Vitality Health drops British Airways flight discounts for members

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• Guesswho2000 says:

  5 Nov5 November 04:59

  Accor list:
  Queens Hotel Cheltenham
  MGallery Castle Hotel Windsor
  MGallery Pullman Liverpool
  Sofitel St James
  Sofitel Gatwick
  Fairmont St Andrews
  Francis Hotel Bath
  MGallery Queens Hotel Cheltenham
  MGallery INK Amsterdam
  Swissotel Amsterdam
  Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre
  MGallery Francis Hotel Bath
  MGallery Hotel am Konzerthaus Vienna
  Pullman Cologne
  Pullman Stuttgart Fontana
  Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof
  Pullman Basel Europe
  Swissotel Le Plaza Basel
  Swissotel Zurich
  Sofitel Marseille Vieux Port
  Sofitel Lyon Bellecour
  Sofitel Quiberon Thalassa
  Sofitel Quiberon Dietetique
  Sofitel Golfe Ajaccio Thalassa
  Sofitel Le Scribe Paris Opera
  Sofitel Paris La Defense
  Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg
  Sofitel Paris Arc De Triomphe
  Sofitel Biarritz Thalassa
  Sofitel Paris Baltimore Eiffel
  Pullman Marseille Provence
  Pullman Toulouse Centre
  Pullman Paris Centre – Bercy
  Pullman Paris La Defense
  Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel
  Pullman Roissy Cdg Airport Gh Roi Rene Mgallery Gh Cabourg
  Mgallery Hotel Croisette Beach Cannes
  Le Louis Versailles Chateau
  Hotel Carlton Lyon
  MGallery Molitor Paris By Mgallery MGallery Cures Marines Trouville

  • Lee says:

    5 Nov5 November 11:53

    Shame not all MGallerys

• Stefan Bard says:

  5 Nov5 November 05:08

  Yep just got the post office 250 points offer – available to 1at 30,000 to save offer to card 😁

  • Speedbird676 says:

    5 Nov5 November 07:28

    I have it, too, on Platinum Business.

  • n_g says:

    5 Nov5 November 07:55

    No Post Office offer for me.

    • Shoestring says:

      5 Nov5 November 08:04

      it was only on my ‘dead’ Green card and not on our (oft used) Gold cards

• Sandgrounder says:

  5 Nov5 November 05:47

  OT- Anyone used the Diamond lounge at Abu Dhabi VIP terminal? It’s on Priority Pass but includes dedicated check-in (Etihad only), passport control and security, with a car transfer to the gate. Cash price is 525 AED! Reviews seem a little mixed, can anyone share their experience?

• Jeff says:

  5 Nov5 November 05:55

  O/T

  I was due to fly BA SJC to LHR today (5th Nov) but flight has just been cancelled (gone tech)

  I was offered a similar timed reroute from a different departure airport SFO – LHR (1.5 hrs later) but could not make that departure out of SFO.

  I have instead rebooked on the original SJC-LHR route, just 24 hours later.

  Am I still able to claim the extra night expense (eg duty of care, hotels, meals etc) and EU261 €600 compensation?

  • Anna says:

    5 Nov5 November 06:16

    It seems to fit the criteria – what was the exact reason for the cancellation?

    • Jeff says:

      5 Nov5 November 06:47

      Outbound flight apparently gone tech

      • Anna says:

        5 Nov5 November 06:55

        I think you’ll need more than that if BA start trying to refuse compo! There’s a website (Expert Flyer?) which lists reasons for delays within a shortish period of time from the cancellation and it’ a good idea to make some sort of record of this.

      • Shoestring says:

        5 Nov5 November 06:58

        You should be fine for both as the alternative isn’t acceptable/ reasonable. I’m not familiar with getting to SJC from a starting point of SFO but I assume you’re playing it straight. BA treat the London airports as all in London and can be a bit funny about switching people between them incoming/ outgoing & saying no compo – but people who challenge this eg for taxis to go pick up the car at the original airport always win their point.

  • TripRep says:

    5 Nov5 November 07:15

    Jeff, sounds a slum dunk for compo.

    I suggest you ask here, folks often check the exact reason code for posters

    CWS is especially helpful
    https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1948451-2019-ba-compensation-thread-your-guide-regulation-ec261-2004-a.html

    • TripRep says:

      5 Nov5 November 07:25

      In fact it looks like your query has already been asked…

      https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31702074-post1443.html

  • DaveL says:

    5 Nov5 November 07:38

    We had a switch last year from arriving SFO into SJC (it was on Alaska, but booked via BA). I planned simply to take an Uber into downtown San Fran, and did so from SJC instead of SFO – it made very little difference in reality as it was only an extra 45 mins in the uber, even in traffic. The operator said I should save taxi receipts and claim, which I did. BA refused to pay for the taxi ($75), but I got 10,000 avios compo (5,000 per passenger) so I was more than happy in the end, given it was probably only £40 more than a taxi from SFO.

