Aspire to manage the British Airways lounge at Belfast City Airport

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• Si says:

  6 Mar6 March 05:53

  OT – I have companion ticket Avios flights booked to Seattle for a west-coast fly-drive holiday in May. As the west-coast is now the USA’s coronavirus virus epicentre, we’re considering cancelling the flights as we don’t want to get there to find things shut or we get locked in a hotel or similar.

  Questions are: is there any precedent for Amex/BA Executive Club to extend the expiry on a returned companion ticket, especially now the US has declared state of emergency? And, what is latest we can cancel the flights (we’re booked 14th May, 9:50am).

  The good news is or hotel booking have all been done on points, so we can easily cancel those without penalty

  I know BA are best people to ask, but very difficult to get through on phone at mo.

  Thanks, Si

  • Si says:

    6 Mar6 March 05:55

    At mo, where leaving everything in place in case it all blows over and we can go with confidence, but just exploring other options…

  • BJ says:

    6 Mar6 March 06:27

    Unless they change, or have recently changed, their policy BA will not extend the validity of your voucher. You can cancel up to 24h before departure. Given reports by our own government and WHO it is unrealistic to expect this will blow over by May. As you mention, you have both flexible hotel and flight bookings so you can forget about it for the next eight weeks and reassess the situation about a week before travel when you will have more reliable information on which to make a rational and bettef-informed decision.

    • Lady London says:

      6 Mar6 March 11:27

      Plus at that time if your flight is rescheduled or cancelled you will be in a strong position as regards not necessarily taking the refund option and getting to choose a replacement flight according to your own preference (plus reasonable duty of care provision).

      Airlines love us to just take the refund as they don’t have to provide duty of care and don’t run the risk of potentially having to pay a different airline for a replacement ticket for you. But it’s your choice not theirs whether you refund or request a “rerouting” if they reschedule or cancel, not their choice.

    • Liz says:

      6 Mar6 March 11:32

      We are in the exact same position – flying to Seattle on 20/5 – we will watch and wait – worst case scenario is we cancel and lose our 241 voucher – all hotels are booked on pts or refundable rates. Nothing else booked or planned as we have been dealing with health issues of MIL and FIL – FIL recently passed away suddenly and need a care package in place for MIL so not going away any time soon till that is all in place which could take weeks or months.

      • Lady London says:

        6 Mar6 March 21:14

        Sorry to hear about your FIL Liz. Sounds like the family is lucky to have such a good DIL.

  • Paul says:

    6 Mar6 March 06:47

    I have 241 booing in early April. My curio hotel was also booked on points but had a 60 day cancellation policy!

    I don’t have a problem travelling if I am well but my concern is that booked shows and activities will be closed once we get there.

    BA will do nothing to help. Their pathetic response to date is clear evidence that they will make people fly or lose their money unless they (BA) stop flying or government advice changes.

    So plan to travel but reassess nearer the time. You might not be able to use the 241 voucher but you will get points back.

    • sean says:

      6 Mar6 March 07:56

      sorry paul but why is BAs response pathetic – you have a cancellable 241 what more do you want?

      • sloth says:

        6 Mar6 March 12:17

        pretty much every post he makes is one criticsing BA…you’d have thought if he was that annoyed with them he may have learnt his lesson but still he continues to book…

    • Cat says:

      6 Mar6 March 08:02

      I’m supposed to be travelling to the Seychelles in early April. My big worry is that I’ll bring coronavirus with me to La Digue, where health facilities are VERY limited, and where I’ll be staying in a small, family owned guesthouse.

      • BJ says:

        6 Mar6 March 08:26

        Illustrates the very difficult choices some people are going to have to make. If it were only as simple as having to take care of ourselves, but it was never going to be that easy. That bothy in Lochaber increasingly looking like the place to be, even if it is still below zero there 😉

        • Chrisasaurus says:

          6 Mar6 March 08:45

          Hfp do?

          Wait, hold on…

        • Cat says:

          6 Mar6 March 11:49

          I suspect a staycation hiking in Scotland is exactly what I’ll do, if I don’t go to the Seychelles (providing the weather isn’t as cr@p as it was Easter hols 2018, when my OH and I made it 17 miles along Offa’s dyke before ditching and returning to London!).

  • J99 says:

    6 Mar6 March 08:28

    You’re more likely to get shot dead than die as a result of Coronavirus in America. There’s no need to cancel your trip

    • BJ says:

      6 Mar6 March 08:39

      ….and probably more likely to get stabbed in London than shot in the USA.

      • J99 says:

        6 Mar6 March 08:45

        Not based on the facts

        • BJ says:

          6 Mar6 March 08:55

          It is if you live in London! Which, according to Rob, most HFP readers do IIRC.

