Save on flights and hotels with a new American Express Travel cashback credit – but only for £50

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• Howard says:

  7 Jan7 January 10:13

  sorry to be off topic but I flew Sunday Tenerife to Gatwick BA. Pilot said it will be smooth flight and so it was for an hour….After an hour the pilot made an announcement that he was expecting a bumpy period and switched the seat belt sign on….seat belt sign was on for about 60 minutes and during this period the flight was extremely smooth with no turbulence at all.

  Any reason why this would happen?

  • Dev says:

    7 Jan7 January 10:29

    Could be any number of reasons, as you can imagine. Likely that although pre-flight weather reports indicated a smooth flight, other aircraft flying in the same air space had reported turbulence and therefore the pilot(s) decided to turn on the seat belt signs as a precaution.

    • Howard says:

      7 Jan7 January 10:37

      Thanks…It just seemed so odd…..

      • Dev says:

        7 Jan7 January 11:11

        Actually it happens a lot of times!

      • Lady London says:

        7 Jan7 January 19:41

        Pilots apparently can occasionally just forget to turn it off. After that length of time I would discreetly ask the crew will it be on much longer than the hour so far as you need to ‘stretch your legs’. You may find it mysteriously switched off a short (but not too short) time later.

  • maccymac says:

    7 Jan7 January 10:35

    Risk or reports of clear air turbulence?

    • Dev says:

      7 Jan7 January 11:12

      Yes, exactly that.

• Jody says:

  7 Jan7 January 11:15

  I assume if you book a hotel then your card is charged at booking? I’ve got this offer, and we need to book a hotel in Seattle for one night in May. They’re all stupidly expensive, but this would go a little way to offset it!

  • Peter K says:

    7 Jan7 January 14:04

    Might it be cheaper to buy points and use those on a redemption?

• Lumma says:

  7 Jan7 January 12:27

  Best way of getting a bargain with this offer in the past for me is; find some cheap flights (around £100ish) for a 2 night stay on Skyscanner/Google flights etc (can’t be Ryanair or easyJet as they’re not on AMEX travel). Search for the same flight on AMEX travel as part of a flight + hotel deal and find somewhere for just over £200 all in. Get 2 nights in a hotel for around £50

• Harry T says:

  7 Jan7 January 13:01

  OT:
  Looking to fly to Thailand in November for partner’s birthday. Similar prices for exOslo business class returns with Finnair and Qatar. Which airline would you choose and why? I understand Qatar would earn more tier points but I am less familiar with the benefits of Finnair business.

  • Lumma says:

    7 Jan7 January 14:17

    Finnair business will likely be quicker but the euro leg will be in a European business class. Helsinki is arguably a better city to visit if you can get a stopover on your ticket

    • Harry T says:

      7 Jan7 January 21:20

      Thanks, sounds like I might go for Qatar as we are visiting Helsinki this year anyway.

  • ankomonkey says:

    7 Jan7 January 16:38

    I flew HEL-BKK on a Finnair A350 in J last year. I was very happy with the service, food and drink and the seat. Very good overall. I am relatively short at 5’9″, taller people may struggle with the foot cubbyhole part of the seat. HEL is also an easy airport to transit in.

    • Harry T says:

      7 Jan7 January 21:21

      @ankomonkey
      Thanks for the advice. I think I may go for Qatar then, as I’m 6’1”.

  • Lady London says:

    7 Jan7 January 19:53

    QR on most of their aircraft get much better feedback for comfort food service etc. Finnair no slouch lots of fans on Asia routes apparently.

    Lots of QR routings make you change planes in DOH at very early hours of the morning – lots of people really don’t like that. Lounges in DOH OK but soulless for some. Not the pampering that can be available in some Asia destinations. AL Safwa (First Class quite restricted entry) has bedrooms though, Rob reviewed it I think, guessing you won’t be flying QR F.

    Rob did a nice report on the new Finnair HEL lounge very recently even in J seems very OK and other nice lounges good airport.

    Personally on my own I’d still fly QR as I find it a calming experience but with someone else for their birthday I might well give Finnair a try as could work out nicer.

  • Lady London says:

    7 Jan7 January 19:56

    Hum. Will this get you your Silver in time for your Oz trip Harry T?

