The first luxury IHG property in the Maldives (if you exclude the Holiday Inn!) is about to open.
InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort is now taking bookings for arrivals from 1st September.
The bad news is that there are no reward nights currently loaded into the system. This is a shame, given that the cheapest room – Beach Pool Villa – is around $1,000 per night plus taxes.
Hopefully this will change. If reward nights do open up, I would expect the supply for the next year to disappear quickly so you need to be prepared with your plans. Note that the Beach Pool Villa – the only room category likely to be available as a reward – only sleeps two people so redemptions are not an option for families unless you can ‘buy up’ for cash to the two-floor Lagoon Pool Villa which sleeps four.
Access from Male is via seaplane, so you will be on the hook for $580 return per adult and $290 return per child, plus taxes, for the transfer. Even as a redemption this isn’t going to be cheap!
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About Head for Points
OT:
I have a cousin visiting and is considering renting a car from London to Leeds for the weekend. Best place to rent? He’s in London city centre …..
Also are the small companies any good? I see their prices very cheap…. he’s just looking to get from A to B as train fares high for booking late.
Europcar £1 one ways do not seem to be working at the moment. Site just gives an error message. After a bit of looking around Thrifty seem to have good one way rates. Have a booking for end of month but no experience with them before.
The one ways with all companies would work TO an airport particularly London ones. Less likely to be any offer FROM London one way. If you are not able to do something creative with train to get decent pricing then could you consider bus? Direct, national express may be expensive but a bit of googling may well still yield a channel to a bus ticket that could be quite cheap. Seeing lots of megabus for next week 5-8pds but i wouldnt hang around booking and there are other bus channels too.
I would look for a depot near the bottom of the M1. Given his travel times, getting from Central London to the motorway could easily take as long as getting up the motorway itself. Take a train to the pick-up point.
One option, oddly, would be Luton Airport Parkway via train. Cuts out all the grief and means a fairly short drive.
Europcar £1 deals are good but I don’t think they’ve been working for a while, there’s also Hertz who do the same.
Hertz and Enterprise have fairly low one-way charges.
I’ve just emailed BA with my EU261 claim for my delayed arrival yesterday on the basis that:
The on board air conditioning system was broken.
The aircraft left LHR for JFK earlier that day and the captain and crew were fully aware that the system was broken at the time of departure but were relying on the ground cooling system at JFK being available to cool the aircraft interior on arrival.
The ground cooling system at the gate at JFK was also not working, which meant it took an extra 2 hours to cool the cabin to an acceptable level to allow boarding.
The delayed arrival of this flight at LHR caused me to miss my connection to MAN. The replacement flight (also delayed!) landed at MAN 5 hours after my original scheduled arrival time.
Therefore I should be eligible for compensation under EU261/2004.
Let’s see what response I get…
I’m sure under those circumstances they’ll pay up without messing you around.
Good one.
I think I might be on the same aircraft. Flying to Denver on a 747 from T3. Already delayed. Boiling in here and captain has just mention about needing the engines to come on to cool down the cabin. Sitting at the back today 🙁
I’m no aviation expert but it’s slightly worrying when they are flying aircraft with known technical issues! Let’s see if they suddenly decide it’s fit to take off as the 3 hour deadline looms like they did with us. Obviously a large number of pax were only travelling to LHR and therefore were only delayed by 2 hours.
Would you drive a car if one of the brake lights didn’t work? Same thing just people are more fearful of aircraft issues.
No, it’s an offence unless you are en route to get it fixed!
Please be assured that there is no way that BA or any other reputable airline would risk your safety. Each aircraft has a Minimum Equipment List which details the equipment that must be fully operational for the aircraft to fly. Good luck with your claim – I regularly fly out of MAN so will follow your progress with interest!
Didn’t some American Airlines continue to use the Boeing 737 max even after it became clear there were safety issues?
The FAA refused to ban it until the rest of the world had banned it.
only for a few days, at that time it was just presumption of risk
Transfer prices to the Maldives are just ridiculous. They must be laughing all the way to the bank after they’ve dropped people off at those over water B&Q sheds. Just charter a yacht for two weeks.
