurb. It needs it!

• Grant says:

  27 May27 May 08:54

  OT Amex Plat Benefits – How long does it normally take to receive confirmation of status after applying through the website when there is no pre-existing membership? My Bonvoy and Hilton statuses seemed to update very quickly, perhaps because I already had accounts with them. But when applying for the same with my wife, who didn’t have pre-existing memberships, it’s taking far longer.

  With the benefit of hindsight I should have perhaps registered with the hotel chain first and then added the membership number to the Amex sign up.

• Jon says:

  27 May27 May 08:59

  How long does it take for Hilton points to post when you buy them? Have a trip planned for NYC on 8 June and this could work out if they post quickly (rooms are available currently on points). Thanks

  • Anna says:

    27 May27 May 10:14

    I bought some last year, as I recall they posted pretty much instantly. I wish Barclaycard were as quick transferring the points from my HH visa!

  • Anna says:

    27 May27 May 10:18

    I’ve been tracking NYC on points for months (though I’ve gone with a cash booking in the end as prices for this week are really quite reasonable for NY), and there always seems to be loads of availability so I think you’ll be fine. I would only use points for a really high end hotel though, as the minimum points needed seems to be 70,000 per nights and some of the hotels look frankly mediocre! The best redemption I found at this level was the Embassy suites which can be $400 per night, however I managed to get the Millennium UN Plaza for $849 for 3 nights with a free 2 cat upgrade and lounge access, which I think is great value in half term/US Memorial week.

  • marcw says:

    27 May27 May 10:46

    Usually instantly. Bought points 10 days ago and posted immediately. I think I had to log-out -log-in, but can’t remember exactly.

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