Another Scottish castle – Inverlochy Castle – you can now book with World of Hyatt hotel points

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

• AJA says:

  18 Oct18 October 08:35

  Welcome Sinead!

  O/T I noticed yesterday that my Avios earned for Rewardsforthoughts surveys haven’t been posting to BAEC since 5 Oct.

  I sent an email to their help desk (the only way to contact them!) and I received this reply 6 hours later:

  “We have escalated your reward concern. Please note that we consider this a priority and ask for your patience as we investigate this matter with our Rewards Team. We will get back to you as soon as possible.”

• Voltron says:

  18 Oct18 October 08:36

  New offers on my gold card, Spend £5 anywhere, 250 AMEX points, by 18 November

  Also save offer on BA card but 250 avios instead

  • Shoestring says:

    18 Oct18 October 08:58

    got the £5 on a very cobwebby Green card, probably targeting poorly used cards

    • LewisB says:

      18 Oct18 October 09:10

      Yep. Not used my gold in a solid month or two and I got the offer. Nothing on my BAPP which is my go to until end of the month.

• Roger* says:

  18 Oct18 October 08:53

  OT re Creation credit balances on my Marriott card:

  1. Last month, when I tried to pay my balance online, Creation’s clunky website told me the payment had failed and I should try using a different payment card. So I did. Result: both payments were credited on the same date resulting in an unrequested credit balance.

  2. Separately, 3 of my recent Creation/Marriott-backed Curve payments have been refunded – without any intervention on my part. Two were the same – payment-refund-payment-refund – the Swiss beneficiary must be very confused. The 3rd was for Amazon Prime. Amazon automatically recharged the card. We’ll see if it sticks.

  Oo er.

• Andrew says:

  18 Oct18 October 08:55

  Cromlix House is always worth a visit.

  It’s so easy to get to! Join the A40 at Marble Arch, and keep following the route North until you hit the first roundabout, go straight on. After 3 minutes come off at the second junction. Right, then after about a mile turn left. And you are there.

  Travelling by train? On a Sunday, you can check out and grab the Highland Chieftain direct from Sunny-D at 12:30 and be back in civilisation before 6pm.

  • Bagoly says:

    18 Oct18 October 09:55

    417 miles to first roundabout!
    But there are some junctions, so satnav presumably tells one to do something every 100 miles or less?
    When leaving Berlin for Calais the satnav does actually say “continue on A2 for 473km”.

  • RussellH says:

    18 Oct18 October 16:00

    Glad that Cromlix House is now reliable – it certainly was not in the early days! I heard an amazing mixture of 50% horror stories and 50% enormous praise for the restaurant. Given that I lived less than a mile away I never heard anything about staying there overnight.
    And it is not the first turning to the left – that takes you to my former home! Take the seond (I think).

• David says:

  18 Oct18 October 09:40

  O/T – flying LHR to JFK tomorrow with Virgin (Economy). Been offered voluntary denied boarding at check in with an unspecified amount of VFC miles or money off a next booking, which I am considering as my partner and I have also been given seats apart from each other.

  Any idea what the expected level of compensation would be here under a voluntary scenario?

  • N says:

    18 Oct18 October 10:02

    No experience of this scenario (try FT?), but I’d probably want something better than what you’d get under 261 and invol boarding. Not sure though!

    • Alex M says:

      18 Oct18 October 11:01

      don’t think it’s realistic to expect something better as virgin can just deny you boarding and pay what they need under eu261..

  • Charlieface says:

    18 Oct18 October 12:42

    Voluntary still gets EC261 apart from anything else they give you.

    • xcalx says:

      18 Oct18 October 13:13

      Really, I took voluntary off load at check in EWR-MAN with Continental/ United for a $500 voucher. Flew next day, any chance of a claim. They provided hotel food and transport

      • Lady London says:

        18 Oct18 October 14:33

        so long as you didn;t agree nor especially, sign anything accepting the voucher and waiving all other claims then go ahead and claim.

      • Jon L says:

        18 Oct18 October 14:53

        Unfortunately, you can’t claim. United is a non-EU airline. EWR is a non-EU departure point.
        If it were LHR-EWR, then you could. Or if you flew BA, then you could.
        Sorry 🙁

        • Lady London says:

          18 Oct18 October 16:28

          erm…. @David IS flying ex-London so EU261 compensation is his BATNA (lowest acceptable offer) and I would accept Virgin to offer something more than that althogh possibly they might try in the form of vouchers. open and shut compo if he’s offloaded as it’s a cancellation less than 14 days ahead. Plus duty of care applies.

    • Lady London says:

      18 Oct18 October 14:32

      dont forget they are liable for duty of care also – accomm, food , transport to and from said accomm, internet access fees if any so you can advise people of your change. Plus the compensation.

      I’d start with that. Defo wouldn’t take any voucher unless it was a multiple of that – ideally 2X. If I thought I would fly Virgin again soon or if I fly them a lot perhaps 1.5X

      Why not just say obviously compo plus duty of care etc woudl presumably cost them about £400-£450 and ask them what are they offering? If any voucher check expiry date as well.

    • David says:

      18 Oct18 October 15:37

      Don’t think voluntary denied boarding is in scope for EC261 based on my reading, as you agree to it in exchange for airline vouchers / airline specified compo etc.