Well they have to make up those redemption reimbursements somehow! Oh, apart from the F&B, spa, excursions, gift shops…
….compulsory celebratory dinners no one else has ever heard of, 20% gratuity if you are grateful or not…
I agree! It’s nearly 20 years since we went but I’m sure the seaplane transfer was about £100 pp (and we got it as a 2 for 1 offer which was even better). If we go again I’ll be sure to pick an island a reasonable boat ride away. Although I do think it’s become overpriced in general as a destination because it’s so desirable these days. The Hilton resorts in Seychelles look highly affordable by comparison!
The Seychelles is completely affordable, but I wouldn’t go to the Hilton resorts! Praslin and La Digue are gloriously beautiful, and there aren’t many big name resorts on either island – you’re far better off finding a family run hotel on hotels.com – it’ll cost you a fraction of the price, especially if you find one with a small kitchen, so you can self cater from time to time. Also, getting to and from Praslin or La Digue will cost a tenth of what it costs in the Maldives!
True, but reality on Seychelles is that if you self-cater you will spend maybe 10-20% less than eating out and the choice in supermarkets is limited. Seychelles is by no means a cheap destination. Cheaper than Maldives, yes. Both are overpriced for what they offer. I actually prefer Mauritius in that part of the world. But that’s me. Some of my work colleagues can’t stop raving about Seychelles.
I haven’t been to Maldives but I do absolutely love the Seychelles. It’s different to Mauritius. We enjoyed both equally for different reasons. Stayed at the Hilton Labriz on Silhouette Island and found the resort just beautiful. Couldn’t fault it and we were there a week and a half. Each to their own but personally I would recommend both Seychelles Hilton Labriz resort and Mauritius (we stayed at Long Beach). Mauritius is more affordable though.
Would love to visit The Maldives one day………when we have the funds.
Meta – it depends what you’re cooking, I was happy cooking basic pasta or Asian noodles one night, which costs next to nothing, and then eating a feast at the likes of the Bellevue every other evening (where the food and the view are both incredible). The main reason for that was that I spend 30 days in the Seychelles last summer, and eating out every night would have added up to quite a lot of money – I kept it cheap by cooking student food for myself every other night! If you’re cooking properly, I imagine it’s much more!
I haven’t made it to Mauritius yet, but it’s on the list (when I do, I’m planning a side trip hiking in Reunion too!). I keep being sidetracked by The Seychelles though!
Thanks – I will definitely look at that! Maybe 5 nights in one of those and 5 on Hilton points?!
We just booked rangali Maldives for 5 nights, yep the transfers are eyewateringly expensive!
We are hoping to see some local islands too before rangali so that should bear the sting a bit.
Coming back to LON on krisflyer miles.
Currently having issues with Virgin credit cards.. gf got a card, set up direct debit. Now the direct debit details have vanished and they are saying there was never any direct debit set up (there was, it had been checked on the acct a couple of weeks ago to make sure it would pay the full amount) is there much that can be done should they charge interest?
They have had quite a few issues with their DDs – I think you’d accept what you say if there was any charge.
I got them to accept what I said, and had the £9 late payment fee refunded. And refunded a second time for some strange reason. Happy days I was £9 up. But then they charged me £54 interest and refused to refund it. A manager refused to speak to me and passed a message through the CSR that it was justified so I paid it there and then and cancelled the dark and told them to poke it.
you could have controlled that temper as Virgin has admitted they messed up on the DDs so you could have done better on the money front – up to you
What are the wider issues that Virgin have been having with DDs? I suspect that its going to be a battle as the Cs agent was arguementative.
this started it, then a couple of weeks later Virgin backed down
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cardsloans/article-6652443/Virgin-Money-credit-card-customers-hit-charges-thanks-minimum-payment-default.html
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cardsloans/article-6768365/Virgin-Money-customers-hit-credit-card-charges-refunded.html
OT: I am Gold with Virgin Atlantic. Do I have to be flying to get the 10% off with Virgin Holidays?
OT but Virgin-related:
If 2-4-1 or upgrade vouchers are dependent on Flying Club Status, does anyone know how they handle changes in status between triggering the voucher, booking a flight and the flight itself? I am Silver currently and have just triggered the voucher, but I will be Gold after my next flight in July. I plan to use the voucher for a flight in December, so can I use it to book an UC companion seat now or will I have to wait until I hit Gold status? Hoping that it’s not linked to status at time of trigger, as I’d be very disappointed!