        • Rob says:

          6 Mar6 March 08:57

          Unless you’re in a teenage gang in South London your chance of being stabbed is virtually nil.

          On the other hand, a schoolfriend of our cleaner this week (in Brazil) was dragged out of his car at a set of lights and shot 10 times, purely to steal the car. Those are real problems.

        • BJ says:

          6 Mar6 March 10:17

          About 80% of knife crime in England and Wales was committed by over 18s last year. Also of interest was that about 3/4 of all violent crime did not involve the use of a weapon of any type. Tried to find information on number of random knife attacks but couldn’t find that quickly.

        • Lady London says:

          6 Mar6 March 11:33

          and you’re sending Rhys to Brasil, Rob?

        • Rob says:

          6 Mar6 March 12:12

          Sao Paulo is delayed for 6 months so the trip is off. He will be redeployed!

        • Charlieface says:

          6 Mar6 March 15:20

          @Cat:
          London has an extra million commuters during the day.
          Not sure if London stabbings are as random as US shootings.

        • BJ says:

          6 Mar6 March 16:08

          Wow, thanks @Cat for that effort. Much better than mine…but we both know we’d both be failing our exams for those efforts! At least you would get a resit, I’d just be shown the door 🙂

        • Cat says:

          6 Mar6 March 18:14

          Completely true, few stabbings happen randomly, and the population of London swells with commuters and tourists (the US population just swells with tourists). It is how homicide rates around the world are compared though – deaths per unit resident population (except its a per-cent-mille-age, to avoid too many 0.00s), making no allowance of daily fluctuations due to visitors of one kind or another, or the variation in probability between members of the population due to demographics. Its a quick and dirty measure of risk, but clearly it doesn’t tell the whole story. Clearly if you look at the probability of being fatally shot in the USA and being fatally stabbed in London, you get a completely different picture.
          I only had 20 minutes to kill while eating last night’s leftovers, before my year 9s turned up (these children just keep turning up at my door expecting me to explain Maths to them – it’s so restricting), so that’s the best I could do!

        • BJ says:

          6 Mar6 March 19:59

          No, that’s awesome to hear @Cat, hope you send them to chemistry afterwards 🙂

  • Jack says:

    6 Mar6 March 08:32

    Surprised noone has mentioned zombie apocalypse yet. The media have whipped this into a frenzy

    • BJ says:

      6 Mar6 March 08:50

      Front page of the Glasgow Herald certainly went off the beaten track today:
      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-51765413
      Markets continue to be hysterical, a lot of articles in the press on further airline failures. Good job Peston is no longer BBC Economics Editor or there would be a run on the banks and 5% drop in GDP already.

    • Anna says:

      6 Mar6 March 10:44

      Ha. My OH has suggested re-watching I Am Legend (I am still traumatised from watching it the first time!)

      • Cat says:

        6 Mar6 March 12:55

        I think my E&C home would be one of the best places to be in the event of a zombie apocalypse (third only to that Bothy, or the Windsor).
        No zombie would be able to figure out how to access the lifts or the fire escape, and we have enough duty free to keep us alive (and hiccuping) for months.

        • Lady London says:

          6 Mar6 March 21:19

          I dunno…. the Daleks eventually worked out stairs. I hid behind the couch aged 34 on that one.

        • Cat says:

          6 Mar6 March 21:57

          I don’t like their chances with my front door either!

  • Shoestring says:

    6 Mar6 March 09:19

    For a properly informed opinion on Coronavirus – probably the best person in the UK to listen to – spend 7 minutes of your life going here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_fourfm – 08:10 – and catch the interview with [Sir Patrick John Thompson Vallance FRS FMedSci FRCP[1] (born 1960)[2][3] is a British medical doctor. Since March 2018 he has been the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of the United Kingdom. From 2012 to 2018 he served as president of research and development (R&D) at the multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).[4][5][6][7] – see wiki].

    Morbidity/ mortality about 1% but quite possibly lower
    Deaths mostly in older people / underlying illnesses
    Vaccine in 18 months but maybe sooner

    • Shoestring says:

      6 Mar6 March 09:27

      better link for Today prog https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fx1h

    • marcw says:

      6 Mar6 March 09:36

      It’s unlikely to have success with coronavirus vaccines, unfortunately. With SARS and MERS, any pharmaceutical company would have trialled successfully “something” so they would be ahead in future coronaviruses outbreaks (like the present one). In addition to this, scientists/vets/pharmaceuticals have tried for decades to find a successful feline coronavirus vaccine. No success either.
      Let’s see whether this is another VIH vaccine story or actually a true vaccine story.