    • Harry T says:

      7 Jan7 January 21:18

      @Lady London
      Thanks for the advice. My girlfriend has never flown business class, so I think she will be delighted with either option.

      This trip will be a few months after my trip to Australia, I’m afraid. I won’t make Silver without a dedicated tier point run before Australia in March, so I think I’ll have to take my chances (too busy with work and doesn’t seem worth spending a few hundred pounds just to make Silver).

      • Harry T says:

        7 Jan7 January 21:19

        I want to make her birthday special and I think it sounds like Qatar would be a better experience, I should say. She won’t mind the early changes, I reckon.

        • Polly says:

          7 Jan7 January 22:24

          Harry,
          We have done Asia from all those Scandinavia points. And it’s an absolute pleasure to fly in those QR flights. Usually you will get a suites on one sector each day, or even more. Closest Experience to BA F.
          If it’s any consolation, l have cancelled our J 241 flights to KUL tonight. Just bought QR from Belgrade to KUL at £1090pp. First time using that route as Rob says, Belgrade is hard to get to. No direct flights from London. Only got Q suites on one sector tho.
          Plan to use the 241 now return in CE to BUD, and have a mini break there prior to our LH flight. With a 3 hr train journey to BEL.
          Sounds like a nice trip you have planned too.
          Are you going to try for a party ticket tomorrow?

        • Harry T says:

          8 Jan8 January 19:45

          @Polly
          Thank you for the advice. Sounds like you’ve got a great strategy there too. We are very excited to fly Qatar but will probably wait to see if their Travel Festival happens later this month.

          I won’t be able to come to the party as I’ll be at work. Bit tricky to come down from Newcastle unless it’s the weekend. Would very much like to go one year though.

  • Cat says:

    7 Jan7 January 22:53

    Either way, I’m sure it will be incredible Harry!

    • Harry T says:

      8 Jan8 January 19:45

      @Cat
      Thank you, I hope so!

• Cwyfan says:

  7 Jan7 January 13:15

  It does not appear as an offer on any of our 3 cards.

  Maybe it is oversubscribed!

  • Howard says:

    7 Jan7 January 13:33

    same as me!!

• Charlieface says:

  7 Jan7 January 14:27

  …Except when Amex Travel palm off an IT or BT ticket as a regular one and that dosen’t get points. You can’t tell by looking at the booking class.

  • Rob says:

    7 Jan7 January 14:36

    That is true.

• aston100 says:

  7 Jan7 January 18:14

  At the risk of repeating myself, I have checked several more routes and some hotels too.
  Regardless of date or destination or airline/hotel, Amex Travel are quite a bit more expensive than booking directly with the airlines/hotels directly.
  I don’t get it. What am I doing wrong, since clearly they wouldn’t still be in business if this odd pricing was a constant feature.

  • Shoestring says:

    7 Jan7 January 18:30

    certainly true for the random March HBO return flight I just compared (to our place in the sun) – same basis –

    BA £166
    Amex Travel £215

    • aston100 says:

      7 Jan7 January 18:48

      Is it possible they’ve put all their prices up temporarily in response to the £50 statement credit?
      Grasping at straws I guess, but I honestly can’t think why their prices are in some cases up to 50% more than booking directly with the airline itself.

      • sloth says:

        7 Jan7 January 22:15

        like everything in life it depends what you are looking at and what you are trying to do…my car hire (x2 separate bookings I’m looking to make in different locations and dates) are the same price on amex travel as booking direct

  • Polly says:

    7 Jan7 January 22:29

    Last year, with the 200 off 600 spend, amazingly, Amex travel, was well under then added the reduction. It cut our scant flights down nicely.

    • Cat says:

      7 Jan7 January 22:48

      A year or two ago, the £200 offer got me to Mahe and then on to Praslin for slightly over £400 in the school holidays. It’s hard to argue with that, even if it was cattle class!
      Sadly nothing on my cards this time.

      • Polly says:

        7 Jan7 January 22:53

        Cat, where is your next trip to…Hope we can get party tkts tomorrow. Hope you framed the Harry Potter pic!

        • Polly says:

          7 Jan7 January 22:54

          Meant to say, that was quite a bargain last year then for you, in school hols.

• oliviaisla says:

  10 Jan10 January 06:02

  Non-stop flights from the U.S. to China
  https://connection.travel.blog/2019/03/28/buyvpn-before-traveling-to-china/

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