Secondly, will the call centre staff know the rules yet, or am I in for arguements and T&C quoiting (that’s my previous experience)? Thanks!
Logically, I can’t see it being linked to status at time of trigger if i’m honest. Wait until you hit gold and then redeem it.
2 questions.
1. I am travelling Iberia business class from Madrid to nyc return with my 19 year old. Will the 19 year old be allowed alcohol in Madrid lounge, on flight to nyc, jfk lounge and return flight to Madrid? I am assuming yes to first two, no to second two?
2. Can I use two 241’s online on same booking if 4 reward flights are available? Thanks
Not sure about 1, You might need to make separate bookings for each of the vouchers, but it shouldn’t matter (just ensure you sit together).
I think you can use 2 vouchers on the same booking if they belong to the same person (i.e. they are both in one BA account). Though if they were issued to you and another person, you might be able to use them via a phone booking if you were authorised to access the other person’s account, depending on how awkward BA customer services were feeling that day!
Technically your son needs to be 21 to be served alcohol in the USA BUT – we were in that lounge on Saturday night and no-one was asking for ID! There is also a self serve section so your son could get his own drink or you could get it for him. I can only see a problem if he looks a lot younger than he is. There shouldn’t be any issue with Madrid/Iberia, he is classed as an adult.
Most states do have 21 as the legal age, but there are about half a dozen that permit under 21s to drink on licensed premises with adult/parental company. New York isn’t one which doesn’t really help. I know Connecticut is if you’re ever in Newhaven.
In the lounge in Spain and on the plane, no problem. In the lounge at JFK, probably yes (even though legal drinking age is 21).
I have friends who get turned away at the JFK lounge and handed food vouchers instead for being under 21, but maybe having a companion makes a difference?
Turned away for what reason? Is there a rule that you have to be traveling with someone over the age of 21 to get in?
The issue would be licensed premises.
I’ve been to the US solo before I turned 21 and had no problem getting served booze in a lounge or on a flight. Bars on the other hand…
Flights shouldn’t be a problem if it’s a Spanish reg’d aircraft in International airspace. Not sure about the JFK lounge but you can always just say nothing.
Thanks everyone, she will be 20 when we fly and just wants a few glasses of champagne 🙂 will just wait and see if she is id challenged in jfk lounge……
Heard this on the radio this morning & here’s the story: Extinction Rebellion, the climate-change protest group, says it intends to shut down operations at Europe’s busiest airport, Heathrow, for 11 days this summer
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/extinction-rebellion-heathrow-protest-drones-flight-cancelled-delay-airport-a8941351.html
This summer, when there will be far fewer business travellers who are the ones flying week in and week out, and more families on their (possibly) single, precious annual holiday? They won’t get a lot of sympathy. Hopefully the police will act swiftly as they seemed to start doing after the first disruption.
I won the cricket! Thanks Rob
Tix had a face value of 550 per tix, so 144k hilton points wasnt bad value, but they would have gone for 60k if it wasn’t mentioned here me thinks.
Enjoy the game!
But David only found about it on here, so for him the choice was a) not going because he never knew about it or b) paying 144k points for £1100 of tickets, so he’s a happy bunny.
True, but lots more people missed out on potentially amazing value tix because hfp zombies were pointed at the auction and had bucket loads of points to pay basically face value for the cricket tix, therefore defeating the purpose of points in the first place, yes I know for some the points were free or cheap… But if you had to buy points not in a sale 144k points isn’t amazing value for 1100 pounds.. 60k would have been
144k Hilton points are worth around £450 max. This also ignores the fact that, for people who spend 3-4 nights per week in hotels, the last thing they want to do with their points is book yet more hotels!
all very true Rob, I’m just disappointed i didn’t bag a bargain box seat (or a steal i guess)… then again wouldn’t have gotten a Hilton Visa before they disappeared had it not been for this site… and therefore wouldnt have had the much larger stash of points in the first place – so nothing really to complain about. For all my whinging your site is great… now if people only stopped talking about creative ways to generate points in public forums we would all be better off.