    • Alan says:

      6 Mar6 March 10:29

      Obviously the low mortality rate is of no consolation to the families of those that have died.

      Some of us with loved ones in higher risk categories where the mortality rate is considerably higher are more concerned about this than you are. But as long as you are OK I’m sure that’s all that matters

      • BlueHorizonuk says:

        6 Mar6 March 12:00

        This is what I don’t get about all this. People keep saying you will be OK as it only attacks the old and already sick, but that’s a LOT of people!!

        • BJ says:

          6 Mar6 March 12:35

          Also, they are peoples parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great grandparents, friends, carers and so on. Even if the mortality rate is only 1% that’s still a huge amount of bereaved people.

        • Peter K says:

          6 Mar6 March 13:31

          World population 8,000,000,000.
          Let’s say 80% catch the virus and 1% of those die, that’s 64,000,000 dead, basically the same as all of England and Wales dying.

        • Bagoly says:

          6 Mar6 March 19:16

          Average life expectancy is about 70; higher in rich countries, lower in poor ones.
          So on a *very approximate* basis, 1 in 70 people die each year.
          That is 1.4%.
          So if 100% catch covid and the mortality rate is something like 1%, and the pandemic takes not more than a year, there will be roughly double the number of normal deaths in the year.

• Paul Anderson says:

  6 Mar6 March 06:26

  The old Aspire lounge was still open on Tuesday the 3rd of March when I was at the airport and popped in and got my 150 points.

  • fivebobbill says:

    6 Mar6 March 09:15

    Had to read that again there, thought it said 150 “Pints”! 😆

• JAD says:

  6 Mar6 March 06:59

  OT. does anyone have experience of whether BA will agree to refund a flight when they have changed the timing of a flight booking by a small amount of time eg 10mins? Is there a min change time before BA will agree to refund if requested? Thanks.

  • Anna says:

    6 Mar6 March 07:14

    I have a feeling it has to be 2 hours but I think different airlines have different policies.

    • JAD says:

      6 Mar6 March 07:59

      Thanks Anna. Thought it was a long shot! 😀

  • Charlieface says:

    6 Mar6 March 08:26

    If the flight number changed you can demand a refund even if the time did not change. Otherwise normal EC261 rules.

  • Lady London says:

    6 Mar6 March 21:27

    Depending on the airline it can be much, much less. Beware holidays often those have ts and C’s allowing flights to be changed by, say, 12 hrs which can be a nightmare.

• KBuffett says:

  6 Mar6 March 07:13

  OT
  1) Data Point – I opened a new Virigin Atlantic Flying Club Account online and added my Amex card and went and shopped and Morrison’s within an hour on Tuesday. I received a Pending Purchase email today with the correct number of point showing today! Great result!

  2) Can anyone recommend any hotels in Mumbai for 3 nights? I was thinking about St Regis as I have a stack of Marriott points but don’t mind paying cash if there’s somewhere better.

  • Shoestring says:

    6 Mar6 March 07:27

    good reminder – only 5 days left to use the M’s Amex offer – potentially 20% off
    10% Amex (others have 7% & 5%)
    8% Virgin miles
    1% MR points
    1% More points (0.5% + 0.5% if you buy M’s giftcards; if you buy Amazon etc giftcards, only 0.5%)

    • Andrew says:

      6 Mar6 March 08:51

      10% on First Direct Visa Offers is back again
      10% on Airtime

      • Shoestring says:

        6 Mar6 March 09:21

        anybody tested whether you can add a further 10% to my 20% with Airtime?

        • EwanG says:

          6 Mar6 March 09:32

          @Shoesting. Airtime is Visa and MC only so won’t work with the multi-use Amex offer. The Visa ones (FD Visa Offers and equivalents – HSBC, Halifax, BoS etc – tend to be one-offs and yes can be combined.

        • Shoestring says:

          6 Mar6 March 09:48

          thanks, haven’t got round to signing up with Airtime yet

        • EwanG says:

          6 Mar6 March 13:25

          @Shoestring – when you sign up with them remember to allow 24hrs after adding the card for it to become active (although IME it has tracked ok with less time)

    • mvcvz says:

      6 Mar6 March 09:09

      Is this offer available to the proletariat, or just to super important CEOS?

      • Cat says:

        6 Mar6 March 14:10

        I’m astonished that this needs explaining to anyone. Any brief re-read of the original thread a few days ago should cause the light bulb moment to happen.
        He’s not a FTSE 100 CEO (or whatever Shoestring said initially), he was just saying he pretends he is on survey websites in order to get more well rewarded surveys. The comment was very much tongue in cheek.
        Leave Shoestring alone. I don’t always agree with him, but when we disagree, we do so amicably, because he’s a lovely chap (as can be seen by the sheer number of ways he has saved regular commenters actually vast sums of money, when accumulated over time and across those that read the comments, probably at great expense to his own time, given how prolific his comments are).
        Don’t make me use my teacher voice in a comment again.

