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This is today’s chat thread.
If you have specific questions about Avios, hotels or credit cards, please ask them in the appropriate forum and not here. This thread is a good place to post interesting deals you have spotted or your general thoughts on travel and all things miles and points. Thank you for contributing.
Good morning from the Eurostar premier lounge at St Pancras which is an oasis of calm compared to the main concourse. How the overcrowding doesn’t break any health and safety regulations is beyond me! My first ever early morning Eurostar so enjoying the smoothies on offer at the upstairs cocktail bar.
Good morning from the BA lounge at Gatwick South which is nicely quiet this morning. My only grumble is they have run out of all varieties of coke and since I don’t do coffee that’s my morning caffeine fix missing.
Any recommendations for (local) rental car companies at Malta Airport? Or just go with Avis?
I’ve finally updated my recommends/ trip report on Vancouver Island/ Lake Okanagan on the Pacific NW thread – @strickers @ExExpat
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/pacific-north-west-seattle-vancouver/
Following up from my post yesterday re the Thailand and Cambodia border dispute escalation, see below from GOV.UK
The borders have been closed for some time in places, but now there is a complete closure.I have friends currently in Cambodia that can’t get anywhere near the border, for their land crossing, so flights are the only option now.
FCDO now advises against all but essential travel to within 50km of the border from Cambodia in the provinces of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani (‘Warnings and insurance’ and ‘Regional risks’ pages).
@Stu_N thanks, will catch up on it today on my long train through France, hope you had a great rest of your trip!
Separately, does anyone who is familiar with Paris Montparnasse station happen to know if the ATM within the station charges a fee please? The SNCF website is unclear.
@Stu_N thanks, will catch up on it today on my long train through France, hope you had a great rest of your trip!
Separately, does anyone who is familiar with Paris Montparnasse station happen to know if the ATM within the station charges a fee please? The SNCF website is unclear.
I can’t answer your question specifically re Gare Montparnasse ATM(s) but in France in June, my wife and I, using HSBC, First Direct and RBS debit cards had no charges at SocGen, BNP, Crédit Mutuel or Banque Postale machines. We don’t tend to use much cash abroad in Europe, but it’s more necessary in France than most places.
Airtime Rewards are doing £10 refer a friend until Sunday to promote their 10th birthday. Normal rate is about £1.50, previous promos were £5 so £10 is pretty good. You need to sign up using a friends link/code, add a credit/debit card to the app, wait 24 hours for the card to show as ready to be used and then spend (no minimum) at any of the linked retailers. Or purchase a gift card (usually £1 min) through the app. Amazon gift cards now available with 4% cashback plus Asda, Sainsburys and more. Purchase must be within 7 days of signing up to get the bonus.
invite code: BBCA3KRJ or use the link:
@JDB thanks, I realised there was a BNP directly opposite Gare du Nord so was able to use a fee free ATM there.
Separately, does anyone who is familiar with Paris Montparnasse station happen to know if the ATM within the station charges a fee please? The SNCF website is unclear.
I’ll give a nod to the ATM Fee Saver app again. Scrolling around France it looks as if all the main bank ATMs are fee free.
I’m on a train heading north in my suit.
Nice older people kept asking me for directions at St. Pancras, happy to oblige.
On the train we have a screaming toddler, people on their phones and in meetings. Thankfully my noise cancelling ear buds are working well.
Forgot to collect points with my coffee at Greggs.Anybody know if Oman Air offers free seat selection for OWS/OWE on revenue tickets?
What’s the general consensus on Turkish business class? Looking at coming back from Sri Lanka and its pricing the same as Emirates PE. Both sectors at the moment are wide body.
Looking forward to our BA – F trip on A380 LHR-IAD next week….staying at Intercontinental The Wharf for a few days before flying down to Orlando.
Firstly, shout out to YouFirst who were really helpful. I had requested child’s meals for both kids (11yr and 6yr old) but my eldest knows it’s just a standard kids meal, regardless of cabin and she wasn’t impressed on the last Club World meal. I called up and they kindly emailed me the First Menu for next weeks flight. Eldest had a look and decided she would enjoy everything on there 🙂
I know they always do their best onboard, especially in First, but at least this way she knows what she will be having 🙂Secondly, any tips for stuff to do in Washington with 11/6yr olds? We are visiting the White House and getting a tour inside, which will be really interesting, but wanted to check if there was anything that would be particularly good for the kids? Some great museums that my Wife and I did a few years ago, but want to make sure we aren’t missing anything for the kids?
Spy Museum and Air/Space for the kids. You need to book both in advance. Up the Washington monument for the view, again timed tickets. Congress won’t be in session and the univertsites have broken up so it’ll be quieter.
What’s the general consensus on Turkish business class? Looking at coming back from Sri Lanka and its pricing the same as Emirates PE. Both sectors at the moment are wide body.
TK733 isn’t quite long enough to get some good sleep.
EK651 is a shortish daytime flight, PE should be good enough.Depends how time rich you might be.
Off to Chicago tomorrow and had to change to an earlier flight for work reasons which puts me on American and the new 787-9P with the Flagship Suite Seats. I was also able to select the first row of the section so will be in the Preferred seat. Intrigued to see how the soft and hard product compare to my normal OW flights (I mainly head east) but anyone have any experience to help set expectations?
@davefl thanks, wasn’t aware of the ATM Fee Saver app, just downloaded – so useful!
@Richie my sympathies on the noisy carriage. I was pleased this morning that the live announcement welcoming passengers onto the Eurostar specifically stated that passengers needed to wear headphones when watching videos, listening to music and using social media and not play anything (including calls) on loud speaker.For anyone who ever finds themselves with time to kill and in need of sustenance before a train from Montparnasse, there’s a great little creperie a five minute walk from the station called Les Cormorans that does an excellent menu until 8pm of one galette, one crepe and one drink (cider, wine, beer or soft) all for €13.50! Very tasty it was too.
Amex getting desperate – Just received this offer to upgrade to Platinum. “Earn a £500 Amex Travel Credit when you spend £10,000 in your first six months of Cardmembership. Minimum booking of £500 required to redeem the Amex Travel Credit.”
@Seagull Generally, it’s best not to have high expectations of AA’s soft product.
@bibby135, there are a couple of threads on here with lots of ideas. It depends what you all like, but the standout for us over 2 visits was the Air and Space museum next to IAD, though this may not be practical if you haven’t got a car. Lots of space for kids to move around and interactive stuff for them to try, as well as an amazing collection.
The Lincoln memorial and World War II memorial are also great for exploring but will be busy. Take lots of cold drinks!
@Seagull Generally, it’s best not to have high expectations of AA’s soft product.
Fair point. I’ll update tomorrow!
In June I used BAs Best Price Guarantee and got a £ 40 voucher and an expiry for next June
Used it yesterday but then cancelled the flight.
Voucher was reissued today with a different number and an extended expiry till 25/7/25
Wasn’t expecting the ‘use by’ extension.
Any recommendations for a good time to be allowed into the Cathay lounge in T3. Would like to visit but last time they said they were only accepting Cathay travellers.
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