    I think you’ll be lucky to get the compo, given SJC really isn’t that far from SFO. It’s closer than, say, Heathrow to Gatwick in both time and distance…

    • Shoestring says:

      5 Nov5 November 07:55

      OK that changes my answer a bit – if (say) the airport switch were from LHR to Gatwick flying long haul to USA destination, and BA gave you appropriate notice (24hrs?) – then if you refused to take the Gatwick flight but preferred to take the LHR flight the next day – then no, I don’t think compo is payable. You had plenty of time to arrange to get to Gatwick instead & that’s the key point.

      It’s the reasonableness of the switch that matters & the fact that BA treat same city airports as the same airport for compo purposes (though they are ultimately fine about paying for you to get from one airport to another, eg on landing to pick up a parked car).

      [FYI, with a short notice cancelled flight but reasonable alternative offered,the compo rules LH are as follows:
      If you received less than seven days’ notice of the cancellation, you can claim compensation based on the timings of the alternative flight:
      If your new flight arrives more than four hours after your original flight, you can claim €600 – no matter what time it departs.
      If your new flight departs more than one hour before your original flight, and arrives less than four hours after it, you can claim €300.]

      • pauldb says:

        5 Nov5 November 10:22

        Other than on BA’s website, I don’t think SJC is recognised as a San Fransisco airport. Where do you draw the line: Cambridge airport is only half an hour from STN: can BA send you there? Did BA offer any transportation (either arranged or just willingly paid for) to SFO?

        Timings: AFAIK the SJC flight was at 18:20; the SFO flight 20:20. The arrival of the SFO flight is actually 2:15 after the SJC flight. IF the rerouting was reasonable, you are still able to claim €300 for >2hrs; IF you can argue it’s not reasonable (and therefore irrlevant) then your 24hr delay makes it >4hrs = €600.

    • RussellH says:

      5 Nov5 November 10:12

      Not really relevant to getting between the airports, as SFO is on BART and SJC is on Caltrain at Santa Clara (free shuttle between terminal and station), but you do not have to use road transport…

      • Lady London says:

        5 Nov5 November 12:50

        Pretty sure arrival time at originally booked place is what counts for EU261. So presumably you could claim if your total delay back to booked landing airport, uncluding ground transport after landing at another airport, exceeded the minimum delay for late arrival compensation on that route?

    • Lady London says:

      5 Nov5 November 12:47

      How could they refuse the taxi? Public transport is not to be counted on to be available in the US. I think they got off quite lightly giving you a not very liquid currency that’s subject to devaluation. Landing someone at the wrong airport is actually very serious in terms of on-costs for a lot of people most if which they’re stuck with (eg extra parking charges at original airport). So the least the airline is supposed to do is pay for your reasonable transport cost to your original airport.

  • GJB says:

    5 Nov5 November 09:49

    I had a flight to NYC cancelled and I was bumped to an indirect flight in Jan 2018. The change of arrive time meant that I had to miss an already scheduled meeting in NYC, I instead stayed at home and teleconfered the meeting. I wasn’t aware that I could be compensated for the flight being cancelled (IIRC due to snow at Manchester airport). Can I claim any refund or compensation for this? I was flying with Virgin.

    • Rhys says:

      5 Nov5 November 09:57

      You can only get compensation for cancellations that are within the airline’s control. Weather is obviously not one of them!

      • GJB says:

        5 Nov5 November 10:23

        Thank you, I assumed this would be the case.

    • John says:

      6 Nov6 November 05:14

      Not sure what you are asking exactly, but if you didn’t fly at all because the flight was cancelled you are obviously entitled to a complete refund of everything you paid for the ticket. No additional compensation, but if you incurred expenses at the airport while waiting for the flight to be cancelled these should be reimbursed.

  • SimonW says:

    5 Nov5 November 10:44

    It is an hours drive from SJC to SFO. If you could make the SJC flight, how can you not make the SFO flight 90 minutes later?

    • Lady London says:

      5 Nov5 November 12:57

      You haven’t been in traffic in the Bay Area on major routes in rush hour, have you?

      Airline should have taken care of this even flying from sjc to wherever a flight could be had.

