New Aspire lounge at Edinburgh Airport now open

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• v says:

  3 Nov3 November 11:21

  OT: What’s the best number to call Marriott for missing points and admin?

  • mark2 says:

    3 Nov3 November 11:55

    try 020 3564 6335

    • Polly says:

      3 Nov3 November 12:00

      Nightmare getting through this week. Had to put our aa no in for the qatar leg to Singapore yesterday. What a waste of TPs.
      Anyway keeps our aa pts alive till we eventually get to hnl in F for a co pay of about $300. If ever!

    • v says:

      3 Nov3 November 12:13

      Thanks Mark! Got through straight away and so helpful

• BS says:

  3 Nov3 November 11:30

  OT: Do BA charge the ticket’s £150 change fee if I wanted to upgrade from J – F using avios?

  Thanks

  • Polly says:

    3 Nov3 November 11:53

    That’s a good point. Think we were only charged the 35pp change fee and difference in avios pp

  • TGLoyalty says:

    3 Nov3 November 12:54

    Assuming this is an upgrade of a cash ticket with Avios. I’m sure there are no extra charges other than the difference in Avios and BA charges (which can be minimal for J to F)

    • Stu N says:

      3 Nov3 November 14:41

      TGLoyalty – that’s correct in my experience.

• Lady London says:

  3 Nov3 November 14:05

  Hum. As we know most online systems only offer 1 fareclass (other than HBO) at a time in each of Y, PY, J, F, then if we are willing to pay a bit more to avoid any restrictions on the only class the website will display, then are we justified in asking BA to waive the phone fee when we phone in and book it, since we couldn’t have booked the particular fare class on the website? wondering if anyone has any experience of this.

• Liz says:

  3 Nov3 November 16:01

  I converted a couple of pounds on 1/11 and only got the usual 5% bonus.

• Anna says:

  3 Nov3 November 16:16

  Whenever we travel on BA holidays in CE we always get 40 tier points for the domestic legs. I don’t know if this is a feature of a package booking but I would have thought it would be priced in a lower fare bucket because of the generally better value of booking flight plus hotel or car.

• Tom1 says:

  3 Nov3 November 16:33

  SPG Amex – I don’t have a signup target progress tracker, but cannot remember if SPG was the one that never has it?

  • Harry T says:

    3 Nov3 November 16:54

    I received the bonus earlier this year and there wasn’t a sign up bonus tracker.

    • tom1 says:

      3 Nov3 November 18:06

      ok, fingers crossed, thanks.

• Harry T says:

  3 Nov3 November 16:36

  OT 241:
  Sorry for the spam today.

  Looking to redeem my first 241. Aiming for First in Long Haul with BA, as I’ve heard their Business long haul isn’t great.

  I’m torn between Hong Kong or Cape Town as the best use of the 241 – has anyone flown in BA First on these routes? I’m wary of spending the vast majority of my Avios on a route if the First Class experience isn’t worth it.

  Also open to other suggestions for the best use of 241 in BA First. Thanks all.

  • Anna says:

    3 Nov3 November 17:10

    I don’t imagine that the actual experience differs much from one route to another, but more importantly have you researched the availability on your preferred routes? As many people on here would say, the best use of the voucher is to go somewhere you want to visit. If you want to visit the Concorde Room at LHR you’re better choosing a departure from T5, though the Cathay F lounge in T3 (which I’m looking forward to trying next Easter) seems to be highly regarded. Personally I would save F for a day flight to take full advantage of the experience, and if the other leg was overnight book CW and save some avios.
    If you’ve tried other airlines’ business cabins BA CW might well be a disappointment, however I find it a VERY nice way to travel compared to WT/WTP!

    • Anna says:

      3 Nov3 November 17:14

      A quick glance at RFF shows only 13 departures in F for CPT (mostly in May) during the next 12 months, so if you’re not very flexible on dates you might need to consider other destinations.

    • Harry T says:

      3 Nov3 November 17:52

      Thanks, Anna.

      My only business class experience is SQ business from LHR to Singapore (amazing), regional SilkAir flights and Club Europe from LHR to NCL.

      I agree about First during the day – want to experience it rather than sleep through it!

      Thanks, I have looked at Cape Town – not much availability but could probably get some leave in May, if not on call.

      • Hak says:

        3 Nov3 November 18:43

        BA First is the equivalent of a good business class seat these days. Don’t waste your time with Club world as it is unfit for purpose. Just YouTube some reviews to see for yourself. If you go to Hong Kong you can use the Cathay first class lounges with their champagne bar and even get yourself a mega bath at the airport. Again, just watch a youtube video on it to see what it is like.