      Thanks all for other responses. Don’t think I will take it as would rather just get to destination and not sure how useful Virgin vouchers will be in the future (reading online they seem to have the same restrictions as if trying to book reward flights). According to Expert Flyer it’s a completely full plane across all classes though so will be interesting to see what happens.

      • Shoestring says:

        18 Oct18 October 15:49

        you’re probs right, I think it goes UC 10K, PE (Economy Delight) 7500, Economy Classic 5K – or alternative to points, a later free ticket offer in same class but with stipulations

        no EC261 compo if it’s voluntary

        • Shoestring says:

          18 Oct18 October 15:50

          *add a zero, 100K, 75K, 50K

        • Lady London says:

          18 Oct18 October 16:33

          Not sleazy. I’d prob for go for that in Y or PY.
          Hoewver the point of knowing the level of EU261 compo and duty of care that the airline is liable to, even if you decide not to take a “voluntary” offer, is that the EU261 total gives you a bottom line of real cash equivalent that the airline would have to give you, if your offloading is involuntary.

          It therefore follows that any voluntary settlement you might agree, should at least equal this – or your valuation on this in vouchers. Obviously as vouchers are less universally useable (as compared to cash) and may have small print restrictions or expiry, if the airline is hoping to save cash by making a voluntary agremeent with you then you’d normally want a face value on the vouchers of considerably more than the cash value they’d have to pay you under EU261.

          Jus’ sayin’.

          i dont blame you for preferring to take the flight and see what happens, though 🙂

        • Shoestring says:

          18 Oct18 October 16:36

          we got 5x £300 offer, checking in at airport early on BA, to get voluntarily bumped a few Xmases ago, they said we’d only have to wait 2hrs for the next flight or possibly 5hrs

          computer sezzed no! (my wife lol)

        • The Savage Squirrel says:

          18 Oct18 October 19:06

          If they threw in lounge access and I wasn’t in a rush….

          You’ll pay me £300 to sit and sip champagne in your lounge for 2 hours – we have a deal.

  • LewisB says:

    18 Oct18 October 13:01

    On a Delta flight from Atlanta a few years back they made an announcement prior to boarding offering 3 passengers $800 dollars credit and overnight accommodation for voluntary flying the next day, I believe it was to position some of their crew in London. Of course they also didn’t need to cover EU261.

  • RussellH says:

    18 Oct18 October 16:07

    We took up an offer like this from BA during the 1990s. The offer was $200 cash or $300 travel voucher for a delay of three or four hours.
    We took the travel voucher offer, but the person filling them in did it wrong and they were encashable. I took mine to the BA desk at EDI around 2100 one winter Sunday night. The lighting was poor and the woman on the desk did not notice the $ sign before the numbers, so gave me £300. I walked away from the desk **very** fast…

    • Lady London says:

      18 Oct18 October 16:34

      🙂

• Stu_N says:

  18 Oct18 October 09:43

  Possibly related to the Avios issues, I sent some RBS MyRewards to Avois at the start of last week and they haven’t arrived in BAEC. Usually takes 1-2 days.

  Anyone else had issues with RBS/ Natwest?

  • AJA says:

    18 Oct18 October 10:07

    Not that but having problems with Avios posting for Rewardsforthoughts surveys. Nothing posted since 5 Oct.

    I think the BA IT gremlins are having fun behind the scenes. Either that or the BA IT intern pressed the wrong buttons again.

• N says:

  18 Oct18 October 09:44

  Buying flights on United today – spending approx £1k on Y seats.

  Any ways to shave a few % off here and there? CB, etc? Will using my SPG Amex get me any more points?

  • Rob says:

    18 Oct18 October 10:05

    No and no – best to use a 0% card if not in £. Amex Gold is 2x on airlines if in £.

    • N says:

      18 Oct18 October 10:11

      Thanks Rob!

      Odd that SPG/Marriott offer a status match over to United but no further tie-up/bonus

      • BJ says:

        18 Oct18 October 12:25

        They do, they offer preferential transfer rates. Check your amex cards for a spend anything get something offer today. I got a miserly spend £5 get 250 MR but YMMV.

  • Lyn says:

    18 Oct18 October 10:41

    Remember to compare the miles you’d earn crediting to United to earning avios through Aer Lingus.

    • lady London says:

      18 Oct18 October 11:55

      Hi Lyn, is that a reminder that UA flights can still be credited to Aer Lingus?

      • marcw says:

        18 Oct18 October 12:01

        yes

      • Lyn says:

        18 Oct18 October 17:54

        Yes, no personal experience but this is according to their web-site when I checked earlier today. But worth checking the fare basis to see how much it earns.

• Whizz68 says:

  18 Oct18 October 09:56

  OT.
  Hi,
  Does the IHG Free night offer ( stay 2 nights at the Met Hotel Leeds or Principal hotels) reservation need to be for before the 31st October or can I book the 31st October and check out the next day on 1st November?
  Thanks

  • xcalx says:

    18 Oct18 October 10:37

    Where did you see this offer. I took advantage in January this year and would happily do again.

    • Roy says:

      18 Oct18 October 10:48

      I wouldn’t get too excited. I presume Whizz68 is asking about the conditions around the expiry of the voucher earned back in January.

      • xcalx says:

        18 Oct18 October 10:53

        Yeah checked the old HfP article the stay by date is 31Oct. Oh well

        • Roy says:

          18 Oct18 October 11:36

          Ah, but is it a “stay by” date or a “book by” date – that is the question…

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