  • Lady London says:

    5 Nov5 November 12:39

    Yes. Give the airline a chance to provide these if they can do it reasonably quickly. Otherwise book your own and claim. If they give you meal or drinks vouchers, you are still able to spend other money for all required meals up to what is reasonable in that location ad a total. No alcohol. Keep screenshots of menus and hotel price selection to prove you paid market rate.

    Claim your compensation and expenses don’t forget comms expenses to let others know you are late such as phone or internet plus transport to and from your accommodation. Going tech is regarded as eligible for compensation and cases have proved it. You get the above duty of care even if compo not payable (seems you qualify for compo though).

    If the airline provides you with a voucher or a code for a distressed passenger hotel rate then be aware these rates often don’t qualify for points in programs.

• Anna says:

  5 Nov5 November 06:23

  OT from me – it’s a few years since I transited from LHR T5 to T3 but will be doing so twice in the next 5 months. I was really looking forward to trying the Qantas and Cathay lounges but have just recalled that we may have to clear security again in T3 😩. Is T3 security generally good/bad in people’s experiences and how far is it from the lounges? We have 3 and 4 hours between flights so hopefully still a decent amount of lounge time.

  • Qwertyknowsbest says:

    5 Nov5 November 06:43

    T5 to T3, Yeap, yuck. You do have to clear security again. Have done this several times in the last 6 months. Never been a long Q but transfer takes 45 minutes to an hour.

    LHR could easily make this less painful, but they don’t.

    • Shoestring says:

      5 Nov5 November 06:49

      T3 security is usually 10-15 mins at busy times, not a problem plus there is plenty of capacity. Just 5 mins from the lounges after you clear.

      • Shoestring says:

        5 Nov5 November 06:50

        worst case scenario maybe 25 mins Security

  • Anna says:

    5 Nov5 November 06:58

    Thanks – the gin bar is looking more and more welcoming!

    • Shoestring says:

      5 Nov5 November 07:28

      depends on your flight time – gin bar is closed something like 10am-4.30pm & people go upstairs instead (where there is a very good Aussie fizz)

      • Anna says:

        5 Nov5 November 08:11

        Thanks for pointing that out, yes we’ll be there late morning both times!

        • Stu N says:

          5 Nov5 November 08:32

          Fast track at T3 transfers is very quick based on our experience over the summer. (As you mention lounges, I’m assuming you have fast track).

          Biggest issue can be the bus transfers from T5 to T3. The buses run every 10 mins or so but you can easily have to queue for second or third bus. 45 mins from doors open (assuming T5A) to T3 lounge is entirely doable though, an hour would be very much the upper end.

          For return, we find taking the airside transfer to T5, immigrating in T5 and coming back airside via North fast track security or First Wing is quickest. The UK border is very quick at T5 and it avoids the chaos of “fast” track transfer security.

          Only caveat is that you should not do this is you’ve very tight for time as there is conformance at T5 which requires you to be at certain points at T-35 mins – much easier to hit those if you’re airside.

        • xcalx says:

          5 Nov5 November 08:50

          “Fast track at T3 transfers is very quick based on our experience over the summer. (As you mention lounges, I’m assuming you have fast track).”

          I am there on Friday and paid the £5 lounge guarantee fee does this qualify for fast track.

          Thanks

        • Stu_N says:

          5 Nov5 November 09:28

          xcalx – not sure, we have BAEC status so rely on that. If it’s a No1 lounge pre-booking that usually includes Fast Track – it’s certainly worth asking.

        • xcalx says:

          5 Nov5 November 09:44

          Stu- Thanks.. PP at No1 lounge . Status is now a distant memory.

        • Catalan says:

          5 Nov5 November 09:52

          Anna you’ll have plenty of time to use the lounges at T3. I use the Cathay lounge mostly. The Qantas lounge is actually not that special during off-peak times.

        • Dev says:

          5 Nov5 November 10:41

          Anna,
          In my experience, the Cathay Pacific lounge is way better. Forget about the gin bar in Qantas!

        • Anna says:

          5 Nov5 November 12:40

          Thanks Stu, yes we are CE in December, F in April. Happily neither of the return journeys involves a terminal change as we’re using Easyjet to get home in December and flying back to T5 from GCM in April. I don’t think I could cope with the trauma of a terminal change travelling back from holiday, which is depressing enough in itself!

        • Lyn says:

          5 Nov5 November 17:06

          Anna, the actual times depend on the time of year because they are driven by Qantas departure times – see my comment to Meta.

          Enjoy the lounges, whichever you choose!