        • Colin MacKinnon says:

          3 Nov3 November 23:11

          And if you have no BA status, and no short connecting flight allowing you to choose seats before the hordes, then go F – seat choice is free.

          Otherwise, in CW you will get a cr*p seat, or pay just as much as the extra avios are worth to choose a decent CW seat!

  • Sum0 says:

    3 Nov3 November 17:18

    If you’ve limited Avios I’d have thought your best use of your first 2for1 would be to book one of the new club suite flights. That way you get a seat that’s as good as BA first but only use the Avios for business. That way you’ll have more Avios left towards your next 2for1. Admittedly the onboard catering won’t be as good as first but that’s probably not worth the extra cost.

    • Harry T says:

      3 Nov3 November 17:50

      Thanks for the thoughts. I have seen the new Club Suite on a Dubai flight (sadly I was in economy) – looks like a smart product. May be worth trying that and saving some Avios for the next 241 or RFS.

  • TripRep says:

    3 Nov3 November 17:27

    Why not CW out and First back as a treat at the end of your trip. You’ll also have a good reference for if is worth the extra Avios in the future.

    • Jake says:

      3 Nov3 November 17:38

      ahhh TripRep – complete opposite to my preference. It can be a treat to end but the idea of dis-embarking and going to work is miserable.

      The lounges are often worse as well (with a few exceptions)!

    • Harry T says:

      3 Nov3 November 17:54

      Nice to have something to look forward to on the way back, I agree.

  • Jake says:

    3 Nov3 November 17:36

    As noted above the best value Avios is spent going somewhere you want to go. Bearing in mind there is a cash component to any holiday (hotels, meals, transfers, fees etc) there is no point spending any money or Avios just to be disappointed when you dis-embark.

    If you have never flown business before I would save the Avios and go CW. The fun of a flat bed and Champagne will be enough. If you have, go first. The better lounges and food will help. The quality of seat and service will not differ between routes (unless you get the new BA business class)

    One idea though is to go out in first and back in premium economy or business. This can be done on a 2-4-1. I think coming back in first is wasted. You often get worse lounges (not true for HKG though btw) and the fact your ending your holiday means the experience never feels the same. Somehow the free champagne isn’t as enticing so I would save your Avios and come back a lower class.

    • Harry T says:

      3 Nov3 November 17:49

      Thank you for your thoughts – much appreciated.

      I have only flown Business with Singapore Airlines long haul – Heathrow to Singapore, and then a SilkAir connection to Darwin. That was very good as it was their new business class (this was last year). Might try First with that in mind.

      Good point about coming back and flying out in different classes – will have a think. I was attracted to First from Hong Kong because the lounges look amazing.

      • Jake says:

        3 Nov3 November 18:05

        If you have gone Singapore Airlines business don’t waste your Avios on BA business. First or nothing. Club world will only leave you disappointed.

        I don’t know whether you have the miles but if you are looking for good lounges you don’t even have to go to HKG. The virgin club house at Heathrow is fantastic and I think much more fun than the HKG lounges. I appreciate that HKG are probably ‘better’ (more refined, better champagne, more food, quieter etc) but there is something fun about having afternoon tea, then a spa treatment and a game of pool all whilst working your way down the page of cocktails!

        • Harry T says:

          3 Nov3 November 18:31

          Thanks! I do wonder if the new Club Suite has improved some of the BA Club options, though?

          I do really want to try the Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow – I’ve got the Virgin Rewards + and I’m accumulating as many Virgin miles as possible.

        • Tom1 says:

          3 Nov3 November 19:21

          Harry – do you have any more sq or silk air flights coming up? If you do, it might be worth checking out the Shangri-La / sq Infinite Journeys promotion with Amex plat to get SQ Gold (you only need 3 flights). That gives you access to the Virgin Clubrooms whatever class you fly in (star alliance only).

        • Harry T says:

          3 Nov3 November 22:20

          Thanks, Tom1, that’s really handy to know!

      • Lady London says:

        8 Nov8 November 19:17

        Cat contributed an article or two on here earlier this year about those very lounges…should be easily googleable. She went into it all very thoroughly 🙂 and reported it all back to us.

• Chas says:

  3 Nov3 November 16:49

  OT but conversion related. Is there any chance of a conversion bonus to Avios from the CoT cards? I have decent chunk accumulated. Although I am not in any urgent need to transfer, it might influence whether I decide to keep the card once it can no longer be used for direct payments to HMRC.

  • Rob says:

    3 Nov3 November 18:35

    Knowing how they operate, I would be surprised (unless BA offered them an incentive and effectively funded it).

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