    • FlyingChris says:

      6 Mar6 March 13:48

      Where are you offloading your gift cards? Card Yard?

      • BJ says:

        6 Mar6 March 16:17

        @Shoestring saving most of his for Melia points via amazon in Black Friday sale. Obvious from his comments he treats his family on a regular basis too.

  • Alex M says:

    6 Mar6 March 07:32

    Marriott Juho beach looked good. The beach itself was a dump though, literally.

    • KBuffett says:

      6 Mar6 March 07:45

      I’ve stayed there and it definitely good and I like the location. Wouldn’t mind staying there again.

      • DB2020 says:

        6 Mar6 March 12:12

        In terms of service, I would say the Oberoi, Taj Mahal Palace, and the Leela are on par. The St. Regis was a pleasant surprise when I stayed there a couple of years ago but their dining options are limited. The Four Seasons doesn’t match up to other Four Seasons hotels in Asia. The JW Marriott used to be good, I have not stayed there for a few years now, but they have plenty of restaurants.

        My last stay at the Hyatt Regency near the airport was very good. The Maratha, a Luxury Collection hotel, has its moments but they might be having refurbishment work underway.

        The choices depend on where you need to be as given the size and geographic shape of the city, traffic is horrendous and I always plan my stays based on reducing the amount of time I have to spend sitting in traffic.

        • DB2020 says:

          6 Mar6 March 12:14

          PS There is a new JW Marriott near the international airport terminal, I have not stayed there. In my earlier comment, I was referring to the older JW Marriott property located in Juhu.

  • roberto says:

    6 Mar6 March 08:07

    I got back from Mumbai a week ago and stayed at the Oberoi. Having nothing to compare it to although I did walk around the Taj ( a bit of a zoo TBH ) I cant offer a comparison against other local hotels.

    I would offer that its value for money, clean, bright and well run. It is supposedly the best hotel in Mumbai (if you read travel reports) however would struggle to get into the top 20 in London or New York.

    Great staff – good F&B options.

  • LB says:

    6 Mar6 March 08:30

    We stayed at the Oberoi in January and loved it. Great service and a nice suite overlooking the ocean. The residents lounge was small but ok and the bars in the hotel were fun. Initially, we stayed at the Intercontinental, down the road, but the service there was terrible. Breakfast and dinner were badly “organised” and the hotel was very small with limited dining options. The rooftop bar was nice though.

  • Paul74 says:

    6 Mar6 March 12:48

    +1

    • Paul74 says:

      6 Mar6 March 12:55

      as in +1 re the Morrisons offer. It posts quickly etc.

• Frankie says:

  6 Mar6 March 07:50

  OT as Bits. Anyone know how I can tell the selling class of an economy flight when the flight is booked as part of a holiday (flight + hotel) on BA.com? When you click on the flight details it doesn’t state the selling class which it does when you’re booking a flight only. I’m trying to hit silver and want to know the selling class to determine the tier points I’ll earn.

  • jc says:

    6 Mar6 March 09:08

    Pretty sure they removed it a few years ago. Generally O/G and I in my experience but it can vary: phone and they’ll tell you before you book. Phoning has added benefit of 24 hour cooling off period too.

• ECR says:

  6 Mar6 March 08:02

  There is no way that the change from a dedicated BA lounge to a third party lounge open to all could be considered positive. There may be an expanded range of premium drinks for now but that will only be because there will be BA stocks to run down on top of the Aspire offering. I would expect for example that once the free BA champagne stock runs out it won’t be replaced, and you will have to pay for prosecco in line with the normal Aspire offering.

• mr_jetlag says:

  6 Mar6 March 08:20

  OT: CDG fares are back. Even cheaper in some cases. Glad I waited, have just booked an open jaw ORD/SAN for $200 less than previous.

• Spaghetti Town says:

  6 Mar6 March 08:49

  A friend of mine booked a flybe ticket Birmingham – Amsterdam at Easter, presuming they haven’t paid on credit card? Have they lost it all?

  • Rob says:

    6 Mar6 March 08:54

    Yes

    • Boi says:

      6 Mar6 March 09:58

      not necessarily. A colleague booked via debit card for easter. he called his bank yesterday and they agreed to do “chargeback” so worth a try.

  • Shoestring says:

    6 Mar6 March 09:50

    it’s not too easy to pay for a flight with cash, why do you think no credit or charge card was used? —> chargeback

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