      • meta says:

        5 Nov5 November 11:01

        I have a flight in F in December from T3, wanted to check out Qantas lounge as have been in Cathay one a few times. Can anyone confirm that Qantas lounge’s gin bar closes at 10am? I was planning to go to Cathay first for breakfast and then pop in for a pre-flight gin&tonic.

        • Stu_N says:

          5 Nov5 November 16:22

          Anna – T3 – T5 really isn’t too bad, more hassle than a T5 International – T5 domestic but entirely survivable.

          meta – the lounges are all right next to each other so you could pop over to Qantas and if you don’t like it, just go back to Cathay.

        • Lyn says:

          5 Nov5 November 17:02

          Meta, the downstairs dining area in the Qantas lounge closed at 11:30 am on Friday. It opens again at 6pm at this time of year. The gin bar was empty, no idea if it was closed, but guessing it may have the same hours.

          Note that the times are adjusted for the departure times of the morning Qantas flight to Perth and the evening Qantas flight to Singapore. So they vary with summer / winter time in the UK and Australia,

• lgflyer says:

  5 Nov5 November 08:48

  What is the cheapest item on sale in a post office? Will a 2nd class stamp do the trick?

  • Shoestring says:

    5 Nov5 November 08:51

    1p stamp

    • pablo says:

      5 Nov5 November 12:10

      I thought you needed to earn at least one base point to trigger the bonus, i.e. spend £1 on Gold or 51p on BA.

      • Shoestring says:

        5 Nov5 November 14:27

        OK I should have bought a 2p stamp then this morning, Still plenty of time, I’ll go back and get another stamp.

        • Shoestring says:

          5 Nov5 November 14:30

          Just reviewed the T&Cs and nothing said there about earning minimum 1 MR point

        • Lady London says:

          5 Nov5 November 19:04

          I think I would do a minimum of £1.01 to make sure.

          You don’t want any system rounding down the amount spent to the nearest £ if you spent less than £1, do you 🙂

    • Roy says:

      5 Nov5 November 18:13

      Does the Post Office have a minimum transaction value for card payments, though?

      • Shoestring says:

        5 Nov5 November 18:31

        no,1p was fine

      • John says:

        6 Nov6 November 05:06

        If you try to pay by card for a 1p stamp at my post office they just give it to you for free. Same if you try to pay with a £20 note. Tried up to 5p, but they made me pay for a 10p.

• Jtz says:

  5 Nov5 November 09:09

  OT does anyone a way to pay direct debits with an underlying credit card, revolut doesn’t allow it in pounds, I thought monzo did but cant see it.

  • Anna says:

    5 Nov5 November 12:45

    In order to put as much spend as possible through points earning cards I’ve largely abandoned direct debits and pay everything up front or in big chunks (council tax, car insurance, utilities etc). It’s the same amount of money going out over 12 months so it doesn’t cause us any issues (or actually less money if you pay car and house insurance up front). Anything which actively requires a direct debit, like utilities, I just reduce to a very small amount.

    • Jtz says:

      5 Nov5 November 14:29

      Thanks Anna, we have to pay our rent through direct debit and car payment and I feel like I’m losing out a big chunk of points per month.
      Tried revolut before but they only do it in €, I thought monzo was ok but I think it may have stopped.

      • Waddle says:

        5 Nov5 November 14:40

        Credit Card -> top up -> Revolut -> bank transfer -> Monzo DD

      • Anna says:

        5 Nov5 November 16:02

        Santander made us set up a direct debit for the payments on one of our cars and the sales rep was adamant that it couldn’t be changed to a cc payment. However, after asking some questions on this forum I approached Santander’s payment dept directly and they said it was possible to cancel the DD and pay by MC or Visa, so that’s what I do now (I had to get to manager level before they would concede it could be done, so be prepared to stand your ground). So 21,600 IHG points from the 3 year payment plan and I’m very much hoping to be able to pay the £12k final payment by cc also!

        Apparently some financiers (BMW?) even take Amex!

  • MD says:

    5 Nov5 November 16:17

    Revolut do allow regular payments in pounds. As long as the amount doesn’t vary it’s fine.

    • Jtz says:

      6 Nov6 November 08:02

      Thanks all for your replies! So helpful! I’m going to try the revolut to monzo and will let you know.
      Car finance is also with Santander so may try direct with cc

• Publius says:

  5 Nov5 November 09:21

  There’s a new Amex offer for Hilton too. £50 back on £250 spend at EU+UK Hiltons.
  Expires 31/12/19

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